His saying (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding a group: “You will consider your prayer insignificant compared to their prayer, and your fasting insignificant compared to their fasting. They will emerge from the religion as an arrow emerges from its target.”

The questioner : Your Eminence, the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)

The Shaykh : May Allah send blessings and peace upon him.

The questioner : regarding the Khawarij: “You will consider their prayer insignificant.” I do not remember the exact wording of the hadith How do we know that this hadith is specifically about the Khawarij, especially since they did not exist in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) or in the time of Abu Bakr? And how is it said to be specifically about the Khawarij only?

The Shaykh : You must know, may Allah bless you, that Allah the Exalted revealed to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) knowledge of the unseen in many matters, and this is one of His signs. He informed them that they would emerge, that they would pray and recite the Qur'an, and that one of the Companions would consider his own prayer and recitation insignificant compared to theirs. He said: “They recite the Qur'an and are proficient in it, but it does not go beyond their throats, may Allah protect us. That is, it is only by the tongue and does not reach the hearts.” For this reason, he said: The arrow, when it strikes the target, is like a bullet that strikes a bird; it pierces through and exits. Thus, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) described them. The first of them appeared in the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) May we seek refuge in Allah. This is emergence through speech, because emergence is of two types: emergence through speech and emergence through the sword and fighting. The first is a precursor to the second. The first is a precursor to the second, because those who emerge with the sword do not simply take up arms and walk out; they must prepare preliminaries, which is to fill the hearts of the people with hatred and enmity toward their rulers. When that happens, the matter is ready for emergence. Yes, Yasar. No, no, only for the guests.