And when they are confused in any matter...

And when they are confused in any matter, the fault is theirs if they commit an error; and if they decide rightly, the credit goes to ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib (as)." Shaddad ibn Aws and Mu'awiyah He said: Abu al-Tayyib al-Husayn ibn Muhammad al-Tammar reported to me at the Great Mosque of Al-Mansoor during Muharram of 347 Hijra, from Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn al-Qasim al-Anbari, who reported from Ahmed ibn Yahya, who reported from Ibn al-A'arabi, from Habib ibn Basshar, from his father, who reported from ‘Ali ibn Asim, from al-Sha'bi who said: When Shaddad ibn Aws called upon Muawiyah ibn Abu Sufyan, he honoured and welcomed him, did not reprimand him for his past lapses and gave him good promises of reward.

Then one day he invited Shaddad at a public assembly and said: "O Shaddad, stand before people and speak about ‘Ali and revile his so that I know the measure of your love for me." Shaddad said: "I beg to be excused, for ‘Ali has already gone to his Maker and has been rewarded for his deeds. And you have been sufficiently relieved of your worry about him.

Now, the affairs are under your full control because of your generosity, so do not seek from people things which do not behove your magnanimity." Muawiyah said: "You shall indeed rise to speak, otherwise (our) suspicion about you is established." Then Shaddad stood up and said: "Praise be to Allah Who made His obedience obligatory upon His servants and placed His Pleasure with the people of Taqwa, who preferred His pleasure over the pleasure of those He created; upon that path have the predecessors gone and upon that path shall the followers go.

O People, the next world is indeed a true promise, a Day on which the Omnipotent King shall judge; and this world has a limited tenure, where every pious and impious eats his share. He who listens and obeys the truth, fears no judgement against him and he who listens and disobeys, expects no judgement in his favour.

Surely, when Allah intends good for His servants, He gives them the righteous people to govern them and the learned jurists to decide among them; and places wealth in the hands of the generous among them. And…