3. He said: Abul Hasan ‘Ali ibn Bilal al-Mahalabi - may Allah bless him with His mercy, reported to me on Friday, of the last two days of Sha’ban, in the year 353, from Muhammad ibn al-Hussain ibn Hameed ibn al-Rabee’ al-Lakhmi, reporting from Suleiman ibn al-Rabee’ al-Nahdi, who reported from Nasr ibn Mazahim al-Munqari, who reported from Yahya ibn Ya’la al-Aslami, who reported from ‘Ali ibn al-Huzawwar, from Al-Asbagh ibn Nubatah - may Allah bless him with His mercy, that once a man called upon Amirul Mu’mineen ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib (A.S.) at Basra and said: "O Amirul Mu’mineen, between us and these people against whom we are fighting, the call is one, the Prophet is one, the daily prayer is one, Hajj is one, then how shall we classify them?" Amirul Mu’mineen, peace be upon him, said: "Classify them the same way as Allah, Most High, has classified them in His Book. Have you not heard the verse: ’Those messengers We excel some above the others, among them is he to whom Allah spoke, and some He raised in rank, and We gave Jesus the son of Mary the clear signs and strengthened him with the holy spirit. And if Allah had pleased, those who came after them would not have fought one against the other, after the clear signs had come to them, but they fell into variance and some of them believed and some disbelieved....’(al-Baqrah 2:253) So, when the confrontation occurred, we were worthier with Allah, His faith, the Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, the Book and the Truth. We are the ones who believed and they are the ones who disbelieved. And Allah willed that we fought against them, so we fought in accordance with His will, His command and His pleasure."