into five parts, nor did his caliphs. Nor did they give orphans the same as they gave the poor. Rather, they gave to those in need from both groups. The poor might outnumber the wealthy orphans, and there were (1) wealthy orphans in Medina, yet they did not treat them like the poor. Indeed, it is not even known that they gave them anything, unlike those in need. The hadiths concerning this are numerous, but this is not the place to cite them.

[Chapter: The Rāfidī’s Claim That ʿUmar Relied on Personal Judgment, Intuition, and Conjecture]

Chapter (2)

The Rāfidī said (3):

“He adopted positions based on personal judgment, intuition, and conjecture.”

The response is that ʿUmar—may Allah be pleased with him—was not alone in relying on personal judgment. Rather, ʿAlī was among those who relied on it most frequently. Likewise, Abū Bakr, ʿUthmān, Zayd, Ibn Masʿūd, and other Companions—may Allah be pleased with them—also relied on personal judgment. ʿAlī’s exercise of personal judgment concerned the blood of the people of the qiblah and other similarly grave matters.

It is related in the Sunan of Abū Dāwūd (4) and elsewhere, from al-Hasan, from Qays ibn ʿAbbād (5), who said:

“I said to ʿAlī, ‘Tell us about this campaign of yours. Was it undertaken pursuant to a directive that the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—gave you, or was it a judgment you formed?’

“He replied, ‘The Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—did not give me any directive concerning it (6); rather, it was a judgment I formed.’”

This is a well-established fact. For this reason, ʿAlī did not relate