Reforming Extremist Kharijite Ideologies Is Incumbent upon the Islamic Scholars
By Kaniz Fatma, New Age Islam
30
July 2022
How
to Resolve the Issue of Khawarij and Extremism?
Main
Points:
1.
Kharijites have been accusing
Muslims of Shirk and Kufr since their inception.
2.
They justify killing the Muslims
based on their Takfir ideology.
3.
The debate between Kharijites and
Hazrat Ibn Abbas serves a suggestion that if we adopt Ibn Abbas' strategies, we
can curb the rise of extremism and neo-Khawarij.
4.
In order to reform all extremist
organisations and safeguard the populace from further extremism, scholars and
Ulama must continue their fight.
------
The
Kharijite allegations of Takfir and shirk have
traditionally targeted at Muslims. The Kharijites' intellects followed
the route of deviation when it came to studying the Qur'an, and academics
believe the main reason for this is that they didn't employ the same techniques
as their predecessors did to comprehend the Quran.
The
Ummah of the Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him) was also forewarned
against the Takfiri organisations. According to the narration of
Hudhayfa, the Prophet of Allah said: “Verily, what I fear for you is a man who
recites the Qur’an until its brightness appears on him and he becomes a support
of Islam. (This continues) until this man changes his state to what Allah
wills. He detaches himself from it and throws it behind his back. Then he
starts attacking his neighbour with the sword, accusing him of
polytheism." I asked: "O Prophet, which of the two deserves more to
be described as a polytheist? The accused or the accuser?" He replied: "The
accuser." [Ibn Hibbaan, Hadith is Hasan/Sound]
The
analysis of this hadith provides the following indications:
1. People will have good faith in this Kharijite
group because of its apparent relation with the Quran.
2. This group will have enormous excitement
for the religion and support and defend it and as a result others will be
inspired by this group.
3. This group will apparently promote and
defend the religion with great zeal.
4. Despite all of these qualities, this
group will undergo a weird shift that will disturb people. This change will
cause this group to understand the Qur'an differently than the rest of the
world because they will be careless about inference techniques.
5. They will think that they alone are the
only ones who can understand the Quran. They therefore categorise their
neighbours as polytheists and atheists.
6. They won't be content with only adhering
to Takfir ideology; instead, they'll take up arms and engage in bloody
combat with anyone who disagrees with them.
The
fear of an apparently devout individual acting violently in the name of
religion that the Prophet mentions in the aforementioned hadith is
totally accurate, since the Messenger of Allah detested extremes and severity
in any circumstance.
Once
Hazrat Muadh bin Jabal started reciting long while leading the Fajr
prayer in his zeal for worship, the Prophet taught him and said “You are
putting the people to trial,' and repeated it thrice (or said something
similar) and ordered him to recite two moderate Surahs..” (Sahih
Bukhari, Hadith 701)
This
incident shows how much more concerned the Prophet must have been for his ummah
as a result of the Takfiri's temptation when he got so concerned at a
low intensity in worship.
The
discussion between Ibn Abbas and the Khawarij is described below in
order to encourage scholars to speak out in opposition to the contemporary Khawarij,
who are active 24/7 in extremist activities, and to put an end to the practise
of spreading falsehoods about the Muslim community.
Hazrat
Ibn Abbas’s Debate With Khawarij
Abdullah
b. Abbas obtained permission from Hazrat Ali, the Caliph, and travelled to the
assembly of Khawarij to persuade them of their erroneous interpretation
of Islam.
Ibn
Abbas described the discussion in his own words:
"I
have come to you from the Muhajirun and the Ansar, the companions
of Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him), to inform you of what they say. The
Qur'an was revealed to them. And they know more about the revelation than you
do because it was revealed among them. And there aren't any of them among you.
[Ibn Abbas noted that there was not a single Companion among the Khawarij.]
Some
of them [of Khawarij] said, "Let us talk to him and see what he
says."
I
(Hazrat Ibn Abbas) said, “Inform me of that which you harbour against the son
of the uncle of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and his son-in-law
(Ali), the Muhajirun and the Ansar.”
They
said, “Three issues.” I asked, “What are they?” They said, “As for the first of
them, then he (Ali) has allowed men to judge in the affair of Allah, yet Allah
said, ‘...The judgement is for none but Allah...’ (Qur’an, 12:40) So it is not
for men to be judges.”
So
I asked, “This is only one issue.”
They
said, “As for the other matters, he battled his adversaries but did not seize
any prisoners or war spoils. So, if the people he battled were unbelievers,
their imprisonment and war booty were lawful. And if they were believers, it
was not allowed to fight them.”
I
said, “These are only two issues, so what is the third?”
They
said, “Indeed, he removed the title, ‘Leader of the Believers’ [Amirul
Muminin] for himself, so, therefore, he is the leader of the disbelievers.”
I said, “Do you have anything besides this?” They said, “This is sufficient for
us.”
“Do
you believe you will comply if I recount to you from Allah's Book and the Sunnah
of His Messenger (peace be upon him) that which refutes your statement?” I
asked.
They
said, “Yes!” So I said, “In response to your claim that he has delegated
Allah's judgement to mankind, I will recite to you the evidence that Allah has
delegated His judgement to men.
Allah
the Mighty and Majestic has said concerning differences between the woman and
her husband, “If you fear a breach between the twain (the man and his wife),
appoint (two) arbitrators, one from his family and the other from hers; if they
both wish for peace, Allah will cause their reconciliation. Indeed Allah is
Ever All-Knower, Well-Acquainted with all things.” (Qur’an, 4:35)
So
Allah made the judgement of the men a tradition to be believed in. So do you
leave this (issue)?” They said, “Yes!”
Ibn
Abbas continued, “As for your statement that he fought and he did not take
prisoners, nor did he take war booty, and then do you revile your mother,
Ayesha? Then you must declare her lawful in that which you have declared lawful
with regards to other than her! So if you were to do that, then you would
become disbelievers, as she is your mother. And if you were to say that she is
not our mother, then you have disbelieved. Since Allah says, ‘The Prophet is
closer to the Believers than their own selves, and his wives are their
mothers...’ (Qur’an, 33:6)
“So
you are revolving around two positions of misguidance. Regardless of which of
them you adopt, you have adopted misguidance.”
So
they began to look at each other. I said, “Do you recant this position?” They
said, “Yes!”
“And
as for your statement, that he removed the title of ‘Leader of the Believers’
from his name, then I shall come to you with one whom you are pleased with and
I shall see you. Indeed, you have heard that on the day of Al-Hudaybiyyah,
the Prophet (peace be upon him) made a treaty with Suhayl Bin Amr and Abu
Sufyan Ibn Harb.
“So
the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said to the Leader of the Believers
(Ali), ‘Write, O Ali: These are the terms of peace agreed upon by Muhammad the
Messenger of Allah.’ So the pagans said, ‘No, by Allah! Had we known that you
were the Messenger of Allah, we would not have fought you.’
“So
the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, ‘O Allah! You know that I am
the Messenger of Allah. Write O Ali: These are the terms of peace agreed upon
by Muhammad Bin Abdullah.’ (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
“So
by Allah, the Messenger of Allah was better than Ali, yet he was not removed
from Prophethood when he erased the title from his name.”
Abdullah
Bin Abbas then said, “So two thousand of those people repented, and the rest
were killed for misguidance.”
(This
incident has been related in Musnad Ahmad (1/342), An-Nasa’i in
Khasa’is Ali (no. 190), Al-Bayhaqi in Sunan Al-Kubra (8/179) and many
others.)
Approximately
20,000 Khawarij retreated as a result of this debate, while
approximately 4,000 remained in their positions. (Author: Imam Al-Hafiz Abu
Nuaim Ahmad Bin Abdullah Al-Isfahani, book: Hilyat-ul-Awliya)
We
must consider Hazrat Ibn Abbas' debate with the Khawarij, in which we are
taught a few things:
1. Hazrat Abdullah bin Abbas personally went
there to correct the Khawarij.
2. Hazrat Ibn Abbas began the conversation
by describing the advantages of his approach and the disadvantages of the Kharijite
approach. He asserted that his approach has the support of diverse factions of
the Prophet's companions, in contrast to the Kharijites' lack of
support.
3. Ibn Abbas listened carefully to all of
their questions and criticisms during the discussion before responding.
4. The Khawarij's primary concern, or
"Hakimiyyat," is still the most important one for radical
organisations today.
5. The Kharijites were dealt with
properly and appropriately, and Hazrat Ibn Abbas did not invent a new strategy
or reject the body of the Hadith in order to defeat the Kharijites.
The
discussion between Ibn Abbas and the Khawarij led to a sizable
percentage of them reforming. This should serve as a warning that if we adopt
Ibn Abbas' strategies, we can curb the rise of extremism and neo-Khawarij.
In order to reform all extremist organisations and safeguard the populace from
further extremism, scholars and Ulama must continue their fight. (May
Allah save the Muslim Ummah from the path of extremism).
Urdu Article: How to Resolve the
Issue of Khawarij and Extremism? خوارج اور شدت پسندی کا علاج کیسے ممکن ؟..
Kaniz
Fatma is a classic Islamic scholar and a regular columnist for New Age Islam.
New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic
Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism