and the People of Opinion (Ahl al-Ra'y). The outward meaning of the words of Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him, is that the Khawarij are not to be prayed over. He said: 'If the people of innovation fall ill, do not visit them, and if they die, do not pray over them.' Ahmad also said: 'The Jahmiyyah and the Rafidah are not to be prayed over; the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) abandoned the prayer over [people guilty of] less than this.' He mentioned that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) forbade fighting in one of the areas of Khaybar; a man fought from that area and was killed, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did not pray over him (2). It was said to him (3): 'If there is a village whose inhabitants are Christians, and there is no one in it to pray over him [a deceased Muslim].' He replied: 'I will not bear witness for him; whoever wishes to may bear witness for him.' Malik said: 'The Ibadis, the Qadiriyyah, and all other followers of desires (Ahl al-Ahwa') are not to be prayed over, their funerals are not to be followed, and their sick are not to be visited.' The Ibadis are a sect of the Khawarij, attributed to Abdullah ibn Ibad, the holder of their doctrine. The Azariqah are the followers of Nafi' ibn al-Azraq. The Najadat are the followers of Najdah al-Haruri. The Bayhasiyyah are the followers of Bayhas. The Sufriyyah are said to be attributed to the yellowness (sufra) of their complexions, and their sub-sects are many (6). The Haruriyyah are attributed to a land called Harura' from which they emerged. Abu Bakr ibn Ayyash said: 'I do not pray over a Rafidi because he claims (7) that Umar is a disbeliever, nor over a Haruri because he claims that Ali is a disbeliever.' Al-Firyabi said: 'Whoever insults Abu Bakr is a disbeliever; one is not to pray over him.' The basis for abandoning the prayer over them is that they declare the people of Islam to be disbelievers and do not see any validity in praying over them; therefore, one does not pray over them, just like the disbelievers among the Dhimmi and others, and because they have apostatized from the religion, thus resembling apostates.
Section: The rebels (al-bughat), if they are not from among the people of innovation, are not considered corrupt (fasiqin); rather, they are mistaken (8) in their interpretation, while the Imam and the people of justice are correct in fighting them; thus, they are all
(2) We did not find this in what we have before us. (3) Omitted from [B] and [M]. (4) In [M]: "that he". (5) In [M]: "the companions". (6) See: Al-Milal wa al-Nihal 1/195-265. (7) In [M]: "claimed". (8) In [M]: "they are mistaken".
