The Battle of Tawwabeen and the Battle of Khawarij

The Battle of Tawwabeen (penitents)

It has been mentioned earlier that in Ramadan 64 A.H. Abdullah bin Yazid Ansari became the administrator of Kufa on behalf of Abdullah bin Zubair and that during the same time period Mukhtar bin Abu Obaida came to Kufa. Mukhtar began to incite the people to take retribution for Husain's blood. They told him that they had already taken ba'it at Sulaiman bin Sard's hands for this purpose but the suitable time for action had not yet come. Mukhtar said to them, "Sulaiman is a man of low spirits. He evades fighting. Imam Husain's brother Imam Mahdi Mohammad bin Al-Hanifia has sent me here as his deputy. You should take bay'at at my hands and exact recompense from his enemies." Hearing this they started taking bay'at for the Imam with Mukhtar. When Abdullah bin Yazid the governor of Kufa, received this news, he announced that if Mukhtar and his supporters wanted to revenge themselves on their enemies for the murder of Husain رضى الله عنه they should co-operate in this mission otherwise if they took independent action, he would fight against them and punish them. The impact of the announcement was that Sulaiman bin Sard and his followers began to purchase arms openly and preparing for the battle. On the first of Rabia al-Awwal 65 A.H. Sulaiman left Kufa and encamped at Nakhila with seventeen thousand warriors. Abdullah bin Yazid, the governor of Kufa, did not oppose him. Mukhtar was forming his own group for the same purpose of revenging the death of Imam Husain رضى الله عنه. Although Sulaiman harbored the same idea in his heart, Mukhtar expressed it openly, because of the open expression of his plan a few noblemen of Kufa instigated Abdullah bin Yazid to catch and imprison Mukhtar, which he did. Sulaiman along with seventeen thousand warriors advanced toward the Syrian border on the 5th of Rabia al-Awwal. At the time of his departure, Abdullah bin Sad bin Nufail said to Sulaiman, "All the killers of Husain رضى الله عنه are assembled here in Kufa. Where are you going to search for them?" Sulaiman said, "These are soldiers who were at their chief Ibn Zeyad's command. He is the real culprit and first we should finish with him. Freed from this task it will be quite easy to straighten out the rest of the problem." After leaving Nakhila, Sulaiman's army reached Karbala where they wept bitterly at the place of Husain's murder and at his grave in which Imam Husain's headless corpse was buried. They halted there for a day and a night and then left. They continued their march and reached "Ain al Wardah" and encamped there. Hearing of their arrival Obaidullah bin Zeyad, who was at that time the newly appointed governor of Mosul and was personally stationed there, gave twelve thousand soldiers to Haseen bin Numer and sent him to face Sulaiman. Sulaiman had reached Ain al-Wardah on 21 Jumad al-Awwal 65 A.H., after camping there for five days Haseen bin Numer also arrived at Ain al-Wardah on the 26th of Jumad al-Awwal. The fight began on that same day. The Syrians suffered great losses until the evening but then night intervened and protected them. The next morning about eight thousand more Syrian soldiers sent by Ibn Zeyad came as reinforcements. That day also saw a fierce battle, which continued from Salat al-Fajr (dawn prayer) to Maghrib time (sunset) without yielding any final results. Both the parties passed the night in hope and fear. In the morning another ten thousand Syrian soldiers arrived as reinforcements sent by Ibn Zeyad to aid Haseen bin Numer's army. That day the battle continued until the evening, Sulaiman bin Sard and all the great leaders of Kufa were killed and only a few survived. The rest of the leaders took their remaining men and left the battlefield under the cover of darkness. Haseen did not pursue them. Sulaiman bin Sard and his associates were known as Tawwabeen (penitents) meaning that they had committed the crime of causing Imam Husain رضى الله عنه to be killed by betraying him and then became penitent and tried to compensate for it. That is why the Battle of "Ain al-Wardah" is also called the Battle of Tawwabeen. They were not the trained soldiers of any government but they had gathered there to kill Ibn Zeyad, the majority of them were sent to their death and only a few of them returned alive.

The Battle of Khawarij

While at "Ain al-Wardah" the group of Tawwabeen (penitents) were engaged in fighting, in Basra the Khawarij were making preparations for battle against the governor of Basra, Abdullah bin Harith who had been appointed by Abdullah bin Zubair. The Khawarij of Basra and its vicinity gathered at Dolab at Ahwaz and revolted. Abdullah bin Harith deputed Muslim bin Obais bin Kareez bin Rabia to humble the rebels. Taking his soldiers Muslim bin Obais arrived in Dolab to fight the enemy. The Khawarij had made Nafe bin Arzaq their chief and commander. In Jummad al-Thani 65 A.H., Nafe bin Arzaq and Muslim bin Obais clashed at Dolab. Both the commanders Nafe and Muslim bin Obais were killed but the battle was not decided in any sides favor. The army of Basra made Hajjaj Bab their commander and the Khawarij made Abdullah bin Ahwar Tamimi their chief replacing Muslim bin Obais and Nafe respectively. When the continuing battle was still going on in full fury, the commander of the army from Basra, Hajjaj was killed. They made Harith bin Zaid their commander. Finally, the Khawarij gained victory and Harith bin Zaid along with the remaining Basra soldiers moved to Ahwaz fighting and chopping their way through to escape.

The Khawarij moved towards Basra as victors. When the people of Basra came to know about the victory of the Khawarij and the wretched plight of the Basra army, they were shocked. Immediately a fast messenger communicated the news to Abdullah bin Zubair رضى الله عنه in Makkah. Abdullah bin Zubair appointed Muhallab bin Abi Sufra the governor of Khorasan and dismissed Abdullah bin Harith from the governorship of Basra and appointed Harith bin Rabia to the post of the governor of Basra. When Harith bin Rabia assumed his post Muhallab bin Abi Sufra (one of the noblemen of Basra) wanted to go to Khorasan, the Khawarij soldiers and the flood of revolt had already reached near Basra. Harith bin Rabia wanted to make Ahnaf bin Qais the commander in chief of the army in order to face and stop the advance of the Khawarij. Ahnaf said, Muhallab bin Sufra was most suited to this work. Muhallab said, I am going to governor but I won't refuse to undertake this mission also provided I am given enough money and material for the military expenses as well as the territories taken from the Khawarij will be declared to be my property.

Harith bin Rabia accepted his condition and Muhallab, taking twelve thousand selected warriors from the people of Basra, marched on to confront the Khawarij. The Khawarij fought a pitched battle and displayed exemplar bravery and turned their enemies faces several times. However, Muhallab's personal valor and experience benefited the people of Basra. The Khawarij were vanquished but they regrouped themselves and began to fight more carefully. Finally, the Khawarij, after a few more skirmishes, were defeated and they went towards Kerman and Isfahan.