when he said:

“Any one 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 go beyond their throats. They pass out of the religion as an arrow passes through its quarry. Their distinguishing sign is that among them is a man with a malformed hand, on which is a piece of flesh bearing a few hairs.”

Another narration states:

“They kill the Muslims and leave the idolaters alone.”

‘Alī addressed the people and told them what he had heard from the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. He said: “These are the people: they have shed blood that is forbidden to shed and raided people’s grazing herds.” He then fought them and found the distinguishing sign, though it had nearly gone undiscovered, and prostrated to Allah in gratitude.

The Shī‘ah also emerged during his time, but they concealed their beliefs, not disclosing them to ‘Alī or his followers. They were, in fact, three groups:

“One group” said that he was a god. When he discovered them, he burned them with fire and dug trenches for them by the entrance to the mosque of Banū Kindah. It is said that he recited:

When I saw that the matter was abhorrent,
I stoked my fire and summoned Qanbar.

Al-Bukhārī narrated in his Sahīh that Ibn ‘Abbās said:

“Some heretics were brought to ‘Alī, and he burned them with fire. Had it been me, I would not have burned them, because the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbade punishing with Allah’s punishment. Instead, I would have struck off their heads, because he said:

‘Whoever changes his religion, kill him.’”