Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

94. THE AGREEMENT FOR ARBITRATION

When an agreement was reached that there will be arbitrations, the reciters of the Holy Quran from Iraq and Syria decided that there will be two referees. One will be nominated by the people of Syria and the other by the Iraqis. Both the referees will give the verdict in the light of the Quran and the Sunnat of the Prophet (s.a).

Their verdict will have to be acceptable to both the parties. The Syrians nominated Umro ibne Aas and from Iraq, Ashas ibne Qais, Musir ibne Fadki, Yazid ibne Haseen etc. nominated Abu Moosa Ashari as the referee. He was resident of Ard in Syria. When Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) heard the name of Abu Moosa, he said:

“I have no confidence on the opinion and the discretion of Abu Moosa. I want to give the authority for arbitration to Abd Allah ibne Abbas.”

Ref: Akhbar al Tawal, Page 192

The persons who suggested the name of Abu Moosa said that he, hazrat Ali (a.s) and Ibne Abbas were the same and it would mean that he was himself the referee in the matter concerning him. They said that they want a referee who is independent and impartial. The Imam (a.s) said that in that event why didn’t they object to the nomination of Umro ibne Aas. They said that they were concerned only about the referee from their side and not about the Syrian nominee. The Imam (a.s) said that if they object to the name of Ibne Abbas, he would suggesat Malik e Ashtar, instead. They said that he was the person who gave wind to the fire of war and how could he allow the arbitration to succeed. He will look for further opportunity for conflict. The Imam (a.s) then said,“If you insist on having Abu Moosa as the referee, I leave the matter to you.” Ahnaf ibne Qais said,“O People! If you don’t like Ibne Abbas and Malik e Ashtar, you may nominate me as the referee. I am well aware of Umro’s cunning ways and he will not be successful in tricking me. If you don’t want me, select someone else. But don’t select Abu Moosa. Instead of setting right the matters, he will complicate them further.” But it was a part of the conspiracy that Abu Moosa’s name was pushed forward. They adamantly held to their suggestion and Abu Moosa Ashari was nominated as the referee.

After the selection of the referees, when Abd Allah ibne Rafeh started writing down the terms of reference, he wrote the following words as a preamble to the document.“Ameeral Momineen Ali and Muawiya ibne Abu Sufian have decided that…” Umro ibne Ass objected to the word“Ameer al Momineen” and said that he might be the Ameer of others but not theirs! He therefore asked the word to be deleted from the document. Only his name and the father’s name be entered. Ahnaf ibne Qais told to the Imam (a.s) that he should not agree to the deletion of the word“Ameer al Momineen” even if it caused renewal of the conflict. He added that if this word was deleted today, the Emirate would not ever come back to him. Ashas ibne Qais and his supporters were insisting that the word be deleted. In utter unconcern, the Imam (a.s) was sitting quietly in his place.and seeing the reflection of the Treaty of Hudaibiah in the events of the day. After a few moments of quiet he said,“When I drafted the agreement of the Treaty of Hudaibiah, I wrote the word “Rasool Allah” in the preamble when the representative of the Qureish, Sohail, said that they didn’t recognize him as the Rasool Allah (s.a) and wanted me to delete the word and to enter“Mohammed ibne Abd Allah” instead. I was hesitant to score away the word“Rasool Allah” . But the Prophet (s.a) said:

“Write what he wants. One day you too will face a similar situation and you will be helpless.”

Ref: Seerat e halabia, Vol 3, Page 33

At this Umro said angrily:that he considered them infidel like those people.The Imam (a.s) replied:

“O son of Nabaga! When were you not the friend of the transgressors and the enemy of the Muslims. You are like the mother who bore you!”

Ref: Tareeq eTabari, Vol 4, Page 37

Ibne Aas said , “After today, we shall never sit together nor see each other’s face “The Imam (a.s) replied, “I too wish this! May Allah keep my company free of persons like you! “

When the word “Ameer al Momineen” was struck off and the writing of the document was re-commenced, the Imam (a.s) was asked if he considered Muawiya and the people of Syria Muslims? He said:

“I don’t accept Muawiya and his companions are Muslims and Momin. But Muawiya is free to write what he wants about himself and his men , admit whatever he wishes to admit and suggest whatever name he wants to.”

Ref: Shara ibne Abil Hadeed, Vol 1, Page 110

At last the agreement was drafted that had the following terms:

1. It will be binding on the referees on both sides that their decision will be based on the the Quran. If they are unable to arrive at a decision through the Book, they will make access to the Traditions of the Prophet (s.a) that are acceptable to both.

2. The decision made by the referees shall be binding on both the parties, provided the decision is based on the Quran and the Sunnat.

3. The referees to give their verdict within the current month of Ramadan. If they felt the need to extend the duration, they could mutually decide to do that.

4. If the referees required evidences for arriving at a decision, they will be arranged.

5. There will be no hostility till the referees come to a final conclusion about the dispute. Both the parties will ensure safety of the lives and properties of the referees. There will be no restriction on the movement of the parties to the dispute.

6. If,before the verdict, any of the two referees died, his party can nominate another referee in his place.

7. The verdict will be announced at a place that lies between Iraq and Syria.

Most of the terms of this agreement concern the administrative requirements and the basic requirement was that the verdict of the referees had to be in accordance to the Quran and the Sunnat and that they had no right to arrive at any decision on their personal intuition and thinking. If they didn’t follow this condition, their arbitration will be void. The earlier events are a proof that making claim for Qasas and raising the Quran was with the purpose of misleading the people and the demand for arbitration too was an evil subterfuge of the Syrians. The referees neither referred to the Quran nor they talked of the relevant Tarditions of the Prophet (s.a). One referee tried to defeat the other with futile arguments.

95. THE REACTION OF KHAWARIJ AGAINST ARBITRATION

The armies of Iraq and Syria were still in Siffin when the terms of reference for the arbitration were decided, when a whispering campaign was started against it. Therefore, when Ashas ibne Qais went to the different tribes and read to them the terms of reference, the feelings against the arbitration were aroused. The same people who were strongly talking in favor of arbitration to stop unnecessary bloodshed, started speaking against it. When the tribe of Bani Anza heard the terms of reference, two brothers from the tribe, Jaad and Maadan, raised the slogan of“Laa hakam il Allah - There is no referee but Allah” , took swords in their hands, came in the open and died fighting with others. When Bani Murad heard about the terms, Saleh ibne Shafeeq said,“La hakam il Allah wa lau kare al mushrekoon---There is no arbitrator but Allah, even if it is not acceptable to the hypocrites” . When the terms were read to Bani Rasib, they opposed the arbitration saying,“La yahkam ar rijal fi Deen Allah- In Allah’s Faith men can’t be made the arbiters!”

The majority of the opponents of the arbitration were from Bani Tameem. When the terms were read to them , Urwa ibne Adia Tamimi said to Ashas:

“Have you appointed men as arbitrators in the matters of Faith? O Ashas! If this was to happen, then why our men were killed in the battle?”

Ref: Akhbar al Tawal, Page 196

Then he took his sword and attacked Ashas. Ashas was astride his horse at that time. In escaping from the attack, the sword hit the rear of the horse without any injury to him.

Because of the cessation of the hostility and the controversy of arbitration, the unity of the Iraqis was disturbed. When Mahraz ibne Khanis saw the circumstances getting worsened, he came to the presence of the Imam (a.s) and said,“Ya Ameer al Momineen! Is there no way of canceling the agreement? I have a doubt that it might give rise to a great mischief and you will have much difficulty because of that!” The Imam (a.s) said:

“Can me breach an agreement after signing it? It is not permissible in any condition!”

Ref: Akhbar al Tawal, Page 197

When Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s), didn’t like to make access to arms after laying them down in terms of the agreement, the germs of rebellion arose and besides the parties of Ali (a.s) and Othman, a third group raised its head and people started joining the new formation. This party was of those who wanted to continue the fight on those who were insisting on imposing ‘Tahkeem’. The slogan that two youths, Urwa and Adia, had shouted in their emotional outburst, became the slogan of the new group. When both the armies returned, and Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) proceeded with his army towards Koofa, the faces of men were glum and the eyes reflected anger. Some had the shock that the battle was abandoned when it was almost won. Others were angry why the arbitration was agreed to. Differences were already there and when they reached near Koofa, a big chunk of 12,000 men refused to enter the bounds of the city.and stayed at Harura, a place outside Koofa. They formed a permanent front with the slogan of“La Hakm il Allah!” This group was known as Khawarij or Haruria. They selected Shabas ibne Rubee as their chief and Abd Allah ibne Kawa Yashkari as their Imam.

Despite their headstrong behavior, Hazrat Ameer Momineen (a.s) didn’t take any action against them. He knew that punitive action against the stubborn people would make them more stubborn. Only soft treatment and logic could bring such persons to the right path. Therefore, he tried to convince them through argument and advice. He decided to go personally to them and discuss the matter at length. He sent Ibne Abbas in advance with clear instructions not to broach the main topic till he himself reached the place. His fear was that the Khawarij might not accept Abbas’s arguments and make up their minds not to talk any further on the subject. When Abbas reached the midst of the Khawarij, they did broach the subject of Tahkeem. They said the punishment in the Shariah for adultery was a hundred lashes and for theft cutting off of the right hand. This is the command of Allah and none has the right to change this Law.Then how is it legitimate to appoint two persons to arbitrate in the matter of Faith? Ibne Abbas couldn’t control himself and said:that Allah observes about the persons who hunt while wearing Ehraam:

“Ya ayyuhal lazeerna aamanu la taqtallul sayd wa anthum haram wa main qatlahu muta ammad fajaza matl maa qatl minan naam yahkam behi zu adl minkum”

“O believers! When you are in a state of Ehraam, don’t hunt, and those of you who intentionally did hunt, you have to give a similar four legged animal that they have killed, that two just persons from you suggest.”

The Khawarij said that on the massacre of Muslims Qayas ( conjecture) cannot be done and, then, who is Umro ibne Aas? Till yesterday we were considering him as an unjust ( unreliable) person and fighting with him. How could he be just today? They said that two persons have been named the arbitrators in the matters of Allah, but when Muawiya and his men rebelled, Allah’s Command was to kill them or seek their repentance! But, instead of doing either of the two things, you people have made a truce with them although, after the Revelation of the Verse of Bara-at, there is no question of truce with the aggressors ( Ahl e Harb) till they agreed to pay the Jizia.

In this time Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) arrived and finding Ibne Abbas busy in conversation, he said, “I had asked you not to start any argument! “Then he turned towards the Khawarij and said, “Why have you rebelled against us? “They said, “We differ in the matter of Tahkeem!” Ali (a.s) said, “You will remember that when the Syrians raised the Holy Quran on their spears, I had told you people that those men neither had anything to do with the Faith nor with the Book. To save themselves from the ignominy of defeat they were taking shelter behind the Quran. But you said that you are satisfied with the verdict of the Quran.and forced me to stop the battle, that I stop fighting and accept the Tahkeem although I didn’t like the idea. When I had to accept Tahkeem because of your adamance, I imposed a condition on the arbiters that their verdict has to be only on the basis of the Quran and the Sunnat. If they gave a verdict against these conditions, it will be turned down.”The Khawarij said, “.All this is true, but you shouldn’t have agreed with us and rejected the proposal of Tahkeem. We do accept that supporting Tahkeem we committed infidelity. But we are now repentant about our attitude then. As we have accepted our act of infidelity, you too should accept that you committed infidelity and express repentance! Then we shall enter your Bai-at and obey you!” The Imam (a.s) said, “How I have I become an infidel by accepting the Tahkeem, when Allah himself has permitted appointment of arbitrators. Therefore, about the differences between husband and wife He says:

“An qiftum shaqaq bainahuma fa abasu hakma min ahlehi wa hakma man ahleha”

“If you have the fear of differences between man and wife, appoint on arbitrator from the family of the man and one arbitrator from the family of th woman.”

Then, are the differences in the Ummat less important than the differences between individuals?” They said,“You must have made the Quran the Arbitrator instead of nominating men to resolve the issue!” The Imam said:

“We did make the Quran the arbiter and not the men. But since the Quran is between the two of its bindings, and cannot speak, men have to interpret it.”

Ref: Tareeq e Kamil, Vol 3, Page 166

When the Khawarij couldn’t reply this, they said,“Because of Omor Aas objecting, you had struck off the word “Ameer al Momineen” from the document. This meant that you have demitted the position of Ameer and caliph.” The Imam (a.s) said,“At the time of the Treaty of Hudaibiah, the Prophet of Islam (s.a) had struck off the word “Rasool Allah” from the document of agreement. Does it mean that he was announcing that he was forsaking the prophethood? My action was in complete emulation of what the Prophet (s.a) did at the time of that treaty. He had also told me, ‘O Ali (a.s)! You will be faced with a similar situation one day, and you will also have to do what I am doing now!’“The Khawarij said, “Why did you keep quiet and give them a long rope?” The Imam (a.s) replied,“I wanted people to know the truth and the ignorant become aware and those who know become firm in their knowledge and thus a way for amity between the Muslims was paved!” The khawarij kept quiet at this point. Then the Imam (a.s) said,“may Allah be kind on you! Get up and come back to your homes!” The Khawarij were momentarily impressed with the Imam (a.s)’s argument and offered the Zuhr prayer in congregation behind him and entered the city.

These people did return to Koofa, but their minds were still not free of the confusion. When they were asked about the change of their attitude, they said that their stand was the same as it was before.When they were asked about their decision to return to Koofa they said that when Hazrat (a.s) pointed out that they themselves were championing Tahkeem, they admitted that they had committed an act of infidelity by doing that, but they had expressed their repentance for the act and added that if he too accepte his act as infidelity and expressed penitence, they would start following him. They said that the Imam (a.s) had accepted their stand and had asked them to wait for six months for the preparations for war against the Syrians. The Khawarij made access to falsehood to cover their shame.Therefore Ibne Atir writes:

“Whatever the Khawarij had said in their false sense of pride was all sham.”

Ref: Tareeq e Kamil, Vol 3, Page 166

Although this statement of the Khawarij was false, and became talk of the town going from mouth to mouth and people started gossiping that the Imam (a.s) had expressed repentance for his sin of acceding to the tahkeem and had decided to attack Syria before the verdict fo the arbiters was out. To give boost to the mischief, Ashas ibne Qais told to the Imam (a.s) ,“Ya Ameer al Momineen! People are saying that you consider Tahkeem as deviation and insistence on it infidelity..” The Imam (a.s) felt it necessary to refute this. He went to the pulpit and told before a crowd that the person who says that I have recanted from the agreement for Tahkeem is a liar. At this declaration of the Imam, the Khawarij were furious. Their lie was exposed. As a protest they started shouting the slogan of“La Hakam il Allah” Then this slogan was heard from every corner of the mosque. One person addressed the Imam (a.s) and recited the following Verse:

“lain ashrakta leyahbtan amalak wa latakoona min al khasereen.”

“If you commit polytheism, all your (good) acts will be voided and you will be among the losers.”

Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) recited the following Verse in reply:

“Fasbir un wa-ad Allah haq la yastakhfannakal lazeena la yuqenoon.”

“Make access to patience and Allah’s Promise is true; and don’t let these doubting persons put you in confusion.”

As the time for the verdict by the referees drew near, the mischief of the Khawarij too increased. Their faces showed that they were beyond any reform and wanted to be subdued onlythrough the sword. When the time for the departure of Abu Moosa came near, they tried to create an excuse for fighting and two of their representatives, Zar-aa ibne Bruj Tai and Harqoos ibne Zohair Asadi came to the Imam (a.s) and raised the slogan of “La hakam il Allah”. Then, Harqoos, in an impertinent tone said, “You have committed a sin and you must do penitenence for that! You must abstain from Tahkeem, go to Syria and fight with the enemy.” The Imam (a.s) said , “When you wanted to stop the battle I insisted to carry on with it. But you were adamant for stopping the battle that we were about to win! Now there is an agreement for arbitration, and we are bound by the agreement, as Allah has said:

“Wa aufu bahd Allah iza aahadtum”

“When you make a mutual agreement then fulfil Allah’s promise.”

Harqoos said that agreement was sinful and against the Shariah. There is no justification for following it. The Imam (a.s) said that the agreement for Tahkeem was no sin, but it was the result of the weakness and futility of your thinking. I had warned you people against Tahkeem, but you didn’t agree and stopped fighting the battle. Now Zar-aa ibne Bruj said,“O Ali ! If you don’t withdraw from the agreement of Tahkeem, then, to please Allah, we shall fight wot you” The Imam(a.s.) replied:

“may harm come to you! You ill fated person! I am seeing with my eye that you have been killed and the desert wind is piling sand over you!”

Ref: Tareeq e Tabari, Vol 4, Page 53

Now the Khawarij turned the mosque into a center for intrigue and mischief. Whenever the Imam (a.s) stood up to deliver sermons, they raised noises from all directions. Once they raised their usual slogan and the Imam (a.s) said,“Allaho Akbar! What they say is correct but their intentions are wrong! If they remained quiet, we shall continue to do good to them. If they talk against us, we shall quieten them with reasoning and proof. If they attack us, we shall fight with them!” At this point one Khariji, Yazid ibne Asim Maharibi stood up disturbed and said,“O Ali (a.s.)! Why are you frightening us with death? We are sure we shall soon rain the swords on you. We cannot bear with calumny in the matters of the Faith! If we do that we shall be inviting the wrath of Allah.” One day when Hazrat Ameer al Momineen ws delivering his sermon in the mosque, shouts and slogans were raised from all sides. The Imam (a.s) said:

“Allaho Akbar! Your slogan is the word of Truth, but your intentions are wrong! As long as you remain with us, three of your rights are our responsibility: We shall not stop you from taking Allah’s name in the mosque, if you participate with us in Jihad you will not be deprived of the booty and we shall not battle with you till you start the fight!”

Ref: Tariq e Tabari, Vol 4, Page 53

Instead of taking a lesson from the patience and equanimity of Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s), the Khawarij were bent on insolence and mischief and increased their nefarious activities against him. Therefore, in the house of Abd Allah ibne Wahab Rasibi they met and chalked out their program for the future. He suggested that they must leave the city and go to far away places so that they could plan to fight against the innovations of the cruel people of this city. Harqoos ibne Zohair endorsed this suggestion and agreeing to the proposal, Hamza ibne Sanan said that this end could be achieved in an organized manner only, therefore

Select someone from amongst you as the Wali al Amr ( Supreme Leader) because it is essential for you to have a leader and guide!”

Ref: Akhbar al Tawal, Page 202

There was general agreement on this suggestion and Yazeed ibne Haseen Tai was asked to become their leader. But he refused to accept the responsibility. The one after the others the names of Harqoos ibne Zohair, Hamza ibne Sanan and Sharih ibne Aufi Abasi were proposed., but all three of them expressed their inability to accept the position. In the end Abd Allah ibne Wahab was asked to take charge as the leader of the group. He said,“If I become emir, it is not for worldly honor. If I don’t accept it, it will not be out of fear of death! If appointment as emir is essential, I cannot shirk from the responsibility!”

After this selection,they assembled at the place of Sharih ibne Aufi for further discussions. Abd Allah ibne Wahab said that when they are deciding to leave Koofa, they must proceed to a place where they would be able to enforce Allah’s Commands without any let or hindrance. Sharih said that Madaen would be a suitable place for their purpose. He said that they will force out the inhabitants of that place and occupy it. The people who subscribe to the same creed as them too would be asked to come to madaen. Yazeed ibne Haseen said that if they went to Madaen with the idea of evicting the inhabitants there, they would certainly resist with force. Therefore he suggested going to Nahrwan instead of Madaen. After general agreement on this suggestion, it was decided that instead of going as a large group, they would go in twos and threes so that unnecessary attention of others wasn’t attracted.and no one tries to prevent them from going. Therefore, as planned, they started moving away from Koofa to Nahrwan. They deputed Abd Allah ibn e Saad Abasi to Basra to apprise the like-minded persons there about their move to Nahrwan and to motivate them to join them there. The men in Basra agreed and promised to proceed to Nahrwan at the earliest.

Among those who moved to Nahrwan was Adi ibne Hatim’s son, Turfa. On reaching Seeb, he joined the group of Yazeed ibne Haseen. When Adi learned of his sons’ escape from Koofa, he was much worried.and went in his search to Madaen. But there he found none of the Khawarij. Then he thought of returning to Koofa..When he arrived at Saabat, he chanced to meet Abd Allah ibne Wahab, who wanted to cross the river at Aaqool to reach Nehrwan. Finding Adi alone, Abd Allah ibne Wahab wanted to kill him. But Umro ibne Malik Mabhani and Bashar ibne Yazid Bawlani intervened to save him. Adi asked the governor of Madaen , Saad ibne Masood to intercept the group of the Khawarij. Saad left his nephew, Mukhtar ibne Abu Obaid in charge at Madaen and prcedded in search of the Khawarij. Abd Allah ibne Wahab had only thirty horsemen with him. He got suspicious , and changing his route headed towards Baghdad. However Saad chased and caught up with him at the place of Karkh around sunset. The groups fought for sometime and then Saeed’s men decided to let them go thinking that Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) had asked them not to start any fight by themselves. They wanted to inform Hazrat Ameer (a.s). If he asked them, they would chase the persons, or else allow them to go wherever they wished to go. But Saad wanted to fight with them. It was night and fighting could be done only with sunrise. They slept near the place where the Khawarij were sleeping. Abd Allah ibne Wahab took advantage of the darkness of the night.and they quietly crossed the river and reached Jookhi and from there they moved to Nahrwan. The other Khawarij were camping near the bridge of Nahrwan waiting for Abd Allah ibne Wahab and his men. They were thinking of appointing Harqoos ibne Zohair or Yazid ibne Haseen as their emir when Abd Allah ibne Wahab arrived. From Koofa, Qaaqa ibne Qais Tai, Abd Allah ibne Hakim, Salim ibne Rubaiah Abasi and some more persons were planning to join the group of Khawarij, but the people at their

homes stopped them from going. Salim ibne Rubaiah was called by Hazrat Ameer al Momineen(a.s) and prevented from going.

From Basra 500 Khawarij, in the leadership of Mus-ir ibne Fadki Tamimi started for going to Nahrwan. When the governor of.Basra, Ibne Abbas, knew about this,he deputed Abu Aswad Daeli in their pursuit to convince them to come back. When Abul Aswad reached near the Khawarij, it was already night.The Khawarij gave him an impression that they intended to halt at Jasr for the night. Abul Aswad too camped there for the night. But the Khawarij escaped in the darkness of the night.and reached Nahrwan. The khawarij from Koofa, Basra and the environs assembled in Nahrwan and made it the epicente of mischief and rebellion.

Because of this congregation of the Khawarij, some sincere companions of Hazrat Ameeral Momineen (a.s) wanted to renew their Bai-at with the Imam (a.s). Therefore they came to the presence of the Imam (a.s) and said,“We owe our Bai-at to you on the agreement that whoever is your friend, we shall befriend him and those who are your enemies, we shall be inimical to them!” The Imam (a.s) took Bai-at from them, and told to Rubaiah ibne Abi shadad Khashami, who was with the Imam (a.s) in the battles of Jamal and Siffin ,“You too owe Bai-at in the light of the Quran and the Sunnat!” He said, I shall owe Bai-at to you in the light of the Sunnat of Abu Bakr and Omer!” The Imam (a.s) asked him,“Don’t you accept the Book and the Sunnat of the prophet (s.a)? If the Sunnat of Abu Bakr and Omer is against the Book and the Prophet (s.a)’s Sunnat then there is no reason for making the condition!” Again the Imam (a.s) looked at him with changed demeanor and said:

“By Allah ! I am visualizing the scene with my eyes that you have gone out with the Khawarij and the horses are trampling you under their hooves.”

Ref: Tareeq e Kamil, Vol 3, Page 171

It is true that practical behaviour is a reflection of the state of the mind. Then the Khawarij were the victims of their own mental upheaval.. They not only accepted the Tahkeem but they also forced Hazrat Ameer al Momineen to accept it. But when he agreed for the Thakeem, they came up with the slogan of“La hakam il Allah” .

The Khawarij had based their slogan on the Quranic Verse“Innal hakm il Allah”

They formed the idea that the state is for Allah and that the Bai-at too is for Allah and there is no other ruler than Allah. Thus this slogan became the forerunner a new concept of governance. The Khawarij, under the shadow of this Verse, started saying that they wanted to establish the Hukumat e Ilahiya or the Divine Rule! They have never given the matter a thought that the Hukumat e Ilahiya doesn’t do away with the concept of the Emirate. But it means that the norms of the Hukumat e Ilahiya are propagated and implemented by the just Amir and his representatives. Against such an Amir, and his representatives, none has the right of commenting. Therefore giving meaning to the Verse, Innal hakam il Allah, that the state and the rule cannot be of anyone else than Allah and that for the religious and Wordly organizations there is no need for an Amir is not right. This Verse is about Hazrat yaqub (a.s) and the full text is as follows:

“Wa qaal ya bunayya la tad qulu man baab wahed wa ad qulu min abwaab mutafarriqa wa maa aghni ankum min Allah min shai an al hakm il Alla alaihi tawakkalto wa alaihi fal yatawaakalal mutawakkiloon.

“And (Yaqub) said , ‘O sons! All of you should’nt enter through one door but use dfferent entrances and I cannot remove the hardship that comes to you from Allah. Order ( Hakm) is only for Allah and I have trusted only on Him, and those who trust must trust only Him.”

In this Verse the event is mentioned when Hazrat Yaqub (a.s) sent his sons to Egypt he told them,“You must enter through different doors so that you save yourselves from evil eyes. It is not necessary that if you use different doors you will certainly remain safe, because only Allah’s Order is supreme. Whatever He decides to happen, that happens!Against His Wishes others’ desires don’t fulfil. But even then, you must exercise care !” This is the purport of the Verse. But the Khawarij neither saw the occasion about which the Verse was revealed nor did they consider its full meaning. They attached the meaning to a part of the Verse that there can’t be any Amir in the world and it is only on Allah’s Orders (Hakm) that world must run! About this wrong notion of the Khawarij, Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) has said,“It is right to say, that no doubt, it is Allah’s prerogative to ‘Order’ for things to happen but their intent in applying the Verse is wrong. They say that the rule too is Allah’s. However, for people it is necessary to have a Hakim or Ruler” . Therefore this concept of the Khawarij only remained a concept and it couldn’t be implemented at any time in human history. Even the Khawarij couldn’t implement this impracticable concept when they had the opportunities and kept on chosing Emirs to govern them! It is a established fact that from the political and administrative point of view it is essential to have the head of state, whether the state is run by an individual or a group of persons. If there is no governance the state cannot be organized properly. If the slogan of the Khawarij was on the basis of honesty and good intentions, they could have said that appointment of“Hakm” is justified, as the Prophet (s.a) did in the matter of Bani Qariza appointing Saad ibne Ma-aaz as Hakam, but when the enemy was trying to cheat through the institution of Tahkeem it was not desirable. If they did this, their protests could have been justifiable to a certain extent. But what they did was to make the Thakeem an excuse to create mischief and disorder and under the slogan of Hukumat e Ilahiya they intended to bring back the tribal anarchy that prevailed in the Days of Ignorance in Arabia. The Hukumat e Ilahiya is based on the norms and Commands of the Shariah that have been constituted in the light of the Divine Revelations by the Prophet (s.a) and have to be implemented by a just and fair Ruler...

96. A LOOK AT THE KHAWARIJ

The germs of the Kharijiyat had already formed during the time of the Prophet (s.a) and were latently growing and spreading. These people, in the garb of Islam, created intrigue against the Creed. They took part in the destructive activities with great gusto. Their impertinence was of such order that they didn’t abstain even from attacking the justice and fairness of the Prophet (s.a). Therefore when, in the battle of Hunain, the Prophet (s.a) distributed the booty at the Valley of Jaarana and, as an incentive to the new Muslims he gave them more share from his Khums, a person of that group, Zulkhavisara Tamimi, said in an impertnent tone to the Prophet (s.a) that he should be just and fair. At this the Prophet (s.a) said,“If I don’t do justice, then who else will do it?” Hazrat Omer too was angry on the person and said,“O Prophet of Allah (s.a)! Should we not kill this person?” The Prophet (s.a) said:

“Leave him! There are many like him! If some of you compare their prayers with your prayers, and your fasting with their fasting, you will find yourself far behind them. They will escape from the Faith as the arrow pierces through the game!”

Ref: Sahih Bukhari, Vol 4, Page 134

Outwardly such people were sticklers for the norms of the Religion and regular in prayers, fasting and the recitation of the Holy Quran. But they were unaware of the Spirit of Islam and the Reality of the faith. Therefore, the Prophet of Islam (s.a) had said about them:

“My Ummat will be divided into two groups. And another group will spring from one of the two. The people of this group will shave their heads, clip their moustaches and will wear their loincloth half way to the knees. They will recite the Quran , but the Quran will not go beyond their throats. They will be killed by the person who is most dear to me and Allah.”

Ref: Tareeq e Baghdad, Vol 1, Page 160

Their outward appearance, their prayers and the large calluses on their foreheads would attract people and beguile them;.their prayers were so intense that even the Sahaba used to be impressed. Therefore, once the Prophet (s.a) saw Zulkhasira in prostration. The Prophet (s.a) finished his prayer and Zulkhasira was still in his prostration. The Prophet (s.a) turned to Hazrat Abu Bakr and said, “You go and kill Zulkhasira. Hazrat Abu Bakr saw him praying with great dedication and didn’t like to kill him and returned back. Then the Prophet (s.a) asked Hazrat Omer to execute him. He too saw him offering prayer and returned back and said that he is a pious person and he couldn’t kill him. In the end the Prophet (s.a) deputed Hazrat Ali (a.s), but by that time Zulkhasira had already left from there.The Imam (a.s) returned and reported to the Prophet (s.a) that he had gone away.The Prophet (s.a) said that if he was killed today the mischief could have been nipped in the bud. He is a member of that group who will get out of the faith in a manner the arrow escapes from the bow!

The Khawarij were the nomads of Arabia who naturally had all the traits of the Bedouin. By instinct they were agigtators and liked to fight and kill. After the Prophet (s.a) they were pushed into many a war. Thus they were so much involved in fighting that when there was no battle to fight, they would fight amongst themselves. These warlike activities didn’t give them time to study the niceties of the Faith or to take any effect of the moral values promoted by it. After the conquest of Iraq, when the foundation for the cities of Koofa and Basra were laid with the purpose of guarding the boundries of the realm, these rough Bedouin people were settled in these places.They settled down here for better prospects but despite coming to live in the cities they continued with their old diehard traits. When Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) wanted an army to fight against the enemy, these people, who were veterans of many a battle, rose to a man on the call of the Imam (a.s). Their willingness was not on the basis of principle or for upholding the Truth. Their motivation was only their instinct and craving for fighting and material gains.

Among the Khawarij mostly there were men from Bani Tamim and the gallivants of Arabia. Therefore Abd Allah ibne Abaz, Arwa ibne Adia, Mastaurad ibne Saad, Abu Bilal Mardas ibne Adia, Mus-ir ibne Fadki etc belonged to the tribe of Bani Tamim. Before Islam, the Bani Tamim were fire worshippers. And because of penury and hardships they used to bury their daughters alive. Therefore Qais ibne Asim Tamimi said to the Prophet (s.a) on embracing Islam,“Ya Rasool Allah (s.a)! During the days of ignorance I have buried eight of my daughters alive!” Even after accepting Islam their wild instinct remained latent in their psyche and came out from time to time when the occasion demanded.Turmah has rightly said about the habits of Bani Tamim:

“Bani Tamim cannot forget the ways of depravity the same way that Qata, the bird, cannot forget its way. They will go astray even if they come to the righteous path.”

When Bani Tamim came to Madina as a delegation, and went to the presence of the Prophet (s.a) to embrace Islam, one of them shouted,“Ya Mohammed akhraj ilaina! ---O Mohammed (s.a) come out!” Because of this way of addressing, the following Verse was revealed concerning Bani Tamim:

“Innal lazeena yanaadunaka min waraa al hujarat aksarahum la yaqeloon”

“Of those who call you from outside the rooms, most of them ar ignorant.”

After the Prophet (s.a) a majority of them recanted the Faith. The infamous claimant of prophethood, Sajah binte Harit, was from this tribe. She created rifts amongst the Muslims and encouraged mischief. It can therefore be said about Bani Tamim that in their hearts Islam was not etched and their intrinsic hypocricy came out either in the form of apostacy or rebellion. It was their instinct of mischief that made them rise against Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s).

One group has termed the Khawarij as Shia to create an impression that the Shias had converted the victory of Hazrat Ali (a.s) into failure and then forsook him and later on they came to fight with him. They present this episode as his political ineptitude. No doubt, these people were in the army of Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s), but calling them the Shias of Ali (a.s) and blaming Shiism is not right. In the army of the Imam (a.s) there weren’t men of one sect only. Certainly there was a group who believd his Imamat was through Nass and, because of his being the Vicegerent of the Prophet (s.a), they considered it their bounden duty to obey him and his disobedience as Haram. These people never changed sides nor left him under any circumstances. There was another group, that was larger, considered his caliphate as the result of the support of the majority the way they had accepted the earlier caliph. In the same order they accepted him as the fourth in the lineage of the caliphs. They were attached to others before Hazrat Ali (a.s) became the caliph. After he assumed the caliphate they left Muawiya and came to his side. From them one group, when they felt that Hazrat Ali (a.s) wouldn’t approve of their ways, found an excuse and veered away from the Imam (a.s). These people were never sincere with Hazrat Ameer al Momineen (a.s) and were not Shiis of Ali (a.s) that they broke away from him. The people who are opportunists by nature are fair weatrher friends. They vanish in times of adversity. These people were not interested in the caliphate of Hazrat Ali (a.s) and came to him out of compulsion and left him in the same way.Some were interested in seeing Zubair as the caliph and others were in favor of Talha. When they saw that neither Zubair nor Talha were in sight of getting the caliphate, they came towards Hazrat Ali (a.s). An army that had such elements, it was the sagacity of Hazrat Ali (a.s) that he kept together for such a long time. These elements were in the habit of getting bought and sold. The result was that when victory was almost complete, they joined hands with the enemy and almost turned the tables.