they have killed. "Dogs of the people of the Fire, dogs of the people of the Fire, dogs of the people of the Fire. These people were Muslims, then they became disbelievers." I said: O Abu Umamah, is this something you are saying? He said: Rather, I heard it from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. From Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, regarding the saying of the Almighty: {Say: Shall We inform you of the greatest losers in respect of their deeds?} (22). He said: "They are the people of Al-Nahrawan" (23). And from Abu Sa'id, in another hadith, from the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, who said: "They are the worst of creation and the created. If I were to catch them, I would kill them the killing of 'Ad" (24). And he said: "Their faith does not pass beyond their throats." The majority of jurists hold that they are rebels (bughat), and they do not view them as disbelievers (takfir). Ibn 'Abd al-Barr (25) said: I do not know of anyone who agreed with the People of Hadith on declaring them disbelievers (26) and treating them like apostates. Ibn 'Abd al-Barr also said regarding the hadith we narrated: His saying, "It (the arrow) passed through the target (al-fuq)" indicates that he did not declare them disbelievers, because they still held on to something of Islam, to the extent that there is doubt regarding their total exit from it. It is reported [that Ali] (27), when he fought the people of Al-Nahrawan, said to his companions: Do not initiate fighting against them. He sent word to them: Hand over to us the killers of Abdullah ibn Khabbab. They replied: We all killed him (28). Only then did he deem it lawful to fight them, because they confessed to something that necessitates their killing. Ibn 'Abd al-Barr mentioned, on the authority of Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, that he was asked about the people of Al-Nahrawan: Are they disbelievers? He said: From disbelief they fled. It was said: Are they hypocrites? He said: Verily, the hypocrites do not remember Allah except a little. It was said: Then what...
(22) Surah Al-Kahf 103. (23) Recorded by Al-Bukhari, in: Chapter on Surah Al-Kahf, from the Book of Exegesis. However, it is from 'Amr, from Mus'ab, as his own statement. Sahih Al-Bukhari 6/117. (24) Recorded by Muslim, in: Chapter on the mention of the Khawarij, from the Book of Zakat. Sahih Muslim 2/741, 742. And Abu Dawud, in: Chapter on fighting the Khawarij, from the Book of Sunnah. Sunan Abi Dawud 2/544. And Al-Nasa'i, in: Chapter on one who draws his sword and then uses it against the people, from the Book of Prohibition (Al-Tahrim). Al-Mujtaba 7/109. (25) In [B] and [M]: "Ibn al-Mundhir". (26) In [B]: "their disbelief (kufr-uhum)". (27) In [M]: "from Ali that he". (28) Recorded by Al-Daraqutni, in: Book of Penalties (Hudud) and Blood-money, etc. Sunan Al-Daraqutni 3/131, 132. And Al-Bayhaqi, in: Chapter on the Khawarij seceding..., from the Book of Fighting Rebels. Al-Sunan al-Kubra 8/185. And Ibn Abi Shaybah, in: Chapter on what is mentioned regarding the Khawarij, from the Book of Al-Jamal. Al-Musannaf 15/309, 323, 324.
