fahmina77 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
The Meeting between Sayyidna Ali and the Kharijites
Sayyidna Ali set out for Nahrawan, as mentioned earlier, with a
party of 4,000 soldiers. Here he confronted the Kharajites. The
story, however, is best told by Abdul Qahir al-Baghdadi in his work
al-Farq bain al-Firaq (Differences between the Sects in Islam).
"When Ali approached the Kharajites he demanded that they hand over
the one who killed Abdullah ibn Khabbab. They responded by saying
that all of them were responsible for his death and that if they
should get the opportunity they would kill Ali too. Ali and his army
moved out and confronted them. Shortly before the battle, however,
he said to them: 'For what reason do you seek revenge from me?' They
replied: ' The first reason is that after having fought alongside
you at the Battle of the Camel - and after having been victorious -
you allowed us to take the spoils of war but you prohibited us from
imprisoning their women and children. So how did you allow us the
one and not the other?'
Ali replied, 'I allowed you the booty for the reason that they had
unlawfully taken that wealth from the Bait al-Mal in Basra in the
first place. That happened before I went to Basra. As for their
women and children, they did not join in the battle. So their rights
within Islam remain as it would for any Muslim living in a Dar al-
Islam. Moreover, none of them apostatised and it's not permissible
to shed the blood of those who remain within the fold. But above
all, had I allowed you to imprison their women, then who amongst you
would have had the temerity to take Aisha as a prisoner?' The
Kharajites shuddered at this rejoinder.
They then said, 'The second reason for our revenge is that that when
you signed the treaty of peace between yourself and Muawiyya you
eliminated your title 'Amir al-Mu'minin'.
To this Ali replied, 'In this respect I did exactly what the Prophet
(s) of Allah did with Suhail ibn 'Amr at the Treaty of Hudaibiyya.
Suhail said to him (s), 'Had I accepted that you were the Prophet of
Allah then I would not be disputing with you in this fashion. So
remove your title 'The Prophet of Allah' from the pact and write
your name followed by the name of your father. The Prophet (s)
acceded to this and had his Companions record 'This is what Muhammad
ibn Abdullah and Suhail ibn 'Amr have agreed upon…'
Soon after that the Prophet informed me that I would one day find
myself in a position similar to the one in which he had found
himself at Hudaibiyya. So my situation today with the children of
those people is identical to that of the Prophet with their fathers.
The Kharajites then said to Ali, 'Why did you say to the two
arbitrators (Abu Musa al-Ashari and Amr ibn al-As), 'If I am suited
for the position of Khalifa then you may appoint me.' By this you
expressed doubt in your own ability as a Khalifa. It is therefore
understandable, if not preferable, for others to hold similar doubts
about you.'
Ali replied, 'Indeed through that I wished to be fair to Muawiyya.
Had I unconditionally asked the arbitrators to appoint me as the
Khalifa then Muawiyya would not have accepted that. In this regard,
when the Prophet invited the Christians of Najran to earnestly pray
to Allah for an answer he expressed a similar fair-mindedness. This
is evident from the verse of the Quran, 'Say: Come! Let us gather
together - our sons and your sons, our women and your women,
ourselves and yourselves. Then let us earnestly pray, and invoke the
curse of Allah upon the one who lies.' (Quran, 3: 61) In this manner
the Prophet was fair to the Christians. Had he (s) said, on the
other hand, 'I will earnestly pray and invoke the curse of Allah
upon you' then the Christians of Najran would never have accepted
his invitation. For the same reason, therefore, I wished to be fair
to Muawiyya. Moreover, at that point I could not be certain about
Amr ibn al-As's position - whether he would mislead me or not.
Lastly they said to Ali, 'Why did you, in the first place, allow two
arbitrators to arbitrate in a matter that was inherently your right?'
Ali responded, 'I was present when the Prophet of Allah appointed
Sa'ad ibn Muadh as an arbitrator after the battle with the tribe of
Quraitha. If he wished then he need not have appointed an arbitrator
in the first place. So I did the same - and followed the example of
the Prophet - when I appointed an arbitrator.'"
After this lengthy discourse most of the Kharajites - 8,000 of them -
capitulated and returned to the ranks of Sayyidna Ali. 4,000 of
them - including Hurqus ibn Zuhair and Abdullah al-Rasibi - remained
committed to their cause. This is a story of the integrity of
Sayyidna Ali. And that integrity, as told in the narration of al-
Baghdadi, continues where he records that Sayyidna Ali ordered the
8,000 who capitulated not to join them in the battle. He had come
with 4,000 and with 4,000 he would fight. On that day too, he swore
that no more than ten on his side would die and no more than ten on
their side would survive. That is precisely what happened. Amongst
those who survived was Hurqus ibn Zuhair.
The intractable Hurqus confronted Sayyidna Ali and said, "O son of
Abi Talib, I fight you not except for the sake of Allah, and for my
reward in the afterlife."
Sayyidna Ali retorted, "Your kind, Hurqus, is the kind that Allahu
Ta'ala refers to in the Quran where He states, 'Say: Shall We tell
you of those who lose most in respect of their deeds? Those whose
efforts have been wasted in this life, while they imagined that they
were acquiring good by their works' (18: 103). Amongst these - and I
swear by this in the name of the Lord of the Ka'ba - are you Hurqus!"
Hurqus met his end and was killed.
Perhaps Hurqus would see the worth of his "good" deeds in the
afterlife. But the roots of internecine hatred they left behind were
firmly sunk in the soil of this world. Nevertheless, the story, if
it needs to be told, need not be for the sake of the legacy the
Kharajites left behind. If there is ever a need for the story to be
told, then it is for the lessons to be learnt from Sayyidna Ali's
attitude and approach to them during his short reign as Khalifa. Not
only is he a model of justice and integrity, but, like his three
great predecessors, is a model of how Muslim leaders, governors and
communities ought to behave and conduct themselves
ABDUL WAHID OSMAN BELAL
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{Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.}
(Holy Quran-16:125)
{And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33)
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim]
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, "Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all."
[Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah]
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