[The Necessity of Respecting the Companions of the Prophet]

As a result, Ali, Hasan, and Husain certainly are three of the twelve caliphs of the Prophet . After Husain, nine of his descendants, one after another—according to the principle ﴿ذُرِّيَّةً بَعْضُهَا مِنْ بَعْضٍ﴾[1]; “descendants, some of whom come from some others”—are considered caliphs of the Prophet . This follows from the Book of Allah and the widely transmitted reports from the Prophet , without necessitating any disrespect toward those companions of the Prophet who came to govern after him, since their good record in Islam calls for thinking positively of them. Thinking positively of them is that they either were unaware of this fact or forgot it. If the reality is otherwise, they are accountable for their own actions, and others are accountable for theirs. Later Muslims are not questioned about what earlier Muslims did; as Allah Almighty has said: ﴿تِلْكَ أُمَّةٌ قَدْ خَلَتْ ۖ لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتْ وَلَكُمْ مَا كَسَبْتُمْ ۖ وَلَا تُسْأَلُونَ عَمَّا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ﴾[2]; “They were a people who passed away. For them is what they earned, and for you is what you earn, and you are not questioned about what they used to do.” Therefore, arguing over their actions and intentions is unnecessary, for Allah knows best their actions and intentions, and each person is bound by his own action and intention; as Allah Almighty has said: ﴿كُلُّ نَفْسٍ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ رَهِينَةٌ﴾[3]; “Each soul is bound by what it earned.” It may even be a sin to think negatively of them; because due to their good record in Islam, they are more deserving of being thought of positively. Moreover, Allah has prohibited many negative assumptions, saying: ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اجْتَنِبُوا كَثِيرًا مِنَ الظَّنِّ إِنَّ بَعْضَ الظَّنِّ إِثْمٌ﴾[4]; “O you who believed! Avoid many suspicions, for some suspicions are sins.” Rather, He has enjoined thinking positively of Muslims, saying: ﴿لَوْلَا إِذْ سَمِعْتُمُوهُ ظَنَّ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتُ بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ خَيْرًا وَقَالُوا هَذَا إِفْكٌ مُبِينٌ﴾[5]; “When you heard it, why did not the believing men and women think positively of one another and say: ‘This is an obvious slander’?!”