It is clear in some of the words of Imam Ali (peace be upon him) in the book of Nahjul Balagha that he did not pay the allegiance until the welfare of Islam required him to do so. This is clear when he said: “when the Prophet passed away, the Muslims quarreled about the matter [of authority] after him. Then, by Allah, it never occurred to me and I never imagined, that after the Prophet the Arabs would snatch away the matter [of authority] from his Ahlulbait, nor that they would take it away from me after him. It alarmed me to see the people surrounding so-and-so to giving him allegiance, I therefore withheld my hand – until I saw that many people were reverting away from Islam and trying to destroy the religion of Mohammed (may Allah bless him and his progeny). I then feared that if I did not protect Islam and its people and there occurred in it a breach or destruction, it would mean a greater calamity for me than the loss of authority over you...”. (Letter 62).
