A Muslim Convert Once Before

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ According to Shaykh Nur ad-Din Abu ‘Ubadah ‘Ali ibn Juma’ah, the followers of Imam ‘Abdullah ibn Ibadh ( r.a. ), some of whom continue to reside in Oman and northeast Africa, are known as the Ibadhis; they comprise the Khwarij sect closest to the Ahl as-Sunnah wa al-Jama’ah , although they do not consider themselves part of that group of sects.  They distinguish between disbelief in doctrine, that is, with respect to Allah ( s.w.t. ) proper, and disbelief with respect to His Bounties, that is, restricting or denying related aspects.  They hold that their opponents’ judgements and schools are upon kufr in the latter sense, not the former, and thus that their opponents’ persons, homes, and livestock remained inviolable to them, except for their steeds and weapons.  Likewise, they hold their opponents’ testimony, marriage with them, and inheritance from them all to be legitimate.

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The Ibadhiyyah are the sole remnant of the Khwarijyah movement existing now.  They are the dominant sect in Oman and Zanzibar.  They are also found in Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and East Africa.  The sect is said to have been founded 20 years after the passing of Prophet Muhammad ( s.a.w. ), predating both the Sunni and the Shi’ah.  They are a reformed sect of the Khwarijyah .  The Ibadhiyyah deny anything more than a passing relation to the Khwarijyah , and claim they merely developed out of the same precursor group.  The sect is named after Imam ‘Abdullah ibn Ibadh at-Tamimi ( r.a. ), a noted jurist and muhaddits , the student of Sayyidina ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas ( r.a. ).  Imam ibn Ibadh ( r.a. ) was responsible for breaking off from the wider Khwarijyah movement roughly around the time of ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan became the fifth Umayyad caliph.  Whilst it is named after Imam ibn Ibadh ( r.a. ), the true fo...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ When it comes to the different sects in Islam, we often forget that theological positions evolve.  So, saying such and such group believes a certain thing may be correct then, but incorrect now.   For example, what we know as the ‘Alawiyyah Shi’ah sect was outright heretical 700 or so years ago.  It was documented that they believed in reincarnation, which is absolutely unacceptable to Islam.  Now, due to rapprochement by the Itsna’ ‘Ashari , they are indistinguishable in their belief in Imamiyyah , and are a separate sect in name only.   A classic early example would be the splinter group of the Khwarij which went mainstream and eventually evolved into the Ibadhi sect.  This sect predates both Sunni and Shi ’ ah Islam.   When it comes to the Qadiyani sect, we reject their belief in the prophethood of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad.  And then they split into two branches, with the Qadiyani Ahmadi adhering to the...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The Khwarij , literally meaning “those who went out”, is a general term describing various Muslim groups who, initially, supported Sayyidina ‘Ali ibn Abu Thalib ( k.w. ) against Mu’awiyah ibn Abu Sufyan, and then later rejected him.   They emerged in the late 7 th century, in southern Iraq.   They are distinct from Sunni and Shi’ah Islam theologically.   The Khwarij began as a political group that eventually developed extreme doctrines.   The Khwarij are known by several other names and nicknames.   They came to be called the Khwarij , “the Seceders” or “the Rebels”, because of their khuruj , rebellion, against Sayyidina ‘Ali ( k.w. ).   They have been called the Hukmiyyah , because of their refusal to accept the authority of the two hakamayn , arbitrators, Sayyidina Abu Musa ‘Abdullah ibn Qays al-Ash’ari ( r.a. ) and Sayyidina ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aasw ( r.a. ), and because of their war cry, “ Laa hukmu illa lillah ”, “...