Nasb-and-the-Nawasib

Even if it is accepted that Muʿāwiyah I did in fact criticise ʿAlī I then it will
be said that Muʿāwiyah I erred in reviling ʿAlī I just as he erred in fighting
him; for nor was he or any of the other Ṣaḥābah M infallible. The principal in
this regard is that from the narrations which contain elements which dispraise
the Ṣaḥābah I: many are lies; in some of them they acted according to their
reasoning and what they deemed best; and in some, even if they sinned, they
were not infallible. Rather, together with them being the friends of Allah and
from those promised Jannah they had sins which Allah will forgive them for. 1
Furthermore, the widely accepted principal of the Ahl al-Sunnah has always
been that they do not exonerate Muʿāwiyah I nor those who were better
than him from sins, let alone exonerating them from committing errors in their
reasoning. 2
Profound indeed is the following analyses of Ibn Taymiyyah which he presents
when discussing the mutual imprecation which ensued during the Battle of Ṣiffīn:
التالعن وقع بين الطائفتين كما وقعت المحاربة،‏ وكان هؤلء يلعنون هؤلء في دعائهم،‏ هؤلء يلعنون
رؤوس هؤلء في دعائهم،‏ وقيل:‏ إن كل طائفة كانت تقنت على الخرى،‏ والقتال باليد أعظم من التالعن
باللسان،‏ وهذا كله سواء كان ذنبا أو اجتهادا أو مخظئا أو مصيبا،‏ فإن مغفرة الله ورحمته تتناول ذلك بالتوبة
والحسنات الماحية والمصائب المكفرة وغير ذلك
Mutual imprecation ensued between them just as fighting ensued between
them. These people would curse the leaders of these people, and these people
in return would curse the leaders of these people. It is actually said that each
group would recite the Qunūt against the other. Fighting with the hands is of
course graver than cursing with the tongue. All of this, whether characterised
as sins, or results of correct or incorrect reasoning, will be encompassed
by the mercy and forgiveness of Allah, either by way of repentance, or
good deeds that wipe out evil deeds, or calamities which expiate sins. 3
1 Minhāj al-Sunnah al-Nabawiyyah 4/244.
2 Ibid. 4/385.
3 Minhāj al-Sunnah al-Nabawiyyah 4/468; Majmūʿ Fatāwā Shaykh al-Islām 4/485; al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah
7/284.
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