Rather, in the view of many scholars, that fighting was fighting(1) born of civil strife; while in the view of many others, it(2) falls under the category of fighting by those who censure(3) and rebel—that is, fighting based on a plausible interpretation, in obedience to someone other(4) than the imam, rather than over a religious principle.

Had contenders challenged Uthmān over the imamate and had he fought them, their fighting would have been of the same kind as Ali’s, even though the dispute between him and those people would not have concerned fundamental religious principles.

However, the first sword drawn over disagreement concerning fundamental religious principles was the sword of the Khārijites. Fighting them ranks among the gravest forms of combat. They were the ones who introduced novel doctrines in which they opposed the Companions and for which they fought. Reports concerning them have been transmitted through numerous independent chains, such as the Prophet’s words—may Allah bless him and grant him peace:

“A renegade faction will break away when the Muslims are divided. Of the two parties, the one nearer to the truth will kill them.” (5)

Ali—may Allah be pleased with him—did not fight anyone over a rival claim to the imamate, nor did anyone fight him over his own imamate. Nor did anyone during his caliphate ever claim to be more entitled to the imamate than he was—not Aishah, Talhah, al-Zubayr, Mu‘āwiyah and his companions, or the Khārijites. Rather, the entire Muslim community acknowledged Ali’s excellence and precedence after the killing of