It is narrated from Shaddad bin Abdullah Abu Ammar: I saw Sayyiduna Abu Umamah al-Bahili (may Allah be pleased with him) standing by the heads of the Haruriyyah (Khawarij) at the gate of Damascus, and he was saying: "These are the dogs of Hell." He said this three times, and he said: "The best of the slain are those whom these people killed." The narrator said: Tears flowed from the eyes of Sayyiduna Abu Umamah. A man asked him: O Abu Umamah, this saying of yours that these are the dogs of Hell, is it something you heard from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), or is it your own opinion? He said: How bold I would be (in attributing it to him) had I not heard it from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) once, twice or three times (until he counted seven times). A man said to him: I saw that tears came from your eyes. He said: (I wept because) these people were believers at first, then they disbelieved after their belief. Then he recited this verse: "And do not be like those who became divided and differed after the clear proofs had come to them." [Surah Al Imran: 105] . He recited this verse twice concerning them (the Khawarij).

It is narrated from Shaddad bin Abdullah Abu Ammar: I heard Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) while he stood by the heads of the Haruriyyah (Khawarij) at the gate of Hims or the gate of Damascus, saying: "These are the dogs of Hell, the dogs of Hell, the worst of the slain beneath the shade of the sky, and the best of the slain are those whom they killed." Then he narrated the whole report like the hadith of Abu Hudhayfah. This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of Muslim, but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it. Imam Muslim, in his Sahih, recorded through the narration of Ikrimah bin Ammar from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah this saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "Allah Almighty says: O son of Adam, if you spend what is surplus to your needs, it is better for you" (to the end of the hadith). We have explained this text because most of its routes rest on the narration of Abu Ghalib from Abu Umamah, and the two Shaykhs did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both): When the Haruriyyah (Khawarij) rebelled, they gathered in a house, and they numbered six thousand. I came to Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: "O Commander of the Believers, delay the Zuhr prayer until it is cooler, so that I may go to these people and speak with them." He said: "I fear for you from them." I said: "Kalla (not at all, do not worry)." Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: I went out to them wearing the finest garments of Yemen. Abu Zumayl said: Ibn Abbas was an extremely handsome man with a strong voice. Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: I reached them while they were resting at midday in their house. I greeted them with salam, and they said: "Welcome, O Ibn Abbas! What is this garment?" I said: "What fault do you find with me? I have seen the finest garments on the blessed body of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and this verse was revealed in the Qur'an: 'Say: Who has forbidden the adornment of Allah which He has brought forth for His servants, and the good things of provision?' [Surah Al-A'raf: 32] ." They asked: "What brings you here?" I said: "I have come to you from the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), from the Muhajirun and the Ansar, to convey to you what they say and so that you may tell me what you say. The Qur'an was revealed to these Companions, and they know the meaning of the revelation better than you, while not a single one of them is among you." Some of them said: "Do not argue with Quraysh, for Allah says: 'Rather, they are a quarrelsome people' [Surah Al-Zukhruf: 58] ." Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: I had come to a people more diligent in worship than any I had ever seen; their faces were drawn from staying awake at night, their hands and knees had become hard like a camel's knee-pads from much prostration, and they were wearing washed shirts. Some of them said: "We will certainly speak with him and see what he says." I said: "Tell me, what grievance do you hold against the cousin and son-in-law of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and against the Muhajirun and the Ansar?" They said: "Three things." I asked: "What are they?" They said: "The first is that he has made men hakam (arbiters) in the religion of Allah, while Allah says: 'Judgment belongs only to Allah' [Surah Yusuf: 40] . So what do men have to do with judgment?" I said: "That is one. What is the second?" They said: "He fought, but took neither captives nor spoils. If those whom he fought were disbelievers, then their captives and spoils were lawful; and if they were believers, then fighting them was not lawful at all." I said: "That makes two. What is the third?" They said: "He erased the title Commander of the Believers from his name, so (if he is no longer commander of the believers) he is the commander of the disbelievers." I asked: "Is there anything besides this?" They said: "This is enough for us." I said to them: "If I recite to you from the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) what refutes your claim, will you be satisfied?" They said: "Yes." I said to them: "As for making men arbiters, I will recite to you the verse in which Allah has given men the authority to judge in the matter of a rabbit, and similar game, worth a quarter of a dirham. Allah says: 'O you who believe, do not kill game while you are in the state of ihram' up to: 'two just men among you shall judge it' [Surah Al-Ma'idah: 95] . I ask you by Allah: is men's judging in the matter of game more important, or their judging in protecting the blood of the Muslims and reconciling between them? And you know that had Allah willed, He would have judged Himself, but He entrusted it to men. Likewise, concerning a husband and wife, Allah said: 'And if you fear a breach between the two, then send an arbiter from his family and an arbiter from her family; if they both desire reconciliation, Allah will bring about harmony between them' [Surah Al-Nisa: 35] . Thus Allah has made the judgment of men an established practice. Have I come out of this objection?" They said: "Yes." I said: "As for not taking captives in battle, would you take your mother Aishah captive and then regard as lawful from her what is regarded as lawful from others? If you did that, you would certainly become disbelievers; and if you said that she is not our mother, you would also become disbelievers, for Allah says: 'The Prophet has a greater claim on the believers than they have on themselves, and his wives are their mothers' [Surah Al-Ahzab: 6] . So you are wandering between two misguidances; whichever way you go, you will find only misguidance." On hearing this, they began looking at one another. I asked: "Have I come out of this objection too?" They said: "Yes." I said: "As for erasing the title Commander of the Believers, I will present to you an example with which you will be satisfied. You must have heard that on the day of Hudaybiyah the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) wrote a peace treaty with Suhayl bin Amr and Abu Sufyan bin Harb, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to the Commander of the Believers (Ali): 'Write, O Ali: This is what Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, has agreed upon.' The polytheists said: 'By Allah, we do not know that you are the Messenger of Allah; had we known it, we would not have fought you.' Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'O Allah, You know that I am Your Messenger. Write, O Ali: This is the peace made by Muhammad bin Abdullah.' By Allah, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is far better than Ali, and by erasing the words 'Messenger of Allah' from his name he did not remove himself from prophethood." Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: So two thousand of them repented and returned, and the rest remained upon their misguidance until they were killed. This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of Muslim, but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Shaddad bin al-Had; he said: I came to the Mother of the Believers, Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), while she was staying, on her return from Iraq, during the days when Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) fought (the Khawarij). She asked: "O Abdullah bin Shaddad, will you tell me the truth about what I ask you? Tell me about these people whom Ali killed." I said: "Why would I not tell you the truth?" She said: "Then narrate their story." I said: "When Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote to Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) and appointed the two arbiters (for reconciliation), eight thousand of the Qur'an reciters rose against him and camped in a village on one side of Kufah called 'Harura'. They objected to him, saying: 'You have come out of the shirt (of the caliphate) which Allah clothed you with, and the name (Commander of the Believers) with which He honored you; then you made people judges in the religion of Allah, whereas La hukma illa lillah (judgment belongs to Allah alone).' When news of their objections and their separation reached Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), he had it announced that no one should come to the Commander of the Believers except one who had memorized the Qur'an. When the house was filled with reciters, he called for a large copy of the Qur'an, placed it in front of him and began striking it with his hand, calling out: 'O Mushaf, speak to the people!' The people said: 'O Commander of the Believers, what are you asking it? It is only paper and ink; we speak from it what we have seen in it. What do you want?' He said: 'Your companions who have rebelled against me, between me and them is the Book of Allah (to decide). Allah, Mighty and Majestic, says concerning a man and a woman (in dispute): "And if you fear a breach between the two (then appoint arbiters)" [Surah Al-Nisa: 35] . The Ummah of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is far more sacred than one man and one woman. They also objected that in my letter to Mu'awiyah I wrote my name as "Ali bin Abi Talib" (and not Commander of the Believers). Yet when Suhayl bin Amr came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) at Hudaybiyah to make peace, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) dictated: "Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim (In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful)." Suhayl said: "Do not write Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim." He (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "Then how should I write?" He said: "Write: Bismika Allahumma (In Your name, O Allah)." So he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Write that." Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Write: This is from Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah." He said: "Had we known that you are the Messenger of Allah, we would not have opposed you." So he (peace and blessings be upon him) dictated: "This is the peace which Muhammad bin Abdullah has made with Quraysh." Allah says in His Book: "Indeed, in the Messenger of Allah you have an excellent example, for whoever hopes in Allah and the Last Day" [Surah Al-Ahzab: 21] .' Then Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) sent Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) to them, and I went with them. When we reached the middle of their camp, Ibn al-Kawwa stood up and said to the people: 'O bearers of the Qur'an, this is Abdullah bin Abbas. Whoever does not know him, I will tell him in the light of the Book of Allah: he is among those about whom Allah said: "Rather, they are a quarrelsome people" [Surah Al-Zukhruf: 58] . So send him back to his companion and do not put the Book of Allah before him.' But their preachers stood up and said: 'By Allah, we will certainly put the Book of Allah before him; if he brings the truth, we will recognize it, and if he brings falsehood, we will silence him with his falsehood and send him back.' So for three days the Book of Allah was put before them, as a result of which four thousand people repented, among them Ibn al-Kawwa, and they came to Ali (may Allah be pleased with him). Then Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) sent word to the rest of them: 'You have seen what happened between us and the people. Now stay wherever you wish until the Ummah of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) agrees upon something. Between us and you is this covenant: as long as you do not block the roads, shed blood or kill anyone, we will not raise weapons against you; but if you do that, we will declare open war against you. Indeed, Allah does not love the treacherous.'" Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) asked: "O Ibn Shaddad, did Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) (eventually) kill them?" I said: "By Allah, he did not attack them until they had blocked the roads, shed blood unjustly, martyred Ibn Khabbab, and regarded the ahl al-dhimmah (non-Muslim citizens) as fair game." She asked: "By Allah, truly?" I said: "By Allah, besides whom there is no god!" She asked: "What is this that has reached me from the people of Iraq, that they talk about Dhu al-Thudayyah, 'the man with the small breast'?" I said: "I saw him, and I stood with Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) by his body among the slain. Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) called the people and asked: 'Do you know him?' Most people said: 'I saw him praying in such-and-such mosque.' Apart from that, no firm identification came forward." She asked: "What did Ali say when he stood over him (his body), as the people of Iraq claim?" I said: "I heard him say: 'Sadaqa Allahu wa rasuluhu' (Allah and His Messenger have spoken the truth)." She asked: "Did you hear anything besides that?" I said: "No." She said: "True, Allah and His Messenger have spoken the truth. May Allah have mercy on Ali; it was his habit that whenever he saw something that pleased him, he would say: Allah and His Messenger have spoken the truth." This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim), but they did not record it, except for the mention of Dhu al-Thudayyah, which Imam Muslim recorded with many chains.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Malik bin al-Harith (may Allah be pleased with him); he said: I was present with Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) on the day of the Battle of Nahrawan. He searched for "al-Mukhdaj" (the deformed Khariji) but could not find him; his forehead began to sweat (from intense worry) and he became very distressed. Then, when he finally found him, he fell down in prostration and said: "By Allah, I have not lied, nor have I been told a lie (that is, the news given by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) proved true)." This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim), but they did not record it with the mention of the prostration of gratitude; and it is a gharib (singular) and sahih report on the subject of the prostration of gratitude.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) that some wealth came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) began distributing it with his blessed hand to the right and to the left. Among those present was a man wearing garments raised high, bearing distinctive marks, and between his eyes (on his forehead) was the mark of prostration. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) kept extending his hand right and left, giving out the wealth until it was finished. When the wealth was finished, that man turned his back and walked away, saying: By Allah, you have not acted justly today. The narrator said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) began turning his palms over and said: "If I do not act justly, then who will act justly after me? Listen! Soon a group will emerge who will pass out of the religion as an arrow passes right through the game; then they will not return (to the religion) until the arrow returns to its notch. They will recite the Qur'an, but it will not go beyond their throats; they will speak very well, but their deeds will be bad. Whoever meets them should fight them, for whoever kills them has the best reward, and whoever is killed by them has the best martyrdom. They are the worst of all creation; Allah is free of them. They will be killed by that one of the two groups which is closer to the truth." This hadith is sahih (authentic), but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it with this context. Abd al-Malik bin Abi Nadrah is one of the rare narrators among the Basrans, and to my knowledge I have no other hadith through him that reached me with so high (short) a chain as this one.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him): I was present at the Battle of Siffin. (The way of the people of truth was that) they would not strike a wounded man again (to finish him off), nor kill one who turned his back and fled, nor strip the belongings of anyone slain. This hadith has a sahih (authentic) chain of narration on this subject.

It is narrated from Yazid bin Dubay'ah al-Absi; he said: On the day of the Battle of the Camel, when the people had retreated (in defeat), the announcer of Sayyiduna Ammar bin Yasir (may Allah be pleased with him) called out: Beware! No wounded person is to be killed, nor is anyone fleeing to be struck down, and whoever lays down his weapons is safe. The narrator said: This (leniency) was hard on us. It also has a sahih (authentic) supporting report (shahid).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) asked Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him): "O Ibn Mas'ud, do you know what the ruling of Allah is concerning those of this Ummah who rebel?" He said: Allah and His Messenger know best. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The ruling of Allah concerning them is that those of them who turn and flee are not to be pursued, their captives are not to be killed, and their wounded are not to be finished off." A musnad (connected) hadith has also been narrated on this subject.

Abu Bakr bin Muhammad bin Amr bin Hazm narrates from his father that when Sayyiduna Ammar bin Yasir (may Allah be pleased with him) was martyred, Amr bin Hazm went to Sayyiduna Amr bin al-As and said: Ammar has been killed, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had said: "A rebellious group will kill him." On hearing this, Amr bin al-As rose up in alarm and went to Mu'awiyah. Mu'awiyah asked: What is the matter with you? He said: Ammar has been killed. Mu'awiyah said: Ammar has been killed, so what? Amr said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "A rebellious group will kill him." At that Mu'awiyah said to him: You are talking nonsense. Did we kill him? Rather, Ali and his companions are responsible for killing him, for they brought him with them until they threw him in front of our spears (or he said: our swords). This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim), but they did not record it with this context.