Writer: Khaled Al-Hammad
In the previous two articles, I talked about the definition of Kharijites, their appellations, and their danger to society and youth. In this article, I will talk about their characteristics to find out who this rogue group is and what their characteristics are.
Since all the groups evade this description, but rather, these groups accuse each other of belonging to the thought of the Kharijites, until the description was lost and people became confused between these groups, so that the Kharijite group has disappeared from the consciousness of people as much as if it were a period of time and ended. So we must remember their characteristics to be safe from their evil, to turn away from their false doctrine, and to save the youth from being drawn into their clique, increasing their numbers.
Characteristics of the Kharijites
1- Young age
They were described as young in age, as in the hadith of Ali bin Abi Talib, may God be pleased with him, who said: “When I narrate to you from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), it would be dearer to me to be thrown down from the sky than to tell lies about him. But when I tell you a thing which is between you and me, then no doubt, war is guile. I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) says: There will emerge at the end of time people who are young in age and immature.” [Narrated by al-Bukhari].
It is known that this age is often accompanied by a lack of awareness and understanding in religious matters, as well as undisciplined enthusiasm and impulsiveness.
2- Pedantry and exaggeration in religion
The Kharijites are known for being worshipers and God-fearing, and there is no one more sincerity among the people of whims or greater worship than them. It is known about them that they worship much, such as prayer, fasting and reciting the Qur’an, more than the Companions in that, as the Prophet (ﷺ) described them, saying: “They recite the Qur’an, your recitation will be nothing compared to their recitation, and your fasting will be nothing compared to their fasting.” Narrated by Muslim
They exaggerated in this matter, to the point of hyperbole, pedantry and deviation from the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah. But because it was unlawful caused them to depart from the religion.
3- Lack of understanding of religion
One of the most salient features of the Kharijites, both ancient and modern, is their lack of understanding of religion and their ignorance of the Qur’an and Sunnah, which has led them to exaggeration, rebellion and perversion in killing and takfir.
Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, in a statement about the heresy of the Kharijites, said, “It is only due to the fact that they misunderstood the Qur’an, and they had no intention of opposing it, but they understood from it what it did not mean, and they thought that it required making takfir of sinners.”
I said: this is what the Kharijites of our time understood from the Qur’an and the Sunnah and even from the words of the scholars, including Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, namely making takfir of the masses of Muslims, their rulers and their armies, and the obligation to rebel against them. So they had the same misunderstandings and lack of knowledge as their predecessors, the first Kharijites! And when we talk about the Kharijites of our time, we will explain this in more detail.
4- Distrust
Kharijites are people who distrust the believing servants of Allah, so they base their words and deeds on the worst possibilities. And they do not trust any Muslim who does not believe in their doctrine. Instead, they hate anyone who disagrees with them and may try to harm or eliminate him.
What indicates their distrust of others is that the first of them distrusted the Messenger of Allah, may God bless him and grant him peace, and accused him of being unfair in his division and that it was not for the approval of Allah.
5- Their killing of Muslims who disagreed with them
The Kharijites wreaked havoc in the time of Ali bin Abi Talib and started killing Muslims on suspicion and anyone who disagreed with them. That went so far that when Ali bin Abi Talib wanted to move against the people of the Levant, people advised him to start fighting these Kharijites who do not observe toward a believer any pact of kinship or covenant of protection. And as soon as he was done with them, they would move with him to the Levant while they were safe from their evil.
Al-Hafiz bin Kathir said, “It was agreed upon, and it was in the best interest of them and the people of the Levant. Because if they had been allowed to become stronger, they would have corrupted the whole country, Iraq and Syria, because the people with them have a great corruption and nothing can fix it except by killing altogether.”
6- Dispute and controversy
Dispute, arguing, and controversy are among the characteristics of the people of heresy. the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, “No people go astray after having been guided, but they resort to arguing.” Sahih al-Jami
This characteristic was evident in the Kharijites, as Abu al-Abbas al-Mubarrad said, “And among the Kharijites in general, there was severe dispute and protest, despite a large number of their speakers and poets.”
And their arguments with the Rightly Guided Caliph Ali bin Abi Talib are well known, as are their debates with Abdullah bin Abbas.
7- Kharijites are separating and dividing.
They separate themselves from the Muslim community, rebel against the rulers and cause conflicts among Muslims. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said about them, “They go out of Islam as an arrow goes out of its game.” [Reported by al-Bukhari].
The Kharijites separate themselves from the Muslim community with their words, deeds and beliefs!
Al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir says in al-Bidaya wal-Nihaya (The Beginning and the End) when he mentions the beginnings of the Kharijites:
“These ignorant people are misguided and miserable in their words and deeds and have decided to rebel against the Muslims.” And he said, “They rebel against the fathers and mothers, uncles and aunts, and all other relatives out of ignorance and lack of knowledge and understanding, believing that this is pleasing to the Lord of the earth and the heavens. And they did not know that this is the greatest of the major destructive sins and that Satan and they themselves, who are enjoiner of evil, embellish them.”
To be continued