Worthless Worship Deeds Without Value

In the Name of Allah, the All-Beneficent, the All-Merciful

وَ سَمِعَ عليه السلام رَجُلًا مِنَ الْحَرُورِيَّةِ يَتَهَجَّدُ وَ يَقْرَأُ فَقَالَ: نَوْمٌ عَلَى يَقِينٍ خَيْرٌ مِنْ صَلَاةٍ فِى شَكٍّ

Amir al-mu’minin (ʿa), heard about a Kharijite who said the mid-night prayers and recited the Qur’an, then he said: “Sleeping in a state of firm belief is better than praying in a state of doubtfulness.”

Today, we look at Saying 97, where Imām ʿAlī (ʿa) shatters the illusion of superficial religiosity and calls us to a deeper, more stable form of faith.

Quality Over Performance

While Imām ʿAlī (ʿa) was in the company of his companions, he heard a man from the Harūriyya (the Khawarij) deeply immersed in midnight prayers (tahajjud) and the recitation of the Qur’an. This group was famous for their long night vigils, yet their thinking was superficial and their belief was mingled with doubt. Upon hearing this man, the Imām (ʿa) made a striking declaration:

«نَوْمٌ عَلَى يَقِين خَيْرٌ مِنْ صَلاَة فِي شَكّ»“

Sleeping in a state of firm belief is better than praying in a state of doubtfulness.”

This statement is a profound reality check for us. What brings us close to God and keeps us on the straight path is Yaqīn (certainty). When our faith is firm, it prevents us from deviating; but when it is shallow, we can easily be led astray, making our worship hollow and of little value.

The Imām (ʿa) echoes this sentiment in Saying 145:

«كَمْ مِنْ صَائِم لَيْسَ لَهُ مِنْ صِيَامِهِ إِلاَّ الْجُوعُ وَالظَّمَأُ وَكَمْ مِنْ قَائِم لَيْسَ لَهُ مِنْ قِيَامِهِ إِلاَّ السَّهَرُ وَالْعَنَاءُ حَبَّذَا نَوْمُ الْأَكْيَاسِ وَإِفْطَارُهُمْ»

“How many a fasting person whose fasting brings him nothing but hunger and thirst, and how many a night stander whose night vigil brings him nothing but wakefulness and fatigue. Blessed is the sleep of the wise and their breaking of the fast.”

The Cautionary Tale of the Beautiful Reciter

To illustrate the danger of outward devotion without inward transformation, we look at an event involving the Imām’s close devotee, Kumayl ibn Ziyād. One night, while walking past a house, they heard a man reciting the Qur’an in a mournful, weeping tone:

أَمَّنْ هُوَ قَانِتٌ آنَاءَ اللَّيْلِ سَاجِداً وَقَائِماً....

Kumayl was deeply moved by the man’s apparent devotion. However, the Imām (ʿa) looked at him and warned: “O Kumayl, do not be astonished by the noise of that man, he is a person of Hell.”Months later, after the Battle of Nahrawan, where the Imām (ʿa) fought the extremist Khawarij, he pointed his sword toward one of the fallen heads and recited the same verse that had impressed Kumayl one dark night:

«أَمَّنْ هُوَ قَانِتٌ آنَاءَ اللَّيْلِ سَاجِداً وَقَائِماً»

And then the Imām (ʿa) said to Kumayl: “This is the very man who that night recited this verse, which amazed you.”

Who Were the “Khawarij”?

The Khawarij (literally “those who go out”) were a group whose mindset actually began during the time of the Prophet (ṣ). After the Battle of Hunayn, a man named Dhu al-Khuwaysirah challenged the Prophet’s (ṣ) justice. The Prophet (ṣ) warned that this man would have followers who delve so deeply into religion that they “exit from it, just as an arrow exits from a bow’s string.”

This ideology manifested fully during the Battle of Siffin. After initially pressuring Imām ʿAlī (ʿa) to accept arbitration (tahkim), they flipped their position once the arbitration was manipulated. They declared a famous slogan:

«لَاحُكْمَ إِلَّا لِلَّه»

“There is no judgment except for Allah!”

They claimed that arbitration was polytheism (shirk), ignoring that the Qur’an itself commands arbitration:

For family disputes: “(فَابْعَثُوا حَکَمًا مِنْ أَهْلِهِ وَحَکَمًا مِنْ أَهْلِهَا)” [Send an arbiter from his family and her family]

For disputes between believers: “(وَإِنْ طَائِفَتَانِ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِینَ اقْتَتَلُوا...)” [If two groups of believers fight...]

The Khawarij misused a Quranic verse completely out of context.

What Makes This Mindset Dangerous?

The Khawarij represent a specific type of spiritual failure that we must guard against. Their danger lies in three areas:

Shallow Understanding: The Prophet (ṣ) described them perfectly: “They recite the Quran but it does not pass beyond their shoulders.” The message never reached their hearts or brains.

2.Outward Religiosity: Their constant night prayers and memorization of the Quran attracted simple minded people who were easily impressed by the “noise” of their devotion.

3.Self-Righteous Extremism: They believed that anyone who committed a major sin became a disbeliever (kafir) and should be executed. Or only they are true Muslims.

The Prophecy of Enduring Extremism

After the Battle of Nahrawan, people assumed the Khawarij were finished. However, Imām ʿAlī (ʿa) provided a chilling prophecy about the survival of this extremist ideology:

«كَلَّا وَاللَّهِ إِنَّهُمْ نُطَفٌ فِى أَصْلَابِ الرِّجَالِ وَقَرَارَاتِ النِّسَاءِ كُلَّمَا نَجَمَ مِنْهُمْ قَرْنٌ قُطِعَ حَتَّى يَكُونَ آخِرُهُمْ لُصُوصاً سَلَّابِينَ»

“Not so, by Allah! They are still sperm in the loins of men and the wombs of women. Whenever a generation of them emerges, it will be cut down, until their last remnants will be thieves and highway robbers!”

This ideology is not tied to a single historical group; it is a recurring disease of the heart that reappears throughout history. The ultimate tragedy of this self righteousness was seen when the Khawarij eventually assassinated Imām ʿAlī (ʿa) with a poisoned sword while he was in prayer.

Conclusion: Seeking the Roots of Yaqīn

The tragedy of the Khawarij is a mirror for us today. It shows us that outward piety, when mixed with inward ignorance and extreme arrogance, becomes dangerous. It reminds us that we should never judge a person’s faith, or our own, merely by the quantity of their recitation or the duration of their night vigils.

If the downfall of the Khawarij was their “shallow understanding” and a faith that was “mixed with doubt,” then the path to spiritual safety is found in the absolute certaintydemonstrated on the plains of Karbala.

May we always be among the lovers and Azadar of Imam Hussain (as)

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Worthless Worship Deeds Without Value