follow a religion that accepts the good deeds of its adherents (1) and overlooks their evil deeds. So what makes you more hopeful of Allah’s mercy than I am?” Al-Miswar [ibn Makhrama] (3) said (2), “He defeated me in argument”—or words to that effect.

It may also be said to them:

Second, the foundational position of Ahl al-Sunnah is sound and consistently applied in this matter, whereas you contradict yourselves. For if the Nawāsib—among the Kharijites and others—who declare Alī an unbeliever or a sinner, or who, among the Mutazilites, Marwānids, and others, question his moral probity, were to ask you, “What proof is there of Alī’s faith, his imamate, and his uprightness?” you would have no argument. If you cited what has been established through mass transmission concerning his Islam and worship, they would say to you:

“The same has been established through mass transmission concerning the Companions, the Followers, the three caliphs, and the Umayyad caliphs, such as Muāwiya, Yazīd, Abd al-Malik, and others—yet you challenge their faith. There is no instance in which we cast doubt on the faith of Alī or anyone else without a graver judgment having already been passed on the faith of these men. Moreover, those whom you disparage are greater than those whom we disparage.”

If you cited the Quran’s praise and commendation, they would say:

“The Quranic verses are general and apply to Abū Bakr (4), Umar, Uthmān, and others just as they apply to Alī—if not more so. Yet you have [already] (5) excluded these men from that praise and commendation, so it is easier for us to exclude Alī.”

And if you cited what has been reported from the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—concerning Alī’s merits, they would say, “These merits were transmitted by the Companions who transmitted the merits of those men,