These are the people who revolted against the caliphate of Hazrat Uthman r.a. and they never accepted Him as their Amir. They accepted Ali r.a. as their amir and they fought alongside him in wars but when hazrat Ali r.a. made peace contract regarding the imam-ship of hazrat Amir MU’aviya, they revolted against Ali r.a and called him a disbeliever like they used to call hazrat Uthman r.a. actually these people were so staunch in believing their own point of view to be correct that they never listened to what others have to say, a kind of pride and self-centered nature these people had.
There are several ahadith of Muhammad s.a.w.w about khawarij. Few of them are given below.
Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.w. called them dogs of hell: from al-hakim, Ahmed, ibn hanbal
“The Khawārij are the dogs of Hell.”
Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.w said that there will be a group of people who will be worst of all, and HE s.a.w.w called them worst of all creatures. Recorded by Muslim (no. 1067) and it is in “Ṣaḥīḥ al-Jāmi’” by al-Albānī (no. 2035).
Abū Dharr narrated that Allah’s messenger s.a.w.w said: Aḥmad, Muslim, and Ibn Mājah
“There will definitely be a people after me from my nation who recite the Quran yet it will not even reach beyond their throats. They will pass through the religion as an arrow passes through a target, then they will not return back to it. They are the worst of people, the worst of all creatures.”
The worst does not stop here, Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.w said that anti-christ or dajjal will emerge from these people.
Ibn Mājah no. 174 and it is in “Ṣaḥīḥ al-Jāmi’” by al-Albānī (no. 8027).
Ibn ‘Umarr.a that the messenger of Allah s.a.w.w said:
“There will arise a group of people who will recite the Quran but it will not reach beyond their throats. Every time a new generation of them rises, they will then disappear.”
Ibn ‘Umar said, “I heard Allah’s messenger s.a.w.w. say, ‘Every time a new generation of them rises, they will then disappear,’ more than twenty times and then said: “Until the Anti-Christ finally appears among them.”
Another hadith, describes that these people when are killed are among the worst people and the people who they kill and the best i.e. these worst creatures kill only the best people.
(Ibn Majah no. 176 and it is in “Ṣaḥīḥ Sunan Ibn Mājah” by al-Albānī (no. 146).) Abū Umāmah said:
“(They are) the worst people killed under the sky, and the best people killed are those whom they kill. They are the dogs of Hell. These people used to be Muslims but they became disbelievers.”
I (Abū Ghālib, one of the narrators) asked, “Abū Umāmah, is this something only you yourself are saying?” He replied, “No, rather I heard it from the messenger of Allah s.a.w.w .
From the above hadith, it is quite clear that the khawarij were muslims, and still their generations belonged to muslims. But out of pride and self centered nature, these people not only introduced new things in islam but Also reject the truth and kill those who are truthful and pious.
>> [al-Bukhārī (no. 3610) and Muslim (no. 1063)] Who was the pioneer of this race, a tradition has been recorded by bukhair and muslim from Abū Sa’īd al-Khudrī r.a. who said:
“We were with Allah’s messenger s.a.w.w while he was distributing some wealth. Dhu al-Khuwaṣirah, a man from the Tamīm tribe, came to him and said, Messenger of Allah, be fair!’ The prophet replied: “Beware. And who would be fair if I was not? You would be ruined if I were not just.”
‘Umar said, “Messenger of Allah, allow me to strike his neck.” He replied: “Leave him. He will certainly have companions (from his progeny) whom one of you would belittle his own prayer when compared to their prayer and his fasting compared to their fasting. They will recite the Quran but it will not go beyond their throats. They will pass through the religion as an arrow passes through a game animal. One could then look at the arrowhead and not see a thing remaining on it. He could look at the binding which attaches the arrowhead to the rod and not see a thing. He could look at the rod and not see a thing. He could look at the feathers and not see a thing. It would go straight through the bowels and blood.
Their sign is that of a black man. One of his limbs will appear like a woman’s breast or a disfigured lump of flesh. They will emerge when the people are disunited.”
Abū Sa’īd said, “I testify that I indeed heard this Ḥadīth from Allah’s messenger s.a.w.w, and I testify that ‘Alī Ibn Abī Ṭālib fought them while I was with him. He instructed that we search for that man. He was found and ‘Alee was brought to him. I saw that man exactly as the prophet s.a.w.w described him.”
And there are many other ahadith about this fasiq and fajir group who are the dogs of hell. Because their pioneer tried to be over smart by “advising” Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.w to be fair and they show themselves as good and piou people but innovate in islam what they like by distorting the meaning of the verses. Prophet s.a.w.w said that they will appear when ummah will be disunited. Today, muslim ummah is most disunited than ever before. There is no tolerance left for other sects, instead of inviting muslims to a common platform, there are scholars of different sects who openly abuse other sects and claim that they are the only ahle-sunnah wal-jammah, i.e. the jamat of muslims on the right path and to be entered in jannah when the Day of Judgment come.