Documents of the Right Word

It is never disbelief to disagree with hadrat Alî’s ijtihâd in the
teachings of fiqh. It is not a sin, either. For hadrat Alî, like all the
As-hâb-i-kirâm, was mujtahid. In the (religious) teachings which
require ijtihâd, it is permissible for mujtahids to disagree with one
another, and in this case each mujtahid will earn one thawâb. A
person who fought out of animosity would certainly become a
disbeliever. In fact, some scholars of Ahl as-sunna called Khârijîs
‘disbelievers’ on account of this principle. The hadîth-i-sherîf, “To
fight you is to fight me,” is intended for Khârijîs. After all, these
people could not be said to be ‘definitely disbelievers’. For their
fighting was not intended as an acknowledgement of disbelief. For
this reason, these people cannot be called renegades.
Nevertheless, their doubts were idiotic, and because they
contradicted those âyat-i-kerîmas and hadîth-i-sherîfs with clear
meanings, they will not be excused, since it is not permissible to
interpret âyats with overt meanings. According to the Ahl assunna,
Khârijîs will stay with disbelievers in the Hereafter. It is not
permissible to pray for their being pardoned or to perform the
namâz of janâza for them. This is not the case with those who were
against hadrat Alî in the combats of Camel and Siffîn. They fought
him as a result of their doubts and interpretation. Because theirs
was a mistake of ijtihâd, they did not become disbelievers. Nor can
they be blamed for this. For they are praised in âyat-i-kerîmas and
hadîth-i-sherîfs. These people struggled not to fulfill the desires of
their nafs, but for the sake of Allah. A person who will not admit
this fact should at least hold his tongue, keep quiet. Thinking that
these people were the As-hâb-i-kirâm and the Mujâhidîn-i-Islâm,
he should avoid committing an act of disrespect against them. In
fact, âyat-i-kerîmas and hadîth-i-sherîfs praise all Believers. The
hope of attaning shafâ’at (intercession) and salvation through the
forgiveness of Allâhu ta’âlâ includes every Muslim. If any one of
the Damascenes who joined the combats of Camel and Siffîn is
known definitely to have been hostile towards hadrat Alî, to have
called him a disbeliever and to have cursed him, we will call that
person a disbeliever. Yet no one has been reported to have done
so until now. Ignorant people’s fabrications cannot be of scientific
or documentary capacity. Since those Sahâbîs are definitely
known to have been Believers in the beginning, we have to know
them as such. If a person disbelieves the fact that the four Khalîfas
will go to Paradise or says about any one of them that he is not
worthy of being a Khalîfa or denies his knowledge or justice or
taqwâ, this person becomes a disbeliever. Yet if a person fights
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