First you were a believer...

First you were a believer, the Prophet chose you as a brother, your selflessness shone out on the night of the Prophet's escape from Mecca (laylatu 'l-mabit) when you slept in the place of the Prophet in his bed, you put yourself forward as a lure for swords. Truly your service for Islam cannot be denied.

But God also said to His Prophet: `If you associate (others with God) your work will come to naught.' Now that you have become a disbeliever you have cancelled out your past deeds." What could `Ali do, faced with this, with this man's voice shouting out the Qur'an? He remained silent until the man reached the end of the verse; and when he finished, 'Ali continued with the prayer. Then Ibn al-Kawwa' repeated the verse, and meanwhile `Ali fell silent again.

He kept silent because it is a Qur'anic command that: وَإِذَا قُرِئَ الْقُرْآنُ فَاسْتَمِعُوا لَهُ وَأَنْصِتُوا And when the Qur'an is recited, give you ear to it and be silent. (al-A'raf, 7:204) And this is the proof for the fact that when the prayer leader is reciting the Qur'an, believers must be silent and listen.

After he had repeated the verse several times, wanting to disrupt the prayer, 'Ali recited this verse: فَاصْبِرْ إِنَّ وَعْدَ اللَّهِ حَقٌّ وَلَا يَسْتَخِفَّنَّكَ الَّذِينَ لَا يُوقِنُونَ So be thou patient: surely Allah's promise is true; and let not those who have not sure faith make thee unsteady. (ar-Rum, 30:60) Then he paid no more attention and continued with his prayer.[^1] In the beginning, the Khawarij were peaceable, and contented themselves with merely criticizing and speaking openly.

`Ali's behavior with them was also just as we noted before, namely, he never caused them any trouble, not even cutting off their wages from the treasury ( baitu 'l-mal ). However, as they began to despair of 'Ali ever repenting, their activities gradually changed.

✦ ✦ ✦