Khawarij
...The Khawarij are not an historical sect or movement. Rather, they are present in our times! The Sunnah states they exist and that whenever one generation ends, another will rise, until they come out with the Dajjal (False Messiah) and fight with him against the Muslims! It has been reported that the Prophet, :saw:, said:
“They (the Khawarij) will recite the Qur’an, but it will not go past their throats (reach their hearts). Whenever a generation comes out, it is cut.” Ibn ‘Umar said, “I heard the Messenger of Allah, :saw:, saying: ‘Whenever a generation comes out, it is cut,’ he said it over twenty times, ‘until the Dajjal comes out from amongst them.’” (Saheeh Sunan Ibn Majah #144)
And he, :saw:, said: “They will continue to come out until the last of them come out with the Dajjal.” (Collected by Al-Haithami in Majma’ al-Zawaa’id, volume 6, page 231)
These hadeeths prove that the Khawarij exist and will continue to exist. So how do we know who they are? The answer is that they have certain attributes and characteristics. No one will say, “I am from the Khawarij.” But if he has their attributes he is one of them.
Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “In the last days of this world there will appear some young foolish people who will use the best speech of all people (i.e. the Quran), but they will abandon Islam as an arrow going through the game. Their belief will not go beyond their throats (i.e. they will have practically no belief), so wherever you meet them, kill them, for he who kills them shall get a reward on the Day of Resurrection.” [Sahih Bukhari]
This hadith is about the Khawarij. They used to recite the Quran so much that its recitation could be heard from a distance away from their camps. They prayed much and lived very simply but the Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said about them that they would be the dogs of the inmates of Hell. This is because they would apply the ayaat of the Quran meant for the non-Muslims to the Muslims. They would interpret verses of the Quran out of context and they made the blood of the Muslims lawful for themselves and for boasting among themselves. They were part of the first fitnah of the Muslim Ummah.
The Khawarij are not limited to the time of the first century of Islam. Other ahadith indicate that people who have these characteristics will arise time and again throughout the life of this Ummah. Some Muslims find the blood of other Muslims lawful these days too, and either target Muslims with their weapons directly, or facilitate the non-Muslims in their war against Muslims. Present day Khawarij have set bounties on the heads of Muslims, and on top of that boast about their capture! Astaghfirullah.
If you want to benefit from the Quran, it will benefit you and if you want to abuse it by misinterpreting it then you can do that too. Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) is sufficient to honour His Book. The point of the Quran is to understand and correctly implement what we read. That is the real benefit of the book of Allah (subhana wa ta’ala).
“They (the Khawarij) will recite the Qur’an, but it will not go past their throats (reach their hearts). Whenever a generation comes out, it is cut.” Ibn ‘Umar said, “I heard the Messenger of Allah, :saw:, saying: ‘Whenever a generation comes out, it is cut,’ he said it over twenty times, ‘until the Dajjal comes out from amongst them.’” (Saheeh Sunan Ibn Majah #144)
And he, :saw:, said: “They will continue to come out until the last of them come out with the Dajjal.” (Collected by Al-Haithami in Majma’ al-Zawaa’id, volume 6, page 231)
These hadeeths prove that the Khawarij exist and will continue to exist. So how do we know who they are? The answer is that they have certain attributes and characteristics. No one will say, “I am from the Khawarij.” But if he has their attributes he is one of them.
Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “In the last days of this world there will appear some young foolish people who will use the best speech of all people (i.e. the Quran), but they will abandon Islam as an arrow going through the game. Their belief will not go beyond their throats (i.e. they will have practically no belief), so wherever you meet them, kill them, for he who kills them shall get a reward on the Day of Resurrection.” [Sahih Bukhari]
This hadith is about the Khawarij. They used to recite the Quran so much that its recitation could be heard from a distance away from their camps. They prayed much and lived very simply but the Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said about them that they would be the dogs of the inmates of Hell. This is because they would apply the ayaat of the Quran meant for the non-Muslims to the Muslims. They would interpret verses of the Quran out of context and they made the blood of the Muslims lawful for themselves and for boasting among themselves. They were part of the first fitnah of the Muslim Ummah.
The Khawarij are not limited to the time of the first century of Islam. Other ahadith indicate that people who have these characteristics will arise time and again throughout the life of this Ummah. Some Muslims find the blood of other Muslims lawful these days too, and either target Muslims with their weapons directly, or facilitate the non-Muslims in their war against Muslims. Present day Khawarij have set bounties on the heads of Muslims, and on top of that boast about their capture! Astaghfirullah.
If you want to benefit from the Quran, it will benefit you and if you want to abuse it by misinterpreting it then you can do that too. Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) is sufficient to honour His Book. The point of the Quran is to understand and correctly implement what we read. That is the real benefit of the book of Allah (subhana wa ta’ala).