The House of Islam by Ed Husain

Author:Ed Husain
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Ibn Abbas greeted them, and they welcomed him. Their first question to him was: ‘What is this cloak you are wearing?’ Ibn Abbas’s choice of clothing was not whimsical, nor intentionally lavish, but in keeping with the man he loved and learned from, the Prophet Mohamed. ‘What fault do you see in me?’ he replied. ‘Indeed, I saw the Prophet of God dressed in the best of what we find in Yemeni clothes.’ Knowing that they were not fully content with this response, he recited the verse of the Quran that says: ‘Who dares forbid the decoration and blessings of God which He has produced for His servants?’ Recognising Ibn Abbas’s conviction, and hearing his reference to the Quran, the Kharijites moved on to other questions.

‘What has brought you here?’ they asked. ‘I have come to you representing the companions of the Prophet of Allah,’ he said, ‘the migrants from Mecca, the helpers of Medina, and from Ali, the son-in-law of the Prophet. Upon them descended the Quran; they are more knowledgeable about this than you. I see not a single one of the companions of the Prophet among you.’ They then conferred among themselves, and several turned to Ibn Abbas confirming their willingness to engage.

‘Come forward,’ said Ibn Abbas. ‘What is your complaint against the companions of the Prophet and his son-in-law?’ ‘Three issues,’ they responded. First, they complained that Ali had allowed men to be judges in arbitrating between warring sides in the recent conflict. This was polytheism and not God’s law. It defied the Quranic verse that says ‘Rule is for God alone.’ Second, they complained that Ali had fought Ayesha and her supporters, but had not permitted his soldiers to take captives or war booty. Third, based on the above two grievances, they insisted that Ali should change his title, ‘Leader of the Believers’, because of his errors. He was no longer a believer. He was ‘Leader of the Disbelievers’.

This was an act of Takfir on the part of the Kharijites – declaring someone to be a disbeliever, or an infidel. The Kharijites were the first to adopt simultaneously a number of troubling practices: excessive piety, separatism from other Muslims, literalism in reading scripture, and now Takfir. Soon, one more radical trait would be added to these four: intense violence. These five hallmarks of the Kharijites originated in the seventh century, and are still alive now in our times, in ISIS and others.

Ibn Abbas understood that the only language they comprehended was that of scripture. Before long, Imam Ali also realised that those who could not be dissuaded had to be destroyed. For now, however, Ibn Abbas attempted to debate, discuss and hold dialogue with them, on the agreed understanding that they would change their position and make Tawbah, or repent, if he could demonstrate their conclusions to be based on a false reading of the Quran.

On the question of God being the only ruler in matters of judgement, and human arbitration between people being a

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