The point is that no one fought Alī in support of another’s imamate, nor did anyone call upon him to place himself under another’s authority. Then, when copies of the Quran were raised aloft and a call was made for arbitration, they agreed to it and came together the following year. The two arbitrators agreed to remove Alī and Muāwiya and to leave the matter to consultation among the Muslims.

One of the two arbitrators said:

“This man has removed the one he represented, but I have not removed the one I represent.”

Abū Mūsā favored appointing Abd Allah ibn Umar, but Abd Allah was angered by this. Their agreement to remove Muāwiya did not mean removing him from the office of Commander of the Believers, for he had not previously been Commander of the Believers. Rather, it meant removing him from his governorship over Syria, for he used to say:

“The two caliphs Umar and Uthmān appointed me, so I shall remain in my post until the people unite behind an imam.”

Thus, the two arbitrators agreed that Alī should be removed from the office of Commander of the Believers and Muāwiya from the governorship of Syria. One of them, however, intended to retain the man he represented, but did not disclose what he had in mind. When he revealed his intention, the people dispersed without reaching an agreement, and no fighting occurred after that.

Even if it were assumed that, at this point, Muāwiya’s followers began claiming that he, rather than Alī, was Commander of the Believers, they still could not say:

“After that, Alī was fought against in support of Muāwiya’s imamate.”

It is therefore clear that no one fought Alī on the basis that another man should be the imam and that Alī should obey him. Those who had been entitled to the imamate were Abū Bakr, Umar, and Uthmān, and Alī was too mindful of Allah to rebel against them in word or deed. Indeed, as for Uthmān, Alī was the very first to pledge allegiance to him, before the majority of the people did.