Nasb-and-the-Nawasib

Is not ʿAlī, may you always remain cursed, O the son of the wretched
woman, a leader according to you?
The owner of the shawl, the best of the household of Muḥammad, the
one who enjoyed an intimate relationship (with Rasūl Allah) and the
forerunner of Islām. 1
Nonetheless, denying the Khilāfah of ʿAlī I is a prominent viewpoint
of Naṣb. However Ibn Taymiyah was of the opinion that for some of the
scholars of al-Andalus not to deem ʿAlī I the fourth Khalīfah was not
due to discrediting his Khilāfah and rejecting his merits, but was because
the leaders intended were those whom the Muslims had unanimously
acknowledged, which was not the case regarding ʿAlī I. 2
He also asserts:
كان بالندلس كثير من بني أمية يذهبون إلى هذا القول ويترحمون على علي ويثنون عليه،‏ لكن يقولون لم
يكن خليفة،‏ وإنما الخليفة من اجتمع الناس عليه،‏ ولم يجتمعوا على علي
In Andalus there were many people who held this viewpoint; they would
invoke the mercy of Allah for ʿAlī I and would praise him, but would
assert that he was not a Khalīfah, because a Khalīfah is one upon who all
people unite, whereas they did not unite upon ʿAlī I. 3
Based on this, it would be admissible to aver that their denial of his
Khilāfah was a minor form of Naṣb due to it indirectly implying it. As for
the actual Naṣb which entails disillusionment and hatred, it was very rare.
Hence I have not come across anyone of this nature amongst the people of
al-Andalus, with the exception of one person who would revile ʿAlī I
and his son Ḥasan I. 4
1 Nafḥ al-Ṭīb 2/984; al-Takmilah li Kitāb al-Ṣilah 1/239 (with a little bit of difference)
2 Minhāj al-Sunnah al-Nabawiyyah 4/163.
3 Ibid. 4/401.
4 Lisān al-Mīzān 5/58.
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