ibn Muljam al-Murādī. He and two others had pledged to kill Alī, Mu‘āwiya, and Amr ibn al-Ās, for they declared all of them unbelievers, as well as anyone who did not conform to their whims. Reports condemning them have been transmitted from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, through numerous independent chains. Muslim included the hadith concerning them in his Sahīh through ten chains of transmission, and al-Bukhārī through several chains; the compilers of the Sunan and Musnad collections transmitted it through still more.

The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said concerning them:

“Any of you would consider his prayer insignificant compared with theirs, his fasting compared with theirs, and his recitation compared with theirs. They recite the Quran, but it does not pass beyond their throats. They pass out of Islam as an arrow passes through its quarry. If I encounter them, I will surely kill them as ‘Ād were killed”—and in another version—“Wherever you encounter them, kill them, for whoever kills them will have a reward with Allah on the Day of Resurrection. They kill the followers of Islam.”

The Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, agreed that they should be fought. It was Alī, may Allah be pleased with him, however, who personally fought them and ordered that they be fought. As related in the two Sahīh collections, Abū Sa‘īd reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“A faction will break away at a time when the people are divided. They will be killed by the one of the two parties that is closer to the truth.”

Alī, may Allah be pleased with him, killed them at al-Nahrawān. They had previously gathered at a place called “Harūrā’,” which is why they are called the Harūriyya. Ibn Abbās was sent to them and debated with them until approximately half of them abandoned their position. The remainder then killed “Abd Allāh ibn Khabbāb” and raided the Muslims’ grazing herds, so orders were given