This, then, is the sum of what gives rise to doubts concerning this matter when souls are free of bias—though most people are rarely free of bias:
“They follow nothing but conjecture and what their souls desire, although guidance has already come to them from their Lord.”
[Surah al-Najm: 23].
The point is that appointing a person of lesser merit when impediments prevent the appointment of the superior person is deemed permissible by groups among both the Sunnis and the Shia.
Even so, those who were with Muāwiya did not say:
“He is the imam and caliph, and Alī and his companions must pledge allegiance and obedience to him, even though Alī is superior, because Muāwiya’s appointment better serves the common good.”
They neither said this nor fought for it. This is well known to scholars generally. Nor did they ever initiate hostilities against Alī and his companions.
It was the Kharijites who initiated such hostilities against him. They killed Abd Allah ibn Khabbāb when he passed by them. They asked him to relate something from his father, Khabbāb ibn al-Aratt, so he related to them a hadith concerning abstention from civil strife. His purpose—may Allah have mercy on him—was to persuade them to withdraw from the conflict, but they killed him, and his blood remained among the blood like a sandal strap.
Alī then sent word to them:
“Hand over to us the killer of Abd Allah ibn Khabbāb.”
They replied:
“We all killed him.”
They then raided the people’s grazing herds—that is, the livestock they had sent out to pasture with the shepherds. When Alī saw that they had deemed the lives and property of the Muslims lawful, he recalled the texts he had heard from the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—describing them and commanding that they be fought. Seeing that this description applied to them, he fought them, and Allah granted him victory over them. He rejoiced at this and prostrated to Allah in gratitude when word reached him that the man with the malformed hand was among them, for he was the sign foretold by the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace. The Companions unanimously agreed to fight them. Thus, Alī’s fighting against the Kharijites was based on an explicit statement from the Messenger and the consensus of the Companions.