Il '''Kharigismo''' è un ramo dell'ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, in stretta correlazione con l'insurrezione del governatore di Muʿāwiya ibn Abī Sufyān che reclamava giustizia per la morte di ʿOthmān ibn ʿAffān, suo stretto parente, e che si opponeva verosimilmente alla deposizione disposta ai suoi danni da ʿAlī.

==Il Kharigismo come dissidenza politica==
Lo scontro armato, scoppiato a Siffīn, fu bloccato da un gruppo di seguaci di ʿAlī che vollero si rispondesse positivamente alla richiesta dei sostenitori del governatore, che pare stesse soccombendo. Costoro invocarono infatti nel corso della battaglia una risoluzione "pacifica" del dissidio mediante un arbitrato fra le parti, che evitasse il proseguire della guerra civile e lo spargimento di sangue di credenti.

Nel corso della notte, però, tali seguaci del califfo tornarono sulla loro decisione perché convinti che solo la battaglia avrebbe permesso di decidere chi fosse dalla parte della ragione: se Muʿāwiya che marciava in armi contro l'autorità costituita per ottenere giustizia o il califfo che, per quanto tiepido nel rintracciare i mandanti dell'assassinio di ʿOthmān, era pur sempre il "Comandante dei Credenti". Il "giudizio di Dio" che essi avevano quindi dapprima accondisceso a ricercare, fu da essi stessi considerata una ribellione contro il califfo da parte di persone che in quel modo non potevano essere più considerate musulmane e di cui era quindi lecito "versare il sangue".<br/>
Il loro slogan divenne pertanto ''Lā ḥikma illā li-llāh'' ("a Dio solo spetta il giudizio") e da qui provenne anche l'altro loro nome di "''Muḥàkkima''" (''Quelli del giudizio [di Dio]'').

Il califfo tuttavia non volle accedere a questa nuova richiesta, avendo perso l'iniziativa e vedendo i suoi soldati demotivati cosicché quel gruppo di suoi iniziali sostenitori - scandalizzato dalla rinuncia di 'Alī al suo dovere di guidare al bene i musulmani e contrastare il male -  decise di abbandonare le file del suo esercito e di recarsi nella cittadina di Harūra (da cui il nome di Haruriti preso dagli scissionisti) per discutere sul da farsi.

==Il Kharigismo come dissidenza teologica==
Era nata la prima riflessione teologica all'interno della ''Muhammad perché il quesito di fondo era in fin dei conti quello della qualifica del musulmano e se un musulmano che si fosse messo dalla parte dell'errore (come un ribelle alla legittima autorità califfale), e che quindi fosse un peccatore, potesse a buon diritto essere considerato ancora membro della ''Umma'' islamica o un apostata.

La loro risposta infine fu che il peccatore dovesse essere considerato decaduto dalla qualità di apostata) ne fosse lecito l'uccisione. Si orientava in tal modo il movimento a un radicalismo ideologico e politico che, malgrado un corposo afflato sociale in grado di affascinare chi si sentiva a qualsiasi titolo discriminato dalle autorità arabo-islamiche, condannerà il movimento a esser minoritario e spesso periferico.

I fuoriusciti dall'esercito califfale abbandonarono infine Harura - e da qui sembra sia venuta loro la denominazione di "Kharigiti" [in arabo ''Khawārij'', dal verbo ''kharaja'' "uscire" - mentre secondo altri  storici il termine sarebbe derivato dal loro avere abbandonato l'esercito alide, o anche l'aver propugnato l'attacco (''kharaja'' vuol dire infatti anche "uscire all'attacco"). 

Tanto  Alī  quanto Muʿāwiya avevano a loro giudizio gravemente sbagliato e non potevano quindi essere più considerati appartenenti alla Comunità islamica. Di conseguenza era perfettamente lecito ucciderli e di fatto quello divenne il loro obiettivo, diventando acerrimi avversari sia degli alidi (più tardi sciiti) sia dei seguaci di Muʿāwiya (che più tardi furono considerati omogenei al ramo prevalente dell'Islam che fu chiamato sunnismo).

'''Kharijites''' (Arabic '''''' خوارج, literally "Those who Went Out"<ref>[http://www.irfi.org/articles/articles_201_250/schisms_and_heterodoxy_among_mus.htm "Schisms and Heterodoxy among the Muslims", hosted on irfi.org]</ref>) is a general term embracing various Muslims who, while initially supporting the caliphate of the fourth and final "Rightly Guided" caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib, later rejected him. They first emerged in the late 7<sup>th</sup> century AD, concentrated in today's southern Iraq, and are distinct from the Sunnis and Shiites.

Whereas the Shiites believed that the ''imamate'' (leadership) was the sole right of the house of Ali, the Kharijites insisted that any pious and able Muslim could be a leader of the Muslim community. And whereas the Sunnis believed that the imam's impiousness did not, by itself, justify sedition, the Kharijites insisted on the right to revolt against any ruler who deviated from the example of the Prophet Muhammad and the first two caliphs, Abu Bakr and Umar. From this essentially political position, the Kharijites developed a variety of theological and legal doctrines that further set them apart from both Sunni and Shiite Muslims.

Kharijites were also known historically as the ''Shurat'', meaning "those who have sold their souls to God", which, unlike the term "Kharijite", was one that many Kharijites used to describe themselves. The only surviving group, the Ibāḍī of Oman, Zanzibar and North Africa, reject the "Kharijite" appellation and refer to themselves as ''ahl al-'adl wal istiqama'' ("people of justice and uprightness").

==Origin==

The origin of Kharijism lies in the Muāwiyah, governor of Damascus and cousin of Uthman. According to John Esposito, they were the first radical dissenters in Islam who combined "a rigorous puritanism and religious fundamentalism with an exclusivist egalitarianism."<ref name="Esp43">Esposito, ''Islam the Straight Path,'' pp. 43-45.</ref>

In 658, Alī's forces met Muāwiyah's at the Battle of Siffin. Initially, the battle went against Muāwiyah. On the brink of defeat, Muāwiyah directed his army to hoist Qur'āns on their lances.<ref>{{cite book 
|last=Ali 
|first=Ameer 
|title='A Short History of the Saracens' 
|edition= 13th Edition 
|publisher=Macmillan and Company 
|location=London 1961
|language=English 
|pages=p. 51 
|quote="He (Muawiyah) made his mercenaries tie copies of the Koran to their lances and flags, and shout for quarter."}}</ref> This initiated discord among some of those who were in Alī's army. Muāwiyah wanted to put the dispute between the two sides to arbitration in accordance with the Quran. A group of Alī's army mutinied, demanding that Alī agree to Muāwiyah's proposal. As a result, Alī reluctantly presented his own representative for arbitration. The mutineers, however, put forward Abu Musa al-Ash'ari against Alī's wishes. Muāwiyah put forward Amr Ibn Al-As. Abu Musa al-Ash'ari was convinced by Amr to pronounce Alī's removal as caliph even though Ali's caliphate was not meant to be the issue of concern in the arbitration. The mutineers saw the turn of events as a fundamental betrayal of principle, especially since they had initiated it; a large group of them (traditionally believed to be 12,000, mainly from Banu Hanifah and Banu Tamim tribes)repudiated Alī. Citing the verse, "No rule but God's," an indication that a caliph is not a representative of God, this group turned on both Alī and Muāwiya, opposing Muāwiya's rebellion against one they considered to be the rightful caliph, and opposing ˤAlī's subjecting his legitimate authority to arbitration. They became known as Kharijites: Arabic plural khawārij, singular ''Khārijī'', derived from the verb ''kharaja'' "come out, leave the fold."
   

ˤAlī quickly divided his troops and ordered them to catch the dissenters before they could reach major cities and disperse among the population. Ali's cousin, Abdullah ibn Abbas, managed to persuade a number of Kharijites to return to Alī. ˤAlī defeated the remaining rebels in the Battle of Nahrawan in 658 but some Kharijites survived and, in 661, ultimately assassinated Alī. They are said to have organized simultaneous attempts against Muāwiya and Amr as well, as the three men were in their view the main sources of strife within the Muslim community, but were only successful in assassinating Ali.

==Definition==
Al-Shahrastani defines a Khariji as:

<blockquote>
Anyone who walks out against (seeking to overthrow) the true appointed Rightly-Guided caliphs or other than them from the Tabi'een
</blockquote><ref>[http://www.fatwa-online.com/deviantgroups/khawaarij/0010512.htm Khawaarij]</ref>. 
And some of the Salaf used to call all those who practiced Islam based upon their desires as Kharijite.

==Beliefs and practices==

Kharijite theology was a form of radical jihad (struggle) and the sixth pillar of Islam.

They believed that anybody who commits a grave sin is no longer a Muslim and is subject to excommunication, warfare and death unless the person repents. They believed that the leader of the Muslim community can be any good Muslim, even a slave, provided he has the community's support, in contrast to the dominant opinion among Muslims at the time that the ruler should be a member of Muhammad's tribe, the Quraysh. Having a strong emphasis on the need to depose unjust rulers and believing that the current leaders of the Muslim community were guilty of grave sins, they withdrew themselves from the rest of the Muslim community, started camping together and waged war against their perceived enemies. They believed that they are the people of God fighting against the people of evil.<ref name="Esp43"> Esposito, Islam the straight path, p. 43 </ref>
==Divisions==
The Kharijites were the first sect to appear in the history of Islam, splitting up into more than 20 different sub-sects. However, the major sub-sects of the Kharijites are seven:
* al-Mahkamah al-Oolaa;
* al-Azaariqah (Azraqī);
* an-Najdaat;
* ath-Thu'aalabah;
* al-'Ajaaridah;
* al-Abaadhiyyah (Ibādī);
* as-Safriyyah

Some of the other sub-sects include:
* al-Ibaathiyyah;
* ash-Shamraakhiyyah;
* as-Salaydiyyah;
* as-Sirriyyah;
* al-'Azriyyah;
* al-'Ajradiyyah;
* ash-Shakkiyyah;
* al-Fadhaliyyah;
* al-Bayhasiyyah;
* al-'Atwiyyah;
* al-Fadeekiyyah;
* al-Ja'diyyah;
* ash-Shaybiyyah;
* al-Hurooriyyah;
* al-Khamariyyah;
* ash-Sharaah. 

===Azraqī===

The most extreme were the ''Azraqīs'' or ''Azariqah'', founded in Persia in 685 by . These pronounced ''Takfir'' on all other Muslims, considering them to be ''Kuffar'' ('unbelievers') who could be killed with impunity.<ref>[http://secure.britannica.com/eb/article-9054160?hook=182121#182121.hook al-Muhallab ibn Abi Sufra - Britannica Online Encyclopedia<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[http://www.islamfact.com/books-htm/ibadi/13.htm islamfact.com - Studies in ibadhism<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>  Their distinctive practices included:
* A test of sincerity (إمتحان '''' "examination") required of each new recruit, in which the neophyte was required to cut the throat of a captive enemy.
* Religious murder (إستعراض '''' "demonstration"), not only of men, but also of their wives and children (the killing of moslem non-combatants is disallowed in Islam)

They regarded the territory occupied by other Muslims as part of Dar al-Kufr,the territory of unbelief where it was permitted to attack both people and goods - but also a territory from which one must exile oneself, as Muhammad had exiled himself from Mecca to escape the unbelievers there.

===Sufrī===

Less brutal was the Sufri sect, founded by Ziyād ibnu l-Asfar in an environment hostile to Kharijism.  These condemned political murder, adhered the practice of taqiyya, and rejected the massacre of the unbelievers' children. They considered Sura 12 to be not truly part of the Qur'an.

===Najdat===

The Najdat were the followers of Najdah ibn 'Amir, of Bani Hanifa, who established a Kharijite state in al-Yamamah (east-central Arabia).  Like the Sufris, Najdah had split from the Azraqi movement over the issues of the killing of the enemy's women and children and over the status of those who refuse to join in battle, as the Azraqis believed that whoever stayed behind had become an unbeliever.