Part (2)
By: Bahanad
The foundations of their reasoning:
When the Prophet (SAW) was returning from the Ghazwa of Hunayn in 7 A.H., he began distributing the war booty.
Among the people, a man named Dhu’l-Khuwaysirah Al-Tamimi stood up and proclaimed, «O Muhammad! Be just and fair!»
The Prophet replied, «May you perish! If I don’t do justice between you, then who else will?»
Upon hearing this, Umar (RA) said, «O Prophet of Allah, allow me to chop off his neck!»
The Prophet replied, «Do not; he belongs to a group of people whose prayers you will find superior to yours, and whose fasts you will find superior to yours. They will recite the Qur’an; however, it won’t go past their necks. They will exit the religion with great speed.»
There is no difference of opinion among the scholars that Dhul Khuwaisra Al-Tamimi is the founding father of the Khawarij.
In contrast, upon reflection on the Hadith of the Prophet, the following becomes clearly obvious:
1. Even the polytheists of Makkah (including Abu Jahl) used to acknowledge the trustworthiness, justice, and good manners of the Prophet. However, the Khawārij went a step further and accused the Prophet of being an oppressor (God forbid).
Thus, they threw themselves into something even further away from Kufr: their rebellion against the religion.
2. What’s clear is that they can’t be eliminated through the use of force and that they’ll always strive their hardest to spread Fitnah and facade among the Muslims.
Therefore, the Prophet did not permit Umar RA to slay him.
3. The Khawārij do not remain part of the religion for long, and thus they will die upon Kufr (and have an ugly ending).
This is because, according to the dictionary, the Arabic word «rumaq» refers to a person’s last moments, after which his soul begins to exit his body.
