Journal of Islamic Studies and Culture December 2021, Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 1-12 ISSN: 2333-5904 (Print), 2333-5912 (Online) Copyright © The Author(s). All Rights Reserved. Published by American Research Institute for Policy Development DOI: 10.15640/jisc.v9n2a1 URL: https://doi.org/10.15640/jisc.v9n2a1 Present Day Terrorists are the Kharijites of the Time of the Prophet (PBUH) Ramzan Mohammed 1 & Assoc. Prof. Dr Bakare Kazeem Kayode 2 Abstract: Terrorism is one of the major world issues which has affected the whole of mankind in general, but it has more specifically troubled Muslims all over the world. Terrorism has been bracketed with Islam across global media due to terrorist groups such as ISIS and Al-Qaeda claiming to be Muslims and chant slogans claiming to follow the Qur‟an. This paper looks into the Prophetic Narrations in regards to the Kharijites of the time of the Prophet (PBUH) and compares them to present day terrorists. The outcome indicates that present day terrorists are the Kharijites of the time of the Prophet (PBUH), which the Prophet (PBUH) prophesized, and as stated by the Prophet (PBUH), they have nothing to do with Islam and their atrocities will take them to Hellfire. Keywords: Kharijite of Our Time, Present Day Terrorists, History of Terrorism, Islam and Terrorism Introduction: One of the greatest world problems and major security issues at present is terrorism (Al-Thagafi, 2008) which has not only been encountered by Muslims in particular but also by humanity as a whole for nearly two decades. Although terrorism is presently annexed with the religion of Islam and Muslims, which inclines a layman to think that terrorism originated from Islam, the reality is completely different. Terrorism actually goes back to the first century where history records the first manifestation of organized terrorism in Palestine, which was pre- Islam. “The Zealot sect was one of the very first groups to practice systematic terror” (Chaliand and Blin, 2007, p. 55). They were a sect of Judea who involved themselves in terrorist activities to force insurrection in Judea against the Romans. These terrorist activities used killers that would enter Roman-controlled cities by infiltrating in them and would carry out stabbing of Jewish collaborators or Roman legionnaires with a knife, as well as taking members of the staff of the Temple Guard as hostages to seek a ransom. Furthermore, they would largely use poison as part of their campaign (Hudson, 1999, p. 17). Nevertheless, the focus of this paper is to discuss the present-day terrorists such as members of ISIS, they are the Kharijites of the time of the Prophet (PBUH). This paper aims to highlight that these so-called Muslims committing these atrocities have nothing to do with Islam and are destined to Hellfire in the light of Prophetic Narrations. 1. Terrorism in the History of Islam There are many dimensions to why Muslims are in the limelight in the emergence of terrorism since 9/11. One of the dimensions of the issue is that the so-called terrorists have been claiming to be Muslims and have used Qur‟anic verses and narrations of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) to legitimize their inhumane atrocities. They validate their practices by using the term „Jihad‟, therefore, they alter, twist and obscure the Islamic concept of Jihad (Tahir-ul-Qadri, M. 2010, p. 3). In another dimension, the terrorists use the Qur‟anic texts wrongfully by twisting the meanings and brainwash, radicalize and take on young Muslims as part of their campaign (Minhaj.org 2015). Another major aspect of this issue which has struck the west is that usually extremists and terrorists are notably recognized to be from the Middle East or East-Asia causing atrocities in the west, but the term „homegrown terrorists‟ has emerged where Western grown young Muslims have been involved in such atrocities in the West (Beutel, 2007, p.3), or they have decided to migrate and join extremist organizations such as ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria). 1 PhD Student at Al-Madinah International University (MEDIU) 2 2Asst. Prof. Dr. at Al-Madinah International University (MEDIU)