But at that time the Shī‘ah had no organized community, leader, territory, or military force with which to fight the Muslims. These belonged only to the Khārijites, who set themselves apart with their own leader, community, and territory. They called their territory the “abode of migration” and regarded Muslim territory as an abode of unbelief and war.

Both groups disparage the Muslim rulers—indeed, they declare them disbelievers. Most Khārijites declare ‘Uthmān, ‘Alī, and those loyal to them disbelievers, while the Rāfidah curse Abū Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthmān, and those loyal to them. However, it was among the Khārijites that overt wrongdoing appeared: bloodshed, seizure of property, and armed rebellion. For this reason, authentic hadiths enjoined fighting them. The hadiths condemning them and commanding that they be fought are exceedingly numerous. Hadith scholars regard them as transmitted through numerous independent chains, like the hadiths concerning the vision of Allah, the punishment and trial of the grave, intercession, and the Cistern.

Hadiths have also been narrated condemning the Qadariyyah and the Murji’ah. Some were narrated by compilers of the Sunan, such as Abū Dāwūd and Ibn Mājah. Some accept these reports and support their reliability, while other scholars have criticized them and judged them weak. What is reliably established in condemnation of the Qadariyyah and similar groups, however, consists of reports from the Companions, such as Ibn ‘Umar and Ibn ‘Abbās.

As for the term “Rāfidah,” it first appeared in Islam when Zayd ibn ‘Alī ibn al-Husayn rose in revolt early in the second century, during the caliphate of Hishām ibn