Fitna of Kharijites

On the other side, Ali was the elected Caliph and his capital was Kufa. He also ruled Basra, Hijaz and the conquered areas of Iran. The division of the caliphate terribly harmed the dignity and honour of the Muslims. The Iranians took advantage of the situation and instigated anarchy. Under such circumstances, Ali and Muawiya were forced to agree on the term that both will restrict their military movements to their own areas. After this agreement, Ali crushed the revolts arising from the Iranians.

People who parted from Ali ibn Abi Talib after the Battle of Siffin are called the kharijites in history. This was the first sect or group who seceded from umma. In the previous pages you have read that when the Syrians raised the Holy Quran on their spears and appealed to obey the order of Quran as their strategy to stop war so as to save themselves from defeat, Ali opposed it and ordered his army to remain steadfast and continue to combat. However, the soldiers contravened the order and stopped the battle. Though Ashtar insisted to continue but Ashath ibn Qays and his fellows, Masar bin al-Fadki Tamimi and Zayd ibn Hassain at-Tai started threatening. Therefore, Ali had to cease the battle and agree upon arbitration. Later on, these people insisted to annul the arbitration and call off the truce. However, Ali refused to breach the agreement. At that point, the people who seceded from Ali were called the kharijites. Initially, twelve thousand people parted from Ali and went to Harura where they pledged allegiance to Shabath ibn Ribi at-Tamimi. Some historians believe, they pledged allegiance to Abdullah ibn Wahb. Most of the kharijites belonged to the clans of Tamim, Bakr and Hamdan.