The History of Rise of The Sufri and their Perspectives

Abstract

Khawarij، also called al-Shurat، is the first Islamic group who rebelled against the fourth Rashidun Caliph. After a while، Khawarijs also divided into several groups and the conflict between them grew deeper. Sufri، one of the biggest Khawarij groups، due to their differences; they separated from other Khawarij’s groups. The current research consists of two sections and followed by a conclusion. In the first section، the research discusses the different opinions stated about the raise of Khawarij. In addition، the research discusses the history of Sufris، especially the name of the group and what makes them different from other Khawarij groups. Further، the second sections focuses on the spiritual and fundamentals of Sufris and their shared opinions with other Khawarij groups. The research attempts to answer the following questions; what motivated Sufris to set their bounders with other Khawarij groups? are the Sufris motives financials or thinking differences? Who inspired the thinking fundamentals of the group? And the founder was under which thinking influence? The finding of the current research shows that Sufris were situated between the most extremist، Azariqa، and less extremist group، Ibadi، of Khawarijs. Also، the research found that the founders of this group were under the influence of Al-Kalamiya، especially the Mu'tazila. Moreover، some of their responses to the criticism against them are based on their perspectives.