 Student Name : Syed Md.

Arif Muztaba

 Student ID : ST10044623

 Course Name/Code : AQEEDAH 202 / AQD 202

 Assignment question : Write about the Kharijites from historical perspective

1. Introduction

It was prophesized by the Prophet ‫( ﷺ‬Islamqa.info, fatwa no. 90112) that the
People of the Book were divided into seventy two sects and the muslims will be
divided into seventy three sects out of which seventy two shall be in hell fire and only
one will be saved which is the jamaah or the main body of muslims (Abu Dawood,
4597). He also indicated that the saved group will follow him ‫ ﷺ‬and the companions
(At-Tirmidhi, 2641). History has been a witness to the deviant groups which emerged
as a result of following innovations, whims and desires. When muslims did not try to
 understand the religion on the path of the Salaf, deviant ideological sects like the
Khawaarij emerged.

2. Origin of the name

The name has its origin in the Arabic verb kha-ra-ja which means to exit or come
out. In other words, it defines a person or a group who has disobeyed the command of
his leader and chose to exit from his command (Rahim, 2018, p.13)

3. Early Signs

It is narrated in Muslim (Hadith no. 1064) that the Prophet was distributing war
spoils after the battle of Hunayn to certain individuals with an intention to draw them
closer to islam. Meanwhile, a man by the name Dhul- Khuwaysirah appeared warning
the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬to be fearful of Allah ‫ﷻ‬. When the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬interrogated him saying
who would fear Allah ‫ ﷻ‬more if not him and why is it that he does not trust the Prophet
of Allah when he is the most trustworthy person, the individual turned away. The
companions who were present sought his permission to execute this person for his
inapt behaviour but the prophet ‫ ﷺ‬prophesized that from this person’s offsprings, a
group of people would emerge who, though shall be reciting the Qur’an, it would not
pass beyond their throats. They would take up arms against the muslims but spare the
idolators. They would come out of the religion as an arrow pierces the target and
come out of it. He vowed to fight against them like the people of Aad if they would
happen to emerge during his life time (the Humble I, 2015)

4. Formation of a prominent group- Cause of Fitnah for the Ummah

In terms of first appearance and prominence as a group, there are two opinions
amongst the scholars.
The first view designates the group of people responsible for murdering the Third
Righteous Caliph, Uthman bin Affan as the first emergence of the Kharijites as a
group. This view is supported by Ibn Kathir and Ibn Abi-Al Izz. However, on careful
study of the incidents and the behaviour of the group, it seems unlikely that they
 exhibited characteristics of Kharijites because this group was particularly interested in
looting the Bait ul Ma’al after murdering Uthman. Moreover, they joined the ranks of Ali
after this incident. This group did not have any particular ideology like that of the
Kharijites (Rahim, 2018, p.15).
The second view designates the first appearance of the Kharijites as a group, after
the battle of Siffin in 37 AH. Differences in political stand between Ali and Mu’awiah
led to a bitter civil war. Mu’awiah refused to accept the caliphate of Ali before the
murder of Uthman was avenged. However, Ali decided to take up the matter after the
turmoil in the Muslim world following the assassination of Uthman subsided
(IslamWeb, 2016, Fatwa No. 323449).
The battle ended with both the parties agreeing to come to a truce by appointing a
judge from each side who would try to find a solution based on the Qur’an. The
companion Abu Musa Al-Ashari was appointed by Ali to represent his stand and Amr
ibn Al-Aas was appointed by Mu’awiah (Rahim, 2018, p.15).
This method of agreeing for peace terms was not accepted by a group of persons
from the camp of Ali. They disobeyed their leader Ali and broke away from his army
and camped at a place called Harura (the Humble I, 2015)
Most scholars support this view as being the first appearance of the Khawarij as a
group since they went out from the leadership of the Caliph and believed in an
ideology which is characteristic of the Kharijites (Rahim, 2019, p.15).
Since their formation, the Kharijites stubbornly held onto their belief and ideology
which deviated from the true message of Islam. They took arms against muslims and
excommunicated them if they had committed sins and hence made their blood
permissible for spilling. They went to great lengths to cause trials and tribulations in
the muslim ummah during the Caliphate of Ali, Hasan, rule of Mu’awiyah, Umayyad
and the Abbasid rule (Al Jawzee, p.30)

5. Sects of the Kharijites

The major sects of the Kharijites are the Azaariqah, the Ibaadeeyah, and the
Sufreeyah. Amongst the above, the Azaariqah sect was the most dangerous and was
the cause of major disruption amongst the ummah. Caliph ‘Abdul-Malik’s general,
Hajjaaj ibn Yousuf killed the last and most clever of the Azraqee leaders Qataree ibn-
al-Fujaa-a in 699 AH. (Al Jawzee, p.30).
 The Ibaadiyyah sect of the Kharijites is the most tolerant amongst all of them,
deriving their name from their founder ‘Abdullaah ibn Ibaad al-Murree at-Tameemee.
He had parted from the Azaariqah sect in 685. Today, the presence of this sect is
found in parts of ‘Umman, Zanzibar, Persia, Algeria and Libya. As opposed to the
extremist original Kharijite views, the Ibaadites do not consider non-Kharijites as
disbelievers and allow marriages with them (Al Jawzee, p.30).

6. Conclusion
The Kharijites devoted great time and paid great attention towards their acts of
worship so much so that the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬had stated that a group of people would rise
amongst the ummah who shall belittle the prayers, fasting and good deeds of the
Companions (Al Jawzee, p.32). They shall recite the Qur’an devoutly, stay awake all
night in prayer and excelled in acts of worship yet could not comprehend the true
message of Islam. They could not eat a date without paying its price yet they justified
spilling blood of muslims which is forbidden by them. All the root cause of their
deviation lies the fact that they felt that their understanding is better than that of the
Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬or the jamaah of companions.

REFERENCES

Islamqa.info. Fatwa No. 90112. Retrieved from

https://islamqa.info/en/answers/90112/who-are-the-saved-group

Dr Rahim Hussein Muhammed Saleh. 2018. The Rise of the Kharijite and Their

Influences on the Contemporary Islamist Extremist Group. Retrieved from

https://uoh.edu.iq/en/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/drhsainresearch.pdf
The Humble I. 2015. Khawarij Ideology, ISIS Savagery: the Takfiri Origins. Retrieved

from https://thehumblei.com/tag/history-of-khawarij/

IslamWeb. 2016. Fatwa No. 323449. Retrieved from

https://www.islamweb.net/en/fatwa/323449/events-that-led-to-battle-of-siffeen

Ibn Al-Jawzee. n.d. The Devil’s Deception. Retrieved from

https://campus.iou.edu.gm/campus/course/view.php?id=23