Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

CHAPTER XVIII: The Kharijites

Who were the Kharijites

The truce having been concluded on 13th Safar, 37 A.H. at San, when Ali was returning homeward with his army, a body of 12,000 men had separated themselves from the ranks and marched at some little distance in the

same direction as the main body towards Kufa. They murmured at the compromise agreed upon, and were even loud in their reproaches to one another for having abandoned the cause of the Faith to the ungodly compromise. These were the Kharijites (Kharijite means one who rebels against the established tenets of a religion, a votary or schismatic or seceder), who had refused fighting at the battlefield after the trick played by the enemy, and had pressed the Caliph to accept the arbitration and the particular arbitrator. Approaching Kufa, these seceders encamped at a village named Harora in the vicinity of Kufa. Their religious notions were developed into fanatic zeal that the Believers were all of equal standard and nobody should exercise authority over another. They formulated their creed with the phrase 'La hukm ilia lillah,' i.e. no judgment but Lord's alone; consequently there should be no Caliph, nor an oath of allegiance sworn to any human being. They blamed Ali as having sinned in consenting to refer to human judgment that which belonged to God alone, and demanded of him repentance for his apostasy. They said that Ali ought not to have given quarter to the enemy, who could be pursued and put to the sword. Proceeding to their camp, the Caliph firmly remonstrated with them, that they had given wrong interpretation to the phrase 'La hukm ilia lillah' and that in accepting the arbitration he had followed the provisions contained in the Quran ; and that he had committed no sin to repent of. He pointed out that the sin lay at their own door, because with their persistent obstinacy they refused to continue fighting with the enemy and that with their revolting attitude they forced him to call back Malik-al-Ashtar, who was beating the enemy back to their camp and was at the point of gaining a complete victory; and that they pressed him to accept

the arbitration and the particular arbitrator. He further added that he however expected arbitrators were to be fully bound by the terms of the truce to deliver their judgment righteously in accordance with theQuran ; and that.if the judgment turned out to be in disregard of righteousness, he would at once reject it and would again set out against the enemy. Concluding, he said that it was wrong of them if they desired him to break the truce, which they themselves had driven him to arrange. To all this reasoning they simply answered, 'we do admit of our sin, but we have repented of our apostasy; and thou must repent of it likewise.' To this Ali replied that he being a true believer he would not belie himself by admitting his apostasy.

Their revolt 37 A.H.

The Kharijites were not satisfied and they resolved on rebellion; but awaiting the issue of the umpire's decision, they for the present postponed any overt action. Soon after the judgment of the arbitrators, they determined to raise the standard of revolt and prevailed on Abdallah b. Wahab, one of their chiefs, to accept (contrary to the principles of theircreed ) the command, as a temporary expedient, to meet the emergency. Fixing their headquarters at Nahrwan, a few miles fromBaghdad , in the month following the arbitration, they secretly began to leave and to meet at the rendezvous, either singly or in small batches for fear of raising an alarm. Some five hundred malcontents from Busra also joined the insurgents at Nahrwan. In the meantime, Ali, having received intelligence of the deceitful arbitration at Duma, took little notice of these fanatic zealots, his thoughts being more occupied with the affairs of Moawiya and raising levies for Syria for the renewal of hostilities. Hearing about the Kharijite insurgents, Ali wrote to them that as he was preparing to march against Moawiya, it was high time for them to join his standard. To this they sent an insulting reply that they had cast him off as an ungodly heretic unless he acknowledged his apostasy and repented thereof, in which case they would see whether anything could be arranged between them.

The battle of Nahrwan

Ali had commenced his march on Syria when he received tidings that the Kharijites had attempted a raid on Madaen but were beaten back to their camp; that they were committing horrible outrages in the country all around their camp, condemning as impious all those who did not fall in with their sentiments; that they had put to death a traveller who refused to accept their creed, and ripped up his wife who was with child. The followers of the Caliph, whose families were left behind unprotected at Kufa, apprehending danger from these barbarousfanatics desired that before proceeding to Syria these outlaws should be dealt with first. A messenger was sent to make enquiries but he too was put to death by them. Seeing the attitude of the insurgents, Ali thought that immediate measures to check them werenecessary ; he therefore changed his course eastward, crossed the Tigris and apporaching Nahrwan sent a messenger to demand of them the surrender of the murderers. They replied that no paritcular person was responsible; and they all deserved equal merits for the blood of the apostates slain by them. Still Ali, avoiding bloodshed, tried to win over these misguided fanatics by gentle means. He had, therefore, a standard planted outside his camp and a, proclamation made that the malcontents rallying round it or those who retired to their homes would be safe. The rebels began to disperse, deserting their camp, till Abdallah b. Wahab was left with only 1800 adherents, who resolved to fight against the Caliph at any cost. Ali said that those men were the true Kharijites, who would go forth against Islam as quick as an arrow from the bow. At last, headed by their leader, Abdallah b. Wahab, they desperately rushed upon Ali's army and met their fate. All of them were slain except only nine, who escaped to serve as firebrands to rekindle the future fire. On Ali's side only seven men were killed. The zealots, who had escaped, promulgated their creed and cause in secret at Busra and Kufa and appeared in the following year in bands of fanatic insurgents but were easily put to flight or cut to pieces.

Syrian expedition frustrated

The Kharijites having been disposed of at Nahrwan, Ali retraced his steps towards the Tigris which he recrossed with his army to march upon Syria, but the Chiefs of his followers urged him to give the army some rest preparatory to the long journey and to enable them to refit their armour for war against the well equipped enemy. Ali consented to the proposal. They marched back towards Kufa and encamped at Nokheila in the vicinity of the town. A proclamation was made that any one who had any business in the town may leave the Camp for one day returning on the next. In a short time the Camp was almost empty of its soldiers, who all went one after the other to the town. None returning the next day, Ali became impatient and at length himself entering the town harangued the people to go forth with him to the Syrian expedition, but no response was forthcoming and nobody came forward. The Caliph was disappointed and at last the project for the expedition had to be abandoned, never to be resumed.

The period of Ali's Caliphate was one of continued struggles. He was never left to live in peace. The revolt of Ayesha, Talha and Zubeir; the rebellion and treacherous outrages of Moawiya and Amr b. Aas; the risings of the Kharijite fanatics; the lukewarmness and apathy of his own people; the unfaithfulness of his, cousin Abdallah b. Abbas, and last of all, the defection of his own brother LWl affected his spirits a great deal. These troubles crowding rapidly one upon another entirely disturbed his mind.

From the day of his forced ascension to the Caliphate to the last day of his life, Hazrat Ali did not get a day's rest and peace. It is a wonder how against heavy odds he could get time to introduce reforms in the government, to lay down fundamentals of grammar for the Arabic language, to deliver sermons on theology, on rhetorics, on philosophy of religion, on wonders of creation and nature, and on duties of man to God and man; to advise people in the most persuasive manner to suppress the tendencies for innovation and schism which had crept in the minds of the Muslims, or to introduce and to bring into effect principles of a benign government.

The death of Malik Ashtar and Mohammad Abubakr

After dealing with the revolt of the Kharijites, Hazrat Ali had to face the problem of consolidating his control over Egypt. He had sent Qais-Ibne-Saad as Governor of Egypt but had to call him back and to send Mohammad Ibne-Abubakr in his stead. Unfortunately, Mohammad though brave and sincere was no match for Moawiya and Omar-Ibne-Aas. He was forced by Moawiya into battle. He wrote to Hazrat AR who sent Malik-al-Ashtar for his help. But Malik could not reach Egypt; he was poisoned on the way by a henchman of Moawiya and he died. (Tabari, Vol. IV, page 521), Mohammad was informed of his death. That young man faced Omar. Ibne-Aas alone, was defeated in the encounter, and killed, and by the orders of Moawiya his dead body was burnt and his ashes were strewn (Tabari, Vol IV, page 592). Hazrat Ali's words at the news of the death of Mohammad showed how he loved the young man and how the youth loved him. After him Hazrat Ali had to send some experienced officer to Egypt. He was busy with that problem when Moawiya organised bands of guerillas with orders for loot, murder, arson and rape. These bands were to attack, like surging waves, the provinces of Hijaz, Busra Raay, Mosul and Herat. Hazrat Ali organised defences of these provinces, defeated these bands and freed the country from their harassment.

It was very easy for Hazrat Ali to channelize the minds of the masses towards foreign invasion. It had always been done by rulers and is even today considered the best form of diverting the energies of a rising nation, as well as the easiest way to extend one's territory and to propagate religion. But Hazrat Ali hated bloodshed, did not believe in imperialism, and had no faith in propagation of religion with the sword in one hand and the Quran in the other. He believed Islam to be a message of Peace and Love and wanted mankind to be ruled on the basis of equity and justice. Therefore, after strengthening one province after another and fortifying their defences, he got busy in introducing reforms to create a benign temporal state and never serioulsy thought of expanding his domain.