As for the battles of the Camel and Siffīn, Alī—may Allah be pleased with him—stated that he had no explicit text from the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—concerning them; it was merely his own judgment. Most of the Companions did not agree with him about this fighting. Indeed, most of the leading (1) Companions fought on neither side, including Sa‘d ibn Abī Waqqās, Ibn Umar, Usāma ibn Zayd, Muhammad ibn Maslama, and others like them from the earliest forerunners among the Emigrants and the Helpers and those who followed them with excellence. This was despite their profound respect for Alī: they loved him, remained loyal to him, preferred him to all others, and considered no one more entitled to the imamate in his time. Nevertheless, they did not agree with his judgment concerning the fighting.

They had heard texts from the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—indicating that abstaining from fighting and remaining outside the civil strife was better than fighting. Some of those texts even entailed a prohibition against it, and the reports concerning this are numerous and well known.

As for Muāwiya, none of the renowned earliest forerunners fought alongside him. Rather, some of the earliest forerunners were with Alī, while none were with Muāwiya; most of them withdrew from the civil strife.

It has also been said that some of the earliest forerunners were with Muāwiya, and that the man who killed Ammār ibn Yāsir was Abū al-Ghādiya (2). He was among those who pledged allegiance beneath the tree, and they were among the earliest forerunners. Ibn Hazm and others mentioned this.