Emergence of the Khawarij

# Emergence of the Khawarij

The emergence of the Khawarij (37 AH / 657 CE) represents the first major sectarian split in Islamic history. Born out of the political crisis following the Battle of Siffin and the subsequent arbitration between Ali ibn Abi Talib and Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan (may Allah be pleased with them both), the Khawarij rejected the authority of both leaders and declared that "judgment belongs to Allah alone" (la hukma illa lillah).

Background

At the Battle of Siffin in 37 AH, the forces of Caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib fought those of Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan, the governor of Syria. When Ali's army appeared to be gaining the upper hand, Muawiyah's advisor Amr ibn al-As proposed that the Syrian soldiers raise copies of the Quran on their spears, calling for arbitration by the Book of Allah.

A significant faction within Ali's army, particularly the Quran readers (qurra'), demanded that Ali accept the call to arbitration. Despite his own reservations, the internal pressure forced Ali to agree. Two arbitrators were appointed: Abu Musa al-Ash'ari representing Ali, and Amr ibn al-As representing Muawiyah.

The Split

When Ali agreed to submit the dispute to human arbitration, a group of his own supporters turned against him. They argued that by agreeing to arbitration, Ali had referred the judgment of Allah's religion to men, when Allah had already judged the matter clearly. Their slogan became the Quranic phrase: "The judgment is only for Allah" (inna al-hukma illa lillah), taken from Surah Yusuf (12:40) and other verses.

These dissenters, numbering between 6,000 and 12,000 according to various reports, withdrew from Ali's army and gathered at Harura, a village near Kufa. They became known initially as the Haruriyyah, and later as the Khawarij (those who went out, i.e., seceded).

Their Beliefs

The Khawarij developed several distinctive theological positions that set them apart from the mainstream Muslim community:

Takfir of the sinful Muslim. Their most consequential doctrine was that a Muslim who commits a major sin is no longer a Muslim but has become a disbeliever (kafir). This applied to Ali and Muawiyah alike, since both had submitted to human arbitration rather than divine judgment. This doctrine stood in stark contrast to the position of Ahl us-Sunnah, which holds that a Muslim who commits a major sin remains a Muslim, though a sinful one.

Rejection of Qurayshi leadership. The Khawarij rejected the idea that the caliph must be from the tribe of Quraysh. They held that any pious Muslim, even an Abyssinian slave, could lead the community, provided he was the most righteous among them.

Rebellion as obligation. They considered armed rebellion against an unjust ruler not merely permissible but obligatory.

Ali's Response

Ali initially attempted dialogue with the Khawarij. He sent Abdullah ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) to debate them, and Ibn Abbas's arguments convinced a portion of them to return to Ali's camp. Ali himself addressed them, refuting their claim by pointing out that the Quran itself commands human arbitration in marital disputes (Surah an-Nisa, 4:35), proving that referring matters to human judgment does not contradict divine sovereignty.

However, a hardened core refused to recant. When the Khawarij began attacking travelers, declaring ordinary Muslims to be disbelievers and killing them, Ali was compelled to take military action.

The Battle of Nahrawan

In 38 AH (658 CE), Ali confronted the Khawarij at Nahrawan, a canal east of the Tigris. Before the battle, Ali once more offered them the chance to lay down their arms. Some accepted and departed safely. Those who remained, approximately 2,800 fighters, chose to fight.

The resulting battle was brief but devastating. The Khawarij fought with extreme fanaticism but were vastly outnumbered. Nearly all of them were killed. Ali's forces suffered minimal casualties. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had foretold the appearance of such a group, describing them as people who would "recite the Quran but it would not pass beyond their throats" and who would "pass through the religion as an arrow passes through game."

Legacy

Despite the military defeat at Nahrawan, the Khawarij movement was not extinguished. Survivors and sympathizers continued to form armed groups that plagued the Muslim world for decades. It was a Khawarij assassin, Abd al-Rahman ibn Muljam, who struck Ali with a poisoned sword during the Fajr prayer in Ramadan 40 AH (January 661 CE), martyring the fourth Rightly Guided Caliph.

The Khawarij splintered into numerous sub-sects over the following centuries, including the Azariqah, Najdat, Sufriyyah, and Ibadiyyah. Of these, only the Ibadiyyah survive today, primarily in Oman, parts of North Africa, and East Africa. The Ibadiyyah are considered the most moderate branch and reject the extremism of the early Khawarij, though they maintain some distinctive theological positions.

The Khawarij phenomenon established a lasting lesson in Islamic political theology about the dangers of rigid literalism divorced from scholarly understanding, and the catastrophic consequences of declaring fellow Muslims to be disbelievers.

Sources

• al-Tabari, Tarikh al-Rusul wal-Muluk
• Ibn al-Athir, al-Kamil fit-Tarikh
• al-Shahrastani, al-Milal wan-Nihal
• al-Ash'ari, Maqalat al-Islamiyyin
• al-Mubarrad, al-Kamil fil-Lughah wal-Adab