Completion of the commentary on the athar: Abu al-‘Ajlan al-Muharibi said: “I was in the army of Ibn al-Zubayr.”

The Shaykh : Similarly, if we are asked whether the truth was with ‘Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr when he rose up against ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, and whether it was obligatory for ‘Abd al-Malik to yield, or whether ‘Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr was mistaken? We say that he was mistaken without a doubt. This is the first aspect. The other aspect: were Mu‘awiyah and ‘Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr both in error, as we have associated them together in that each of them was wrong? As for Mu‘awiyah, it is due to the hadith , and as for ‘Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, . The first caliph was the one who had been pledged allegiance to, so ‘Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr was mistaken. But from another angle, can we say that Mu‘awiyah’s intention was bad, or that ‘Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr’s intention was bad? We cannot say this or that. How excellent is what some of the Salaf, or rather some of the Imams, said—I think it was Imam al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him)—when he was asked what our stance should be toward the Companions and those who came after them who fought each other due to disagreements over rule. We say that this one was malicious and that one was a reformer. He said, “That is a nation from whom Allah has purified our swords of their blood, so let us purify our tongues from speaking about them.” Meaning, Allah (Mighty and Majestic) did not test us to be in their time and fight, being with this group or that group. Without a doubt, one side was mistaken and the other was wrong. So if our Lord (Mighty and Majestic) has protected us from this, at least let us guard our tongues and not attack them by saying this one was malicious and that one was a reformer, because these hearts are known only to the Knower of the Unseen. This is sufficient, and praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.