Origins of Khawarij and Their Demise
Question: When and how did the fitnah of the Khawarij emerge? What was their viewpoint? How did Hazrat Ali (RA) deal with the Khawarij? And finally, what was the end of the Egyptian rebel party?
Answer..!
Alhamdulillah..!!
In today’s series, InshaAllah, we will read that
- How did the Khawarij emerge and how did grouping occur in the rebel group?
- What was the viewpoint of the Khawarij?
- How did Hazrat Ali deal with the Khawarij?
- What were the results of the war with the Khawarij?
- What was the end of the Egyptian rebel party?
Fitnah of the Khawarij
We have already described the Battle of Siffin that in this battle, when the incident of arbitration occurred, that is, reconciliation took place between Hazrat Ali and Muawiyah (Ridwanullah Alaihima), the rebels found this matter extremely unpleasant. One of their groups openly separated from Hazrat Ali and declared both these Sahaba, Naudhubillah, as kafirs and declared war against them. Hazrat Ali and Ibn Abbas (Ridwanullah Alaihima) tried to explain to them a lot but they did not agree in any way. They started attacking Muslim populations. Upon this, Hazrat Ali took action against them, which broke their power. Later, the same group conspired and martyred Hazrat Ali (RA).
Now we try to find answers to those questions that we have posed above..!!
How did the Khawarij emerge and how did grouping occur in the rebel group?
One issue regarding the Khawarij (singular: Khariji) is that they do not have any of their own books because by the time formal books were written (after 150/767), they had been eliminated. Most of the details about their beginning come from the same Abu Mikhnaf who has been with us continuously in Tarikh Tabari. It is, however, well-known that they formed many groups, one of which is called “Ibadiyah” and still exists today. The Ibadis consider themselves separate from the Khawarij and they are present in Oman, Libya, and Algeria. Even in their books, we have not found much detail regarding the evolution of the Khawarij. For this reason, it is difficult to say anything definitive in this series.
From the narrations mentioned in Tabari about the Khawarij, it is known that this group became part of the rebel movement from the time of Hazrat Uthman (RA) himself. These people were called “Qurra”. The word Qurra is used for those who specifically learn the art of reciting the Quran Majid and teach it to others.1 From the narrations, it is known that they were very devout and ascetic types of people and were very strict in matters of prayer and fasting. Due to the abundance of prostrations, black marks had formed on their foreheads. Generally, it happens that those who become extremists in worship start looking down upon those who are engaged in worldly affairs. When this attitude matures, such people rebuke others on every matter, impose fatwas of kufr, fisq, and misguidance on them, and consider everyone except themselves as misguided. In English, idioms like self-righteous and holier-than-thou exist for such people, which shows that such people are also found among the people of the West.
There are also several Ahadith of Rasulullah (SAW) regarding the Khawarij narrated in Sahih Bukhari and Muslim. A few examples are presented:
Abu Salama and Ata bin Yasar came to Hazrat Abu Sa’id Khudri (RA) and asked him, have you heard anything from Nabi Karim (SAW) about the Haruriyah (Khawarij of Harur)? He said, I do not know Haruriyah (Daruriyah) but I have heard from Nabi Karim (SAW) that he (SAW) said that in this ummah, and he did not say from this ummah, some people will emerge such that you will consider your prayer insignificant in front of their prayer and they will recite the Quran but the Quran will not go below their throats. They will exit from the religion just as an arrow passes through an animal and then the archer looks at his arrow, then at the notch (which remains attached to the bow), he doubts perhaps blood is on it but that is also clean.
(Sahih Bukhari Hadith Number-6931)
In another narration it is!!
Abu Sa’id Khudri (RA) narrates that we were present in the service of Rasulullah (SAW) and he (SAW) was distributing (the spoils of war from the Battle of Hunain) when a person from Banu Tamim named Dhul Khuwaysira came and said, O Rasulullah! Act with justice. Upon hearing this, he (SAW) said, “Woe! If I do not act with justice, then who in the world will act with justice. If I become unjust, then my destruction and ruin will occur.” Umar (RA) submitted, O Rasulullah! Give me permission regarding him, I will strike his neck. He (SAW) said, leave him. Some people like him will emerge such that you will consider your fasts insignificant compared to their fasts. They will recite the Quran but it will not go below their throats. These people will exit from the religion just as a strong arrow passes through an animal. If its tip is seen, no substance (blood etc.) is visible on it, then if its shaft is seen, in the groove from the place where the tip enters up to where it is attached, nothing is found there either. If its nifa (nifa is the wood attached to the arrow) is seen, no mark is found there either. Similarly, if its feather is seen, nothing is found in it either. Although the arrow has passed through filth and blood. Their sign will be a black person. One of his arms will be like a woman’s breast (protruding) or like a lump of flesh and it will be moving. These people will rebel against the best group of Muslims. Abu Sa’id Khudri (RA) said, I bear witness that I heard this Hadith from Rasulullah (SAW) and I bear witness that Ali bin Abi Talib (RA) fought against them (i.e., the Khawarij) and at that time I was also with Ali (RA).2 And he had that person searched for (whom the Prophet (SAW) had mentioned as a sign of that group) and finally he was brought. I saw him and his entire appearance was exactly according to the characteristics described by you (SAW). .”
(Sahih Bukhari Hadith Number/3610)
From these Ahadith, it is known that this self-righteous group of the Khawarij existed even during the era of prophethood. The characteristic of these people was that they performed a lot of worship and because of that, they were victims of a kind of arrogance. They considered themselves so righteous that in comparison, they considered even Nabi Karim (SAW), Naudhubillah, as unjust. However, he (SAW) did not take any action against them because they had not committed any crime yet. It seems that some companions of these Khawarij had been punished by Hazrat Uthman (RA) for certain crimes, due to which they turned against him.
The contemporary Libyan Ibadi scholar Suleiman al-Baruni has quoted a letter from Abdullah bin Ibad (leader of one party of the Khawarij, after whom the Ibadi sect is named) to Abdul Malik bin Marwan in his book “Mukhtasar Tarikh al-Ibadiyah”. In this letter, Ibn Ibad wrote regarding Hazrat Uthman (RA):
Then he (Uthman) created such new matters that neither his two previous companions (Abu Bakr and Umar) acted upon them, nor those who had seen the time of the Prophet (SAW). When the believers (i.e., the rebels) saw these new things, they came to him (Uthman) and talked to him and drew his attention to the Book of Allah and the Sunnah that had been ongoing. Upon this, he was harsh on them that why do they draw his attention to the verses of Allah and seized them with force. He beat whom he wanted, imprisoned whom he wanted, or exiled them,
(Abu al-Rabi Suleiman al-Baruni, Mukhtasar Tarikh al-Ibadiyah, p. 24.)
These rebels accused Hazrat Uthman (RA) that he took action against them because of reminding him of the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Prophet, whereas if he were like that, he would have taken stricter action when these rebels had besieged Medina. On the contrary, he always treated them well, to the extent that he gave his life at their hands but did not take action against them.
From this letter of Abdullah bin Ibad, it appears that the reason for the rebellion of the Khawarij was that Hazrat Uthman (RA) had punished some of their companions. In any case, this group remained part of the rebels and participated with them in the Battle of Jamal and the Battle of Siffin. At that time, they had no separate identity but were part of the same rebel movement.
In the Battle of Siffin, when talks of reconciliation began, they came into the open. Obviously, no group forms suddenly. This group also did not form suddenly but its planning must have been going on for a long time. From this, it is known that this was a party within the rebel party that existed separately but became apparent at the end of the Battle of Siffin.
From some narrations, it is estimated that this division within the rebels had come into existence secretly after the Battle of Jamal. According to the narration of Saif bin Umar, when Hazrat Ali (RA) paid salaries to the soldiers from the treasury of Basra after the Battle of Jamal, the same rebels found it extremely unpleasant because they wanted to seize the entire wealth themselves.
The statement of a narrator Rashid is:
The principle of Hazrat Ali (RA) was that he did not kill anyone who was fleeing or wounded, nor did he expose anyone’s secrets, nor did he take anyone’s property. Some people said: “This is very surprising that their blood is halal for us and their property is haram.” Upon hearing this, Hazrat Ali said: “These are your brothers. Whoever did not interfere with us (i.e., remained neutral), he is our part and we are his part. Whoever was killed in opposition to us, it was because of their initiative, so khums (1/5) cannot be taken from their property.” From that time, those people who later became Kharijis started conspiring against Hazrat Ali (RA).
(Tabari. 3/2-160)
From this speech of Malik al-Ashtar, the nature of this party within the party can be gauged. He delivered this speech in front of the same Kharijis:
You people have been deceived and by Allah!
You have fallen into deception. You were invited to a ceasefire (in Siffin), you accepted it in deception. O you with black foreheads! We used to think seeing your prayers that you have no concern with the world. You are performing these worships in the longing to meet Allah Azzawajal, but now from your flight, it has become apparent that you want to escape death in pursuit of the world. Alas, a hundred alas!
O you who wear large robes!
After today, you will always walk on two opinions and never agree on one opinion. You also get away from us just as the oppressive nation (i.e., the people of Sham) has gone away.
(Tabari. 3/2-244)
Abu Mikhnaf has put a lot of emphasis that the entire blame for the “crime” of reconciliation in the Battle of Siffin should be placed on this Khariji party, whereas from the speeches and letters of Hazrat Ali (RA) himself, it is clear that Hazrat Ali (RA) himself wanted reconciliation and his purpose of participating in the Battle of Siffin was to control these rebels.
Abu Mikhnaf’s claim is that the leaders of the Kharijis, Mis’ar bin Fadki Tamimi and Zaid bin Husain al-Tai, were very rude to Hazrat Ali and said:
Ali! When you are being invited to the Book of Allah, accept it, otherwise we will hand you and your special companions over to those people. Or we will do the same to you as we did to (Uthman) Ibn Affan (i.e., we will kill you).
(Tabari. 3/2-243)
If these narrations are correct, then it has to be accepted that in the eyes of the Khawarij, Hazrat Ali (RA) had no status and in their presumption of piety and devotion, they did not consider these eminent Sahaba as anything in front of them. In any case, Abu Mikhnaf is also biased against the Khawarij because intense hatred later developed between these two factions of the rebels,
What was the viewpoint of the Khawarij?
According to the narration of Abu Mikhnaf, the basis of the rebellion of these Khawarij was their viewpoint that according to the Quran Majid, war should be waged against the rebels until they repent or are completely eliminated. Since Hazrat Ali made reconciliation with Hazrat Muawiyah (Ridwanullah Alaihima), he violated the Quran. Violating the Quran is a major sin and one who does so becomes a kafir. In this way, Ali and Muawiyah (Ridwanullah Alaihima), Naudhubillah, both became kafirs.
The verse on which the Khawarij based their viewpoint is this:
اعوذباللہ من الشیطان الرجیم
بسم اللہ الرحمٰن الرحیم
وَإِنْ طَائِفَتَانِ مِنْ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ اقْتَتَلُوا فَأَصْلِحُوا بَيْنَهُمَا فَإِنْ بَغَتْ إِحْدَاهُمَا عَلَى الأُخْرَى فَقَاتِلُوا الَّتِي تَبْغِي حَتَّى تَفِيءَ إِلَى أَمْرِ اللَّهِ فَإِنْ فَاءَتْ فَأَصْلِحُوا بَيْنَهُمَا بِالْعَدْلِ وَأَقْسِطُوا إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُقْسِطِينَ.
If two groups from among the believers fight each other, then make reconciliation between them. Then if one of them rebels against the other, fight the one that rebels until it returns to the command of Allah. Then if it returns, make reconciliation between them with justice and act justly because Allah loves those who act justly.
(Surah Al-Hujurat 49:9)
The Khawarij derived from this verse that it is obligatory according to the Quran to fight the group that rebels and doing anything else is not permissible but is kufr due to opposition to the Quran. Since Muawiyah had rebelled, it was incumbent upon Ali to fight them. Now since he did not do so but appointed two arbitrators, he violated the Quranic command, due to which he, Naudhubillah, became a kafir and exited the fold of Islam.
On the contrary, the position of Hazrat Ali and Abdullah Ibn Abbas (Ridwanullah Alaihima) was that appointing arbitrators relates to the command of reconciliation in this noble verse and Hazrat Ali did not violate any command of Allah.
The viewpoint of the Khawarij was that violating even one command of the Quran is a major sin and one who commits a major sin becomes a kafir and exits the fold of Islam. On the contrary, the viewpoint of general Muslims was that one who commits a major sin is certainly a sinner but not a kafir. On the basis of this same viewpoint, the Khawarij used to frequently issue fatwas of kufr on Muslims. Often it happened that they would declare one of their own leaders as committing kufr for committing a major sin. The result was that their own group kept dividing into sects.
(writer/Fazal ur Rahman.
Book name/ Revival and Reform in Islam. Page no_ 36.
London: One World Publications (2006)
Due to these same reasons, the Khawarij started fighting among themselves and eventually the face of the earth was cleared of their existence.
If we reflect on the noble verse, Hazrat Ali (RA) acted exactly according to this verse and tried to reform under فَأَصْلِحُوا بَيْنَهُمَا. He sent Hazrat Abdullah bin Abbas (Ridwanullah Alaihima) to convince them and then went himself but the Khawarij refused to accept any explanation from him. The reason was that these gentlemen did not want to agree in any way and wanted to spread fitnah and corruption in every case.
This was exactly like that story in which a wolf saw a lamb drinking water and decided to eat it. He said: “Why are you sending dirty water towards me?” It replied: “Sir! The water is coming from your side.” The wolf said: “Why did you abuse me last year?” It replied: “Sir! My age is only six months now.” The wolf said: “Then it must have been your mother who abused me.” Saying this, he attacked the lamb and tore it apart and ate it. The case of the Khawarij was the same. Since they had resolved to spread fitnah and corruption, they were not going to be convinced by any argument and in every case, they had to make some excuse to wage war but the issue was that opposite them was not a lamb but the lion of Allah, Ali (RA),
Why did the Khawarij separate from the other rebels?
We have not found anything about this in historical books. It seems that there must have been a conflict of interests among the rebels, due to which they separated. After that, they fabricated their philosophy. In terms of temperament, since they were completely arrogant and rude Bedouins, instead of any trickery, they waged a direct suicidal war and committed collective suicide in it.
How did Hazrat Ali deal with the Khawarij?
According to the events described by Abu Mikhnaf, some leading leaders of the Khawarij came to Hazrat Ali (RA) and demanded that you have committed a major sin by making a reconciliation agreement with Muawiyah. Repent from it and restart the war. We will fight with you. Hazrat Ali refused this and said that we have made an agreement, violating which is not permissible in any case. Upon this, the Khawarij said that if you do not repent from the sin of making this agreement, we will wage war against you. Saying this, they left chanting “La Hukma Illa Lillah”,
(Tabari. 3/2-269)
Until that time, the Khawarij lived mixed with general Muslims. Once Hazrat Ali (RA) stood to deliver a sermon, echoes of “La Hukma Illa Lillah” rose from different corners of the mosque. In response, Hazrat Ali (RA) clarified his policy and said:
Allahu Akbar!
This is a true word (La Hukma Illa Lillah) through which falsehood is intended. As long as you are with us, from my side, there are three decisions for you:
First, we will not stop you from coming to the mosque as long as you continue to remember Allah in the mosque. (Second) As long as you support us, we will not withhold spoils of war from you. (Third) We will not wage war against you until you initiate war against us,
(Tabari. 3/2-270)
Tabari has narrated this narration from sources other than Abu Mikhnaf as well, from which it is known that this was the policy of Hazrat Ali (RA). When Hazrat Abu Musa Ash’ari (RA) departed for the arbitration, the Khawarij, after mutual consultation, made Abdullah bin Wahb al-Rasibi their Amir. In their view, this person is called the fifth Rashidun caliph. After that, they organized their forces and headed towards Mada’in, which is located north of Kufa. Here they also clashed with the governor of Mada’in, Sa’d bin Mas’ud, and after that, they gathered in the area of Nahrawan. The Khariji group of Basra also joined them.
Meanwhile, the remaining elements of the rebel movement were planning another attack on Sham. According to Abu Mikhnaf, Hazrat Ali (RA) also wrote letters to the Khawarij and encouraged them to attack Sham but they refused to do so. Given the character of Hazrat Ali that we have described above, it is very unlikely that in his view, confronting the people of Sham was more important than confronting these rebels. Certainly, it was the rebel elements who wanted to attack Sham because Hazrat Muawiyah (RA) was still the biggest obstacle in their ambitions. Abu Mikhnaf himself states that very few people were ready to attack Sham. Finally, by combining slaves, freed slaves, and very young boys, an army of 57,000 was prepared.
(Tabari. 3/2-277)
During this time, the Kharijis started military operations. They captured a Sahabi Hazrat Abdullah bin Khabbab (RA) and asked him his opinion about Hazrat Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali (Ridwanullah Alaihim).3 When he praised all these gentlemen, they martyred him. With him was a slave girl who was pregnant. They martyred her and slit her belly. The piety and devotion of these Khawarij can be gauged from this that killing a human held no importance for them but in other matters, they were very cautious. At one place, a date fell from a tree, a Khariji put it in his mouth. His companion rebuked that taking this date is haram for you. He spat out the date from his mouth and also cut off his hand. At one place, they saw a non-Muslim’s pig grazing, a Khariji killed it. Others warned him, so he went and apologized to its owner.(Tabari. 3/2-280)
Such characters are still seen among us who do not consider killing humans a big issue but take great care in piety in small matters.
Upon hearing of the martyrdom of Hazrat Abdullah bin Khabbab, Hazrat Ali decided to confront these Khawarij.4 He sent an army towards the Khawarij under the leadership of Qais bin Sa’d bin Ubadah (Ridwanullah Alaihima). Instead of direct attack, they first invited the Khawarij to hand over the killers to them and repent and join the Muslims but the Khawarij refused. After that, Hazrat Abu Ayyub Ansari and Hazrat Ali (Ridwanullah Alaihima) also tried a lot to explain to them but they did not agree in any way. After that, Hazrat Ali (RA) raised a white flag and announced that whoever comes under this flag without fighting will be granted amnesty and whoever leaves from here to Kufa or Mada’in will also be granted amnesty. Many Khawarij took advantage of this offer and obtained amnesty. The total number of Khawarij was only four thousand, out of which now 2800 men remained with Abdullah bin Wahb al-Rasibi. They fought desperately but were eventually killed,
(Tabari. 3/2-285)
After the war, Hazrat Ali (RA) had bandages applied to four hundred wounded Khawarij and sent them to their tribes. He also returned their property and belongings. Perhaps no one has treated rebels better than this.
After that, the mainstream rebel leaders once again intended to attack Sham and instructed the army to stay in the camp but people did not want to confront the people of Sham, so they started slipping away gradually and the camp became empty except for a few chiefs,
(Tabari. 3/2-290)
From this, it is known that common people considered the people of Sham as Muslims and did not consider war with the Shamites correct for these rebels. Abu Mikhnaf has severely cursed these people by putting his words in the mouth of Hazrat Ali (RA) and lamented them because due to these people, the mission of the rebel party failed.
What were the results of the war with the Khawarij?
Hazrat Ali (RA) initially avoided war with the Khawarij, the reason was the same that as a result of the war, their tribes might not rebel. This is why he gave leeway to the Khawarij till the end and when their matter could not be resolved in any way, he waged war against them. In any case, the result of the war was the same that he wanted to avoid.
Tabari has quoted this statement of Shu’bi:
When Hazrat Ali (RA) killed the people of Nahrawan, a very large group girded up their loins in opposition to him and rebellions started everywhere in the surroundings. Banu Najiyah also became opponents, the people of Ahwaz also rebelled, Ibn al-Hadrami reached Basra and started intrigue, and the dhimmis also refused to pay jizyah. The Iranians expelled Hazrat Sahl bin Hunayf (RA), who was the governor there. Hazrat Ali ordered Ibn Abbas (Ridwanullah Alaihima) to send Ziyad (bin Abi Sufyan) to Iran. Hazrat Ibn Abbas came from Kufa to Basra and sent Ziyad to Iran with a large army. Ziyad trampled the people of Iran well and they eventually paid the tribute.
(Tabari. 3/811)
If we imagine this tribal environment, it will be easier to understand the matter. This narration is common in tribal societies around the world that one must support one’s tribesman at all costs, whether he is right or wrong. Therefore, in our time too, we see that people are involved in crimes like murder, kidnapping, etc., and then go to their tribe and take refuge. If the police wants to take any action against them, the entire tribe stands up in support of that accused and tries to divert the investigation in another direction by pressuring the police, court, and other government institutions. Not just tribes, the case of political parties in the present era is the same. We see that people commit crimes and courts sentence them but party workers besiege the court and do not allow the implementation of its decision. This is why Hazrat Ali (RA) did not initially take action against the rebels lest their tribes stand up in their support. Then one of their groups “Khawarij” also rebelled against Hazrat Ali and became a threat to people’s lives and property. When Hazrat Ali (RA) took action against them, their tribes rose up. After that, it was these Khawarij who martyred Sayyidna Ali (RA).5 We will describe its details later.
The Khawarij continued to rebel during the times of Banu Umayyah and Banu Abbas. History mentions several rebellions of the Khawarij.
They carried out several rebellions during the era of Hazrat Muawiyah (RA), among which the rebellion of 57H/677 was quite large,
During the time of Hazrat Abdullah bin Zubair (Ridwanullah Alaihima), they joined him but soon expressed their hatred against Hazrat Uthman (RA), so Ibn Zubair announced disassociation from them. After that, the Khawarij made various areas of western Iran their center and continued guerrilla warfare hiding in the mountains. From here, they would attack cities and loot. In 65H/684, they rebelled again which Hazrat Abdullah bin Zubair (Ridwanullah Alaihima) suppressed.
In 68/687, they launched a rebellion in Iran which Mus’ab bin Zubair suppressed.
In 72/691, they rebelled against Abdul Malik bin Marwan.
(Tabari. 4/1-123, 351, 4/2-57, 94)
The viewpoint of the Khawarij was that one who commits a major sin is a kafir. Whoever, in their opinion, committed a major sin, they would unhesitatingly declare him a kafir and start war against him. In their view, except for their group, the entire Islamic world was kafir. They did not even spare their own companions but on a slight mistake, they would declare them kafir too. In this way, their group divided into different groups. By the time of Hazrat Abdullah bin Zubair (Ridwanullah Alaihima), many of their sects had formed, among which Azariqah, Sufariyah, and Ibadiyah were prominent.6 Except for Ibadiyah, all these continued to rebel against the government repeatedly, due to which their power weakened and within two centuries, this sect was eliminated. The Ibadiyah were relatively moderate and avoided war and conflict, due to which they survived and exist to this day.7
(((We have studied various questions related to the Battle of Jamal, Siffin, arbitration, and Khawarij. It would be appropriate that now, as we proceed, we also briefly read the remaining details of the Egyptian rebel party, because the Egyptian rebel party played a very important role in all this)))
Egyptian Rebel Party
We know that at the time of the martyrdom of Uthman, Egypt had become the center of the rebel party. In this section, we will study the conditions of this Egyptian branch of theirs.
What happened in Egypt after the martyrdom of Uthman?
As we have clarified above, by Egypt here is meant the city of Fustat which was settled during the time of Hazrat Umar (RA) on the pattern of Kufa and Basra. It was the capital of the province of Egypt at that time and now this city has become a part of modern Cairo and the mosque built by Hazrat Amr bin al-As (RA) still exists there. There were other cities in ancient Egypt, among which Alexandria was the ancient capital of Egypt but in the Muslim era, all these cities were controlled from the cantonment of Fustat.
You have read that like Kufa and Basra, the rebels had made Fustat their center and among the groups that came to Medina to martyr Hazrat Uthman (RA), the largest group came from Egypt itself. The governor of Egypt was Hazrat Abdullah bin Abi Sarh (RA) who had conquered the area up to Tunisia including Libya. When he received news of the rebels’ attack on Medina, he set out from Egypt with his army to help Hazrat Uthman (RA) but was still on the way when he received the news of the caliph’s martyrdom.
We have mentioned Muhammad bin Abi Hudhayfah above. This person was raised by Hazrat Uthman (RA) and now grown up, he was seeking a high position without any qualification. Hazrat Uthman sent him to Egypt so that he could stay there and gain expertise in administration but he adopted a rebellious attitude with Ibn Abi Sarh. He complained to Hazrat Uthman about him but no punishment was given to him. When Ibn Abi Sarh left Egypt with the army, Ibn Abi Hudhayfah seized the governorship of Egypt. This was an open rebellion as a result of which the rebels’ authority was established over Egypt. Ibn Abi Sarh did not consider it appropriate to return to the rebels’ area and went to Hazrat Muawiyah (RA) in Sham. From there, Hazrat Muawiyah and Amr bin al-As (Ridwanullah Alaihima) sent an army towards Egypt and killed Ibn Abi Hudhayfah.
Before the Battle of Jamal, Hazrat Ali (RA) appointed Qais bin Sa’d bin Ubadah (Ridwanullah Alaihima) as the governor of Egypt. He was the son of the chief of Khazraj, Hazrat Sa’d bin Ubadah (RA), and now the chief of the Khazraj tribe. He was an administrator of the highest caliber and a sincere Muslim.8 He went to Egypt and took allegiance to Hazrat Ali (RA). Only ten thousand people from one area “Kharbita” demanded retribution for Uthman and postponed the decision of allegiance. Among them were senior Ansari Sahaba like Maslamah bin Mukhallad Ansari and Muawiyah bin Khudaij (Ridwanullah Alaihima). Qais (RA) treated them gently and with good behavior, in this way, the matter of Egypt was largely resolved.
Tabari has quoted the narration of Hisham Kalbi and Abu Mikhnaf here and both narrators’ hatred for the Sahaba is well-known. In this narration, they have quoted a letter of Hazrat Ali (RA) in which there is criticism of Hazrat Uthman (RA) and it is written that he introduced innovations.(Tabari. 3/2-167)
After that, the same narrators have quoted correspondence between Hazrat Muawiyah and Qais bin Sa’d (Ridwanullah Alaihima) in which Hazrat Muawiyah accuses Qais bin Sa’d and Hazrat Ali of the murder of Uthman and Hazrat Qais defames him. After that, they attributed a conspiracy to Hazrat Muawiyah according to which he had a fake letter written in his name from him to make Hazrat Ali suspicious of Qais and sent it to Hazrat Ali. Due to this letter, Hazrat Ali removed Qais bin Sa’d from the governorship of Egypt.
It is sufficient for these narrations to be false that their narrators are people like Hisham Kalbi and Abu Mikhnaf. These people have defamed the Companions of the Prophet to cover their own weaknesses. In the light of the detail given above, it is clear that this narration is fabricated and its inventor is one of the existing Hisham Kalbi or Abu Mikhnaf because Hazrat Ali was the right-hand man and the biggest supporter of Hazrat Uthman (Ridwanullah Alaihima).
The reality was that the rebel leaders wanted to seize Egypt themselves which had been the center of their movement but here, due to a wise and intelligent governor like Qais bin Sa’d (Ridwanullah Alaihima), they did not see their plans succeeding. Therefore, it is quite possible that they themselves conspired and wrote a letter on behalf of Qais. They had long expertise in the art of fake letters. The purpose was nothing else but to get Muhammad bin Abi Bakr, a companion of these rebels, appointed as governor of Egypt in place of Qais bin Sa’d (Ridwanullah Alaihima) and then do whatever they wanted in Egypt. For this, they made the excuse that if Qais is not a supporter of Muawiyah, then tell him to wage war against those ten thousand people of Kharbita who have not pledged allegiance. It should be noted that the biggest obstacle in the way of the rebels’ authority in Egypt was these ten thousand people of Kharbita.
According to the narration of the same Kalbi and Abu Mikhnaf, when Hazrat Ali (RA) ordered Qais to wage war against those people, Qais wrote in reply:
Amir al-Mu’minin! I am very surprised by your order. Are you ordering me to wage war against a group that is protecting you and holding back your enemies. If you wage war against them, your enemies will support them and attack them. Amir al-Mu’minin! Accept my advice, do not wage war against them because not waging war against them is better. Wassalam.
(Tabari. 3/2-173)
We believe that a wise and knowledgeable person like Hazrat Ali (RA) could not take such a step that when several fronts are open, he opens another front. The people of Kharbita had not rebelled, they were only remaining neutral and demanding punishment for the rebels. There was no justification for military action against them. The opinion of a sound-minded person like Qais bin Sa’d was absolutely correct but how could the rebels around Hazrat Ali (RA) find peace. They must have been most troubled that the Egypt where they had nurtured their movement was slipping from their hands through Qais. Therefore, they somehow forced Qais bin Sa’d to be removed and got Muhammad bin Abi Bakr appointed as governor of Egypt in his place and made Qais his subordinate. Qais could not tolerate this and left Egypt and came to Medina.
Tabari has quoted another baseless narration here that when Qais reached Medina, Marwan and Aswad bin Abi al-Bakhtari threatened him, due to which he left Medina and came to Hazrat Ali (RA). Upon this, Hazrat Muawiyah (RA) wrote a letter to him in which he scolded him a lot that what have you done. If you had helped Ali with one hundred thousand horsemen, it would not have been as unpleasant to me as expelling a clever person like Qais from Medina.
(Tabari. 3/2-294)
It is sufficient for this narration to be false that Marwan was not present in Medina at that time but had left Medina immediately after the martyrdom of Uthmani when the rebels had besieged around Hazrat Ali (RA).
The chain of this narration is:
Hadathani Abdullah, an Yunus, an al-Zuhri.
In its chain are the same Yunus bin Yazid al-Ayli who are severely unreliable and have narrated strange narrations from Zuhri. The details that Muhaddithin have mentioned about them, you can study in our early series of history.
How did the end of the rebel party in Egypt occur?
According to the narration of Hisham Kalbi and Abu Mikhnaf, Muhammad bin Abi Bakr corresponded with Hazrat Muawiyah (RA) and this series continued for a long time. Tabari says that since common people cannot bear to hear these letters, we ignore them,
(Tabari. 3/2-176)
From this, it is known that in these letters, these extreme narrators must have fully defamed Hazrat Muawiyah and Ali (Ridwanullah Alaihima), that’s why even a person like Tabari, who narrates all kinds of narrations, avoided quoting these letters.
According to their own narration of Hisham and Abu Mikhnaf, as soon as Muhammad bin Abi Bakr arrived, he waged war against those neutral people of Kharbita. The result was that the entire Egypt turned against him. The rebels sent Malik al-Ashtar to Egypt to help him. If you look at the map, you will realize that to go from Iraq to Egypt, one has to pass through the area of Hazrat Muawiyah (RA). Ashtar passed through the same area and stayed at a non-Muslim’s house. He poisoned Ashtar and killed him, and in this way, this killer of Hazrat Uthman (RA) met his end.
(Tabari. 3/2-296)
In his belongings, a fake letter attributed to Hazrat Ali (RA) was found in which he was called one of the swords of Allah. In this way, through their fabrication, the rebels had given this person the status of Hazrat Khalid bin Walid (RA).
Hazrat Muawiyah sent an army to Egypt under the leadership of Amr bin al-As (Ridwanullah Alaihima) to suppress the rebels.9 Hazrat Amr bin al-As is the same personality who conquered Egypt during the time of Hazrat Umar (RA). After that, he remained governor here for a long time and during the time of Hazrat Uthman (RA), when rebellion arose twice in Alexandria, he suppressed it. Now he set out to conquer Egypt once again but this time, opposite him was the same rebel party. Soon they were defeated and in this way, Hazrat Amr (RA) conquered Egypt for the fourth time. Muhammad bin Abi Bakr hid but was eventually caught. There is disagreement about his death:
According to the narration of Abu Mikhnaf, he was killed and stuffed in a donkey’s skin and burned, while according to the narration of Waqidi, he was killed fighting till the last breath.
(Tabari. 3/2-306)
Pity on this person that he was born in the house of Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq (RA) and was raised in the house of Hazrat Ali (RA). After that, he joined the rebels and even the governorship for which he had staked everything did not suit him. In any case, now since he has left this world, his matter should be entrusted to Allah Ta’ala. We have no means to know anyone’s crime except these narrations and the status of narrations is before you.
Here too, Abu Mikhnaf has attributed a false narration to Sayyidah Aishah (RA) that when she received the news of the death of Muhammad bin Abi Bakr, she kept cursing Hazrat Amr bin al-As and Muawiyah bin Khudaij (Ridwanullah Alaihima). If she had so much sympathy for her brother, then why would she set out for the retribution of Hazrat Uthman (RA)? However, Sayyidah Aishah (RA) did take the children of Muhammad bin Abi Bakr under her care and his son Qasim bin Muhammad bin Abi Bakr (d. 107/726) became a very eminent scholar of religion. He was prominent among the students of Sayyidah Aishah, Ibn Abbas, Ibn Zubair, and other Sahaba (Ridwanullah Alaihim) and is counted among the seven eminent jurists of Medina. He was very worshipful and used to cry at nights praying for forgiveness of his father’s sin.
The Egyptian rebel party was killed in this war and in this way, the chapter of the rebels in Egypt also ended. Since Hazrat Amr bin al-As (RA) played an extraordinary role in doing so, the next generations of the rebels targeted him specifically and fabricated narrations to defame him which are present in Tabari. If we review these narrations, the same Hisham Kalbi, Abu Mikhnaf, Saif bin Umar, or Waqidi like narrators appear in them. These narrations are merely the revenge of those rebels that in frustration of their failure, they fabricated narrations to defame Hazrat Amr (RA).
(( واللہ تعالیٰ اعلم باالصواب ))
Reference: https://alfurqan.info/problems/692
