and commanding that they be fought. Ahmad ibn Hanbal said:

“The hadith concerning the Khawārij has been authentically transmitted through ten routes.”

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

“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 pass beyond their throats. They pass out of Islam as an arrow passes through its quarry. Wherever you encounter them, kill them, for whoever kills them will have a reward with Allah on the Day of Resurrection.”

They have two well-known characteristics by which they have parted company with the Muslim community and its leaders:

The first is their departure from the Sunnah and their declaring something evil when it is not, or good when it is not. This is what they displayed to the Prophet’s face, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, when Dhū al-Khuwaysirah al-Tamīmī said to him:

“Be just, for you have not acted justly!”

The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, replied:

“Woe to you! Who would act justly if I did not? You would indeed be disappointed and at a loss if I did not act justly!”

By saying, “For you have not acted justly,” he characterized the Prophet’s action, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, as foolish and unjust. His demand, “Be just,” was a command to adopt a manner of distribution that he himself considered good, although it was improper.

This characteristic is shared by innovations that oppose the Sunnah. Their proponents necessarily affirm what the Sunnah denies and deny what the Sunnah affirms, and deem good what the Sunnah deems evil, or evil what the Sunnah deems good. Otherwise, it would not be an innovation. Scholars may sometimes fall into this through error in particular matters; the people of innovation, however, oppose the clear and well-known Sunnah.