Bahanad
In “Al-Bidāya wa’l-Nihāya,” Hafiz Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates a hadith through various chains of transmission, where the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) foretold about this group (which separated from the ranks of Hazrat Ali and rejected his leadership).
The meaning of the hadith is approximately as follows:
“During a time of discord in my Ummah, a group will deviate from the religion, and this group will be destroyed by those who are upon the truth and superior to their opponents.”
Scholars of Hadith agree that this refers to the Kharijites because they rebelled during the incident of Siffin, and before this incident the Muslim Ummah had unity and complete power.
This group was then defeated by Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), and many of them were killed.
The hadith makes it clear that this action of the Kharijites, exploiting the disunity of the Ummah, was perhaps not limited to that specific period alone.
Throughout history, the Kharijites have maintained the habit of targeting the leaders of the Ummah, undermining unity and the sole leadership between sincere brothers, obstructing them, and never desiring a single leadership for the Ummah.
We are witnessing these activities with our own eyes today, as contemporary elements follow in the footsteps of their ancestors.
They prefer weakness over strength among Muslims, sow discord instead of unity, and harm the Ummah to fulfill their desires.
It would not be inaccurate to say that the extent and intensity of such activities are higher within this group than among our actual enemies.
