Kharijites

As Ali marched back to Kufa, his capital, resentment against the arbitration became widespread in his army. Some 12,000 dissenters seceded from the army and went to a place called Harura. They thus became known as the Harurites.[6] They held that the third caliph Uthman had deserved his death because of his faults, and that Ali was the legitimate caliph, while Mu'awiya was a rebel.[10] They believed that the Qur'an clearly stated that as a rebel Mu'awiya was not entitled to arbitration, but rather should be fought until he repented, pointing to the verse:[10]

If two parties of the faithful fight each other, then conciliate them. Yet if one is rebellious to the other, then fight the insolent one until it returns to God 's command. (Qur'an 49:9)

They held that in agreeing to arbitration Ali committed the grave sin of rejecting God's judgment (hukm) and attempted to substitute human judgment for God's clear injunction, which prompted their motto "judgement belongs to God alone" (la hukma illa li-llah).[11] From this expression, which they were the first to use as a motto, they became known as Muhakkima.[12]

Ali, after some time, visited the Harura camp and in order to win back their support argued that it was them who forced him to accept arbitration proposal despite his warnings against it. They acknowledged that they had sinned but argued that they had repented and asked Ali to do the same, which he did in very general and ambiguous terms. They subsequently offered back their allegiance to him and returned to Kufa on the condition that war against Mu'awiya be resumed within six months.[13]

The arbitration proceedings continued however and after a few months (March 658),[9] when Ali refused to denounce the arbitration and sent his arbitration delegation headed by Abu Musa Ash'ari to carry out the talks, Kharijites denounced Ali's caliphate and elected Abd Allah ibn Wahb al-Rasibi their caliph. In order to avoid being detected, they moved out of Kufa in small groups and went to a place called Nahrawan on the east bank of Tigris. Some five hundred of their Basran comrades were informed and they too joined them in Nahrawan, amounting to a total of 4,000 men.[14][15] Following this exodus, they were called as Khawarij.[16] They declared Ali and his followers apostates and killed several people who did not share their views.[14]

In the meantime, arbitrators declared that Uthman had been killed unjustly by the rebels. Other than that, however, they could not agree on anything substantial and the process collapsed. Ali now denounced the arbitrators and called on his supporters for renewed war against Mu'awiya.[17] He invited Kharijites to join him in war against Mu'awiya as before. They refused to do so unless he would acknowledge that he had gone astray and repent. Ali consequently decided to depart for Syria without them.[18] On the way, however, he received news of the Kharijites' murdering various people, and was urged by his followers, who feared for their families and property in Kufa, to deal with the Kharijites first.[19] Kharijites refused to surrender the murderers and consequently Ali's attacked them in their camp, inflicting a heavy defeat on them at the Battle of Nahrawan (July 658), killing Ibn Wahb and most of his supporters.[16] Some 1200 of them, however, surrendered and were spared.[20] This bloodshed sealed the split of Kharijites from Ali's followers, and Kharijite calls for revenge ultimately led to Ali's assassination in 661 by a Kharijite.[16][10]

After the death of Mu'awiya in 680, the empire fell to civil war over the question of leadership. The people of Hejaz (where Mecca and Medina are located) rebelled against the new caliph Yazid.[30] When Yazid sent an army to end the Hijazi rebellion in 683 and Mecca was besieged, Kharijites assisted Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, who was based in Mecca and opposed Yazid, in defending the city.[29] However, Yazid died in November 683 and Ibn al-Zubayr proclaimed himself caliph. Kharijites, after discovering that Ibn al-Zubayr had proclaimed caliphate and did not share their view of Uthman and condemned his murder, abandoned him.[31] Some of them went to Yamama, in cental Arabia, under the leadership of Abu Fudayk, whereas the majority went to Basra. In the meantime, Basran tribal chiefs expelled Ibn Ziyad and the city fell to tribal warfare. Kharijites took over the city, killed the deputy appointed by Ibn Ziyad and broke 140 of their comrades free from Ibn Ziyad's prison.[32] Soon afterwards, Basrans recognized Ibn al-Zubayr and he appointed Abd Allah ibn Harith, more commonly known as Babba, his governor there. Babba drove Kharijites out of Basra and they escaped to Ahwaz.[33] Doctrinal differences led to split between the two of their leaders: Najda ibn Amir al-Hanafi and Nafi ibn al-Azraq.[31]

Najda, with his followers, moved to Yamama and the faction became known as Najdat.[31] There he took over, in 685, the Kharijite faction of Abu Fudayk, wihch was then led by a certain Abu Talut. The followers of Abu Talut were impressed by Najda's leadership abilities and deposed the former to appoint Najda as their chief. Najda started raiding towns in Ibn al-Zuabyr's domains[34] and soon extended his control to entire Yamama and Bahrain and defeated a 14,000-strong Zubayrid army that was sent against him. Thereafter he went on to seize Hadhramawt and Yemen in 687 and later captured Taif, a town close to Ibn al-Zubayr's capital Mecca, leaving the latter cornered in Hejaz; Najda controlled much of Arabia. Not long after, his followers became disillusioned with him for his alleged correspondance with the Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, his refusal to punish a soldier who had consumed wine, and him safely returning a captive granddaughter of the murdered caliph Uthman. He was deposed for having gone astray and subsequently executed in 691.[35] Abu Fudayk took over the leadership and defeated several Zuabyrid and later Umayyad attacks. He was finally killed along with 6,000 followers in 692 by Umayyad forces in Bahrain and the Najdat faction came to an end.[36][37]

From Ahwaz area, Ibn Azraq, after whom his band became known as the Azariqa, raided Basran suburbs. These are described in the sources to be most fanatic of all the Kharijite groups for they approved of the doctrine of Isti'rad: indiscriminate killing of non-Kharijite Muslims including their women and children. An army sent against them by the Zubayrid governor of Basra in early 685 defeated the Azariqa and Ibn Azraq was killed. However, they chose new Emir, regrouped and forced the Zubayrid army to retreat and ransacking resumed. After a few more defeats, Ibn al-Zubayr sent Muhallab ibn Abi Sufra against them. Muhallab defeated them at the battle of Sillabra in May 686 and killed their Emir. They subsequently retreated to Fars. However, in late 686, Muhallab had to discontinue his campaign against the Azariqa as he was sent against the pro-Alid Mukhtar and later appointed governor of Mosul to defend against possible Umayyad attack. Azariqa consequently returned to Iraq and attacked Mada'in, in the neighborhood of Kufa, ravaged the town and after pursuit fled again to Iran and besieged Isfahan. They were driven away and fled to Fars and latter to Kirman. However, they returned to Basra area soon afterwards and Muhallab had to be sent against them. For a long time, the Azariqa held Fars and Kirman although Muhallab prevented them from advancing to Iraq. In the meantime, Umayyads recaptured Iraq from the Zubayrids in 691. Umayyad princes took over the command from Muhallab but suffered severe defeats at the hands of the Azariqa. In 694 Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, a Thaqafite, was made governor of Iraq and he reinstated Muhallab to lead the fight against the Azariqa. After a series of attacks, he pushed them back into Kirman. There they split into two groups and were subsequently destroyed in 698–699.[38]

Arab-Sassanian dirham of the Azariqa leader Qatari ibn al-Fuja'a struck circa 694–695 with the Kharijite slogan la hukma illa li-llah on the margin

This sect of the Kharijites is generally attributed to a man called Abd Allah ibn Saffar or Asfar, who broke away from Ibn Azraq due to the latter's radical ideology. Sufriyya are thus described to have been a milder variety of the Kharijites. However, modern historians consider Ibn Saffar to be a legendary figure and assert that the name Sufriyya derives from sufr al-wujuh (yellow-faced), an appellation applied to the earliest Kharijites because their faces turned grey from excessive prostrating. Basran Kharijite leader, Abu Bilal al-Mirdas, a moderated Kharijite, is counted among their Imams.[39] In early 680s, when the Kharijite activities surged, those who preferred remaining inactive (qa'ad), as opposed to the activists Najdat and Azariqa, were called Sufriyya. A split within Sufriyya in 683–684 resulted in emergence of Ibadiyya. During the entire period of the Second Fitna, Sufriyya remained idle. However, in mid-690s they also started militant activities in response to persecution by Hajjaj.[39]

The first of their revolts was led in 695 by the ascetic Salih ibn Musarrih, which was defeated and Ibn Musarrih was killed.[39] It was after his death, however, that they became a serious threat to Kufa and its suburbs. The group was taken over by Shabib ibn Yazid al-Shaybani. With a small army of a few hundred warriors, he defeated on multiple occasions (in 695 and 696) Umayyad armies several-thousands-strong, looted the treasury of Kufa and occupied Mada'in.[40] From the base in Mada'in, he prepared to capture Kufa. Hajjaj had already requested Syrian troops from the caliph Abd al-Malik who sent 4,000-strong army which succeeded in defeating Shabib just outside Kufa and he drowned during flight.[41] His band was destroyed, but the Sufriyya continued to exist in the Mosul area.[42]

Although small Sufriyya insurrections continued, all of them from Mosul area, it was during the last days of the Umayyad empire that a major Sufriyya revolt erupted (744).[42] It was at first led by a certain Said ibn Bahdal al-Shaybani, and after his death from plague, Dahhaq ibn Qays al-Shaybani. Joined by many more Sufriyya from other parts of the empire, he advanced to Kufa and captured it in April 745 and later captured Wasit after a short siege. At this stage even Umayyad officials, including two sons of former caliphs (Sulayman ibn Hisham and Abd Allah ibn Umar II), recognized him caliph and joined his ranks. Later he went on to capture Mosul but was killed by the forces of the Umayyad caliph Marwan II in 746. His successor Shayban ibn Abd al-Aziz al-Yashkuri was driven out from Mosul by Marwan II and fled to Fars to join the Shi'ite leader Abd Allah ibn Mu'awiya, who ruled there in opposition to the Umayyads. Attacked there by the Umayyads, they dispersed and Shayban fled to Oman where he was killed by the local leaders around 751.[43][44]

By the mid 8th century, Kharijites, mainly Sufriyya, appeared in North Africa. They were mostly of Berber origin who were recruited through missionary activity. Around 740, Sufriyya under the leadership of Maysara al-Matghari revolted in Tangiers and captured the city from the Umayyads. Defeating Umayyad armies, they marched onto the capital Kairouan although were not able to capture it. Nevertheless, Sufriya disturbances in North Africa continued throughout the Umayyad period.[45]

Under the Abbasids, Sufriyya revolts in eastern parts of the empire continued for almost two centuries although at small scale and were easily put down. However, revolts led by Abd al-Hamid al-Bajali in 866–877 and by Harun ibn Abd Allah Bajali in 880–896 seized control of northern Mesopotemia from the Abbasids for a while and collected taxes.[46] In North Africa, Sufriyya revolts continued for some time but were later replaced by the Ibadiyya into whom the remnants of the Sufriyya were later absorbed around 10th or 11th century.[47]

This sect is attributed to Abd Allah ibn Ibad (or Abad), who like Ibn Saffar, is supposed to have been a moderate Kharijite and having disagreed with and separated from the more extreme Azariqa and Najdat during the Second Fitna.[48] However, some historians, as discussed above, believe that all quietist Kharijites in the early 680s were called Sufriyya and the Ibadis later broke away from them.[39][49] Ibn Ibad is said to have been the leader of the Basran moderates after the death of Abu Bilal. Ibn Ibad, or his successor Jabir ibn Zayd, was in communication with caliph Abd al-Malik and Jabir had friendly relations with Hajjaj, the governor of Iraq. Jabir, a respected scholar and traditionist, is considered as the real organizer of the Ibadiyya sect.[50][51] Following the death of Abd al-Malik, the relations between Ibadiyya leaders and Hajjaj deteriorated as the former became inclined towards activism (khuruj). He consequently exiled some of them to Oman and imprisoned others. One of the imprisoned, Abu Ubayda Muslim ibn Abi Karima, who was released after the death of Hajjaj in 714, became next leader of the Ibadiyya. He at first attempted to win over the Umayyad caliphs to the Ibadi doctrine but was unsuccessful. He then sent missionaries to propagate the doctrine in different parts of the empire including Oman, Yemen, Hadramawt, Khurasan and North Africa. During the final years of the Umayyad caliphate, the Ibadi propaganda movement caused several revolts in the periphery of the empire, although the leaders in Basra adopted the policy of kitman, concealing beliefs so as to avoid persecution.[52][53]

In 745, Abd Allah ibn Yahya al-Kindi established the first Ibadi state in Hadramawt and captured Yemen in 746. His lieutenant Abu Hamza Mukhtar ibn Aws al-Azdi later conquered Mecca and Medina. Umayyads defeated and killed Abu Hamza and Ibn Yahya in 748 and the first Ibadi state collapsed.[54][55]

The majority of the Omani population had converted to Ibadism by the end of the 7th century as a result of missionary activity initiated by Abu Ubayda.[56] An Ibadi state was established in Oman in 750 after the fall of Abu Yahya but fell to the Abassids in 752. It was followed by the establishment of another Ibadi state in 793,[54] but it too collapsed after the Abbasid recapture of Oman in 893. Abbasid influence was only nominal though and Ibadi Imams continued to wield considerable power.[56] Ibadi Imamates were reestablished in subsequent centuries.[57] Ibadis form the majority of the Omani population to date.[58]

Ibadi missionary activity met with considerable success in North Africa.[58] In 757 Ibadis seized Tripoli and captured Kairouan the next year. Driven out by the Abbasid army in 761, Ibadi leaders founded state in Tahart. It was overthrown in 909 by the Fatimids. Ibadi communities continue to exist in the Nafusa Mountains in northwestern Libya, Djerba island in Tunisia and M'zab valley in Algeria.[59] In East Africa they are found in Zanzibar.[58] Ibadi missionary activity also reached Persia, India, Egypt, Sudan, Spain and Sicily, although Ibadis communities in these regions ceased to exist.[60]

The Kharijites held that any Muslim of whatever descent could become a caliph if he had credentials of belief and piety, and rejected that Qurayshi descent or close kinship with Muhammad was necessary for the office, as was held by majority of the people at that time.[61][10] This differs from the position of both Sunnis, who later went on accept the leadership of those in power, and Shi'a, who were to assert that the leadership rightly belonged to Ali and his descendants.[62] Kharijites held that the first four caliphs had not been elected for their Qurayshi descent or kinship with Muhammad, but because each of them was among the best of Muslims and most qualified for the post, and hence all of them were legitimate caliphs. In particular, they had a high regard for Abu Bakr and Umar as, according to them, they governed justly.[62] Uthman, on the other hand, had deviated from the path of justice and truth in the latter half of his caliphate and hence was liable to be killed or displaced, whereas Ali committed a grave sin when he agreed to the arbitration with Mu'awiya.[63] Any leader was subject to deposition if he committed a sin and went off the right path or failed to manage Muslims' affairs with justice and consultation.[62] In view of the Azariq and Najdat, Muslims had the duty to revolt against such a ruler.[64]

Azariqa and Najdat held that since the Umayyad rulers, and all non-Kharijites in general, were infidels, it was unlawful to continue living under their domain (dar al-kufr), for it was in itself an act of unbelief. It was thus obligatory to emigrate, in emulation of Muhammad's hijra to Medina, and establish a legitimate dominion of their own. Sufriyya and Ibadiyya held that although establishment of a legitimate dominion was desirable, it was legal to continue living among the non-Kharijites if rebellion was not possible.[65]

Kharijites also asserted that faith without accompanying deeds is useless and anyone who goes against injunctions of religion is an apostate (murtadd) and a polytheist (mushrik) and must repent to reenter the religion else he would be subject to death. They thus deemed Ali, Mu'awiya and all those who agreed to the arbitration as disbelievers, as they had breached the rules of the Qur'an.[66] Azariqa held a more extreme position that such apostates could not reenter Islam and were to be killed along with their women and children. Azariqa also held non-activist Kharijites as apostates.[62] Of the moderates, Sufriyya and Bayhasiyya considered all non-Kharijite Muslims polytheists but also refused to take up arms against them, unless necessary.[67] Ibadiyya, on the other hand, did not declare non-Kharijites as polytheists rather as disbelievers of a lower degree (kuffar),[68] and permitted marriages outside their own sect.[61] Kharijites invoked the doctrine of free will, as opposed to predestination in their opposition to the Ummayad Caliphate, which held that Umayyad rule was ordained by God.[69]

Kharijites also held the idea of equality of all Muslims regardless of ethnicity and advocated for equal status of the mawali (sing. mawla; non-Arab Muslims of conquered lands especially Iraq and Persia) with the Arabs.[70] Najdat faction in fact chose a mawla fruit seller their Emir. This, however, did not go well with their ethnic feelings and they soon asked him to step down and choose an Arab Emir for them, which he did.[71] The leader of the Azariqa, Nafi ibn al-Azraq, is said to have been the son of a mawla of Greek origin.[72] Kharijites also advocated for equality of women.[70] On the basis of women fighting alongside Muhammad, Kharijites viewed fighting jihad as a requirement for women. One famous example is the warrior and poet Layla bint Tarif.[73]

In the modern era, many of Muslim theologians and clerics have compared the beliefs and actions of the modern Islamic extremists, like ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, to those of the Kharijites.[79][80][81] In particular, the groups are alleged to share the Kharijites' anarchist and radical approach whereby self-described Muslims are declared unbelievers and therefore deemed worthy of death. However, ISIS and Al-Qaeda preachers reject being compared to the Kharijites, instead calling themselves the true Muslims and their opponents lax Muslims.[82][83] In the 18th century, Hanafi scholar Ibn Abidin declared the Wahhabi movement of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab as modern Kharijites for they declared their opponents non-Muslims and did not recognize the Ottoman government.[84]

Although most modern Arab historians have been critical of the Kharijites, some have presented a more favorable view. The latter group argue that the Kharijites rebelled against economic injustice and had valid grievances. They also compare the Kharijite ideals of ethinic and gender equality with the modern equivalents of these values.[85][86] Modern Ibadi scholars have attempted to soften the image of the Kharijites in order to reconcile the differences with rest of the Muslims. They assert that mainstream Muslim accounts of Kharijite history are tempered and distorted and that Harurites did not rebel against Ali but only had a difference of opinion with him. It was not Ali, they asert, who fought them at Nahrawan but the Kufan nobleman Ash'ath ibn Qays.[87] They also protest against being labelled as a Kharijite sect.[88]