In response to Muawiya
Nahj al-Balāgha|Volume 1|Book 2|Chapter 28
وَمَا كُنْتُ لِأَعْتَذِرَ مِنْ أَنِّي كُنْتُ أَنْقِمُ عَلَيْهِ أَحْدَاثاً، فَإِنْ كَانَ الذَّنْبُ إِلَيْهِ إِرْشَادِي وَهِدَايَتِي لَهُ، فَرُبَّ مَلُومٍ لَا ذَنْبَ لَهُ «وَقَدْ يَسْتَفِيدُ الظِّنَّةَ الْمُتَنَصِّحُ»
I am not going to offer my excuse for reproving him for (some of) his innovations, for if my good counsel and guidance to him was a sin then very often a person who is blamed has no sin and “sometimes the only reward a counseller [4] reaps is suspicion (of evil)”.