Murder in the Name of Allah — Page 70
Murder in the Name of Allah opposition and tried to influence political power rather than assume it themselves. . Political and social revolts were now justified in religious terms and dynastic struggles over political power soon hardened into deep rifts in religious doctrine. Kharijism and Shiism, the two main movements that split off from the main body after the assassination of the third caliph,. Uthman (644), originated during a struggle for succession. Kharijites were the first Muslims to suggest that a grave sinner no longer remained. Muslim. They were also the first to proclaim jihad against Muslims who, according to them, were not true believers, and originally belonged to. Ali's party; they left him, however, over a disagreement about arbitration. between him and Muawiyah, intended to settle their differences arising out of Uthman's murder. They said: 'judgement belongs to Allah alone' and not to human tribunals. Kharijites were key figures in the development of dogma. They were particular about a Muslim's qualifications and his attitude towards his fellow men, Muslim or non-Muslim. This group was the first distinct sect to appear in Islam, and was also the first to reject the principle of justification by faith. They maintained that a grave sinner no longer remained a Muslim and could not re-enter the faith; instead, he should be killed with his family. They considered all non-Kharijites to be outlaws and non-Muslim. As we saw earlier, the. Prophetsa knew the munafiqun of Medina and their leader, Abdullah b. . Ubayy, and yet he took no action against him. He did not judge the quality of a Muslim's faith. 34. The Kharijites conflicted directly with the teaching of the Quran and the sunnah of the Prophets. Their declaration that 'judgement belongs to. Allah alone' (la hukma illa lillah)³³ was in total contradiction to the sunnah. The Prophetsa appointed Sad b. Muadh as hakam to decide the fate of the Jewish tribe of B. Qurayzah and his sentence was carried out. ³. Commenting on the Sahih Muslim report of Sad's judgement, AlNawawi (d. AH127/AD676) said: 'In their disputes Muslims are allowed to resort to tahkim'. 35 In fact, if two Muslim groups are at war, it is the duty of other Muslims to make peace between them. The. Quran says: 'All believers are brothers, so make peace between brothers, and be mindful of your duty to Allah that you may be shown mercy. ' (49. 11) Declaring Muslims to be ‘disbelievers' and then punishing them just because their standards are different from the standards of a certain religious authority - takfir - is alien to Islam. The 70