The Khawarij
The ideology of Khawarij was the
first innovation to appear in Islam. The Khawaarij (singular Khariji
-seceder) (Fathu’l-Bari, 12/296) are group of innovators. The word
“Khawaarij” is from the Arabic root verb: “kharaja” meaning to go out or
leave something. This label of theirs may be translated as separatists,
insurgents, rebels, nonconformist, etc. They are called as ‘khawarij’
that because of their leaving the (fundamentals of the) religion and for
their opposing the best Muslims (the Companions of the Prophet saw).
(Ibn Hajar, Fathu’l-Bari, 12/296-316; Nawawi, Sharh Sahih Muslim, 7/170;
Shahrastani, al-Milal wan’nihal, 107) And it is also said that they
were called Khawarij due to their khuruj (leaving) the path of the
jamaah. They are the first people to go against Imam Ali in the war of
Siffin, they distanced themselves from Uthman and Ali. They called
people with major sins kuffar and they said that it is legitimate and
compulsory to rebel against an Imam if he differs or opposes a Sunna
(according to their opinion). (Al-Milal wan-Nahal, 87-99)
And
the first opposition and insurgency from them occurred against the
leader of the believers, Ali Ibn Abi Talib (ra) when the issue of who
has the right to pass rulings was debated. The Khawaarij gathered at a
place called Harura near Kufah in Iraq. The people of the land of Iraq
have a history of fitnah and groups that cause strife. They are so
infamous for it that; it is related from Amr ibn al-As (ra) that he said
of them, “People of division and hypocrisy.”
RasulAllah (saw)
said following in a hadith which is narrated from Abdullah Ibn Umar
(ra): “O Allah, put barakah (blessing) on our Sham! O Allah put barakah
on our Yemen. The people said, And on our Najd as well? I think the
third time he (saw) said, There (Najd) is a place of earthquakes and
afflictions and from it the horn of Shaitan will come out.” (Bukhari)
Ibn Hajar quotes a sahabi by the name of al-Khatibi about this hadith,
who had this to say, “The Najd is in the direction of the east and is in
the city of the highlands of the Iraqi steppe/desert. Its direction is
east of the people of Madinah, and the root of the word ‘najd’ means
what is risen up (raised/elevated) from the earth in contravention to
al-Gawr for that is what is lower than it..” Ad-Dawudi has also said,
“Najd is with regard to the land of Iraq (min Naahiya al-Iraq).”
(Fathu’l-Bari, 13/ 51).
There are some other ahadith narrated
regarding the matter such as: It is narrated from Ibn umar (ra) that
RasulAllah (saw) said: "O Allah bestow your blessings on our Madinah,
and bestow your blessings on our Mecca, and bestow your blessings on our
Sham, and bestow your blessings on our Yemen, and bestow your blessings
in our measuring (fee saa'inaa wa muddinaa). A person said, O
RasulAllah and in our Iraq (as well?) and so he (saw) turned away from
him and said, there will occur earthquakes, trials and tribulations and
there will appear the horn of Satan." (Abu Nu'aym, al-Hilya, 6/133) This
hadith of Ibn Umar (ra) also narrated by Tabarani that RasulAllah (saw)
prayed Fajr and then faced the people and said, "O Allah bestow your
blessings on our Madinah, O Allah bestow your blessings in our
measuring, O Allah bestow your blessings in our Sham and our Yemen. A
person said, And Iraq O RasulAllah? He (saw) said, from there arises the
horn of Satan and the trials and tribulations would come like mounting
waves." (al-Awsat) There is another hadith which is similar is related
by Tabarani from Ibn Abbas (ra) that RasulAllah (saw) supplicated and
said, "O Allah bestow your blessings on our Sham and Yemen. A person
from amongst the people said, O RasulAllah and Iraq? He (aaw) said,
indeed there is the Horn of Satan, and the trials and tribulations will
come like mounting waves, and indeed harshness/coarseness is in the
east." (al-Kabeer) Abu Sa'ed al-Khudri said that RasulAllah (saw) made a
mention of a sect that would be among his ummah which would emerge out
of the dissension of the people. Their distinctive mark would be shaven
heads. They would be the worst creatures or the worst of the creatures.
The group who would be nearer to the truth out of the two would kill
them. RasulAllah (saw) gave an example (to give their description) or he
said: A man throws an arrow at the prey (or he said at the target), and
sees at its iron head, but finds no sign (of blood there), or he sees
at the lowest end, but would not see or find any sign (of blood there).
He would then see into the grip but would not find (anything) sticking
to it. Abu Sae'd then said: People of Iraq! It is you who have killed
them.” (Muslim) It is narrated from Yusair bin Amr: “I asked Sahl bin
Hunaif, ‘Did you hear the Prophet saying anything about Al-Khawarij?’ He
said, I heard him saying while pointing his hand towards Iraq. ‘There
will appear in it (i.e, Iraq) some people who will recite the Qur’an but
it will not go beyond their throats, and they will go out from (leave)
Islam as an arrow darts through the game's body’.” (Bukhari)
It
can be deduced from the above Hadith that Najd is neither blessed nor a
good place but a place of Fitna and Evil. Najd has been deprived of the
prayers of RasulAllah (saw) and therefore Najd has the seal of misery
and misfortune and hoping for any good from there is going against the
Will of Allah. According to the ahadith; it is a place that so many
fitnah had occurred and will be occurred.
It is narrated from
Abu Said Khudri (ra) that he said: “Once we were in the presence and
company of RasulAllah (saw). He was distributing booties (Spoils of War)
when a person named Thul-Khuwaysara, who was from the tribe of Bani
Tamim addressed RasulAllah (saw) ‘Oh Muhammad Be Just!’. RasulAllah
(saw) replied: ‘A Great pity that you have doubts, if I am unjust then
who will be just, you are a loser and a failure.’ Thul-Khuwaysara's
attitude infuriated Umar (ra) and he pleaded with RasulAllah (saw) to
permit him to slay Thul-Khuwaysara. RasulAllah (saw) remarked: ‘Leave
him, as his slaying will serve no good purpose, as he is not the only
individual but there are a host of others like him and if you compare
their prayers and fasting to that of yours, you yourself will feel
ashamed. These are the people who will recite the Quran but it will not
go beyond their throats, with all these apparent virtues they will leave
the fold of Deen just like the arrow leaves the bow’.” (Bukhari)
It is said that these people of Khawarij are the offsprings of Thul
Khuwaisarah at-Tamemee and he was among the tribe of Tamemee. During the
era of Abu Bakr (ra) the people of tribe of Tamemee were behind the
false prophets such as Sajah and Musailamah.
The Khawaarij
collectively agreed that both the 3rd and 4th caliphs of Islam; Uthman
(ra) and later Ali (ra) were in fact disbelievers as were the other
companions...And they think revolting against the leaders and
governments is permissible. They also believe that any major sin is an
act of disbelief… Many authentic ahadith from RasulAllah (saw)
condemning them have come in ten different forms of narration like what
Al-Khalaal narrated from Imam Ahmad that he said, “The Khawaarij are
wicked people, and I don’t know of any people on earth more evil than
they.” And he said, “RasulAllah’s (saw) ahadith about them are authentic
in ten different forms.” (Al-Khalaal, as-Sunnah, I, 145, # 110) Ibn
Taymiyyah (Majmu al-Fatawa, 3/279), mentioned that Muslim recorded some
of them in his authentic collection as did Bukhari (Muslim; Bukhari;
Fathu’l-Bari).
Shahrastani said: “Everyone who revolts against
the true leader whom the Muslims have agreed upon, then he is to be
called a khariji; regardless whether the khuruj occurred in the days of
the companions as khuruj against the rightly guided caliphs or as revolt
against those who followed them in goodnees and the leaders in every
age.” (al-Milal wan’nihal, 105)
The Khawaarij are known by
other (Arabic) names such as “Al-Haruriyyah,” “Ash-Shurah,”
“Al-Maariqah,” and “Al-Muhakkimah”. (Imam Al-Ash’ari, Maqaalaat
Al-Islamiyyeen, I, 206-207) They don’t mind these labels except for
“Al-Maariqah” which is the name taken from the Hadith when RasulAllah
(saw) described them as those who “maraqa (go through or pass in and
out)” of the religion. Qadi Iyad said: “They were named Mariqah
(renegades) due to the statement of RasulAllah (saw) ‘They shoot through
the religion’ (Suyuti, Sharhus sunna of Nisai, 7/85) and they were
pleased with all of the names and titles, except al-Mariqah.” (Mawqif
Ahlu Sunna wa Jamaah, 1/137-139) And they have been called al-Haruriyah
because they gathered and revolted at a place called Harura. And it is a
town close to Kufah. (Nawawi, Sharh Sahih Muslim, 7/170) And they are
called people of Nahrawan, because Ali (ra) fought them there. And they
are called al-Muhakkimah due to their objection to tahkim
(arbitrary/judgment), and their statement ‘There is no judgment except
for Allah.” (al-Ashari, Maqalatu’l-Islamiyya, 207)
Sects of
Khawarij are also classified as sitters and revolutionaries.
Khawarijuth-Thawriyyah is the sect who revolt and fight against.
Khawariju’l-Qa’diyyah (sitters) is a sect of Khawarij who are a
revolutionary movement; prefer sitting and provoking common-folks
against the ruler without actually revolting themselves.
The
definition of the Qa’diyyah in the Arabic language comes from al-qu’ood
(to sit) with a damma, and al-maq’ad with a fathah is something that is
sat upon. Al-Qa’dah is the plural of Qaa’id, who is an instigator.
(az-Zubaydi, Taju’l-Urus, 5/194; al-Azhari, Mu’jam Tadheebul-Lughah,
3/3003; al-Khaleel, al-Ayn, 3/1501)
Az-Zubaydi said: “The
Qa’dah are a people from amongst the Khawarij who sat back from helping
Ali ibn Abi Talib (ra) and they sat back from fighting with him. And
whoever holds their opinion is a Qa’di instigator. They hold the
judgment to be a right, but they sit back when it comes to revolt
against the people…And the Qa’diyyah are those who do not leave for the
fighting. So it is the name of the group and the Haruriyah (a sect among
Khawarij) are named Qa’diyyah. And the Shurat (a sect among Khawarij)
are those who try to gain the rule but do not go into battle; they are
also named Qa’diyyah.” (az-Zubaydi, Taju’l-Urus, 5/195) Al-Azhari said:
“al-Qa’d: plural of Qaa’id and the Qadee is from amongt those Khawarij
who hold judgmenet to be a right, but they sit back from the revolt
against the people.” (al-Azhari, Mu’jam Tadheebul-Lughah, 3/3006)
al-Azhari quoted that ibn Arabi said: al-Qa’d: The Shurat who desire to
attain ruler-ship, yet do not wage war.” (al-Azhari, Mu’jam
Tadheebul-Lughah, 3/3006)
“The Qa’diyyah are those who incite
the people, stir up hatred within the hearts against the rulers and
issue fatawa making lawful what Allah has declared unlawful in the name
of changing the evil. And they are the wickedest of the Khawarij.”
(Sharr Qatlaa, 20) Abdullah ibn Muhammad ad-Daif (ra) said: “The
Qadiyyah are the wickedest of the Khawarij.” (Abu Dawud, Masailu Imam
Ahmad, 271)
Ibn Hajar said: “The Khawarij of al-Qadiyyah did
not hold the view of waging war. Rather, they opposed the rulers in
accordance to their strength, they called to their opinion and along
with that they beautified revolt and held it to be good.” (at-Tadheed
8/114) He also said: “The Qa’diyyah: Those who beautify revolt against
the rulers yet do not actually do it themselves.” (Hadyu’s-Saree, 459)
“And the Qadiyyah are, in most cases, more dangerous than the Khawarij
themselves. Since, speech, inciting hatred within the hearts and
provoking the common-folks against the rulers has the most profound
effect upon the souls; especially when it comes from a man who is an
eloquent speaker who dupes the people with his tongue and disguises it
with the Sunnah.” (al-Ajwibatu’l-Mufidah, 202)
Umran ibn Hittan
was the ancient leader of the Qa’diyyah. Although he believed in the
statement of the Khawarij he did not fight and remained sitting. Ibn
Hajar said: “Umran ibn Hittan was accused of holding the opinion of
Qa’diyyah from amongst the Khawarij.” (Hadyu’s-Saree, 460)
Qataree ibn Fuja’ah who is one of the heads of the Khawarij, revolt and
fight, also among the poets of the Khawarij; said about the Qa’diyyah
such as Abu Khaled al-Qanaii:
“Flee –O Abu Khalid, since you are not khalid (immortal)
And ar-Rahman has not made an excuse for the Qaai’d (sitter)
Do you claim that Khariji is upon guidance?
Whilst you have remained back along with the thief and the deserter,” (Shi’rul-Khawarij, 128)
Ash-Shabi said: “Indeed, this outbreak of the Qa’diyyah and the
Azariqah (a sect amongst the Khawarij) is the fundamental basis for the
division between the Khawarij another time. So the Qa’diyyah in Basra
are amongst the members of the Khawarij. Abdullah ibn Amaad, Abdullah
ibn Safaar and Abu Buhays were a solitary sect (Khariji) after the
judgement of the Nafi, against them. Likewise the Najdah (a Khariji)
launched a scathing attack against the statement of Nafi and withdrew
with an encampment. And since then, discord became the way of Khawarij.
The Khawarij succumbed to unlawful fighting and beliefs.” (al-Mabaahith,
147)
Ali (ra) fought fiercely with them at a place called
Nahrawan but only after advising and debating with them and clearly
establishing the evidences against them. In that battle, less than ten
of the Khawarij remained and less than ten Muslims were killed. After
the Khawarij’s defeat, two of them fled to Oman, two to Karmaan (near
Khorasan in Iran and Sijistaan), two to Sijistaan (Seistan), two to the
Arabian Peninsula, and one fled to Yemen. (Shahrastani, Al-Milal
wan-Nihal, 1/115-117; Baghdadi, Al-Farq bayna’l-Firaq, 75) Shahrastani
said, “The innovated beliefs and methods of the Khawaarij appeared in
these places from them (the nine people who were defeated and fled) and
they’ve remained ever since up until today.” (Al-Milal wan-Nihal, 1/117)
Jabir ibn Abdullah (ra) was weeping and he said, “I heard RasulAllah
(saw) saying, ‘Truly, people will enter the religion of Allah in great
crowds and they will leave from it in great crowds’. ” (Ahmad)
