those men were rebellious aggressors, then these men were negligent and remiss. Consequently, they were humiliated, rendered powerless, and divided. The imam is not commanded to wage war with men such as these.

In general, investigating such subtle matters is the province of learned specialists. This is unlike the question of declaring them unbelievers, for abundant evidence makes the falsity of that position evident to the learned and laypeople alike.

Another indication of the falsity of this hadith is that if fighting Alī were tantamount to fighting the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—while Allah Most High has guaranteed victory to His Messenger, as in His words:

“Indeed, We shall support Our messengers and those who believe in the life of this world and on the Day when the witnesses arise.”

Surah Ghāfir.

And as in His words:

“Our word has already gone forth to Our servants, the messengers: they will surely be granted victory, and Our hosts will surely prevail.”

Surah al-Sāffāt.

Then anyone who waged war against the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—would necessarily have been defeated.

Yet that is not what happened. Rather, when the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—commanded that the Khawārij be fought—and they belonged to the class of those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger—Alī prevailed over them, just as he had prevailed over people of their kind during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace. The messengers—may Allah’s blessings be upon them—may be subjected to trials during their wars, but the ultimate outcome is theirs. Thus, if fighting Alī had amounted to fighting the Messenger, Alī himself would ultimately have prevailed. Yet that is not what happened. Rather, toward the end he sought peace and a truce with Muāwiya—may Allah be pleased with him—and wanted Muāwiya to desist from fighting him, just as Muāwiya had sought (1) the same from him at the beginning [of the matter] (2).

It is therefore clear that although this fighting was undertaken on the basis of independent legal judgment, it was not the kind of fighting