Ibn Ḥajar on the Khawārij

Some words from Ibn Ḥajar, in his commentary on this hadith. Ibn Ḥajar says that Ibn Hubayrah said: wa fī al-ḥadīthi anna qitāla al-khawāriji awlā min qitāli al-mushrikīn, wa al-ḥikmatu fīhi anna fī qitālihim ḥifẓa raʾsi māli al-islām, wa fī qitāli ahli al-shirki ṭalaba al-ribḥ, wa ḥifẓu raʾsi al-māli awlā. In this hadith we learn that fighting the Khawārij takes priority over fighting the disbelievers; and the wisdom behind that is that fighting the Khawārij is the protection of the capital, while fighting the disbelievers is seeking profit; and protecting the capital takes precedence over making a profit. And this is a rule that applies to fighting all of the murtaddūn, because they are eating the ummah from within; while when one fights the disbelievers, one fights them to bring them — obviously, here they are speaking of fighting the disbelievers in terms of daʿwah. So protecting the capital takes precedence over making a profit.

And then he says: wa fīhi al-taḥdhīru min al-ghuluwwi fī al-diyānati wa al-tanaṭṭuʿi fī al-ʿibādati bi-al-ḥamli ʿalā al-nafsi fīmā lam yaʾdhan fīhi al-sharʿ. And he said: there is a warning in this hadith against going to extremes in religion, and going to extremes in worship in ways that Islam has not allowed, that the Sharīʿah has not allowed. And then he says: wa innamā nadaba ilā al-shiddati ʿalā al-kuffāri wa ilā al-raʾfati bi-al-muʾminīn, fa-ʿakasa dhālika al-khawārij, kamā taqaddama bayānuh — our religion has encouraged us to be rough with the kuffār and soft with the believers, and the Khawārij did the opposite of that, as has been seen.

Because the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) gives a very important sign among the signs of the Khawārij, and it is very important to keep it in mind whenever we want to know who the Khawārij are. And that sign is: yaqtulūna ahla al-islāmi wa yadaʿūna ahla al-awthān — they kill the Muslims, and they leave the idol-worshippers alone (al-Bukhārī 3344). This is an important sign among the signs of the Khawārij. An example of that: ʿAbdullāh ibn Khabbāb, the son of the Companion Khabbāb ibn al-Aratt, was travelling with his wife, and he was stopped by the Khawārij. They said: who are you? He said: I am the son of Khabbāb ibn al-Aratt — everybody knew who he was, a Companion of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) — and they killed him. And they cut open the stomach of his wife, and killed her, and drew out the foetus — she was pregnant. And then they took some belongings owned by a Christian or a Jew, and some of them said: no, you have to return them, because these are ahl al-dhimmah.

So one can see an example here: they are practising waraʿ and taqwā when it comes to the ahl al-dhimmah; but when it comes to the Muslims, they kill the son of the Companion of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). And this is an important — one of the most important — qualities of the Khawārij: their animosity, hatred and roughness towards the Muslims; and then when it comes to the kuffār, they turn a blind eye to them. And by the way, that incident is what started the war between ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib and the Khawārij, because ʿAlī said: leave them alone until they kill or rob; then we will fight them. So when they killed ʿAbdullāh ibn Khabbāb and took his belongings, that is when ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ordered that they be fought.

And then he says: wa fīhi jawāzu qitāli man kharaja ʿan ṭāʿati al-imāmi al-ʿādil, wa man naṣaba al-ḥarba fa-qātala ʿalā iʿtiqādin fāsid. And he says there is evidence here for fighting those who revolt against the just imām, the just leader, and those who fight for a false belief. So there is evidence here for fighting those who fight for a false belief, and for fighting those who revolt against a just leader, such as ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib — those who revolted against him. Wa man kharaja yaqṭaʿu al-ṭuruqa wa yukhīfu al-sabīla wa yasʿā fī al-arḍi bi-al-fasād — and those who spread corruption on earth, and commit highway robbery: there is evidence here that they should be fought.

And take note of what Ibn Ḥajar says next: wa ammā man kharaja ʿan ṭāʿati imāmin jāʾirin arāda al-ghalabata ʿalā mālihi aw nafsihi aw ahlihi, fa-huwa maʿdhūrun wa lā yaḥillu qitāluh. He says: but one who revolts against an oppressive leader — and notice here that he is not saying a disbelieving leader; he is saying an oppressive leader — who wants to take his wealth, or to kill him, or to abuse his family, is excused, and it is not allowed to fight him. So as for those who revolt against the unjust leaders, Ibn Ḥajar is saying that it is ḥarām to fight them, and they are excused for fighting. And he says that if the police force or the army of an unjust ruler comes to take away your wealth, or to kill you, or to abuse your family, then you can fight back. He says: wa lā yaḥillu qitāluh, wa lahu an yadfaʿa ʿan nafsihi wa mālihi wa ahlihi bi-qadri ṭāqatih — and you can defend yourself, your wealth and your family according to your ability. And this is speaking of the unjust leader. But if the leader is a disbeliever, then it is the consensus of the ʿulamāʾ that it is wājib, obligatory, to fight him; one cannot submit to a disbelieving leader. Wa sa-yaʾtī bayānu dhālika fī kitāb al-fitan — and this will be explained in the Book of Fitan.

And then he says: wa qad akhraja al-Ṭabarī bi-sanadin ṣaḥīḥin ʿan ʿAbdillāhi bni al-Ḥārithi ʿan rajulin min Banī Naṣrin ʿan ʿAliyyin, wa dhakara al-khawārija fa-qāla: in khālafū imāman ʿadlan fa-qātilūhum, wa in khālafū imāman jāʾiran fa-lā tuqātilūhum fa-inna lahum maqālā. Al-Ṭabarī narrates with an authentic chain from ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Ḥārith, from a man of Banū Naṣr, from ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, that he said about the Khawārij: if they go against a just ruler, then they should be fought; but if they go against an unjust ruler, then do not fight them, because they have an argument. Qultu: wa ʿalā dhālika yuḥmalu mā waqaʿa li-al-Ḥusayni bni ʿAliyy, thumma li-ahli al-Madīnati fī al-Ḥarrah, thumma li-ʿAbdillāhi bni al-Zubayr, thumma li-al-qurrāʾi alladhīna kharajū ʿalā al-Ḥajjāji fī qiṣṣati ʿAbd al-Raḥmān. And then he says: and that is how we should regard what happened with al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī, and the people of Madīnah when they revolted, and ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Zubayr, and then the scholars who revolted against al-Ḥajjāj in the story of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Muḥammad ibn al-Ashʿath — and Allah knows best. So Ibn Ḥajar here mentions as examples those who revolted against unjust leaders: ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Zubayr, and al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī, and the people of Madīnah, and ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Ashʿath.