To Muawiya

To Mu‘āwiyah (ibn Abī Sufyān)

Verily, those who swore allegiance to Abū Bakr, ‘Umar and ‘Uthmān have sworn allegiance [1] to me on the same basis on which they swore allegiance to them. (On this basis) he who was present has no choice (to consider),…

By my life, O Mu‘āwiyah, if you see with your intellect without any passion you will find me the most innocent of all in respect of ‘Uthmān’s blood and you will surely know that I was in seclusion from him, unless you…