The response is:
Indeed, he summoned him and enforced the prescribed penalty against him in the presence of Alī ibn Abī Tālib. He said to Alī:
“Rise and flog him.”
Alī instructed al-Hasan to flog him, but he refused. Alī then said to Abd Allāh ibn Jafar:
“Rise and flog him.”
He gave him forty lashes. Alī then said:
“Stop. The Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—gave forty lashes, Abū Bakr gave forty, and Umar gave eighty. Each is Sunnah, but this is dearer to me.”
Reported by Muslim [and others] (1).
Thus, since he enforced the prescribed penalty in accordance with Alī’s judgment and command, he fulfilled his duty.
[Reply to the Rāfidī’s claim that Uthmān—may Allah be pleased with him—appointed Saīd ibn al-Ās and that conduct on his part subsequently came to light which led the people of Kūfa to expel him]
The same applies to his statement:
“He appointed Saīd ibn al-Ās as governor of Kūfa, and conduct on his part subsequently came to light which led the people of Kūfa to expel him from the city.”
The response is:
The mere fact that the people of Kūfa expelled him does not prove that he committed an offense warranting such action, for those people used to rise against every governor. They had risen against Sad ibn Abī Waqqās, even though it was he who conquered those lands and routed the armies of Chosroes; he was also one of the members of the consultative council, and no governor (2) comparable to him ever ruled over them. They likewise complained against others, including Ammār ibn Yāsir, Sad ibn Abī Waqqās, al-Mughīra ibn Shuba, and others. Umar ibn al-Khattāb—may Allah be pleased with him—invoked Allah against them, saying:
“O Allah, they have caused confusion for me, so cause confusion for them.”
Even supposing that he committed a sin, that fact alone would not mean that Uthmān approved of his sin. Alī’s deputies committed many sins. (3 Indeed, more than one of the Prophet’s deputies—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—committed many sins 3) (3). The ruler is culpable only