Is what is mentioned in the history books between Mu'awiyah and 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with them) authentic?

Question:
He says: I was at the beginning of my pursuit of knowledge, and I was with some students. They mentioned what happened between 'Ali and Mu'awiyah (may Allah the Exalted be pleased with them) and they spoke ill of Mu'awiyah. When I rebuked them, they said, "Be quiet, O ignorant one; these things are mentioned in the history books." Is this statement correct?

Answer:
This is a false statement, and it is not permissible to enter into what happened between the Companions except by way of excusing them. We do not enter into it by way of belittling them or accusing them of error; this is not permissible. These are the ignorant ones. It is not the kind of ignorance that is rebuked in them; these are the ignorant ones. History is not all correct. Histories are scrutinized and looked into, and one does not rely on them except for authentic reports. So one does not rely on histories alone. First, the historians do not care about the authenticity of the chain of narration; they only mention what was said because they are historians who mention what was said only, without scrutiny.
Second, lies and personal desires have entered them, so not every historian is to be trusted. One looks into the historian: who is he? And even if this were authentic, we would excuse the Companions and not enter into blaming them or belittling them. They were exercising independent legal reasoning in this.
Either they were correct, in which case they have two rewards, or they were mistaken, in which case he has one reward. And they have virtues that overwhelm the error that occurs from some of them. We do not enter into this except as excusers for them and as those who praise them, not as those who belittle them. Although the better course is for a person not to enter into these matters.
Because one does not enter into these matters, especially if he is ignorant and does not know, and does not know the correct history from the fabricated history. So these matters are dangerous; entering into matters concerning the Companions is a severe danger. And what happened between 'Ali and Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) was due to independent legal reasoning. 'Ali held that he was the caliph because he had been pledged allegiance, and Mu'awiyah was demanding the blood of 'Uthman. He was not demanding the caliphate; Mu'awiyah did not demand the caliphate, nor did he cast doubt on the caliphate of 'Ali. Rather, he wanted to take the blood of 'Uthman from those who killed 'Uthman, and they were hidden in the army of 'Ali ibn Abi Talib. This was the intention of Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him). Yes.