“You are the dearest of people to me, but I have made a pledge to God not to fight against the people of ‘lā ilāha illa Allāh’ (those who say, There is no god but Allah).”¹
And `Abdullah ibn `Umar said:لَستُ أعرِفُ في هذَا الحَربِ شَیئاً، أسأَلُکَ ألّا تَحمِلَنی عَلی ما لا أعرِفُ.“I do not know anything about (the nature of) this battleand I ask you not to make me do that which I do not know.” ²
Mental readiness of people in accepting such an unjustified doubt concerning the prohibition of fighting against the people of the Qibla on one hand, and the raising of doubts by those who opposed the reform plans of Imām (a.s.), particularly by the propaganda network of Mu`āwiya on the other hand, had made the recruiting and mobilization of the military forces extremely difficult. Therefore, Imām was often forced to explain to the people the grounds, causes and motives of his stance. In the beginning of the emergence of disturbances and when he was forced to fight against the perpetrators, Imām said:
وَقَد فُتِحَ بابُ الحَربِ بَینَـکُم وَبَینَ أهلِ القِبلَةِ، ولا یَحمِلُ هذَا العَلَمَ إلّا أَهلُ البَصَرِ والصَّبرِ والعِلمِ بِمَواضِعِ الحَقِّ، فَامضُوا لِما تُؤمَرونَ بِهِ، وَقِفوا عِندَ ما تُنهَونَ عَنهُ ولا تَعجَلُو في أَمرٍ حَتّی تَتَبـَـیَّنوا، فَإنَّ لَنا مَعَ کُلِّ أمرٍ تُنکِرونَهُ غِیَراً.“The door of war has been opened between you and the people of the Qibla [other Muslims]. This banner will be borne only by him who is a man of insight, endurance and knowledge of the position of truth. Therefore, go ahead with what you are ordered and desist from what you are forbidden.
Do not make haste in any matter until you have clear knowledge of it. For in every matter you dislike, we have another solution for it.”³
Although Imām spared no effort in explaining to people the reasons for his stances and the causes of events, it was difficult for

A. War against the People of the Qibla

In the first days of the establishment of his government, Imām Ali (a.s.) unfortunately plunged into war; civil war and war against the people of the Qibla. The previous wars were entirely against the disbelievers. The wars against the disbelievers were unambiguous and free of any misconception. But the wars during Imām Ali’s (a.s.) government which were fought to suppress seditions, reform the society and bring it back to the conduct (sira) and tradition (sunna) of the Prophet (s.a.w.) were wars against the people of the Qibla, against those who were called Muslims and in cases had good reputations with high ranking socio-political profiles.
That was how the Prophet (s.a.w.) –who had seen these events in the mirror of time and had predicted how they would happen–regarded these battles as wars based on the interpretation (ta'wil) of the Qur'ān and confirmed their difficulties.¹
War against the people of the Qibla was creating lots of trepidation in faith for the narrow-minded. They could not correctly make up their minds, so they refused to stay with him (a.s.). This way the cunning statesmen who had problems with Imām (a.s.) justified their refusal and raised doubts among the common people. Thus from the very beginning the so-called influential personalities such as Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqās, Usāma ibn Zaid and `Abdullah ibn `Umar refused to support Ali (a.s.). When he (a.s.) asked them about the reason for their refusal, Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqās said:
إنّي اُکرَهُ الخُروجَ في هذَا الحَربِ؛ لَئِلّا اُصیبَ مُؤمِناً فَإن أعطَیتَنی سَیفاً یَعرِفُ المُؤمِنَ مِنَ الکافِرِ قاتَلتُ مَعَکَ.“I hate to go out to this battle lest I kill a believer. So, if you give me a sword that distinguishes a believer from a disbeliever, I will fight along with you!”²
Usāma said:
أنتَ أعَزُّ الخَلقِ عَلَيَّ ولکِنّی عاهَدتُ اللهَ أن لا اُقاتِلَ أهلَ لا إلهَ إلَّا اللهُ.