Kharijite Rebellions against Ali
The Kharijite Rebellions were the uprisings instigated by the Kharijites against the authority of the fourth Rashidun caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib. Various rebellions took place throughout the Caliphate but were all suppressed. However, a Kharijite dissident would assassinate Ali in 661 in retaliation, and Ali's eldest son Hasan would subsequently abdicate the caliphate to Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan, the long-time governor of Greater Syria.
Background
Incident of Harura
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: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.
Kharijites from the Najd Region
Various tribes from the Najd region were sanctioned from participating in the early Muslim conquests by the Rashidun Caliphate due to their support of their proclaimed prophet Musaylima and so they rose up along with the Yemeni Sabaeans against Ali.Conflicts
Skirmish at Karkh
While Ali was delivering his sermon in a mosque, his speech was interrupted by Kharijites, 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 offensive against Ali and that they should find another place to regroup. The Kharijites, including Hurqus ibn Zuhayr as-Sa'di and Hamza ibn Sinan, then departed during the night in groups of two to five men to avoid suspicion and headed for Mada'in. Ali 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.Battle of Nahrawan
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 Ali's forces. Also killed was Abd Allah ibn Wahb al-Rasibi, who the Kharijites had announced as their caliph. 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.Revolt of Banu Najiyah
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.Revolt of Ashras ibn Awf
Ashras ibn Awf and his followers, having decided to pledge allegiance to Abd Allah ibn Wahb, departed for Al-Mada'in during the night in groups of two to five men to avoid suspicion from Ali's authorities. Ashras ibn Awf al-Shaybani was the first to rise against Ali ibn Abi Talib after the Battle of Nahrawan. He rebelled in al-Daskra and then moved toward Anbar. Ali dispatched al-Abrash ibn Hassān against him with three hundred men. Some reports state that Ali ibn al-Harith ibn Yazid ibn Ruwaym wounded him, but the more reliable accounts indicate that Ashras survived that encounter and was later killed in Rabi' al-Awwal in 658.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.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.Revolt of Sa`id ibn Qafil
Sa'id ibn Qafil al-Taymi led a rebellion at al-Bandanijin in the month of Rajab with two hundred men and advanced as far as the bridge of al-Darzijan, located about two farsakhs from Mada'in. Ali ibn Abi Talib wrote to Sa'd ibn Mas'ud al-Thaqafi, his governor over Mada'in, concerning Sa'id’s forces. Sa'd ibn Mas'ud then marched against them and engaged them in battle, killing Sa'id ibn Qafil and his followers in Rajab of the year 658 CE. Some reports, however, record his name as Sa'd ibn Qafil rather than Sa'id.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.