Nahjul Balagha Part 1, The Sermons
Sermon 60: By Allah! No, not yet….
When Amir al-mu'minin was told that the Kharijites had been totally killed, he said:
وقال (عليه السلام)
لمّا قتل الخوارج
فقيل له: يا أميرالمؤمنين، هلك القوم بأجمعهم، فقال:
By Allah! No, not yet. They still exist in the loins of men and wombs of women. Whenever a chief would appear from among them, he would be cut down till the last of them would turn thieves and robbers. [^1]
كَلاَّ وَالله، إِنَّهُمْ نُطَفٌ فِي أَصْلاَبِ الرِّجَالِ، وَقَرَارَاتِ النِّسَاءِ، كُلَّمَا نَجَمَ مِنْهُمْ قَرْنٌ قُطِعَ، حَتَّى يَكُونَ آخِرُهُمْ لُصُوصاً سَلاَّبِينَ.
Alternative Sources for Sermon 60
(1) Al-Bayhaqi, al-Mahasin, 385;
(2) al-Mas`udi, Muruj, II, 416;
(3) al-Mubarrad, al-Kamil, II, 120.
[^1]: This prophecy of Amir al-mu'minin also proved true word by word. Every chief of Kharijites who rose was put to sword. A few of their chiefs who were badly put to death are mentioned here: 1) Nafi` ibn Azraq al-Hanafi: the largest group of the Kharijites namely al-Azariqah is named after him. He was killed by Salamah al-Bahili during encounter with the army of Muslim ibn `Ubays. 2) Najdah ibn `Amir: the an-Najadat al-`Adhiriyyah sect of Kharijites is named after him. Abu Fudayk al-Khariji got him killed. 3) `Abdullah ibn Ibad at-Tamimi: the sect Ibadite (Ibadiyyah) is named after him. He was killed during encounter with `Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn `Atiyyah. 4) Abu Bayhas Haysam ibn Jabir ad-Duba`i: the sect of al-Bayhasiyyah is named after him. `Uthman ibn Hayyan al-Murri the governor of Medina got his hands and feet severed and then killed him. 5) `Urwah ibn Udayyah at-Tamimi: Ziyad ibn Abih killed him during the reign of Mu`awiyah. 6) Qatari ibn al-Fuja'h al-Mazini at-Tamimi: when he encountered the army of Sufyan ibn al-Abrad al-Kalbi in Tabarastan then Sawrah ibn al-Hurr ad-Darimi killed him. 7) Abu Bilal Mirdas ibn Udayyah at-Tamimi: was killed in encounter with `Abbas ibn Akhdar al-Mazini. 8) Shawdhab al-Khariji al-Yashkuri: was killed during encounter with Sa`id ibn `Amr al-Harashi. 9) Hawtharah ibn Wada` al-Asadi: was killed at the hands of a man of Banu Tayyi' 10) al-Mustawrid ibn `Ullafah at-Taymi: was killed by Ma`qil ibn Qays ar-Riyahi in the reign of Mu`awiyah. 11) Shabib ibn Yazid ash-Shaybani: died by being drowned in river. 12) `Imran ibn al-Harith ar-Rasibi: was killed in the battle of Dulab. 13, 14) Zahhaf at-Ta'i and Qurayb ibn Murrah al-Azdi: were killed in encounter with Banu Tahiyah. 15) az-Zubayr ibn `Ali as-Saliti at-Tamimi: was killed in encounter with `Attab ibn Warqa' ar-Riyahi. 16) `Ali ibn Bashir ibn al-Mahuz al-Yarbu`i: al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf ath-Thaqafi got him killed. 17) `Ubaydullah ibn Bashir: was killed in encounter with al-Muhallab ibn Abi Sufrah in the battle of Dulab. 18) Abu'l-Wazi` ar-Rasibi: a man in the graveyard of Banu Yashkur felled a wall on him and killed him. 19) `Abdu Rabbih as-Saghir: was killed in encounter with al-Muhallab ibn Abi Sufrah. 20) Al-Walid ibn Tarif ash-Shaybani: was killed in encounter with Yazid ibn Mazyad ash-Shaybani. 21-24) `Abdullah ibn Yahya al-Kindi, al-Mukhtar ibn `Awf al-Azdi (Abu Hamzah ash-Shari), Abrahah ibn as-Sabbah and Balj ibn `Uqbah al-Asadi: were killed by `Abd al-Malik ibn `Atiyyah as-Sa`di in the reign of Marwan ibn Muhammad (the last of the Umayyad caliphs).