Al-Khirit ibn Rashid's revolt (38–39 AH)
خبر الخرّيت بن راشد وبني ناجية
658 CE · 38 AH
The Najid Khariji who walked out on Ali after Nahrawan — 'your man's imamate and your conduct alike displease me; I side with those who call for shura'. His night-battle with Ziyad ibn Khasafa bent swords and hamstrung horses; he drew the Banu Najiya and Ahwazi tax-resisters around him until Ma'qil ibn Qays's four-thousand-man expedition demanded 'ten for every one of them' 1.
At a glance
- Era
- The Rashidun Caliphate
- Region
- Levant & Iraq · Persia & Central Asia
- Review
- Draft Completeness 1/5 · Help complete it
In time
Civil wars and revoltsSects and schools
Overview
Al-Kharrit ibn Rashid al-Najji broke with Ali after Nahrawan. Ibn al-Athir gives his answer to Ziyad ibn Khasafa when he asked what he resented: their companions had not been content with an imam, nor was their conduct a conduct, so he decided to withdraw and be with those who called for consultation. 2
Fighting
The two sides fought hard with spears and then swords; Ziyad was wounded, and night separated them. Al-Kharrit then marched to al-Ahwaz, where the Banu Najiya and some non-Arab people of al-Ahwaz who wanted to break the land tax joined him, about two hundred in all. 2
Ali's dispatch
Maqil ibn Qays told Ali that the men sent against them should be ten for each one of them. Ali sent two thousand men with him and wrote to Ibn Abbas to send the same number. When the fighting grew fierce, al-Kharrit told his companions: fight for your women and your children. 2
The account belongs to the years 38 and 39 AH. The end of the fighting is not given in the sources and needs an additional source.
Connections
- Had participant
- al-Khirit ibn Rashid al-Naji· Ma'qil ibn Qays al-Riyahi
People and things also explored
الخوارج· The massacre of the Batinis at Wasit (601 AH)· The Shi'i–Sunni war at Wasit (406–407 AH)· al-Khirit ibn Rashid al-Naji· Hasan ibn Ali· Husayn ibn Ali· Ma'qil ibn Qays al-Riyahi· Zaynab bint Ali
Sources
- al-Kamil fi'l-Tarikh of Ibn al-Athir, p. 715-716
- al-Kamil fi'l-Tarikh of Ibn al-Athir, p.715-716
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Al-Khirit ibn Rashid's revolt (38–39 AH)”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/khirit-revolt-38/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-17.