It is narrated from Abu Kathir, the slave of the Ansar, who says: I was with my master, Sayyiduna Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him), when he killed the people of Nahrawan. It seemed that after killing them, the people felt regret and sorrow. Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), perceiving this situation, said: O people! The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) informed us about such people who would leave the religion just as an arrow passes through its prey; they will never return to the religion until the arrow returns to the bow. One of their signs is that among them there will be a man who is black-skinned and has a defective hand; that hand will be like a woman’s breast, and on it there will be a nipple-like protrusion as is on a breast, and around it there will be seven hairs. You should search for him; I think he is among them. The people searched for him and found him under a pile of the slain by the riverbank. When they brought him out, Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) loudly proclaimed“Allahu Akbar”and said: The word of Allah and His Messenger is true. At that time, Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was carrying his Arab bow; he would place it on the flesh of the slain man’s defective hand and kept saying: The word of Allah and His Messenger is true. When the people saw this, they also began to say“Allahu Akbar”and expressed happiness, and their state of sorrow disappeared.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Sa’d that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The leader of the Khawarij will be struck down, that is, killed, by a man from Banu Bajilah. Someone asked Sufyan: Is this narration reported from the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)? He replied: Yes.

Ubaidullah bin Iyaz bin Amr Qari says that we were present in the service of Sayyida Aisha Siddiqa (may Allah be pleased with her) when Ubaidullah bin Shaddad (may Allah be pleased with him) arrived. This incident is from the days of the martyrdom of Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him); he had come from Iraq. So Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said to him, "Ubaidullah bin Shaddad! Will you tell me the truth about what I ask you?" Tell me about those people whom Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) killed. He replied, "Why would I not tell you the truth?" So the lady said, "Then narrate the whole incident to me." He said that Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) corresponded with Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him), and when two arbitrators made a decision, eight thousand reciters (Qaris) rebelled against him and gathered at Harura near Kufa. They reproached Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) for making peace, saying, "Allah has clothed you with a shirt and given you a name (by shirt is meant the caliphate and by name is meant the title Amir al-Mu'minin). By making this peace, you are no longer worthy of either, because you have accepted someone other than Allah as a judge in the religion of Allah, whereas judgment belongs only to Allah." When this statement of theirs, on the basis of which they separated from him, reached Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), he ordered a proclaimer to announce that only those should come to the Amir al-Mu'minin who know the Qur'an or whose house is filled with reciters. So they brought the Qur'an and placed it before him, and he began to gently strike it with his hand, saying, "O Qur'an! Speak to the people." The people said, "O Amir al-Mu'minin! What are you asking from it? It is only ink on paper. We speak about what has been explained to us regarding it. Tell us the real matter, what do you want?" He said, "Between me and those companions of yours who have separated, the Book of Allah is the judge. Allah has said in His Book about a husband and his wife: {وَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ شِقَاقَ بَیْنِہِمَا فَابْعَثُوْا حَکَمًا مِنْ أَہْلِہِ وَحَکَمًا مِنْ أَہْلِہَا إِنْ یُرِیدَا إِصْلَاحًا یُوَفِّقِ اللّٰہُ بَیْنَہُمَا} ... And if you fear a breach between the two, appoint an arbitrator from his people and an arbitrator from her people; if they both desire reconciliation, Allah will cause agreement between them. The blood and sanctity of the Ummah of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is far greater than that of a man and a woman. These people object to me for making peace with Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him), whereas at Hudaybiyyah, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) corresponded with his people, the Quraysh (i.e., made peace), and Suhail bin Amr came from the disbelievers. We were with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He had the peace treaty written, and it was Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him), i.e., I, who wrote it. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) dictated 'Bismillah al-Rahman al-Raheem,' but Suhail said, 'Do not write Bismillah al-Rahman al-Raheem.' The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, 'Then what should we write?' He said, 'Write Bismik Allahumma.' Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, 'Write Muhammad Rasulullah.' But Suhail again said, 'If I accepted that you are the Messenger of Allah, I would not oppose you.' So he dictated, 'This is the agreement upon which Muhammad bin Abdullah has made a treaty with the Quraysh.' Allah has said in His Book: {لَقَدْ کَانَ لَکُمْ فِی رَسُولِ اللّٰہِ أُسْوَۃٌ حَسَنَۃٌ لِمَنْ کَانَ یَرْجُو اللّٰہَ وَالْیَوْمَ الْآخِرَ} ... Indeed, in the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) you have an excellent example, for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Last Day. After this, Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) sent Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) to those people, and I was with Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him). When we reached the middle of their army, Ibn al-Kawwa stood up and addressed the people, saying, 'O bearers of the Qur'an! This is Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him). Whoever does not know him, does not know. I know him well; the Book of Allah introduces him. About him and his people, these words were revealed: {قَوْمٌ خَصِمُونَ۔} ... a disputing people.' Send him to his companion and do not debate with him about the Book of Allah." Then their orators stood up and said, "By Allah! We will debate with him about the Book of Allah. If he says something true that we know, we will follow him, and if he says something false, we will oppose him with his own falsehood." So they debated with him for three days, and eventually, four thousand of them repented from their stance. Ibn al-Kawwa was also among those who repented. Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) brought all of them to Kufa to Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him). After that, Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) sent a message to the remaining people, "You have seen all that has happened between us and the people. Now stay wherever you wish until the Ummah of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) unites on a matter. Between us and you, it is agreed that you will not shed the blood of anyone sacred, nor loot, nor break the covenant of any dhimmi. If you do these things, we will fight you. Indeed, Allah does not like the treacherous." So Sayyida Aisha Siddiqa (may Allah be pleased with her) said, "Ibn Shaddad! Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) killed those people contrary to his agreement." He replied, "By Allah! Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) did not send his men to confront them until they looted, shed blood, and broke the covenant of the dhimmis." The lady said in amazement, "Is it really by Allah?" Ibn Shaddad said, "By Allah, by the One besides whom there is no deity, it happened exactly so." The lady (may Allah be pleased with her) said, "What is the meaning of what has reached me about the people of dhimma?" They say Dhu al-Thadi, Dhu al-Thadi, meaning the one with an arm like a woman's breast, was killed. Ibn Shaddad said, "I saw him. I was with Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) among the slain. He called the people and asked, 'Do you recognize him?' No one could say more than, 'I saw him praying in the mosque of Banu so-and-so,' and no one could say more than that about knowing or recognizing him." Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said, "As the people of Iraq narrate, what did Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) say standing there?" Ibn Shaddad said, "I heard him there, he was saying, 'Allah and His Messenger have spoken the truth.'" Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said, "Did you hear him say anything else?" He said, "Allah is witness, I did not hear anything else from him." The lady (may Allah be pleased with her) said, "Yes, Allah and His Messenger have spoken the truth. May Allah's mercy be upon Ali (may Allah be pleased with him). Whenever he liked something, he used to say, 'Allah and His Messenger have spoken the truth.' The people of Iraq lie about him and add things to his words themselves."

Abu Ghalib says: After the Khawarij were killed, their bodies were brought and placed on the steps of Damascus. Sayyiduna Abu Umamah Bahili (may Allah be pleased with him) arrived, and when he saw them, his eyes filled with tears. He said: These people are the dogs of Hell; among those killed under the sky, they are the worst of the slain, and those whom they killed are the best of those killed under the sky. Abu Ghalib says: I asked him, "Then why are there tears in your eyes?" He replied: Because I feel pity for these people, for they were originally from the people of Islam. Abu Ghalib says: We asked: The statement you made about them being the dogs of Hell, did you say this from yourself or did you hear it from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)? He said: If I had said it from myself, then I would be very bold indeed; I did not say it from myself, rather I heard it from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) not once, nor twice, nor three times, but more than that.

(Second chain) It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that when he saw the heads placed on the steps of the Grand Mosque of Damascus, he said three times: These are the dogs of Hell, these are the dogs of Hell, among those killed under the sky, these are the worst of the slain, and those whom they killed are the best of the slain under the sky. Then he recited these two verses: {یَوْمَ تَبْیَضُّ وُجُوہٌ وَتَسْوَدُّ وُجُوہٌ} … On the Day of Resurrection, many faces will be bright and many faces will be dark. (Surah Aal-e-Imran: 106) Abu Ghalib said to Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him): Did you hear this from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)? He said: If I had not heard this from him two, three, four, five, six, or even seven times, I would not have narrated it to you.

It is narrated from Safwan bin Salim that Sayyiduna Abu Umamah Bahili (may Allah be pleased with him) entered Damascus and saw the heads of the Haruriyyah, that is, the Kharijites, hanging. He said three times: These people are the dogs of Hell, these people are the dogs of Hell. Among those killed under the canopy of the sky, these are the worst of the slain, and those whom they killed are the best of the slain under the canopy of the sky. Then he began to weep. A man came to him and said: O Abu Umamah, why did you weep upon seeing them? He replied: I am weeping because these people have left the fold of Islam. These are the ones who caused division and tore the religion into pieces.

It is narrated from Sayyar that some people's heads were brought from Iraq and placed near the door of the mosque. Sayyiduna Abu Umamah came and entered the mosque, performed two units of prayer, then went out towards them, saw them, then raised his head and said: "These are the worst slain under the sky." He repeated this statement three times, then narrated further as in the previous narration.

It is narrated from Fadala bin Abi Fadala Ansari, whose father, Sayyiduna Abu Fadala (may Allah be pleased with him), was a Badri companion. Fadala says: I went with my father to visit Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) during his illness; he was very sick. My father said to him: Why are you staying in this place? If your final time comes, only a few Bedouins from Banu Juhaina will be with you. Let them take you to Madinah Munawwarah; if you die there, your friends and loved ones will be present and will perform your funeral prayer. Upon hearing this, Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) has already told me that death will not come to me until I am granted leadership, and then my beard will be dyed with the blood from my head. And so it happened, and Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was killed. Sayyiduna Abu Fadala (may Allah be pleased with him) was killed alongside Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) in the Battle of Siffin.

Sayyiduna Ammar bin Yasir (may Allah be pleased with him) says: I and Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) were companions in the expedition of Dhi al-Ashira. When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) camped there and stayed, we saw some people from the tribe of Banu Mudlij working in their spring among the date palms. Sayyiduna Ali said to me: Abu al-Yaqzan! What do you think, should we go to them and see how they work? So we went to them and watched their work for a while, then sleep overcame us. I and Sayyiduna Ali went into a cluster of date palms and lay down in the soil and slept. By Allah! It was the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) who woke us up by moving us with his foot, and we were covered in soil. When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saw the soil on Sayyiduna Ali, he said: O Abu Turab! (meaning, O man of the soil). Then he said: Shall I not inform you of the two most wretched men? We said: O Messenger of Allah! Why not. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The red one of Thamud, who hamstrung the she-camel, and the man who (O Ali!) will strike your head until your (beard) is soaked with blood.

It is narrated from Zaid bin Wahb that Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) went to a group among the Khawarij of Basra. Among them was a man named Ja'd bin Ba'jah. He said: "Ali! Fear Allah, for you will eventually die." Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I will not die, rather I will be killed. A blow will strike my head, by which my beard will be stained. This is a definite news and a decision from Allah, and whoever fabricates a lie will suffer loss." Then, when that man objected to the clothing of Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), he said: "What concern do you have with this garment of mine? It is completely free from arrogance and is such that the people of Islam will follow my example in this matter."