Part 1
Abdul Wahid
Introduction
Islam is the religion of moderation and the middle path, and everyone who counts himself a Muslim is obliged to keep himself safe from excess and negligence in religious matters. Throughout the history of Islam, certain intellectual groups have emerged that, because of a wrong understanding of some Sharia texts, chose the path of excess, overstepped the limits of the Sharia in their treatment of Muslims, resorted to takfir against them, and became a cause of disagreement and division in the Ummah. The Khawarij are one of these groups.
The Khawarij are counted among the well-known intellectual and historical movements of early Islam. The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) warned about their appearance and their characteristics in many hadiths, and he forbade Muslims from following this hardline and takfiri group. Studying and explaining these hadiths shows that intellectual and religious deviation is not limited to a lack of worship and religiosity; sometimes a person can look, on the outside, like someone devout in worship, recitation and religiosity, and yet, because of a wrong understanding of the religion, Sharia, the Holy Quran and the hadiths of the Prophet (PBUH), become afflicted with excess, takfir, violence and enmity with Muslims.
For this reason, knowing the signs of the Khawarij and being familiar with the warnings of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) about them is an important topic that deserves attention; especially for the young generation, who face many different movements and ideas and may accept some religious words and slogans without examining them properly or knowing their Sharia foundations. Just as, during the twenty-year occupation in Afghanistan, an effort was made to prepare the ground for the growth of such extremist and takfiri groups, so that they would become a cause of disagreement and division among the Muslim Ummah.
Importance of the Topic
The importance of this topic is that knowing the signs of the Khawarij makes a Muslim familiar with some of the most dangerous intellectual and behavioral deviations: excess in religion, hurry in takfir, a superficial understanding of the Holy Quran and the Sunnah, acting on one’s own opinion, violence, harshness of character, and enmity toward Muslims.
One of the great dangers in this matter is that some deviant ideas can be presented outwardly in the form of religious slogans and beautiful words, and in this way bring the religious feelings of people, especially our dear young people, under their influence. For this reason, it is necessary that every Muslim, before accepting any word or idea, compare it with the Holy Quran, with the authentic Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), and with the correct understanding of the righteous Salaf; those righteous Salaf for whom the Prophet (PBUH) himself testified to goodness.
The purpose of this writing is that religious young people, who possess religious feeling, become aware of the signs and characteristics of this way of thinking; the way of thinking which, throughout history, despite its religious claims, behaved in ways against Islamic principles and values in respecting the sanctity of Muslims, in showing proper manners toward the Messenger of Allah (PBUH), in honoring the noble Sahabah (RA), and in observing the rights of all Muslims.
Likewise, the purpose of this discussion is that, by studying the hadiths of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH), Muslims, especially the young generation, gain a more correct understanding of the signs of this movement and way of thinking, so that they can tell the difference between true religiosity and extremism, between religious zeal and a hardline attitude, and between defending the truth and going beyond the limits of Sharia, and never give permission to such people who fight against Islam and the Islamic system, or look at it with hostility.
For this reason, writing on this topic can play an important role in raising religious understanding, strengthening insight, preventing extremist readings of the Sharia texts, and protecting the Islamic society from disagreement and violence. In the coming parts, on the basis of the authentic hadiths of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH), the signs and characteristics of the Khawarij will be studied one by one, so that it becomes clear what kind of thinking and behavior the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) has forbidden the Islamic ummah from.
