Khārijite
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What are the Khārijites?
The Khārijites were an early Islamic sect that emerged from a dispute over the caliphate. They protested the arbitration agreed to by ʿAlī (Muḥammad’s son-in-law) after the Battle of Ṣiffīn in 657, believing that "judgment belongs to God alone".
Opposed to both ʿAlī and Muʿāwiyah, the Khārijites engaged in campaigns of harassment and terror, denouncing Muslims who didn't share their views. Despite suffering defeats, the Khārijite movement persisted through uprisings, even assassinating ʿAlī. Their constant disruption stemmed from their belief that the entire Muslim community should freely choose a leader based on religious piety and moral purity, even if the candidate was an enslaved person.
Known for their puritanism and fanaticism, the Khārijites considered any Muslim who committed a major sin an apostate. While the Khārijites dwindled over time, the moderate Ibāḍīs subgroup still exists today in North Africa, Oman, and Zanzibar.
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When and where did the Khārijite movement begin?
The Khārijite movement, an early Islamic sect, emerged from a dispute over the Caliphate following the death of the third caliph, ʿUthmān, and the succession of ʿAlī as the fourth caliph.
After ʿAlī agreed to arbitration in the Battle of Ṣiffīn in July 657, a group of his followers withdrew (kharajū) to the village of Ḥarūrāʾ, protesting that "judgment belongs to God alone". Near Nahrawān, a larger group joined them. These Khārijites opposed both ʿAlī and Muʿāwiyah, denouncing Muslims who disagreed with them and launching campaigns of terror. In July 658, ʿAlī killed Ibn Wahb and most of his followers in the Battle of Nahrawān. Despite this, the Khārijite movement continued through a series of uprisings.
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What key beliefs made the Khārijites different from other early Islamic groups?
The Khārijites, emerging after the Battle of Ṣiffīn, held distinct beliefs that set them apart from other early Islamic groups. They believed that any Muslim who committed a major sin was an apostate, rejecting the idea of faith without works. This contrasted with the Sunni view.
Unlike the Shiʿah, the Khārijites asserted that anyone, regardless of race, sex, or social status, could be elected caliph if they possessed religious piety and moral purity. They also maintained that a caliph could be deposed for committing a major sin. Their interpretation of the Qurʾānic command to "enjoining good and forbidding evil" led them to vindicate truth through the sword, contributing to their reputation for fanaticism.
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Why did the Khārijites break away from the main Muslim community?
The Khārijites broke away from the main Muslim community following a dispute over the caliphate after the death of the third caliph, Uthmān, and the succession of Ali as the fourth caliph. After the Battle of Ṣiffīn in 657, Ali agreed to arbitration, which angered a large group of his followers who believed that "judgment belongs to God alone" and that arbitration was a repudiation of Qurʾānic law.
Withdrawing to Harūrāʾ, they opposed both Ali and Muāwiyah, engaging in harassment and terror. The Khārijites believed that anyone, even an enslaved person, could be elected caliph if they possessed religious piety and moral purity, and that a caliph could be deposed for committing a major sin.
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How did the Khārijites influence Islamic history and politics?
The Khārijites emerged as an early Islamic sect due to a dispute over the Caliphate. They believed that any Muslim, regardless of race, color, or sex, could become ruler if they possessed religious piety and moral purity.
Opposing existing political authority, they engaged in campaigns of harassment and terror. Despite being virtually wiped out within the first two centuries of Islam, their impact was lasting. The Khārijites' constant harassment of Muslim governments stemmed from their religious beliefs, holding that God's judgment could only be expressed through the free choice of the Muslim community.
Their actions prompted the religious leadership to develop a defense against religious intolerance and fanaticism, influencing subsequent reform movements in Islam.
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Are there any groups today that trace their roots to the Khārijites?
Yes, the Ibāḍīs, a moderate group among the Khārijites, still exist today. They can be found in North Africa, Oman, and parts of East Africa, including Zanzibar, with over 2.5 million members in the 21st century. While the Khārijites were known for their puritanism and fanaticism, the Ibāḍīs do not believe in aggressive methods.
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Khārijite, early Islamic sect, which formed in response to a religio-political controversy over the Caliphate.
After the murder of the third caliph, ʿUthmān, and the succession of ʿAlī (Muḥammad’s son-in-law) as the fourth caliph, Muʿāwiyah, the governor of Syria, sought to avenge the murder of ʿUthmān. After fighting the indecisive Battle of Ṣiffīn (July 657) against Muʿāwiyah’s forces, ʿAlī was forced to agree to arbitration by umpires. This concession aroused the anger of a large group of ʿAlī’s followers, who protested that “judgment belongs to God alone” (Qurʾān 6:57) and believed that arbitration would be a repudiation of the Qurʾānic dictum “If one party rebels against the other, fight against that which rebels” (49:9). A small number of these pietists withdrew (kharajū) to the village of Ḥarūrāʾ under the leadership of Ibn Wahb and, when arbitration proved disastrous to ʿAlī, were joined near Nahrawān by a larger group.
These Khārijites, as they came to be known, were opposed equally to ʿAlī’s claims and to those of Muʿāwiyah. Repudiating not only the existing caliphal candidates but all Muslims who did not accept their views, the Khārijites engaged in campaigns of harassment and terror. In the Battle of Nahrawān (July 658) Ibn Wahb and most of his followers were killed by ʿAlī, but the Khārijite movement persisted in a series of uprisings that plagued both ʿAlī (whom they assassinated) and Muʿāwiyah (who succeeded ʿAlī as caliph). In the period of civil war (fitnah) following the death of the caliph Yazīd I (683), the Khārijites were the source of serious disruptions within the Umayyad domain and in Arabia. Subdued through the intensive campaigning of al-Ḥajjāj, the Khārijites did not stir again until the collapse of the Umayyads, and then their two major rebellions, in Iraq and Arabia, ended in defeat.
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The Khārijites’ constant harassment of the various Muslim governments was less a matter of personal enmity than a practical exercise of their religious beliefs. They held that the judgment of God could only be expressed through the free choice of the entire Muslim community. They insisted that anyone, even an enslaved person, could be elected caliph (ruler of the Muslim community) if he possessed the necessary qualifications, chiefly religious piety and moral purity. A caliph may be deposed upon the commission of any major sin. The Khārijites thus set themselves against the legitimist claims (to the Caliphate) of the tribe of Quraysh and of ʿAlī’s descendants. As proponents of the democratic principle, the Khārijites drew to themselves many who were dissatisfied with the existing political and religious authorities.
Besides their democratic theory of the Caliphate, the Khārijites were known for their puritanism and fanaticism. Any Muslim who committed a major sin was considered an apostate. Luxury, music, games, and concubinage without the consent of wives were forbidden. Intermarriage and relations with other Muslims were strongly discouraged. The doctrine of justification by faith without works was rejected, and literal interpretation of the Qurʾān was insisted upon.
Within the Khārijite movement the Azāriqah of Basra were the most extreme subsect, separating themselves from the Muslim community and declaring death to all sinners and their families. The Ibāḍis, members of a sect that took part in the Khārijites’ rejection of Alī’s arbitration but did not take on the more fanatical views that the Khārijites were known for, survived into modern times in Oman (where Ibāḍis make up the majority of the population), Zanzibar, and North Africa, with more than 2.5 million members in the 21st century.