The excessive love of the Sainthood Shi‘a towards ‘Ali (May God be pleased with him) and – influenced by the Sufi Orders – their deeming him superior, does not make them answerable to the degree of the Caliphate Shi‘a. For those who follow the path of sainthood look towards their spiritual guides with love, and the mark of love is excess; [^24] it wants to see the beloved as greater than his rank. And that is how it sees him. Ecstatics may be forgiven excesses of love. So their deeming ‘Ali more worthy because of their love may be excused on condition it does not turn into disparagement of the other Rightly-Guided Caliphs and enmity towards them, and does not go beyond the fundamental teachings of Islam.
[^24]: Abū Dā’ūd, Adab, 113; Musnad, v, 194; vi, 450.
As for the Caliphate Shi‘a, since political prejudice took a hold of them they could not rid themselves of hatred and aggression, so forfeited their right to be excused. Even, confirming the saying, “Not for love of ‘Ali, but out of hatred of ‘Umar,” since Persian national pride was wounded at ‘Umar’s hand, [^25] they showed their revenge in the form of love of ‘Ali. So also ‘Amr ibn al-‘As’s rebellion against ‘Ali and ‘Umar ibn al-Sa‘d’s tragic war against Husayn [^26] aroused in the Shi‘a an intense anger and enmity towards the name of ‘Umar.
[^25]: See, Ibn Sa’d, al-Ṭabaqāt al-Kubrā, vi, 12, 21; al-Ṭabarī, Tārīkh al-‘Umam wa’l-Mulūk, iii, 283, 289.
[^26]: See, al-Ṭabarī, Tārīkh al-‘Umam wa’l-Mulūk, iii, 298; Ibn Kathīr, al-Bidāya wa’l-Nihāya, viii, 193.
The Sainthood Shi‘a have no right to criticize the Sunnis, for the Sunnis have not decried ‘Ali, indeed, they love him sincerely. But they avoid the excessive love which is described as dangerous in Hadiths. [^27] The Prophet’s (UWBP) praise of ‘Ali’s followers in the Hadiths [^28] refers to the Sunnis. For it is the Sunnis among ‘Ali’s followers who love him in a moderate fashion and are the people of truth. Just as excessive love of Jesus (Upon whom be peace) is dangerous for Christians, so it has been made clear in sound Hadiths that that sort of excessive love for ‘Ali is dangerous. [^29]
[^27]: Musnad, i, 160; Nasā’ī, al-Sunan al-Kubrā, v, 137; al-Ḥākim, al-Mustadrak, iii, 132.
[^28]: al-Ṭabarānī, al-Mu‘jam al-Awṣād, vi, 354; vii, 343.
[^29]: Bukhārī, Ta’rīkh al-Kabīr, ii, 257; Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, Faḍā’il al-Ṣaḥāba: 1087, 1221, 1222; al-Haythamī, Majma‘ al-Zawā’id, ix, 133; Ibn al-Jawzī, al-‘Ilal il-Mutanāhiya, i, 223.
If the Sainthood Shi‘a say: “Once ‘Ali’s consummate spiritual attainments are accepted, it is impossible to give precedence to Abu Bakr the Truthful.”
The reply: It was as though the personal perfections of Abu Bakr, the