"Kharijites (Collective Plural Arabic: \u0627\u0644\u062E\u0627\u0631\u062C\u064A\u0629, translit.: al-Kh\u0101rijiyyah; Multiple Plural Arabic: \u062E\u0648\u0627\u0631\u062C, translit.: Khaw\u0101rij; Singular Arabic: \u062E\u0627\u0631\u062C\u064A, translit.: Kh\u0101riji; literally 'those who went out') were a sect in early Islam that initially supported the authority of Caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib, the son-in-law and cousin of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, but then later rejected his leadership, after he agreed to arbitration with Mu'awiyah rather than combat to decide the succession to the Caliphate following the Battle of Siffin (657).Khawarij held that \"Judgement belongs to God alone\", and that any Muslim (not just a Quraysh or even Arab) could be the leader of the community (Imam) if they are morally irreproachable, but that if the leader sinned it was the duty of Muslims to revolt against him. "@en .