Likewise, seeking forgiveness for earlier Muslims is a righteous act, and harboring malice toward them is an unrighteous act; as Allah Almighty has said: ﴿وَالَّذِينَ جَاءُوا مِنْ بَعْدِهِمْ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا اغْفِرْ لَنَا وَلِإِخْوَانِنَا الَّذِينَ سَبَقُونَا بِالْإِيمَانِ وَلَا تَجْعَلْ فِي قُلُوبِنَا غِلًّا لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا رَبَّنَا إِنَّكَ رَءُوفٌ رَحِيمٌ﴾[1]; “And those who came after them say: ‘O Lord! Forgive us and our brothers who preceded us in faith, and do not place in our hearts any malice toward those who believed. O Lord! Undoubtedly, You are Most Compassionate, Most Merciful.’” Therefore, the actions of the companions of the Prophet must be interpreted in the most favorable way possible—for example, interpreting their refusal to pledge allegiance to the Ahl al-Bayt as their error arising from ignorance, heedlessness, forgetfulness, haste, or fear of oppressors, not as apostasy, hypocrisy, or hostility toward Islam. However, interpreting their actions in impossible ways is a lie and impermissible—for example, interpreting their pledging allegiance to rulers other than the Ahl al-Bayt as meaning that their pledging allegiance to the Ahl al-Bayt was not obligatory, which is impossible; or interpreting their fight against rulers from the Ahl al-Bayt as permission to fight against the Ahl al-Bayt, even on the basis of ijtihad, which is impossible; or interpreting their commission of major sins such as murder, adultery, and drinking alcohol as the permissibility of ijtihad in such matters, which is impossible; or believing that their engagement in transgression, oppression, indecency, and evil can be reconciled with their uprightness, which is impossible—in view of the fact that none but Allah is pure, except for one whom Allah has purified. Therefore, it is not permissible to consider pure those whom Allah has not purified; as He has said: ﴿أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الَّذِينَ يُزَكُّونَ أَنْفُسَهُمْ ۚ بَلِ اللَّهُ يُزَكِّي مَنْ يَشَاءُ وَلَا يُظْلَمُونَ فَتِيلًا﴾[2]; “Did you not see those who consider one another purified?! Rather, Allah purifies whomever He wills, and no injustice is done to them.” Similarly, He has purified the Ahl al-Bayt of His Prophet, saying: ﴿إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيُذْهِبَ عَنْكُمُ الرِّجْسَ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ وَيُطَهِّرَكُمْ تَطْهِيرًا﴾[3]; “Indeed, Allah wants to remove any impurity from you, O Ahl al-Bayt, and make you completely pure,” and He has not purified anyone other than them, saying: ﴿فَلَا تُزَكُّوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ ۖ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَنِ اتَّقَى﴾[4]; “Do not consider one another purified. He knows best who is pious.”