Awf, amr b. muhammad b . maslamah , and zaid b . thabit , and most of the ansar.

b) Those who held that the question of civil war (fitnah) among the Companions was a matter of personal judgement (ijtihad) he who was correct is to be rewarded, and he who was wrong is to be excused. Some even say that both sides were correct. This latter opinion is ascribed to Ali b. Abi Talib.

c) Those who say that Uthman had repented for his innovations, and that he was killed after he had repented, therefore his opponents were wrong. This was the opinion of the Companions Talhah, al-Zubair and A'ishah.

d) Those who reserved their opinion on the civil war and refused to take part in it and they were in doubt about the whole situation. Among these were Sa'd b. Abi Waqqas, Abdullah b. Umar, Muhammad b. Maslamah and others.

e) Finally, the attitude of Mu'awiyah and Amr b. al-As who held that Uthman was right all the way and claimed revenge for his death65.

However, the civil wars left their stamp on Islamic history up to our own time. The political, intellectual, and religious life of the Muslims was coloured with those early opinions formed by different groups and authorities. Apart from Ali's party which developed as the Shiite school, and the supporters of Mu'awiyah, there was the third party which refused the leadership of both men and was massacred by both men - at al-Nahrawan by Ali, and afterwards at al-Nukhailah by Mu'awiyah. They were in Ali's Army but when he accepted arbitration they broke away from him for leaving the judgement of the Qur'an to the judgement of men. As their previous Imam Ali b. Abi Talib gave up his right to the Imamate by accepting arbitration, they decided to elect a new Imam, and for the first time a non-Qurashite leader was elected as Amir al-mu'minin. The Azdi Companion Abdullah b. Wahb al-Rasibi was elected and he led his men in the battle against Ali b. Abi Talib, and the whole Army of Abdullah b. Wahb consisting of more than two thousand pious Muslims (ahl salat wa siyam) was killed by Ali, in that battle of al-Nahrawan.

This group was known by four different names: al-Muhakkimah, Ahl al-Nahr, al-Haruriyah, and al-Khawarij. The first name was derived from their motto, "La hukma illa lillah." And of the two second names, al-Haruriyah is derived from the name of a place, Harura', where some of them gathered near Kufah, and other name, Ahl al-Nahr, is derived from the name of the place of the battlefield, al-Nahrawan. With regard to the last name Khawarij, it is suggested that the name was derived from the expression Kharaja (came out), - either out from the community as their opponents like to interpret the name, or out of their homes as emigrants to God, as their sympathisers explain the name on the basis of a Qur'anic verse. It is also suggested that this name was used