through the prey. Wherever you encounter them, kill them, for whoever kills them will receive a reward on the Day of Resurrection.’”

In a version recorded by Muslim, Alī—may Allah be pleased with him—said:

“I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, ‘A people will emerge from my ummah whose recitation of the Quran will make yours seem insignificant, and whose prayer will make yours seem insignificant. They will recite the Quran, thinking that it supports them, whereas it is against them. Their recitation will not go beyond their collarbones. They will pass out of Islam just as an arrow passes through the prey. If the army that encounters them knew what had been decreed for them through their Prophet, they would cease performing good deeds.’”

Abū Saīd also reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said in this hadith:

“They will kill the people of Islam and leave the idolaters alone. If I live to encounter them, I will certainly kill them as Ād were killed.”

Reported by al-Bukhārī and Muslim. In another version recorded by Muslim:

“My ummah will split into two groups, and a group that departs from the religion will emerge between them. The group closer to the truth will undertake to kill them.”

These were the people whom the Commander of the Faithful, Alī—may Allah be pleased with him—killed when division arose between the people of Iraq and Syria. They were known as the Harūriyya. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, made clear that both opposing groups belonged to his ummah and that Alī’s followers were the closer of the two to the truth. He urged fighting only against those who had passed out of Islam, separated themselves from the Muslim community, and deemed the blood and property of all other Muslims lawful.

Thus, it is established by the Book, the Sunnah, and the consensus of the ummah that one is to fight anyone who departs from