Jalal Abularub
September, 2018
When the group that has currently resurrected the entire methodology of the Khawarij sect in creed, statement, and action, calls a segment of its own group, Khawarij, then one should say that indeed, these are strange times. Some leaders of Al-Qa`idah (literally: The Base) now publicly declare ISIS as a Khawarij group, even though ISIS is a product of Al-Qa’idah and most of its leaders and members are either ex-Qa’idah, or were at least impressed by their ideas prior to joining ISIS. In other words, how good, or bad, are you if hardcore Khawarij, call you, Khawarij? This is strictly, even severely, funny, especially noting that modern-day Khawarij are profoundly less informed, i.e., more ignorant, about Islam than their ancestors, the Arab Khawarij of the past. It is a fact of history that it was a group of Arabs who started and comprised most of the early Khawarij sects.
The first deviant sect to appear among Muslims was the Khawarij sect; the first leader they disputed with was Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, peace be on him; the first dispute was about a leadership decision, the division of the spoils of war. The first ancestor of the Khawarij made this astonishing statement, “O, Muhammad! O, Prophet of Allah! Be just, for you haven’t been just.” The remarkable thing was that this man believed that Muhammad was the Messenger of Allah, yet, also believed that he was incapable of being just. What does this say about the wisdom of Allah, Who sent Muhammad as His Final and Last Prophet and Messenger? This is why the Messenger of Allah, may the blessing and mercy of Allah be on him, said to the first Khawarij man, “Woe to you! Who would be just if I wasn’t just? I have earned failure and loss if I wasn’t just.” Another way of reading the last segment: “You have earned failure and
Yet, earlier Khawarij, who were almost entirely Arabs, used to read the Quran, even though they had major trouble understanding what it truly means. They also spoke the language of the Sunnah, even though they did not really speak the language of the Sunnah, as will be explained. They also divided continuously and accused each other of being Kuffar (disbelievers); they still do. One earlier Khawarij was once giving a lecture to his followers when he suddenly paused and said to them, “I think I just said what is Kufr (made a statement of disbelief)! Wait here, until I take a ghusl shower, then, recite Shahadah again (to re-enter Islam)!” He did, and they waited until he came back a new Muslim, and then he resumed his lecture.
Modern-day Khawarij are not different. They divide endlessly, and accuse each other of being deviant and even Kuffar. Ayman Adh-Dhawahri, who became Al-Qa’idah’s supreme leader after Bin Laden was executed, issued multiple fatawa and statements against ISIS. Abu Muhammad Al-Maqdisi, a major Khawarij fanatic who frequently attacks callers to the Sunnah, has also been issuing strong statements of condemnation against ISIS, in effect, calling them Khawarij and deviants. What rivals this odd stance from a hardcore Khawarij sect against another hardcore Khawarij sect, is the Ja`fari Shi`a sect, which rules in Iran, calling the Alawi Shi`a, which is the Nusairi sect that now rules Syria, as being Kafir disbelievers. What kind of Shi`a are the Alawis to be called disbelievers by other deviant Shi`a sects?
Following is a segment from the book titled, Biography of Muhammad Ibn Abdul Wahhab. It befits to mention this segment here since modern-day Khawarij have been claiming that they are Salafis, i.e., Jihadi Salafis, and that they are followers of the movement of Muhammad Ibn Abdul Wahhab. Here is the response from, Biography of Muhammad Ibn Abdul Wahhab.
‘Khawarij vs. ‘Wahhabis’
There are profound differences between Khawarij sects and the reformist movement of Muhammad Ibn Abdul Wahhab.
1) For example, Khawarij ancestors broke away from the community of believers during the Prophet’s lifetime. One of them objected to the Prophet’s decisions as Bukhari and Muslim reported. Ibn
2) The Khawarij rebelled against the Prophet’s Companions, the best of the Salaf, meaning, the Righteous Ancestors of Muslims, and killed the third Caliph, `Uthman Ibn `Affan, because they did not agree to his administrative decisions. They kept rising against every Islamic government since then, especially against the
3) The Salaf, against whom the Khawarij rebelled, are the Saved Sect, as this `hadeeth clearly states, ‘And my nation (Muslims) will be divided into seventy-three religious sects (or, Firqah) — all in Hell, except one, [and that one is] the one on which I and my Companions are’ (Sahih Sunan At-Tirmidhi 2129). The, Saved Sect, referred to in this `hadeeth, follows the Quran and the Prophet’s Sunnah, meaning, his legal ways, orders, acts of worship and statements, as stated in, Interpretation of the Meanings of the Noble Quran, Pg., 133, [but only] according to the understanding of these two resources reported from the Prophet’s Companions. This authentic hadeeth asserts that all sects, except the Salaf (Rightly Guided Ancestors) and those who follow their guidance, are threatened with Hellfire on account of defying and contradicting the Salaf’s way.
4) The Prophet, peace be on him, mentioned Khawarij by name and identified them as one of the misguided sects, when he said, ‘The Khawarij are the dogs of the Hellfire’ (Al-Albani. Sahih Al-Jami, hadeeth No., 3347). In contrast, the Salaf are described in this Prophetic statement, collected by Bukhari and Muslim, ‘The best people are my generation, then the next generation, and then the next generation.’
5) The Khawarij claim to believe in the Quran, but they reject Prophetic statements they claim contradict the Quran (Ibn
6) The essence of the reformist movement of Muhammad Ibn Abdul Wahhab is firmly founded on respecting the Salaf, especially and foremost, the Prophet’s Companions, and resurrecting their knowledge and methodology. Muhammad Ibn Abdul Wahhab wrote in one of his correspondences, ‘I am a wali (supporter; loyalist; friend) of the Prophet’s Companions: I mention (praise) their good qualities, seek [Allah’s] forgiveness for them, refrain from mentioning their faults, and stay idle (do not criticize them) regarding the disputes that arose between them.’ (Judge Al-Butami. Shaikh Muhammad Ibn Abdul-Wahhab, Pg., 46). … Abdullah [Ibn (son of) Muhammad Ibn Abdul Wahhab], said regarding As-Salaf As-
7) The Khawarij consider Muslims who commit major sins as being disbelievers’ (Dr., Muhammad Ba-Kareem Ba-Abdullah. Wasatiyyat Ahl As-Sunnah
8) In addition, the Khawarij were called as such because of their defiance and rebellion (
9) The Khawarij kill old men, women, children, and noncombatants in general. Muhammad Ibn Abdul Wahhab and his followers declare targeting civilians in war as an unlawful act. Abdullah, the son of, Muhammad Ibn Abdul Wahhab, stated in one of his letters that the stance they take is that women and children are not to be killed during
10) Khawarij doctrines call for rising against unjust Muslim Rulers (Dr., Muhammad Ba-Kareem Ba-Abdullah. Wasatiyyat Ahl As-Sunnah
11) The Khawarij, except the Najdat (followers of Najdah Ibn `Amir Al-`Hanafi) sect among them, believe that Allah will punish Muslims who commit major sins in Hellfire for eternity (