nor alongside Muāwiya, just as Sa‘d ibn Abī Waqqās, Usāma ibn Zayd, Abd Allah ibn Umar(1), Abū Bakra, Imrān ibn Husayn, and most of the earliest forerunners held themselves aloof.

This indicates that participating in that fighting was neither obligatory nor recommended. Had it been so, a man would not have been praised for refraining from it. Rather, whoever did what was obligatory or recommended(2) would have been superior to one who refrained. This shows that the fighting was born of turmoil.

This is also established by the authentic report from the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—in which he said:

“There will be turmoil in which the one sitting is better than the one standing; the one standing [in it](3) is better than the one walking; the one walking is better than the runner; and the runner is better than the rider speeding onward.”(4) — 31.

Other authentic hadiths of this kind likewise make clear that refraining from fighting was better than taking part on either side. This is the view of the majority within [the leading scholars of](5) the people of hadith and the Sunnah. It is also the position of Mālik, al-Thawrī(6), Ahmad, and others.