sneaking out to join ISIS

October 7, 2015

Khawarij Ideology, ISIS Savagery: Caliphate & Jihad

The first instalment of this blog (here) charted the rise of Islam’s first heterodox sect, the Khawarij, who were described by the Prophet ﷺ as being: ‘the worst of mankind and beasts’1 and ‘dogs of Hellfire.’2 We saw how their defining traits were: (i) rebellion (khuruj) against legitimate state rule; (ii) declaring Muslims to be apostates (takfir) for sins or opinions Continue reading

contemporary concerns, politics & society, salafism reconsidered, theology

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Ibn al-Qayyim on why jihad is fought, ibn Kathir on the Khawarij, Ibn Taymiyyah on multiple Muslim states, ISIL, ISIS, ISIS are Khawarij, Islamic ruling on ISIS, Islamic State, jihad is not perpetual war, khalifah, khawarij, proofs against ISIS, sneaking out to join ISIS, true nature of jihad, true reasons why Muslims wage jihad, who are the Khawarij of our times?

About Me

My name is Surkheel Sharif (aka Abu Aaliyah). Born and raised in London, England, I began my more formal, but gradual studies of the Islamic sciences around the late 1980s (just a few years after having quit my degree in Astrophysics). I also gained an MA in Islamic Studies from Birkbeck College, University of London, in 2009.

I’ve translated a few Islamic works from Arabic into English; one of them, a short text on Muslim spirituality, called The Exquisite Pearl (2000). I have also authored a few books, including: More Fish Please & the Earth’s Complaint (2011); Fussing Over the 15th of Sha’ban & the Golden Rule of Differing (2011); A Muslim’s Guide to Modernity (2025); and Salafism Reconsidered (forthcoming)

I am the founder and current Director of the Jawziyyah Institute (est. 1999): a non-profit organisation dedicated to cultivating an Islam true to its time-honoured tradition, relevant to its current context, and of benefit to wider society.

sneaking out to join ISIS

Khawarij Ideology, ISIS Savagery: Caliphate & Jihad