Q. & A. 711 to 1707 with solved Papers css 1971 to date

Their Main Teachings
Few principles were common to them all:
1. The theory of the Caliphate communicated above.
2. The theory of belief as mentioned above.
The Kharijites 349
3. Another principle which was claimed by most of them was
that there was no need of an Imam except in emergency, that is when the laws of religion were not respected.
Main Sects
According to Shaharastani, they became divided into seven sects, but the following four were most important.
(1) The Zariqa: Nafi bin Azariq was their leader, i) They should not marry amongst other.
ii) Others who called themselves Muslims were like the infidels of Arabia, they must be fought against;
in) Hiding of real belief and acting on expediency (Taqiyah), amounted to disbelief.
iv) Killing of other Muslims by treachery is justified.
(2) Al Najdiyah: Followers of Najda bin Amir Al-Hanafi.
i) One who errs after endeavouring Jo discover the
right solution (Ijtahad) is excusable.
ii) Religion consists of two things, belief in God and
belief in the mission of the Prophet. If after
accepting these fundamentals, one errs in other things, he is to be excused.
in) The sin of lying is greater than that of adultery and drinking.
(3) The Ibadiyah: Followers of Abdullah bin Ibad al-Tamimi. This sect is still found in North Africa and elsewhere.
i) They were extremist like others. They preached that
inter-marriage and mutual inheritance with other Muslims was allowed.
The killing of Muslims was not justified.
This sect was always on peaceful terms with the Caliphs.
(4) The Safriyah: Followers of Ziyad bin Asfar. They were mostly like the Azariqa, with the exception that they justified expediency in oral but not in practice. The Kharijites were mostly Arabs. They were the most democratic sect in Islam. But they were most harsh, prejudiced and unbridled and they

350 Political and Cultural History of Islam

looked down upon the clients, otherwise they would have received a great following from the latter.3
Chief Traits
1. They performed the religious duties with great sincerity and devotion. They hated sin and lie like anything. They were extremists, in everything. Even for ordinary omissions declared others as infidels and for petty things they rebelled against their leaders. Most of them declared others as disbelievers and meted out to them worse treatment. They slaughtered the women and children of other Muslims without mercy or demure. It was this violence and barbarism which excluded them from the Muslim community in general.
2. They were most ardent in their faith and defended it with wonderful bravery with the might of their arms. As a result of this, most of the best men in Islam looked on them with affection and reverence. Hazrat Ali at his death advised his followers not to fight the Kharijites any more. Umar bin Abdul Aziz regarded them as men who had erred badly in search of truth. They were never afraid of any thing on earth. They debated with the ablest and most pious men to their age, like Hazrat Ali and Ibn-Abbas and denounced their faith loudly under all circumstances. They sent their messengers to the Umayyad Caliphs to correct them.
3. Their courage, intrepidity and valour are proverbial in Arabian literature. Their exploits and deeds of heroism are depicted in their own unmemorable political compositions with which classical Arabic poetry is surfeit.
4. Their Arab origin was another point which endeared to the Muslim in general.
Matlub, P.165.
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