Kharijites

“ At Zanzibar, Uman and the Mzab in Algeria are the descendants of the Kharijites. Probably, somewhere or other, there are some fossilized descendants of every sect that has ever arisen, either to trouble the peace of Islam or to save it from scholastic decrepitude and death. Insurrections and heresies have their own uses. ”

“ We are of the opinion that we may not accuse anyone of unbelief (kufr) , who prays towards Mecca, on account of sin committed by him, such as unchastity, theft, wine drinking, as the Kharijites believe, who judge that these thereby become unbelievers. We teach that whoever commits a great sin (kabira) , or anything like it, holding it to be allowed, is an unbeliever, since he does not believe in its prohibition. ”

“ For at Mohammed’s death the Medinese began fiercely contesting the claims of the Qoraishites; and during the reign of Alî, the fourth Khalîf, the Khârijites rebelled, demanding, as democratic rigorists, the free election of khalîfs without restriction to the tribe of Qoraish or to any other descent. ”

“ Those who were known as the Khārijites, being mainly country Arabs, were democratic, and claimed that the office of caliph was elective, and that the caliph might be chosen from any Arab Moslem family. In strong opposition to these stood the party afterwards called the Shiites, who regarded ʽAlī and his descendants as the only rightful caliphs. For them the caliphate was a God-given office, and not one to be given by human appointment. ”

“ It was fatal, for by it Ali alienated some of his own party and gained less than nothing on the other side. Part of Ali’s army seceded in protest and rebellion, because he—the duly elected Khalifa—submitted his claim to any shadow of doubt. On the other hand, they could not accept Mu‘awiya, for him they regarded as unduly elected and a mere usurper. Thus they drifted and split into innumerable sub-sects. They were called Kharijites—goers out—because they went out from among the other Muslims, refused to regard them as Muslims and held themselves apart. ”

“ Reign of Motadid.—Motadid may be called, after Mansūr, the most able and energetic of all the Abbasid rulers. He took good care of the finances, reformed the administration, was an excellent commander in war, and maintained order as far as possible. The Kharijites in Mesopotamia, who for many years had molested the government, were finally crushed with the aid of their former ally Ḥamdān, who became the founder of the well-known dynasty of the Ḥamdānites. ”

“ The former was the doctrine of the Kharijites, who declared Othmán, Alí, Aïsha, Moáwiya, and many other “Companions” of Mohammed to have been unbelievers; while their opponents, more in the spirit of the Prophet, left it with God to pronounce judgment on these as well as on others who might have fallen into sin.
The theologico-juristical schools are of much greater practical importance than the dogmatic. In Islam “law” embraces ritual also in the widest sense of the word ”

“ Thenceforth the continual revolts of the Berbers in Africa, and the internal troubles which disturbed Spain until the reign of Abdarrahman I., effectually checked the ambition of the Moslems.
In Africa the hand of government pressed heavily. The Berbers, though they had pledged themselves to Islam and had furnished the latest contingents for the Holy War, were treated as tributary serfs, notwithstanding the promises given by Omar II. The Kharijites, of whom a great many had emigrated to Africa, found them eager listeners. ”

“ By a bold attack, in the manner of the Kharijites of yore, Ṭāhir penetrated into the centre of the hostile army and killed Ali. The frightened army fled, leaving the camp with all its treasures to Ṭāhir, who from that day was named “the man with the two right hands.” A courier was despatched immediately to Merv, who performed the journey, a distance of about 750 miles, in three days. On the very day of his arrival, Harthama b. Aʽyan had left Merv with reinforcements. Mamun now no longer hesitated to take the title of caliph. ”

“ Ere long, however, their ineradicable love of independence led the Berbers, who after the conquest of 323Andalusia (p. 50) had formed the sect of the Kharijites and later that of the Shiites, to unite in opposing the orthodox Arabs and to found (about 740) several small states of their own, such as that of the Ibadites in Tiaret (p. 208) and that of the Sofrites in Sijilmassa (Tafilet, p. 96) . ”

“ Emissaries and secret deputations were sent to all the principal towns of Persia, `Irāk, and Khorāsān, and, in spite of the severe measures taken to check the movement, the cause of the Hāshimites began rapidly to spread. The Shi`ites and the Khārijites were induced to make common cause with the Hāshimites, on the plea that the only object of the movement was to secure the Caliphate for a member of the Prophet’s own family.
In the year A.H. 125 (742) Mohammed visited Mekka, and in the same year Abū Muslim was taken there on a pilgrimage by a party of the Hāshimite faction. ”

“ Thereupon Hajjāj ordered that every man capable of bearing arms should immediately join Mohallab in Khūzistān (Susiana) , and swore that all who should be found in the town after the third day should be beheaded. This threat had its effect, and Hajjāj proceeded to Baṣra, where his presence was followed by the same results. Mohallab, reinforced by the army of Irak, at last succeeded, after a struggle of eighteen months, in subjugating the Kharijites and their caliph Qatara b. ”

“ Rebellion of Khirrît in Southern Persia, A.H. XXXXVIII. A.D. 658.The most serious of these risings was that led by Khirrît; and it is the more remarkable, because this chief had with his tribe, the Beni Nâjia, fought bravely by the side of Aly in the battles both of the Camel and Siffîn. He was now driven, like many others, by his strong convictions to rebel. Boldly approaching the throne, he told Aly that since he, as Caliph, had referred a Divine issue to the arbitration of man, he could obey him no more, neither stand up behind him in the Mosque at prayer ”

“ The approaches to it were protected by a few towns, or rather fortified villages, built in the neighbourhood of springs, and surrounded by cultivated fields and poverty-stricken gardens; but the bulk of the people lived in tents or in caves on the mountain-sides. The Egyptians constantly confounded those Khauri, whom the Hebrews in after-times found scattered among the children of Edom, with the other tribes of Bedouin marauders, and designated them vaguely as Shaûsû. ”

“ In the remains of Egyptian and Assyrian art there are numerous representations of chariots, from which it may be seen with what richness they were sometimes ornamented. The “iron” chariots in use among the Jews appear to have been chariots strengthened or plated with metal, and no doubt were of the form above described, which prevailed generally among the other ancient nations. ”

“ He kept his way, however, until he arrived at the site of his mosque in al-Madinah where his camel knelt. [13] He dismounted. Then came abu-Aiyûb Khâlid ibn-Zaid ... [14] ibn-al-Khazraj who took off the saddle of the Prophet's camel. The Prophet took up his abode at abu-Aiyûb's. [15] Certain Khazrajis invited the Prophet, but he retorted, "Man is where his camel's saddle is." He remained at abu-Aiyûb's for seven months. He took up his residence there after [Friday-] prayer, one month since his departure [from Makkah] . ”

“ Kharvi.—The Kharvis are described, in the South Canara Manual, as “Marāthi fishermen, who migrated to this district from the Bombay Presidency. The name Kharvi is said to be a corrupt form of the Sanskrit kshār, salt. They are hardworking but thriftless, and much given to drink, chiefly toddy. They are sea-fishermen and good sailors, and also work as domestic servants and labourers. They employ Havīk Brāhmans to perform their marriage and other ceremonies. ”

“ From the ancient sculptures preserved from Nineveh and Babylon, some of which are in the British Museum, we observe the use of chariots was continued in the great plains, for the purposes of hunting as well as for war. The chariots of Assyria were larger than those of Egypt, and would carry three or more persons; they seem, too, much heavier in the build. ”

“ The theocratic Separatists were sorely troubled at the prospects of Islam. It was not that raids and robbery, dissension and strife, had been the order of the day. That they could bear, for bloodshed was more tolerable than apostasy. To the Khârejite, the cessation of war brought with it no peace of mind. A settled government was the ruin of his hopes. Aly having come to terms with Muâvia, there was no longer room to expect that the ungodly kingdoms of the earth would be overthrown, and the reign of righteousness established in their stead. ”

“ Chota Nāgpur is the home of the Kharias, and their total strength is over a lakh. They are found elsewhere only in Assam, where they have probably migrated to the tea-gardens.
[Contents]
2. Legend of origin.
The Kharia legend of origin resembles that of the Mundas, and tends to show that they are an elder branch of that tribe. They say that a child was born to a woman in the jungle, and she left it to fetch a basket in which to carry it home. On her return she saw a cobra spreading its hood [446] over the child to protect it from the sun. ”

“ Hence, the reasoning runs thus—that the Huns of Attila were what the Huns of Priscus were;—that one of these Hun tribes was the Khazar tribe. What were the Khazars? The Khazars were Turks from the East. Τούρκοι ἀπὸ τῆς ἑώας, οὓς Χαζάρας ὀνομάζουσι, Theophanes, the first author who names them, denoting them thus. In respect to their history, the Khazars appear as the Avars wane in importance. It was by an alliance with the Khazars, indeed, that Heraclius, as stated above, freed himself from those formidable enemies. ”

“ East of the Volga, as far as the Ural River, and even beyond, roamed various tribes of the vast Turkish race, amongst whom the Petchenegs occupied the foremost rank. On the lower course of the Volga and further west, lived the Khazars, a Turkish tribe of advanced culture, who carried on a flourishing trade on the Caspian and Black seas, and had embraced the Jewish religion. These Khazars were the mightiest of the Turkish races of that time, and their wars with Persia and with the rising Mohammedan power became of historic importance. ”

“ I had long wished to visit the banks of the Khabour. This river, the Chaboras of the Greek geographers, and the Habor, or Chebar, of the Samaritan captivity [103] , rises in the north of Mesopotamia, and flowing to the west of the Sinjar hill, falls into the Euphrates near the site of the ancient city of Carchemish [104] or Circesium, still known to the Bedouins by the name of Carkeseea. As it winds through the midst of the desert, and its rich pastures are the resort of wandering tribes of Arabs, it is always difficult of access to the traveller. ”

“ Carchemish, whose independence was still respected by the fortresses erected in its neighbourhood, could make no move without exposing itself to an immediate catastrophe: Arpad, occupying a prominent position a little in front of the Afrîn, on the main route leading to the Orontes, had assumed the rôle which Carchemish was no longer in a position to fill. ”

“ The khalif Nassir-ladin-Illah even gave precedence to the banner of the pilgrims from Alamoot, and this mark of partiality drew on him the wrath of the potent prince of Khaurism. Twice did the latter afterwards collect an [Pg 134] army to make war on the successor of the Prophet. With the first, consisting of nearly 300,000 men, he marched against Bagdad, and had reached Hamadan and Holuan, when a violent snow-storm obliged him to retire. ”

“ The Kharias believe that the spirits of the dead are reborn in children, and on the Bārhi day, a month after the child’s birth, they ascertain which ancestor has been reborn by the usual method of divination with grains of rice in water. ”

“ No sooner were the Turks gone, than the Latin monarch [616] broke his truce with the Egyptians, and Shawer was once more obliged to apply to Nourhaddin. Chyrkouh again advanced into the Fatimite dominions with increased forces, obliged Almeric to retreat with great loss, took possession of Cairo, beheaded Shawer, and installed himself in the office of vizier to Adhad, calif of Egypt, though he still retained the title of lieutenant for Nourhaddin of Aleppo. ”

“ With a band of apostate Arabs, they kindled revolt throughout the province of Fars, and put the governor to flight. suppressed, and Khirrît slain.A force from Bussorah drove them to the shores of the Indian Ocean. But luring the people by delusive arguments and promises, they still gained head; and it was not till after a bloody battle, in which Khirrît lost his life, that the supremacy of the Caliphate was re-established in Southern Persia. Christian captives.The Mussulman prisoners in this campaign were set at liberty on their taking afresh the oath of allegiance ”

“ The Cahrocs have some conception of a great {350} deity called Chareya, the Old Man Above; he is wont to appear upon earth at times to some of the most favoured sorcerers; he is described as wearing a close tunic, with a medicine-bag, and as having long white hair that falls venerably about his shoulders. Practically, however, the Cahrocs, like the majority of Californian tribes, venerate chiefly the Coyote. Great dread is also had of certain forest-demons of nocturnal habits; these, say the Cahrocs, take the form of bears, and shoot arrows at benighted wayfarers. ”