What do Al-Qaa’idah, I.S.I.S., Al-Ikhwaan Al-Muslimeen, and Jabhah An-Nusrah all have in Common?
Shaykh Muhammad Ramzaan
These Khawaarij stood in opposition to Alee ibn Aboo Taalib. They came to an area called Harooraa’, hence, they were called Al-Harooriyah. The Khawaarij, you will find under the name Al-Qaa’idah, I.S.I.S. (etc.), the names are not important, all of them are Khawaarij. (They are known as):
Al-Azaariqah, Al-Harooriyah, Al-Qaa’idah; and they are the most despicable of the Khawaarij. They incite the people while they do not go out, and how numerous are they within our lands! As Aboo Umaamah said when the heads of the Khawaarij in Shaam were killed. He said: “(They are) dogs of the Hellfire.” A man nearby said: “Did you say this?” He said: “The Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam) said it.” He said: “Did you hear him say it?” He said: “By Allaah, I would never be so bold (as to lie on the Prophet). Indeed I have heard it, I have heard it, I have heard it.” Then he turned to the youth and said: “Indeed they are abundant within your land.” Na’am! By Allaah, they are abundant within our lands. May Allaah cut off their evil and uproot them and place their affairs in disarray. May Allaah expose their covering and not actualize for them their objectives and may Allaah not raise their flag. They are a devious plot and conspiracy against Islam and its people. Then after this, there comes those who come and praise them just as ‘Imraan ibn Hittaan praised the murderer of ‘Alee ibn Aboo Taalib; he venerated him by calling him them best of Allaah’s creation. (Saying within lines of poetry):
يا ضربة من تقي ما أراد بها إلا ليبلغ من ذي العرش رضوانا
إني لأذكره يوما فأحسبه أزكى البرية عند الله ميزانــــــا
What a blow from a pious person who did not seek by way of it,
Except to attain from the Possessor of the Throne, His Pleasure
Indeed I remembered him one day and deem him to be,
The purest of the creation with Allaah in the scales (of good deeds)
Look at this false praise! Do not be shocked; for there comes, from the callers to falsehood, he who praises them. Their callers and their icons are known. The Rawaafid, we know that they have a state and they have icons. The Khawaarij are the same; thus we read throughout history. The greatest of that which has spread the ideology of the modern Khawaarij is the Egyptian group Al-Ikhwaan Al-Muslimeen which was founded by Hasan Al-Banna. And Sayyid Qutb (likewise) spewed the venom of the Khawaarij. And Abdullaah ‘Azzaam took his cup and Al-Zawahiri and Osamah bin Laden drank it. They spread it by injecting it within all their followers until they became poisoned with this ideology.
This is the reality. For we still find amongst our sons those who praise them. You wouldn’t be amazed that this is present when one hears who nurtured and taught them the praise and magnification of these people. Al-Qaa’idah is the foundation within this era. And it gave rise to those groups and parties. Now its offspring is I.S.I.S. and Jabhah An-Nusrah. There is no difference between Jabhah An-Nusrah and I.S.I.S. except like that of a coin which flips like this and like that (i.e., they are two sides of the same coin). Their differences are political and worldly differences. As for their methods, their ideologies, and their creed, it is one. I am amazed at those who speak and implicate specific people sternly and talk about I.S.I.S. but they are silent regarding Jabhah (An-Nusrah) as if it is purer and closer to Allaah. Rather, all of them are Khawaarij and utilize the same methods, creed, and ideologies even if they may be different. For the Khawaarij fall into three affairs:
Firstly: Withdrawing from the Jamaa’ah
Secondly: Declaring the ruler to be disbelievers
Thirdly: Isolation of themselves
And how similar tonight is to last night (i.e., they are the same today as they were in former times).
I will mention to you an incident which occurred with ‘Aa’ishah, may Allaah be pleased with her. A woman named Mu’aadhah came to her. Pay attention; why is it that we warn? Because warning is a legislative methodology. Is the likes of this speech suitable for the common folk? Listen to that which occurred. A woman came to ‘Aa’ishah, may Allaah be pleased with her, and said: “O dear mother, why is it that the menstruating woman makes up the fast but does not make up the prayer?”
It is known that the Khawaarij desired to oppose the evidences and texts. So when she saw this divergence which contained something problematic for this questioner, it was a must that the question be answered so that the problematic issue would be cleared up and the affair be made clear. What did she say to her? She said: “Are you a Harooriyah?” Pay attention. She said: “Are you a Harooriyah?” This is a class of the Khawaarij. They are called Khawaarij due to their creed, as the Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam) described them. I add to that which my brother, Shaykh ‘Awaad, mentioned, that there are ten Ahadeeth. Rather, there are more than a hundred! Within the two Saheehs there are thirty Hadeeths. In the two Saheehs are more than thirty Hadeeths regarding the Khawaarij and the description of the Khawaarij.
She said: “Are you a Harooriyah?” The woman was a small Taabi’eeyah who was ignorant of the rulings of fasting and prayer and making up (the two) and menses, but she was not ignorant of the Harooriyah. She didn’t say: O dear mother, who are the Harooriyah? I don’t know what you are saying, what do you intend?
She said: “Are you a Harooriyah?” She replied: “No, dear mother.” For she knew the meaning of Al-Harooriyah, because the voice of warning had reached the common folk so that they could beware of the groups and the Khawaarij. She said: “No, dear mother. However, I am only asking.” So she saw that the answer was not proper to be a detailed answer; rather, an answer which is in connection to the issue she had. What did she say: “This is what we have been commanded with.”
This is the detailed answer by way of which guidelines are formulated for many issues; that the legislative affair is for us to say: We hear and we obey. However, the Khawaarij say: We hear and we disobey. And how similar tonight is to last night.
Today, they withdraw from the Jamaa’ah, make Takfeer of the rulers, and formulate their own Jamaa’ah. I am not saying except that which has emanated from our lands, may Allaah give them success, in warning against and categorizing these people as being from the Khawaarij.
In reality, they have many branches. From them there are the Surooriyah السرورية, who are no different from the Harooriyah الحرورية with the exception of the Seen س and the Haa’ ح only. Besides this, (they both display) withdrawal from the Jamaa’ah, declaring the ruler to be a disbeliever, and refusal of allegiance to him. These are the Khawaarij; and it is not only the one who deems the one who commits a major sin to be a disbeliever who is a Khaarijee. This is (only) some of that which the Khawaarij sect described with, while they are (of different) groups.
Translated by Raha ibn Donald Batts