, for they (1) cannot defend their doctrine concerning Christ with sound proofs against the Jews and others who denied him.
The adherents of religious innovation who disparage ʿAlī fall into several groups. One group, such as the Khārijites, declares him an unbeliever. Along with him, they also declare ʿUthmān and the majority of Muslims unbelievers. The People of the Sunnah therefore affirm ʿAlī’s faith and the obligation of loyalty to him using the same proofs by which (2) they affirm ʿUthmān’s faith and the obligation of loyalty to him.
Another group say, “Although he was (3) … superior to Muʿāwiya, Muʿāwiya was nevertheless in the right when he fought him, whereas ʿAlī was not in the right when he fought Muʿāwiya.” There are many such people, including those who fought ʿAlī alongside Muʿāwiya. They—or most of them—say that ʿAlī was not an imam to whom obedience was obligatory (4), because his caliphate had been established neither by explicit designation nor by consensus.
This latter view was also held by another group who regarded ʿAlī as superior to Muʿāwiya and closer to the truth than him. They say that Muʿāwiya was not in the right when he fought ʿAlī, but they nevertheless maintain that it was a time of civil strife and division, when there was neither an imam of the united community nor a caliph.
This view was held by many (5) hadith scholars from Basra, Syria, al-Andalus, and elsewhere. In al-Andalus, many Umayyads adopted this view, invoked Allah’s mercy upon ʿAlī, and praised him, but they would say, “He was not