Mu'jam Kabir Tabarani 10552 — When the Haruriyyah (the Khawarij)

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrated: When the Haruriyyah (the Khawarij) separated and were (gathered) in a house of their own, I said to Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him): O Commander of the Believers! Delay the prayer until the cooler time; perhaps I may go to these people and speak with them. He said: I fear for you from them. I said: Not at all, if Allah wills. Then I put on the best garments I could obtain from these Yemeni suits, and went to them while they were taking their midday nap at the height of noon. I came upon a people more intense in devotion than any I had ever seen; their hands were like the calloused knees of camels, and their faces bore the marks of prostration. I entered, and they said: Welcome, O Ibn Abbas! What brings you here? I said: I have come to tell you about the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him); the revelation came down (upon them), and they know its interpretation best. Some of them said: Do not talk to him, and some of them said: We will certainly talk to him. I said: Tell me, what do you hold against the cousin of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), his son-in-law and the first to believe in him, while the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) are with him? They said: We hold three things against him. I said: What are they? They said: The first is that he made men arbitrators in the religion of Allah, whereas Allah has said: "The judgement belongs only to Allah" [Surah al-An'am: 57]. I said: And what else? They said: And he fought but took no captives and no spoils; if they (his opponents) were disbelievers, then their wealth was lawful for him, and if they were believers, then their blood was unlawful for him. I said: And what else? They said: And he erased "Commander of the Believers" from his name; so if he is not the Commander of the Believers, then he is the commander of the disbelievers. I said: Tell me, if I recite to you from the decisive Book of Allah and narrate to you from the Sunnah of your Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) something that you cannot deny, will you return? They said: Yes. I said: As for your saying that he made men arbitrators in the religion of Allah, Allah says: "O you who believe! Do not kill game while you are in the state of ihram" [Surah al-Ma'idah: 95] up to: "Two just men among you shall judge it" [Surah al-Ma'idah: 95]; and He said regarding a woman and her husband: "And if you fear a breach between the two, then send an arbitrator from his family and an arbitrator from her family" [Surah al-Nisa': 35]. I adjure you by Allah: is the judgement of men more deserving in sparing people's blood and lives and in reconciling between them, or in a rabbit whose price is a quarter of a dirham? They said: Certainly in sparing their blood and reconciling between them. I said: Have I answered this (objection)? They said: Yes. And as for your saying that he fought but took no captives and no spoils, would you take your mother (Sayyidah Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her) captive, or treat as lawful from her what you treat as lawful from other women? (If you say so,) then you have disbelieved; and if you claim that she is not your mother, then too you have disbelieved and left Islam. Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, says: "The Prophet has a greater claim on the believers than their own selves, and his wives are their mothers" [Surah al-Ahzab: 6]. So you waver between two misguidances; choose whichever of them you wish. Have I answered this? They said: Yes. I said: And as for your saying that he erased "Commander of the Believers" from his name, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), on the day of al-Hudaybiyah, called Quraysh to write a document between himself and them, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Write: This is what Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, has agreed upon." They said: By Allah! If we knew that you are the Messenger of Allah, we would not have barred you from the House nor fought you; rather, write: Muhammad bin Abdullah. So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "By Allah! I am the Messenger of Allah even if you deny me. O Ali! Write: Muhammad bin Abdullah." And the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was better than Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) (yet he had this written). Have I answered this argument? They said: Yes. So twenty thousand of them returned, and four thousand remained, and they were killed.