hans
Banned
HISTORY OF KHAWAARIJ
Al-Khawarij is plural for Kharij, meaning one who rebels against the acknowledged Muslim ruler whom Islam obliges every Muslim to obey and not rebel against.
This definition of Al- Khawarij, which is taken from Islamic terminology, has become a trademark for the twelve thousand Muslims who rebelled against Caliph Ali bin Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, and this includes all the groups that followed their way of understanding the religion.
These groups have since been known as Al-Khawarij even though they carried different names.
Among those groups are: Al- Muhakkimah, Ash- Sharat, Al- Haroriyyah, An- Nawa-sib, and Al- Mariqhah.
Al-Khawarij are the people whom the Messenger of Allah, Salla Allahu Alayhi Wasallam, mentioned when he said, what translated means, A group will go astray during a time of division between Muslims. The closest among the adversaries to the Truth will kill them (the deviant group, Al-Khawarij).
Also, the Messenger of Allah, Salla Allahu Alayhi Wasallam, said regarding a man who once accused him of injustice, From among the offspring of this man there will rise a people who will read the Quran but it will not go beyond their throats (meaning it will not enter their hearts). They will kill Muslims and spare Idol-worshippers. They will deviate from Islam (as fast and clean) as an arrow pierces the game. If I live to witness their appearance, I will kill them as the people of Aad (whom Allah utterly destroyed and annihilated because of their disbelief) were killed. [Al-Bukhari & Muslim].
He further said, Just before the end of time, young, idiotic people will rise. They will say words similar to (the good words) of the best people. They will recite the Quran, but it will not go beyond their throats. They will deviate from the religion as fast as an arrow pierces the game. If you meet them, kill them, for killing them will bring about a reward from Allah on the Day of Resurrection for whoever kills them. [Al-Bukhari & Muslim].
The companions of the Messenger of Allah, Salla Allahu Alayhi Wasallam, were unanimous in their decision to fight Al-Khawarij. Also, the majority of the scholars of Islam state that it is an obligation to fight them.
Soon after they appeared as a distinct group, Al-Khawarij divided into seven groups, among them Al- Muhakkimah who fought Ali bin Abi Talib.
Al-Khawarij accused Ali of Kufr and announced their animosity towards him. They departed to Haroraa and chose two men as their leaders, one to lead them in prayer and the other to lead their forces in battle. When Ali realized the danger posed by these people, he sent Abdullah Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, to debate them and expose their erroneous ways. Ibn Abbas argued with them and refuted the arguments supporting the positions they took. Many of them abandoned the camp of Al-Haroriyyah and rejoined the camp of Caliph Ali bin Abi Talib.
However, their leaders and those who remained with them refused to abandon their rebellion against the righteous Khalifah, Ali. They announced that their campaign of war against their adversaries will continue. Ali bin Abi Talib then decided to meet them himself.
He called upon them to rejoin the ranks of the Khalifah and abandon their deviant ways. He also refuted their arguments and nullified their misguided way of understanding the religion.
However, they persisted in their defiance of the Khalifah and camped their forces at the area of An-Nahrawan.
On their way to An-Nahrawan, Al-Khawarij met Abdullah -- the son of Khabbab bin Al-Aratt, a noble companion of the Messenger Salla Allahu Alayhi Wasallam, and seized him. They asked him, Who are you? He replied, I am Abdullah bin Khabbab, the companion of the Messenger Salla Allahu Alayhi Wasallam. They said, Narrate to us a Hadith you heard from your father who related it to the Messenger Salla Allahu Alayhi Wasallam. He said, I heard my father say, The Messenger of Allah, Salla Allahu Alayhi Wasallam, said, There will be a Fitnah (calamity and division) in which those who sit idle are better than those who walk, and those who walk are better than those who rush. Therefore, whoever has no choice but to kill or be killed, let him be killed and let him not be the killer. They asked him, What do you say regarding Abu Bakr and Umar? Abdullah said good words of praise regarding them. They said, What do you say with regards to At- Tahkim (when Ali and Muawiyah reverted to some of the companions to judge between them in their dispute, according to the Quran and Sunnah)?
He said, I say that Ali has better knowledge in the Book of Allah, is more careful with the religion, and has more wisdom than you! They said, You do not follow the Truth and Guidance. Rather, you follow men according to their fame. They then said to him, This Quran (which you carry) around your neck commands us to kill you. He said, Whoever the Quran preserves his life, you preserve his life in turn.
And whoever the Quran sheds his blood, give him death in turn. Then, they brought Abdullah bin Khabbab closer to the river, and one of them, Musmi bin Qhadali, slit his throat. Then, they entered his house and killed his children and also his wife, who was pregnant, and slit open her stomach.
When Ali bin Talib heard what Al-Khawarij did to Abdullah bin Khabbab and his family, he led an expedition of four thousand soldiers to arrest those who committed this atrocity. When he reached their area, he asked them to deliver those who killed Abdullah. They said to Alis emissary, We all killed him. And, furthermore, if we catch you (meaning
Ali) we will kill you too. Then, Ali prepared to fight them.
But before the battle commenced, he asked them, What do you dislike as regards my matter? They said, We hate that you, when we fought with you on the Day (incident) of Al-Jamal, allowed for us their (the side of Aaishah, Talhah, and Az-Zubair) possessions after we defeated them but did not allow us to seize their women and children as slaves. Why did you allow us to shed their blood and seize their possessions but not their women and children? Ali said, I only allowed you to seize their possession in return for their looting the Muslim treasury in the city of Basrah before I came to meet them (to convince them to end their rebellion). As for their women and children, they did not fight against us and they, therefore, still enjoyed the rights of Muslims who live in the Islamic state. Also, if I had allowed their women for you, who among you would have liked to take Aaishah (the Prophets wife) as his share? They became ashamed and silent.
Thereafter, Ali refuted all their arguments and, as a consequence, eight thousand of them rejoined his camp. However, four thousand of them insisted on fighting, led by Abdullah bin Wahb Ar-Rasibi and Thu Al-Khuwaysirah (also known as Thu Ath-Thadiyyah), whose name was Hurqus bin Zaid.
Soon afterwards, the battle between Ali and Al-Khawarij commenced, and Alis army defeated and killed them all except nine people.
After the battle ended, Ali ordered his soldiers to search for Thu Ath- Thadiyyah, who was then found among the dead. Ali then said, Allah and His Messenger have said the truth, because before he passed away, the Prophet Salla Allahu Alayhi Wasallam had told Ali that he should search for Thu Ath-Thadiyyah among the dead when he meets these rebels.
This sect of Al-Khawarij, also known as Al-Muhakkimah, considers Uthman, Ali, Aaishah, Talhah, and Az-Zubair as Kuffar. They also oblige the removal or assassination of the Muslim ruler who does not agree with their way of understanding the religion.
Al-Khawarij is plural for Kharij, meaning one who rebels against the acknowledged Muslim ruler whom Islam obliges every Muslim to obey and not rebel against.
This definition of Al- Khawarij, which is taken from Islamic terminology, has become a trademark for the twelve thousand Muslims who rebelled against Caliph Ali bin Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, and this includes all the groups that followed their way of understanding the religion.
These groups have since been known as Al-Khawarij even though they carried different names.
Among those groups are: Al- Muhakkimah, Ash- Sharat, Al- Haroriyyah, An- Nawa-sib, and Al- Mariqhah.
Al-Khawarij are the people whom the Messenger of Allah, Salla Allahu Alayhi Wasallam, mentioned when he said, what translated means, A group will go astray during a time of division between Muslims. The closest among the adversaries to the Truth will kill them (the deviant group, Al-Khawarij).
Also, the Messenger of Allah, Salla Allahu Alayhi Wasallam, said regarding a man who once accused him of injustice, From among the offspring of this man there will rise a people who will read the Quran but it will not go beyond their throats (meaning it will not enter their hearts). They will kill Muslims and spare Idol-worshippers. They will deviate from Islam (as fast and clean) as an arrow pierces the game. If I live to witness their appearance, I will kill them as the people of Aad (whom Allah utterly destroyed and annihilated because of their disbelief) were killed. [Al-Bukhari & Muslim].
He further said, Just before the end of time, young, idiotic people will rise. They will say words similar to (the good words) of the best people. They will recite the Quran, but it will not go beyond their throats. They will deviate from the religion as fast as an arrow pierces the game. If you meet them, kill them, for killing them will bring about a reward from Allah on the Day of Resurrection for whoever kills them. [Al-Bukhari & Muslim].
The companions of the Messenger of Allah, Salla Allahu Alayhi Wasallam, were unanimous in their decision to fight Al-Khawarij. Also, the majority of the scholars of Islam state that it is an obligation to fight them.
Soon after they appeared as a distinct group, Al-Khawarij divided into seven groups, among them Al- Muhakkimah who fought Ali bin Abi Talib.
Al-Khawarij accused Ali of Kufr and announced their animosity towards him. They departed to Haroraa and chose two men as their leaders, one to lead them in prayer and the other to lead their forces in battle. When Ali realized the danger posed by these people, he sent Abdullah Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, to debate them and expose their erroneous ways. Ibn Abbas argued with them and refuted the arguments supporting the positions they took. Many of them abandoned the camp of Al-Haroriyyah and rejoined the camp of Caliph Ali bin Abi Talib.
However, their leaders and those who remained with them refused to abandon their rebellion against the righteous Khalifah, Ali. They announced that their campaign of war against their adversaries will continue. Ali bin Abi Talib then decided to meet them himself.
He called upon them to rejoin the ranks of the Khalifah and abandon their deviant ways. He also refuted their arguments and nullified their misguided way of understanding the religion.
However, they persisted in their defiance of the Khalifah and camped their forces at the area of An-Nahrawan.
On their way to An-Nahrawan, Al-Khawarij met Abdullah -- the son of Khabbab bin Al-Aratt, a noble companion of the Messenger Salla Allahu Alayhi Wasallam, and seized him. They asked him, Who are you? He replied, I am Abdullah bin Khabbab, the companion of the Messenger Salla Allahu Alayhi Wasallam. They said, Narrate to us a Hadith you heard from your father who related it to the Messenger Salla Allahu Alayhi Wasallam. He said, I heard my father say, The Messenger of Allah, Salla Allahu Alayhi Wasallam, said, There will be a Fitnah (calamity and division) in which those who sit idle are better than those who walk, and those who walk are better than those who rush. Therefore, whoever has no choice but to kill or be killed, let him be killed and let him not be the killer. They asked him, What do you say regarding Abu Bakr and Umar? Abdullah said good words of praise regarding them. They said, What do you say with regards to At- Tahkim (when Ali and Muawiyah reverted to some of the companions to judge between them in their dispute, according to the Quran and Sunnah)?
He said, I say that Ali has better knowledge in the Book of Allah, is more careful with the religion, and has more wisdom than you! They said, You do not follow the Truth and Guidance. Rather, you follow men according to their fame. They then said to him, This Quran (which you carry) around your neck commands us to kill you. He said, Whoever the Quran preserves his life, you preserve his life in turn.
And whoever the Quran sheds his blood, give him death in turn. Then, they brought Abdullah bin Khabbab closer to the river, and one of them, Musmi bin Qhadali, slit his throat. Then, they entered his house and killed his children and also his wife, who was pregnant, and slit open her stomach.
When Ali bin Talib heard what Al-Khawarij did to Abdullah bin Khabbab and his family, he led an expedition of four thousand soldiers to arrest those who committed this atrocity. When he reached their area, he asked them to deliver those who killed Abdullah. They said to Alis emissary, We all killed him. And, furthermore, if we catch you (meaning
Ali) we will kill you too. Then, Ali prepared to fight them.
But before the battle commenced, he asked them, What do you dislike as regards my matter? They said, We hate that you, when we fought with you on the Day (incident) of Al-Jamal, allowed for us their (the side of Aaishah, Talhah, and Az-Zubair) possessions after we defeated them but did not allow us to seize their women and children as slaves. Why did you allow us to shed their blood and seize their possessions but not their women and children? Ali said, I only allowed you to seize their possession in return for their looting the Muslim treasury in the city of Basrah before I came to meet them (to convince them to end their rebellion). As for their women and children, they did not fight against us and they, therefore, still enjoyed the rights of Muslims who live in the Islamic state. Also, if I had allowed their women for you, who among you would have liked to take Aaishah (the Prophets wife) as his share? They became ashamed and silent.
Thereafter, Ali refuted all their arguments and, as a consequence, eight thousand of them rejoined his camp. However, four thousand of them insisted on fighting, led by Abdullah bin Wahb Ar-Rasibi and Thu Al-Khuwaysirah (also known as Thu Ath-Thadiyyah), whose name was Hurqus bin Zaid.
Soon afterwards, the battle between Ali and Al-Khawarij commenced, and Alis army defeated and killed them all except nine people.
After the battle ended, Ali ordered his soldiers to search for Thu Ath- Thadiyyah, who was then found among the dead. Ali then said, Allah and His Messenger have said the truth, because before he passed away, the Prophet Salla Allahu Alayhi Wasallam had told Ali that he should search for Thu Ath-Thadiyyah among the dead when he meets these rebels.
This sect of Al-Khawarij, also known as Al-Muhakkimah, considers Uthman, Ali, Aaishah, Talhah, and Az-Zubair as Kuffar. They also oblige the removal or assassination of the Muslim ruler who does not agree with their way of understanding the religion.
