Battle of Nahrawan
| Date | 38/658 |
|---|---|
| Place | Nahrawan, Iraq |
| Cause | Protest of Khawarij against Imam 'Ali (a) on the issue of Hakamiyya |
| Result | Imam 'Ali (a) won |
| Belligerents | |
| Imam 'Ali's (a) army Khawarij (Mariqun) | |
| Commanders | |
| Imam 'Ali (a), Qays b. Sa'd b. Ubada Abd Allah b. Wahb al-Rasibi | |
| Strength | |
| 14000 4000 | |
| Casualties and losses | |
| less than ten were killed Most of Kharijites were killed | |
Battle of Nahrawān (Arabic: مَعْرَكَة النَهْرَوان) was among the battles during the caliphate of Imam Ali (a) which happened after the Battle of Siffin and following the event of Hakamiyya [arbitration] in Safar of 38/658. On one side of the battle was a group of people known as Mariqun or Khawarij. In this battle, Khawarij were defeated by the army of Imam Ali (a). It is said that less than ten soldiers from Khawarij could run away unharmed. Among them, 'Abd al-Rahman b. Muljam al-Muradi, the murderer of Imam Ali (a).
Emergence of Khawarij
According to some reports, at the time of the Battle of Jamal and then in the Battle of Siffin before the event of Hakamiyya (arbitration), Khawarij were in the army of Imam Ali (a).[1] Generally, their emergence is thought to date back to the event of Hakamiyya. Some reports have considered the emergence of Khawarij after the declaration of the verdicts of the two judges. When Mu'awiya's army raised copies of the holy Qur'an on their spears in the battle of Siffin and demanded going to the Qur'an, regardless of the opposition of Imam (a), most of his army asked for Hakamiyya. That, they had lost people, were exhausted,[2] and because of the tribal tendencies, superficial understanding of Bedouin Arabs in the army of Imam (a) made the trick of the enemy work.[3]
Some of the companions of Imam Ali (a) opposed the idea of Hakamiyya from the beginning and regarded it as turning their back to religion and developing doubt in faith.[4] Also, some others referred to two verses of the Qur'an (5:44 and 49:9) and asked for continuing the fight with Mu'awiya. They regarded accepting Hakamiyya as infidelity and repented for it. They asked Imam (a) to repent from this infidelity and break the conditions he made with Mu'awiya! But Imam (a) did not accept and said:
- "We have accepted something that we cannot break."[5]
Also, about Hakamiyya, Imam (a) said:
- "I was against Hakamiyya, and when later I accepted it due to the pressure of people forcing me to do so, I made a condition that if they rule according to the Book of God, I would follow it, because, in fact, we have accepted the judgment of the Qur'an, not the judgment of people."
Moreover, Imam (a) declared his will for resuming the war with Syria after collecting the taxes.[6]
After the battle of Siffin was discontinued and Imam (a) returned to Kufa and Mu'awiya returned to Syria, those who were against Hakamiyya separated themselves from Imam Ali (a) and went to the village of Harura' near Kufa.[7] This way, a group called Khawarij [literally meaning "those who exit"] emerged.
Heads of Khawarij
Most famous heads of Khawarij were:
As the names of these people suggest, there was no famous person from Iraq among them. On the contrary, they were mostly from Bedouin tribes such as Bakr b. Wa'il and Banu Tamim.[8]
Revolt of Khawarij
_Shrine.jpg) | |
| Mecca | |
|---|---|
| 599 | Birth |
| 605 | The beginning of the presence in the house of the Prophet (s) |
| 610 | The first person who believes in Islam |
| 613 | Supporting the Prophet (s) in the event of Yawm al-Dar |
| 616 | Presence in the siege of Shi'b Abi Talib |
| 619 | Demise of Abu Talib (Father) |
| 622 | Laylat al-Mabit: Ali (a) risked his life by sleeping in the Prophet's (s) bed |
| Medina | |
| 622 | Emigration to Medina |
| 624/2 | Participating in the Battle of Badr |
| 624/2 | Marriage with Lady Fatima (s) |
| 625/3 | Participating in the Battle of Uhud |
| 626/4 | Demise of Fatima bt. Asad (Mother) |
| 627/5 | Participating in the Battle of Khandaq and killing 'Amr b. 'Abd Wadd |
| 628/6 | Writing the content of Hudaybiyya peace treaty by order of the Prophet (s) |
| 629/7 | Victorious of Khaybar castle in the Battle of Khaybar |
| 630/8 | Participating in Conquest of Mecca and breaking idols by the order of the Prophet (s) |
| 630/9 | Successor of the Prophet (s) in Medina in the Battle of Tabuk |
| 631/9 | Delivering the Bara'a Verses to the polytheists |
| 631/9 | Presence in the event of Mubahala |
| 632/10 | Participating in Hajjat al-Wida' |
| 632/10 | Event of Ghadir |
| 632/11 | Demise of the Prophet (s) and his burial by Imam 'Ali (a) |
| Three caliphs period | |
| 632/11 | Incident of Saqifa and beginning of Caliphate of Abu Bakr |
| 632/11 | Attacking the house of Imam 'Ali (a) to take allegiance from him |
| 632/11 | Martyrdom of Lady Fatima (a) (wife) |
| 634/13 | Beginning of Caliphate of 'Umar b. al-Khattab |
| 644/23 | Participating in Six-Member Council to appoint the caliph |
| 644/23 | Beginning of Caliphate of Uthman b. Affan |
| 655/35 | Sending al-Hasanayn (a) to protect 'Usman |
| Caliphate | |
| 655/35 | Beginning of his Caliphate |
| 656/36 | The Battle of Jamal |
| 657/37 | The Battle of Siffin |
| 658/38 | The Battle of Nahrawan |
| 661/40 | Martyrdom (about 62 years old) |
Khawarij gathered in the house of Zayd b. Huṣayn and chose Abd Allah b. Wahb al-Rasibi as their leader, and this way, they organized their political and military position. After Hakamiyya, they did not see it right to stay in Kufa and decided to move to Mada'in, but some of them did not agree with going to Mada'in due to the presence of the Shias of Imam Ali (a) and thus chose Nahrawan as their destination.[9] During those days, following the outcome of Hakamiyya, Imam Ali (a) opposed it, calling his companions to prepare for battle with Mu'awiya. He (a) also sent a message to Khawarij and asked them to come for the war with Mu'awiya, but they rejected his call.[10]
Khawarij killed many people on their way to Nahrawan, including 'Abd Allah b. Khabbab b. Aratt whose father was among the companions of the Prophet (s). Khawarij killed him along with his wife, who was pregnant at that time in a ruthless manner. Reports of these crimes reached Imam Ali (a), and he (a) led the army from the camp of war with Mu'awiya toward Nahrawan.[11]
Battle
Objections of Khawarij continued for 6 months after Siffin and thus, Imam Ali (a) sent 'Abd Allah b. Abbas and Sa'sa'a b. Sawhan to talk with them. They did not accept the requests of the two for returning to the Muslim community. Later, Imam (a) asked them to select 12 people from themselves, and he did the same, then they exchanged dialogue with each other.[12]
Imam Ali (a) wrote a letter to the heads of Khawarij and asked them to come back to the people's side, but Abd Allah b. Wahb reminded him about the events in Siffin and insisted that Imam Ali (a) had stepped out of religion therefore, he needed to repent. After that, Imam (a) asked them to come towards him, for several times through people such as Qays b. Sa'd and Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, and guaranteed a safe-conduct for them.[13] When he (a) became totally disappointed with the submission of Khawarij, he gathered his army of people, which was 14 thousand soldiers, against them, and the war broke. Ali (a) insisted that his army should not begin the fight. Finally, the Khawarij started the war.[14]
Number of the Soldiers of Khawarij
Following the peace-seeking manners of Imam Ali (a) before the battle by offering Khawarij safe-conduct and calling them to return, some left their army such as Farwa b. Nawfal and 500 more.[15] According to historical reports, from 4000 soldiers Khawarij had sent into the battlefield, the ones standing against the army of Imam Ali (a) were a total of only 1800 horsemen and 1500 foot soldiers.[16]
Result of the Battle
When the battle was begun, Khawarij were either killed or wounded very quickly. The wounded, who were about 400, were sent back to their families. On the other side, from the army of Imam Ali (a), less than 10 soldiers were martyred. From all the army of Khawarij in Nahrawan, less than 10 people could escape unscathed, one of whom was 'Abd al-Rahman b. Muljam al-Muradi who later martyred Imam Ali (a).[17]
See Also
Notes
- ↑ Naṣr b. Muzāhim, Waqʿat Ṣiffīn, p. 349.
- ↑ Naṣr b. Muzāhim, Waqʿat Ṣiffīn, p. 484; Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 3, p. 110.
- ↑ Subḥānī, Buḥūth fī l-milal wa l-niḥal, vol. 5, p. 75.
- ↑ Naṣr b. Muzāhim, Waqʿat Ṣiffīn, p. 484; Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 3, p. 111-112.
- ↑ Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 2, p. 359.
- ↑ Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 2, p. 349.
- ↑ Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 3, p. 114, 123; Ṭabarī, Tārīkh al-umam wa l-mulūk, vol. 5, p. 63, 72, 78; Naṣr b. Muzāhim, Waqʿat Ṣiffīn, p. 513-514.
- ↑ Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 2, p. 350.
- ↑ Dīnawarī, al-Akhbār al-ṭiwāl, p. 203-204.
- ↑ Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 2, p. 366.
- ↑ Ṭabarī, Tārīkh al-umam wa l-mulūk, vol. 5, p. 80-92.
- ↑ Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 2, p. 352.
- ↑ Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 2, p. 370.
- ↑ Dīnawarī, al-Akhbār al-ṭiwāl, p. 210.
- ↑ Dīnawarī, al-Akhbār al-ṭiwāl, p. 210.
- ↑ Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 2, p. 371.
- ↑ Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 2, p. 373-375.
References
- Balādhurī, Aḥmad b. Yaḥyā al-. Ansāb al-ashrāf. Edited by Muḥammad Bāqir Maḥmūdī. Beirut: Muʾassisat al-Aʿlamī, [n.d].
- Dīnawarī, Aḥmad b. Dāwūd al-. al-Akhbār al-ṭiwāl. Translated to Farsi by Mahdawī Dāmghānī. Tehran: Bunyād-i Farhang-i Iran, [n.d].
- Naṣr b. Muzāhim Minqarī. Waqʿat Ṣiffīn. Edited by Muḥammad Hārūn. Qom: Maktabat Āyatollāh Marʿashī al-Najafī, 1404 AH.
- Ṭabarī, Muḥammad b. Jarīr al-. Tārīkh al-Ṭabarī. Fourth edition. Beirut: Muʾassisat al-Aʿlamī li-l-Maṭbūʿāt, 1403 AH.