Abstract:

While the Battle of Ṣiffīn was about to end in favor of ʿAlī, a group known in history as the Khārijites, mostly from the Tamim Tribe, objected to the referee proposal of the supporters of Muʾāviye and declared takfir of both sides and left them. As a continuation of this separation, the Khārijites put forward a different approach regarding the Quraysh and the election of the caliphate. Despite experiencing many oppressions and defeats, they established an independent state known as the Rustamid State in 160/777 in North Africa, where the Abbasid State could not dominate. Despite their opposition to the Quraysh and inheritance of the caliphate practiced in the Muslim geography, all the imams who served from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Rustam, the first imam of the Ibāḍī/Rustami State, until the collapse of the state by the Fatimids - even if they were from outside the Quraysh - were from the same family and the imamate was passed from father to son, shows that they cannot stand behind their claims. Likewise, since the current conditions forced them to do so, they had to give up the paradigms they had created regarding the referee and the imamate, which were the main reason for their departure. This study will evaluate the bankruptcy of the paradigm of arbitration and caliphate/imamate on which Khāwarijism was based in the 2/8th century. We would also like to point out that despite some nuances between the differentiated branches of Khāwarijism, we will establish the evaluation of Khāwarijism in a more general sense. In our study, we will briefly focus on the elements that form the basis of the differences in the birth of Khārijites and their retreat from their discourses in the case of the Ibāḍī Rustamid State.

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