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EMERGENCE OF THE KHARIJITES

Kharijites, that is, rebels, is a derivative of 'Khorooj' which means revolt or rebellion. They emerged from "arbitration". In the battle of Siffeen the last day was going to end in victory of Ah. Mo'awiyah in consul­tation with Amr bin 'As took a very clever step. He saw that all his pains and efforts had failed and defeat was just a pace ahead. He thought that but for creation of confusion nothing would lead to their escape. He ordered that Qurans should be hoisted atop the launces. Thereby meaning: "O Men! We are people of the Quran and the Qibla, let us make it our arbitrator amongst us". It was not a plea to have been innovated by them. Earlier Ali had proposed in the very same words, but they did not agree. Even now they would not agree. It was an excuse to avoid a total defeat.

Ali rose his voice: "Kill them, they now exploit the leaves and the letters of the Quran as a hidey-hole but soon hereafter they will continue in their anti-Quranic manners. The leaves and the letters of the Book have no supremacy over and preference to its spirit. I am the spirit and the real manifestation of the Quran. They have hoisted the Quran while they mean to destroy its significance and spirit".

A group of the ignorant the vague and spurious divines who were in large numbers, among themselves looked through Ali: "What does he say"? They cried out, "Should we fight with the Quran? Our war is for restoration of the Quran; if they have submitted to the Quran why this fighting affair?"

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Ali said, "I also say fight for the sake of the Quran. But they do not have any interest in the Quran. They want to have only a shelter in its letters and script".

In Islamic jurisprudence, in the Chapter of 'Al-Jehad' (the Crusade) there is a proposition called "The Infidels Warding off harm through Muslims".

The proposition means that if the enemies of Islam, while at war with the Muslims, use the Muslim prisoners of war as a means to their own protection and keep them ahead of themselves as a shield and themselves keep busy in their rear to cause damage to the Muslim fighters, in such a manner that if the Muslim forces want to defend themselves or to lead an advance or to halt the enemy offensive, they will be inevitably killing their enemies' human shield device viz. their own co-believers, on the principle of necessity, because without that a combat with the warring and aggressive enemy will not be possible. In such circumstances in the larger interest of Islam the killing of the Muslims has been held to be justified. They are also the soldiers of Islam. They are martyrs of the Divine cause. At the most their relatives bereft may be paid blood money from the Islamic budget. This rule is not peculiar to Islam. In the International Law of Belligerency and Armed forces, it is a recognised rule that if the enemy want to utilise the captive forces, they (parent army of the captives) may destroy such prisoners of war to get hold of the enemy and to repulse them.

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In these circumstances when Islam says "Kill and do away with a living Muslim so as to achieve triumph of Islam", the paper and the binding cover are no exception to it. The leaves and the volume are sacred only for their significance and substance. Today the war is war of survival of the message of the Quran. They have taken its paper as an instrument to obliterate its significance and the substance.

However, ignorance and idiocy had blindfolded them. They could not comprehend truth. They said, "not only that we ourselves do not fight with the Quran but also, because fighting with the Quran is itself a vice, we must try to enforce prohibition against it, and those who fight with the Quran we must fight against them".

The ultimate victory of Ali was just a few moments ahead. Malik-ul-Ashtar, a loyal, devoted and venturesome officer, was about to reach the commanding tentage ofMo'awiyah and to raze it to the ground so as to remove the thorn from the pious body of Islam. In these very moments this group staged their revolt against Ali and said, "We will assault you from behind". All that Ali could do was to convince them but they had become more obstinate in their refusal and insisted upon refraction. Ali sent a message to Malik to cease-fire and return from the battlefield.

He, in reply to Ali's message, said: "If I am given some moments more the war will end and the enemy will be completely annihilated". They drew their swords saying: "Either order him to come back or we will cut you to pieces".

He again sent a message "If you want to see me alive suspend the battle and come back". He returned and the enemy was happy that his fraud had worked.

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The battle was halt so that the Quran may be made arbiter, so that an arbitration council may be constituted and the arbitrators of both the sides as is enacted in the Quran and Sunnah may sit to decide the matters and remove the animosities or it may add yet another difference to the existing ones and may make worse what was bad. Ali said, "They should appoint their arbitrator so that we may appoint ours". They without little difference rather unanimously appointed Amr-bin-'As, the craftiest of the world, to be their arbitrator. Ali proposed that Abdullah bin Abbas the well-known statesman or Malik-ul-Ashtar, the devoted and far-sighted faithful, or a man of their caliber may be appointed (as arbitrator). But the asinine went in search of their own homogeneous and proposed Abu Moosa, an unwise person who had no mutuality with Ali. The more Ali and his friends asked them that Abu Moosa was not a man fit for the job, the more they disagreed with each else. He said: "If the things have assumed these propor­tions, then do whatever you like". Ultimately he, with the assumptive authority of an arbitrator from the side of Ali and his friends, joined the arbitration council. After months of consultations, Amr bin 'As said to Abu Moosa, "It is better that in the larger interest of Muslims, neither Ali nor Mo'awiyah should be there. We must elect a third person and he could be no other than your son-in-law, Abdullah bin Omar. Abu Moosa replied, "You are right. What is now the difficulty? " He said, "You should remove Ali from Caliphate and I shall remove Mo'awiyah. Thereafter the Muslims should go to elect a befitting person. They will definitely elect Abdullah bin Omar. Thus the disputes will be out rooted".

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They agreed to this proposition and made proclamation for the public to assemble for hearing the results to be announced.

People collected, Abu Moosa looked towards Amr bin 'As to take the pulpit and declare his verdict. Amr bin 'As said, "I? You are the gray-hair and veteran companion of the Prophet. I will never take courage to have precedence on you in expressing my views". Abu Mossa moved from his seat and sat on the pulpit. Hearts were beating fast. Eyes were dazzled and breaths were held up in the bosoms. All were zealously expectant of what could the result be? He started giving out his views: "After deliberations we found it to be in the interest of the Ummah that neither Ali nor Mo'awiyah should be there and that let the Muslims elect whomsoever they like".

He removed the ring from one of his right fingers saying, "I remove Ali from Caliphate in the like manner as I have removed this ring from my finger" Having said this he demounted.

Amr bin 'As moved upto the pulpit, sat there and said, "You have heard Abu Moosa removing Ali from Caliphate. I also dismiss him from Caliphate as Abu Moosa has done". He removed the ring from one of his right fingers and put it on one of the left and said, "I install Mo'awiyah to the Caliphate in the like manner as I have just put this ring on my finger". With this he stepped down the pulpit.

There was pandemonium in the assembly. People pounced upon Abu Moosa. Some of them lashed him. He took to his heels to Mecca. Amr bin 'As also left for Syria.

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Kharijites, who were authors of this situation, for themselves saw the outrage to arbitration and discovered their fault. However, they did not realize where did the fault lie. They did not admit that it was their fault to have fallen prey to the fraud of Mo'awiyah and Amr bin 'As and to have suspended the war. They also did not say that after conceding to arbitration they had erred in the choice of the arbitrator and appointed Abu Moosa to match Amr bin 'As. They rather said that the very appointment of the two persons as arbitrators and Judges in matters of Divine Faith was an act un-Islamic and of infidelity because Allah alone is the arbiter and not the men.

They came to Ali saying, "We did not realize. We accepted arbitration. You have become a renegade and we too. We have repented. Let you too repent". The misery revived and became manifold.

Ali said, "Repentance is good in all circumstances. God may forgive us for our sins. We always express repentance for every sin". They said, "It will not suffice, say arbitration was a sin', and you repent this sin". He said, "Virtually I did not invent this proposition of arbitration. On the other hand how could I declare something to be a sin which is permissible in Islam? Why should I confess a sin which I have not committed".

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Hence they organised a religious denomination. To start with, they were a rebellious and an insurgent faction, therefore, they were called "Kharijites". By and by they evolved basic doctrines for themselves. The party that initially had political semblance gradually adopted religious complexion. Very late the Kharijites on the excuse of being supporters of a religion, started active poignant propaganda. In course of time they started thinking that by their own appreciation they should trace out the root cause of the malady of the Muslim world. They came to the conclusion that Osman, Ali and Mo'awiyah, all of them, are at fault and sinners. We must fight against the vices so produced. We should enjoin virtue and prohibit vice. Therefore, the Kharijites religion emerged for enforcing "Virtue" and prohibiting "Vice".

There are two pre-requisites for enforcement of virtue and prohibition of vice: Insight in precept and insight in practice.

If insight is lacking in precept, as it appears in the traditions, its demerits are more than its merits.' However, the insight in practice has two prerequisites that are juridically called as "producing effect" and "avoid­ing side effects". These two pre-requisites can be achieved only when logic is allowed to operate. Kharijites neither had insight in precept nor the insight in practice. Kharijites possessed neither of the insights. They were idiots, devoid of insight. They were basically abnegators of insight in practice. They asserted that' there must be automation in practice and a blind performance.