The Kharijite Rebellions were the uprisings instigated by the Kharijites against the Caliphate of Ali. Various rebellions took place throughout the Caliphate but were all militarily suppressed. However, a Kharijite dissident would assassinate Ali in 661 in retaliation, and subsequently Ali's son Hasan would abdicate the Caliphate to Mu'awiya I.
After the arbitration between Ali and Mu'awiya following the Battle of Siffin, about 12,000 troops from Ali's Iraqi army broke away and set up a camp at Harura. They rejected the arbitration and declared that the murder of Uthman was justified. They accused Ali of blasphemy for accepting arbitration with Mu'awiya despite being the legitimate caliph. They argued that Mu'awiya was a rebel who should be fought until he repented, citing the Qur'anic verse:
And if two groups of believers fight each other, then make peace between them. But if one of them transgresses against the other, then fight against the transgressing group until they ˹are willing to˺ submit to the rule of Allah. If they do so, then make peace between both ˹groups˺ in all fairness and act justly. Surely Allah loves those who uphold justice.
Ali visited the Harura camp to attain their support again by insisting that it was the dissenters who had forced him to accept the arbitration. The troops at Harura subsequently pledged their allegiance to Ali on the condition that the war with Mu'awiya would be resumed within six months..[3][4]
Conflicts
Skirmish at Karkh
While Ali was delivering his sermon in a mosque, Kharijites interrupted his speech, and Ali rebuked them. Ali returned to his residence, while the Kharijites went to the camp of Abd Allah ibn Wahb al-Rasibi to seek his support. Wahb, however, refused and advised them that they lacked the strength to launch a military offense against Ali and that they should find another place to regroup. The Kharijites, including Hurqus ibn Zuhayr and Hamza ibn Sinan, then departed during the night in groups of two to five men to avoid suspicion and headed for Mada'in. AAli sent Sa'd ibn Masud, the governor of Mada'in, to pursue the Kharijites. The Kharijites changed direction, and Sa'd confronted them at Karkh, where they fought for a day. The Kharijites crossed the Euphrates and fled to Nahrawan.[5][6]
In July 658, Kharijite rebels clashed with the forces of Ali near the Nahrawan canal, after Ali had sent 14,000 troops in response to reports of Kharijite violence against civilians. In the ensuing battle, the Kharijites with 2800 troops were outnumbered and crushed by the forces of Ali. Also killed was Abd Allah ibn Wahb al-Rasibi, who the Kharijites had announced as their caliph.[7][8] Ali visited the camp of Harura to convince them to return to him, which they agreed to only if war with Mu'awiya was resumed in 6 months. Ali also refused to denounce the arbitration.
In 658–659, Al-Khirrit bin Rashid, who had fought alongside Ali during the Battle of the Camel and the Battle of Siffin, declared his opposition to the Caliph. Khirrit aligned himself with various groups opposed to Ali in Iraq and Iran, but his revolt was ultimately suppressed, and he was killed by the forces of Ali.[9][10]
Revolt of Ashras ibn Awf
Ashras ibn Awf and his followers, having decided to pledge allegiance to Wahb, departed for Mada'in during the night in groups of two to five men to avoid suspicion from Ali's authorities. Awf al Shaybani was known to have instigated the first revolt after the Battle of Nahrawan. He rebelled in al-Daskra and then went to Anbar. Ali al-Abrash ibn Hasan sent 300 men against Ashras, and Ali ibn al-Harith reportedly killed Ashras in Rabi' al-Awwal in 658.[11][12][13][14]
Revolt of Hilal ibn Ulafa
Hilal ibn Ulafa, along with his brother Mujalid, left Taym al Ribab. Reportedly, the leadership of the splinter group was with Mujalid, and Hilal accompanied him. Ali sent Ma'qil bin Qays to confront Hilal, who killed Hilal and two hundred of his men in the month of Jumada al-Awwal in 658.[15][16]
Battle of Jarjaraya
Al-Ashhab ibn Bashir with 130 men visited the battlefield of Hilal bin Ulafa and prayed for them. Ali sent Jariyah ibn Qudamah and Hujr ibn Adi to confront him. They met Al-Ashhab and his men at Jarjaraya and killed them in the month of Jumada al-Thani in 658.[17]
Revolt of Sa`id ibn Qafil
Sa`id ibn Qafil rebelled along with al-Bandanijin with 200 men and advanced up to the al-Darzijan bridge which was near Mada'in. Ali wrote a letter to Sa`d ibn Mas`ud al-Thaqafi, the governor of Mada'in, about the army of Sa'id. In Rajab of the year 658, Ali's forces confronted and killed Sa`id ibn Qafil and his men.[18]
Battle of Kufa (658)
When Ali returned to Kufa from the river, where three thousand Kharijites had been gathered, one thousand of them split from Ibn Wahb and joined the army of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari. Others who had been stationed at al-Nukhayla went out to join the Syrian army before reaching the river.
During Ali's battle with the Kharijites at the river, many Kufans refused to fight alongside him. Abu Maryam al-Sa'di remained in Shahrizor with two hundred men. He reminded his followers about the events at the river and advanced toward the outskirts of Kufa.
Ali called for the pledge of allegiance and promised protection to anyone who neither fought against him nor fought on his behalf. He sent Shurayḥ ibn Hānī with seven hundred men to take the pledge from those resisting. Abū Maryam refused to give allegiance, citing Ali's killing of Kharijite leaders. His group attacked Shurayḥ, but they were defeated. Even so, Shurayḥ was left with only two hundred men, and he withdrew to nearby villages. Some companions joined him, forming a force of about five hundred, while others entered Kufa and spread the false rumour that Shurayḥ had been killed.
Ali then marched himself with two thousand men, accompanied by Jariyah ibn Qudāmah, who had another five hundred, to confront Abū Maryam. ʿAlī again demanded a pledge of allegiance, but Abū Maryam refused. Fighting broke out, during which many of ʿAlī’s companions were wounded. Abū Maryam’s forces were mostly destroyed, with only fifty survivors who asked for safe conduct. Abū Maryam was killed in Ramadan of the year 658.
According to Al-Mada'ini, Abū Maryam had about four hundred followers, most of them non-Arabs; only six were from Banu Sa'd, including Abū Maryam himself.[19][20][21]
On 28 January 661, a Kharijite dissident named Ibn Muljam struck Ali with a poisoned sword in the Great Mosque of Kufa. Ali was about sixty-two years old and passed away of his wounds about two days later. After the assassination of Ali, his eldest son Hasan was proclaimed caliph in Kufa.[22] Hasan would then execute Ibn Muljam.[23] However, Mu'awiya I would quickly march on Kufa with a large army, and Hasan's military suffered defections in large numbers. By the time Hasan agreed to a peace treaty with Mu'awiya, his authority did not exceed the area around Kufa.[24] Under this treaty, Hasan ceded the caliphate to Mu'awiya. The treaty stipulated a general amnesty for the people and that a council would choose the caliph after Mu'awiya's death.[25] Mu'awiya was then crowned as caliph at a ceremony in Jerusalem.[26]
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