Kharijites

Kharijites (Arabic Khawārij خوارج, literally "Those who Went Out" ; singular, Khariji ) is a general term embracing various Muslims who, while initially supporting the caliphate of the fourth and final "Rightly Guided" caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib , later rejected him. They first emerged in the late 7 century AD, concentrated in today's southern Iraq, and are distinct from the Sunnis and Shiites . Whereas the Shiites believed that the imamate (leadership) was the right of Ali , the Kharijites insisted that any Muslim could be a leader of the Muslim community. And whereas the Sunnis believed that the imam's impiousness did not, by itself, justify sedition, the Kharijites insisted on the right to revolt against any ruler who deviated from the example of the Islamic prophet , Muhammad . From this essentially political position, the Kharijites developed a variety of theological and legal doctrines that further set them apart from both Sunni and Shiite Muslims. Kharijites were also known historically as the Shurat ( Ar : الشُراة), literally meaning "the buyers" and understood within the context of Islamic scripture and philosophy to mean "those who have traded the mortal life (aldunya) for the other life [with God] (alakhera), which, unlike the term "Kharijite", was one that many Kharijites used to describe themselves. The only surviving group, the Ibāḍī of Oman , Zanzibar and North Africa , reject the "Kharijite" appellation and refer to themselves as ahl al-'adl wal istiqama (أهل العدل و الاستقامة) ("people of justice and uprightness"). One of the early Kharijite groups was the Harūriyya ; it was notable for many reasons, among which was its ruling on the permissibility of women Imāms and that a Harūrī, Abd-al-Rahman ibn Muljam , was the assassin of ‘Alī.

( Learn how and when to remove this message ) Kharijites (Collective Plural ; Multiple Plural ; Singular ; literally 'those who went out' ) is a general term describing Muslims who initially supported the authority of Ali ibn Abi Talib , the son-in-law and cousin of the Islamic prophet Muhammad , then later rejected his leadership. The title comes from the Arabic word “khuruj”, meaning “revolt” or “insurrection”. This group was the first group to exhibit extremist tendencies and the first sect to split away from mainstream Islamic thought—even before the Sunni-Shia split. They first emerged in the late 7th century, concentrated in today's southern Iraq, and are distinct from Sunni Muslims and Shi'a Muslims. With the passage of time the Kharijite groups fell greatly in their numbers and their beliefs did not continue to gain any traction in future generations. From their essentially political position, the Kharijites developed extreme doctrines that further set them apart from both mainstream Sunni and Shiʿa Muslims. The Kharijites were particularly noted for adopting a radical approach to Takfir . The Kharijites were also known historically as the Shurah ( ), literally meaning "the buyers" and understood within the context of Islamic scripture and philosophy to mean "those who have traded the mortal life (al-Dunya) for the other life [with God] (al-Aakhirah)", which, unlike the term Kharijite, was one that many Kharijites used to describe themselves. One of the early Kharijite groups was the Harouriyyah ; it was notable for many reasons, among which was its ruling that a Harūrī, Abd-al-Rahman ibn Muljam , was the assassin of Caliph Alī.

The Khawarij ( , al-Khawārij , singular خارجي , khāriji ), Kharijites , or the ash-Shurah ( "the Exchangers") were a sect that appeared in the first century of Islam during the First Fitna , the crisis of leadership after the death of Muhammad . It broke into revolt against the authority of the Caliph Ali after he agreed to arbitration with his rival, Muawiyah I , to decide the succession to the Caliphate following the Battle of Siffin (657). A Kharijite later assassinated Ali, and for hundreds of years, the Khawarij were a source of insurrection against the Caliphate. The Khawarij opposed arbitration as a means to choose a new ruler on the grounds that "judgement belongs to God alone". They considered arbitration a means for people to make decisions while the victor in a battle was determined by God. They believed that any Muslim—even one who was not a Quraysh or even an Arab —could be the Imam , the leader of the community, if he was morally irreproachable. If the leader sinned, it was the duty of Muslims to oppose and depose him. The only surviving sect of Khawarij are the Ibadis .

The Kharijites ( , singular ), also called al-Shurat ( ), were an Islamic sect which emerged during the First Fitna (656–661). The first Kharijites were supporters of Ali who rebelled against his acceptance of arbitration talks to settle the conflict with his challenger, Mu'awiya , at the Battle of Siffin in 657. They asserted that "judgment belongs to God alone", which became their motto, and that rebels such as Mu'awiya had to be fought and overcome according to Qur'anic injunctions. Ali defeated the Kharijites at the Battle of Nahrawan in 658, but their insurrection continued. Ali was assassinated in 661 by a Kharijite seeking revenge for the defeat at Nahrawan. After Mu'awiya's establishment of the Umayyad Caliphate in 661, his governors kept the Kharijites in check. The power vacuum caused by the Second Fitna (680–692) allowed for the resumption of the Kharijites' anti-government rebellion and the Kharijite factions of the Azariqa and Najdat came to control large areas in Persia and Arabia . Internal disputes and fragmentation weakened them considerably before their defeat by the Umayyads in 696–699. In the 740s, large-scale Kharijite rebellions broke out across the caliphate, but all were eventually suppressed. Although the Kharijite revolts continued into the Abbasid period (750–1258), the most militant Kharijite groups were gradually eliminated, and were replaced by the non-activist Ibadiyya , who survive to this day in Oman and some parts of North Africa. They, however, deny any links with the Kharijites of the Second Muslim Civil War and beyond, condemning them as extremists. The Kharijites believed that any Muslim, irrespective of his descent or ethnicity, qualified for the role of caliph , provided he was morally irreproachable. It was the duty of Muslims to rebel against and depose caliphs who sinned. Most Kharijite groups branded as unbelievers Muslims who had committed a grave sin, and the most militant declared killing of such unbelievers to be licit, unless they repented. Many Kharijites were skilled orators and poets, and the major themes of their poetry were piety and martyrdom . The Kharijites of the eighth and ninth centuries participated in theological debates and, in the process, contributed to mainstream Islamic theology . What is known about Kharijite history and doctrines derives from non-Kharijite authors of the ninth and tenth centuries, and is hostile toward the sect. The absence of the Kharijite version of their history has made unearthing their true motives difficult. Traditional Muslim historical sources and mainstream Muslims have viewed the Kharijites as religious extremists who left the Muslim community . Many modern Muslim extremist groups have been compared to the Kharijites for their radical ideology and militancy. On the other hand, some modern Arab historians have stressed the egalitarian and proto-democratic tendencies of the Kharijites. Modern, academic historians are generally divided in attributing the Kharijite phenomenon to purely religious motivations, economic factors, or a Bedouin (nomadic Arab) challenge to the establishment of an organized state, with some rejecting the traditional account of the movement having started at Siffin.

The Kharijites ( Arabic : الخوارج , romanized : al-Khawārij , singular Arabic : خارجي , romanized : khārijī ) were an Islamic sect which emerged during the First Fitna (656–661). The first Kharijites were supporters of Ali who rebelled against his acceptance of arbitration talks to settle the conflict with his challenger, Mu'awiya , at the Battle of Siffin in 657. They asserted that "judgment belongs to God alone", which became their motto, and that rebels such as Mu'awiya had to be fought and overcome according to Qur'anic injunctions. Ali defeated the Kharijites at the Battle of Nahrawan in 658, but their insurrection continued. Ali was assassinated in 661 by a Kharijite dissident seeking revenge for the defeat at Nahrawan. After Mu'awiya established the Umayyad Caliphate in 661, his governors kept the Kharijites in check. The power vacuum caused by the Second Fitna (680–692) allowed for the resumption of the Kharijites' anti-government rebellion, and the Kharijite factions of the Azariqa and Najdat came to control large areas in Persia and Arabia . Internal disputes and fragmentation weakened them considerably before their defeat by the Umayyads in 696–699. In the 740s, large-scale Kharijite rebellions broke out across the caliphate, but all were eventually suppressed. Although the Kharijite revolts continued into the Abbasid Caliphate (750–1258), the most militant Kharijite groups were gradually eliminated. They were replaced by the non-activist Ibadiyya , who survive to this day in Oman and some parts of North Africa. They, however, deny any links with the Kharijites of the Second Muslim Civil War and beyond, condemning them as extremists. The Kharijites believed that any Muslim, irrespective of his descent or ethnicity, qualified for the role of caliph , provided he was morally irreproachable. It was the duty of Muslims to rebel against and depose caliphs who sinned. Most Kharijite groups branded as disbelievers ( kuffar ; sing. kafir ) Muslims who had committed a grave sin, and the most militant declared killing of such unbelievers to be licit, unless they repented. Many Kharijites were skilled orators and poets, and the major themes of their poetry were piety and martyrdom . The Kharijites of the eighth and ninth centuries participated in theological debates and, in the process, contributed to mainstream Islamic theology . What is known about Kharijite history and doctrines derives from non-Kharijite authors of the ninth and tenth centuries and is hostile toward the sect. The absence of the Kharijite version of their history has made unearthing their true motives difficult. Traditional Muslim historical sources and mainstream Muslims viewed the Kharijites as religious extremists who left the Muslim community . The term Kharijites is often used by modern mainstream Muslims to describe Islamist extremist groups that have been compared to the Kharijites for their radical ideology and militancy. On the other hand, some modern Arab historians have stressed the egalitarian and proto-democratic tendencies of the Kharijites. Modern, academic historians are generally divided in attributing the Kharijite phenomenon to purely religious motivations, economic factors, or a Bedouin (nomadic Arab) challenge to the establishment of an organized state, with some rejecting the traditional account of the movement having started at Siffin .