for the Khārijites, after all, proclaim the takbīr, perform the prayer, and recite the Qur’an. Do you not recall the report of Abū Umāmah (may Allah be pleased with him) when he entered the mosque of Damascus and saw the severed heads of some Khārijites there? He said to Abū Ghālib al-Ḥimṣī, “O Abū Ghālib, these people are from your land, and I wished to acquaint you with who they are: they are the dogs of Hell and the worst slain beneath the canopy of heaven.”

While saying this Abū Umāmah began to weep. Abū Ghālib asked, “O Abū Umāmah, what makes you weep? They were Muslims, yet you speak of them in the way I have just heard.”

He replied, “It is about these people that Allah, Exalted is He, says:
‘On the Day when some faces will be bright and other faces will be black: as for those whose faces are black—“Did you disbelieve after your believing? Then taste the punishment for the disbelief you used to practise.” But those whose faces are bright shall be in the mercy of Allah, there to remain for ever.’” [Qur’an 3:106-107]

Abū Ghālib then asked him, “Is this something you are saying on your own, or did you hear it from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ?”

He answered, “Had I not heard it from him once, or twice, or three times—indeed up to seven times—I would never have related it to you.”