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. URL: https://newageislam.com/radical-islamism-jihad/extremist-kharijite-ideologies-islamic-scholars-/d/127607 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