Imam Hasan (a.s.) and Khawarij

Outwardly these people were pious and very respectable but the level of their intellect could be judged from the fact that, God forbid, they had slandered the leader of the faithful, Hazrat Ali (as) as being a polytheist, and had fought the war called 'Nahrwan' against him.

Their number after their defeat in Nahrwan war could not be considered as large but their group constituted a great danger for Imam Hasan (as). Outwardly, they were faithful to the Imam (as), but they were waiting for an opportune moment to attain their base objective. To kill Moawiya was also one of their aims. Imam Mujtaba (as) had been watching them and was quite alert.

Adapted from the book: "Imam Hasan and Caliphate" by: "Qurrat-ul-Ain Abidiy"