The Khawarij are the first schismatics in our tradition. These people are not Companions, may Almighty Allah be pleased with them all, but a generation of new believers who performed so much worship they felt they had surpassed the noble Companions of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. They were, of course, incorrect; the term Khawarij is, in fact, a feminine term for the Arabic term schismatic (“those who left”). The scholars did not consider their actions manly or noble to conflict with the venerable Companions. The collective efforts of the Khawarij claimed the life of the Third Rashidun Caliph, may Almighty Allah be pleased with him, and fueled conflicts with the following Rashidun Caliph, may Allah also be pleased with him.
Some of this group then splintered off into Rafidhi sects and others into variants of faith-groups agnostic to many foundations of the tradition.
The irony in their name and their action is linked with the Third Caliph, may Almighty Allah be forever pleased with him, because of all the religious sciences over the centuries, every one produced a healthy debate or even controversy except one. Makhraj: the science of how the sounds of the letters leave the mouth (tongue flat or round, with a nasal sound or not, etc.). Khawarij and Makhraj share a common root, Kha-ra-ja—which means “to leave” in Arabic.
This science was critical in the central contribution of the venerable Rashidun Caliph ‘Uthman ibn Affan, Rady Allahu ‘anh, when the authoritative text and letters of the Holy Qur’an were standardized.
Of all the things that happened after him, of all the disagreements and schisms, nobody was able to debate this particular knowledge. It is something at the core of this tradition that continues to unite the nation of Muhammad, may Almighty Allah bless him and grant him peace.
There is doing a dhikr. Then there is understanding the dhikr. Then there is being the dhikr.
Subhan Allah.
114-Imam Muhammad Ibn Seerin narrated that when the assailants besieged ‘Uthman’s house, and in a moment of distress, his beleaguered wife burst out in tears as she cried out: “Whether you kill him or not, he used to recite the entire Qur’an throughout the night during a single rak’a of his prayers.”