Hisham - Is it not true that in the beginning these...

Hisham - Is it not true that in the beginning these Kharajites were of the same opinion as we were concerning the matter of Imamate and the Wilayah of Amirul Mu'mineen (a), until the problem of the arbitration occurred in the Battle of Siffin? They acted rudely and shamelessly towards Amirul Mu'mineen (a) and called him an infidel because of the acceptance of the arbitration although they themselves compelled him (Hazrat) to accept this matter.

Now this learned man who is himself respectable and reliable among his followers, has accepted the arbitration and judgement of the two men without any compulsion and force - one of these two men is my follower who is an infidel according to his Khawarijite belief and the other is his own supporter. Both of them have different beliefs and are opposed to each other.

Now if he is right in choosing the arbitration and has chosen the right path, then there is no cause for him to criticize Amirul Mu'mineen (a) who is more worthy and wise. And if he has made a mistake then he is himself an infidel and his wickedness does not harm us. He has given evidence of his own infidelity. So first it is most necessary to check out his infidelity and his faith, enabling us to see whether he is himself an infidel or a Muslim.

This is necessary before checking his opinion regarding the matter of the infidelity of Ali (a). When the discussion of Hisham reached this point, Haroon became uneasy because of the clear reasoning and knockout proofs of Hisham. But he was so enchanted by his speech that he involuntarily applauded him and ordered to give him a reward.

It is to be noted that Hisham was skilful in the practical sciences, and it is a fact that his discussions and speeches have been completely based upon intellectual, philosophical and theological reasoning in addition, as we noticed in the above story, he has used his own particular technique and has defeated his opponents. [^1]: In some books, the name of the father of Abdullah has been recorded as Zayd, which is apparently wrong.

[^2]: Kharajites area group of people who were at first the followers of Imam Ali (a) and Shias. Then at the Battle of Siffin, due to the insistence of the army, the problem of arbitration occured. According to this, one person from Mu'awiyah's side and one person from Imam Ali's (a) side should be appointed and whatever they announced, all other people should obey their decision.