9 of 10 · 37–38 AH · 657–658 CE · Harura' and al-Nahrawan, Iraq
'Ali ibn Abi Talib رضي الله عنه
The Khawarij and Nahrawan
Some of the very men who had pressed 'Ali to accept arbitration now turned on him for accepting it. Thousands broke away, crying, "Judgement belongs to Allah alone," and declared that anyone who had accepted human arbiters had left Islam. 'Ali answered: "A word of truth by which falsehood is intended" (Sahih Muslim 1066). These were the Khawarij — "those who went out."
'Ali sent Ibn 'Abbas to debate them, and many returned. He told the rest that he would not bar them from the mosques or their share of the wealth, nor fight them, unless they shed blood. But they began to declare Muslims disbelievers and kill them; among their victims was 'Abd Allah, the son of the Companion Khabbab ibn al-Aratt. Then 'Ali marched against them at al-Nahrawan.
The Prophet ﷺ had described such a people: they would pray and recite more than others, yet the Qur'an would not pass their throats, and they would pass out of the religion as an arrow passes through its target (Sahih al-Bukhari 3610). He had also said they would emerge at a time of division among the Muslims, and "the party closer to the truth of the two will fight them" (Sahih Muslim 1065). After the battle, the man the Prophet ﷺ had described among them was found, and 'Ali declared that Allah and His Messenger had spoken the truth.
Zeal without knowledge and mercy can turn worship into a weapon; 'Ali's first answer to extremism was argument and patience, and he fought only when they shed innocent blood.
Do you hold yourself to a standard of humility as high as your standard of devotion?
- Sahih Muslim 1066Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Sahih Muslim 1065Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Sahih al-Bukhari 3610 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- al-Nasa'i, al-Sunan al-KubraHistorical report
- Ibn Abi Shaybah, al-MusannafHistorical report
- Ibn Kathir, al-Bidayah wa al-NihayahHistorical report
What the hadith grades mean
- Sahih (authentic): an unbroken chain of trustworthy, precise narrators, free of hidden flaws or contradiction. It is acted upon.
- Hasan (good): like sahih, but a narrator's precision is slightly lighter. It is also accepted and acted upon. "Hasan sahih" means it reaches sahih by its routes.
- Da'if (weak): a break in the chain or a narrator who is not reliable enough. It is not used to establish beliefs or rulings.
- Very weak (munkar, matruk): a seriously flawed chain or a narrator accused of lying. It is not relied on at all.
- Mawdu' (fabricated): falsely attributed to the Prophet ﷺ. It may not be narrated as his words except to warn against it.
- The two Sahihs: every hadith with a full chain in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim is accepted as sahih by the scholars of hadith.
- Historical report: biographies and histories (Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Sa'd, al-Tabari) record events with chains that are often incomplete. They are used for the story, not for rulings.
- Hadith scholars grade a narration; the four madhhabs do not. Where a hadith carries a ruling, the page shows which schools act on it.
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