Quite in the early days of Islam Imam Ali could see that prayers and fasting of a foolish and stolid  person did not serve any purpose in Islam if they did not match its spirit. Were it not for him  Islam would have been uprooted from its very foundation. Who would dare raise a sword against people who prayed every night and fasted every day?  He understood early on that such religious ostentations were deadlier than enemies’ machinations if they were not in line with the spirit of Islam.

Imam Ali fought asinine religiosity tooth and nail. They came in the battle grounds against him in thousands to kill or get killed. (Battle of Naharwan 38 A.H.)  None ran away. They stood steadfast brandishing their swords shouting ‘’God is the greatest’’, ‘There is no arbiter except Allah.’ Their interpretation of the Quran was erroneous. They often quoted the Quranic verse “The prerogative of command rests with none but Allah. He declares the truth and He is the best of judges.” 6:57. Imam Ali declared , ‘there is a word of truth in what they say, but their ends are devious.’  Later, they came to be known as Kharijites and are considered apostates in Islam in consensus.

Shrine of Imam Ali (AS) in Najaf Ashraf, Iraq 

We are indebted for this service of Ali to Islam. What would we do to deal with the Fitna (disruption) of present day Kharijites? They shout Allah o Akbar and slaughter other human beings like animals; play with their heads, brainwash young impressionable minds to become suicide bombers to take innocent lives, kill men, women, children, infants and elderly randomly without remorse. They are particularly unkind to women, young or old, especially widows and make their lives hell wherever they have authority on them. 

The certitude with which they commit such egregious human rights violations bamboozle many a so called scholar of Islam. Had there not been the towering example of Imam Ali modern day Kharijites would have completely taken Islam to the Devil. Even after fourteen hundred years Imam Ali is leading from the front. Those who are fighting against modern day Kharijites always feel his inspirational presence in the battle ground because they are siding with Imam Ali against the forces of darkness,  gloom and obscurity.

Imam Ali had an acute clarity about them and never dithered while dealing with them.  There remains no doubt about them being wrong  when one listens to the Holy Prophet ^PBUH saying, ‘There will come a time when a group of people will leave our ranks. They will recite the Quran with fervour and passion but its spirit will not go beyond their throats. They will leave our ranks in the manner of an arrow when it shoots from its bow." (Bokhari & Muslim)

On the question of arbitration with Muawiya  they declared Imam Ali  “Kafir” (apostate),  about whom Holy Prophet ^PBUH had said, ‘Truth (Haq) is with Ai and Ali is with the Truth’, and that ‘The Quran is with Ali and Ali is with The Quran.’

Kharijites charge with unbelief (Takfir) all those who disagree with them on any theological and political issues. They believe that they have the right to kill anyone who does not side with them. Since beginning their belligerent stance on political issues have brought disgrace to Islam. More than any country, principality,  people or any other geographical identity, they are existential threat to Islam. Their agenda is devilish. Kharijites were never considered as a part of Muslim body because of their violent, aggressive and inhuman practices as well as their whimsical interpretations of the Quran and Islamic teachings.

What Daash, Al-Qaida and other similar Takfiri organizations  are doing in Syria and Iraq is not dissimilar to what Kharijites did in the time of Imam Ali. Certain sections of Taliban in Pakistan and Afghanistan follow the same ideology with the same intensity and fidelity. From the teachings of Holy Prophet ^PBUH and the pristine example of Imam Ali we have come to know that their devotion to some ‘cause’ does not make them ‘right and just.’ If they profess Islam then they must follow it in letter and spirit. Their own whims cannot substitute Islam.

Pakistan army’s fight against Taliban in North Waziristan in the footsteps of Imam Ali is an epic fight for Islam. It is not only Pakistan, Islam is also at stake. Our political, military leadership and civil society have understood that nothing can appease them. There is no escape from crushing them in a just fight that is sanctioned by Islam as an obligation. Pakistan as a bastion of Islamic values must settle this matter once for all. Peace cannot return to Pakistan as well as respect to Islam and Islamic values as long as these Takfiris are living among us.

Islam is supposed to bring peace, stability and prosperity to all sections of society. In an Islamic country all citizens are equal in the eyes of law; there is no coercion in religion and everyone has equal access to all human rights. Down from Umayyad, Abbasid and Uthmanis to present day Kingships and so-called democracies we have utterly failed in structuring  a truly Islamic society where distinction among human beings is based not on religion but on services they render to society. Intrinsically, Islam leads to progression; regression is from the devil.