According to the account of Abū Mikhnaf, the beginning of this rebellion took place in the eighty-first year of the Hijra. According to Wakidī, however, it was in the eighty-second year of the Hijra. Since Ibn Jarīr recounts this matter of rebellion among the events of the eighty-first year of the Hijra, we have also narrated it among the events of that year, following him. The cause of this event was as follows: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Ashʿath was a man disliked by Ḥajjāj. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān was aware of this. For this reason, he harbored ill intentions toward Ḥajjāj and desired his downfall from power. When Ḥajjāj appointed him as the commander of the army mentioned on previous pages and ordered him to enter the land of the Turkic ruler Rutbīl, he set out. He captured some of the Turkic territories. Later, he proposed to his men that they halt their movements and prepare and strengthen themselves for a year. He also communicated this idea to Ḥajjāj in a letter. In his reply, Ḥajjāj expressed astonishment at his opinion on this matter, found his intellect weak, and reproached him for cowardice and fleeing from battle. He ordered him to immediately enter the land of Rutbīl. He confirmed this order with a second and third letter. In one of his letters, he addressed him as follows:
"O traitor, apostate, and son of a man in whose heart fear has settled! Fulfill the order I have given you to advance into the interior of the enemy's land; otherwise, a matter you cannot bear will befall you." Ḥajjāj was very angry with ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Ashʿath and said the following about him: "He is a brainless, foolish, and envious person. His father plundered the garments of the Commander of the Faithful, ʿUthmān, and killed him. He also incited ʿUbaydullāh b. Ziyād against Muslim b. ʿUqayl and eventually had him killed. His grandfather Ashʿath had also apostatized from Islam. Every time I see him, I have always wanted to kill him."
Upon receiving successive letters from Ḥajjāj, Ibn Ashʿath became angry and said: "How can such a man, so weak, feeble, and despicable that he is not even worthy of being one of my soldiers or servants, write me such a letter?
Does he not remember that his father was that cowardly man from the Thaqīf tribe who fled before the wife of the commander Sabīb, Ghazāla? When Ghazāla entered Kūfa, she attacked Ḥajjāj and his soldiers, and Ḥajjāj and his soldiers were routed and fled before her."
After this, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Ashʿath gathered the leading figures of the Iraqis and said to them: "Ḥajjāj insists that you advance into the interior of enemy lands. Your religious brothers in those lands have perished. Now winter and cold are upon you. Consider your situation; as for me, I will not obey Ḥajjāj, nor will I break a decision I made yesterday."
After this, he delivered a speech to his soldiers and declared that his opinion was the most suitable for both himself and his soldiers. He ordered them to repair and improve the lands they had conquered, to reside there until they had grown strong with the goods and produce of these lands, and after winter had passed, to set out and advance into the interior of the enemy's land, then to conquer the country city by city, and finally to besiege the Turkic ruler Rutbīl in the capital. Then he read to them the letter from Ḥajjāj ordering him to proceed immediately against Rutbīl. The assembly around him became agitated and said: "No, we will not obey the enemy of Allah, Ḥajjāj, nor will we listen to his command."
Abū Mikhnaf relates that Muṭarrif b. ʿĀmir b. Wāʾila al-Kinānī said:
My father was the first to speak on this matter. He was a poet and orator and said: "Ḥajjāj's opinion and his attitude toward us is like this: A man says to his brother, 'Set your slave upon this horse; if he dies, so be it, and if he survives, it will be to your benefit.' This is our current situation. If you are victorious against Rutbīl, this will only further strengthen Ḥajjāj's power. If you die, Ḥajjāj already does not like you and considers you his enemies. Renounce your allegiance (bayʿa) to the enemy of Allah, Ḥajjāj (he did not mention the case of ʿAbd al-Malik). Give your allegiance to your commander, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Ashʿath, and bear witness; I am the first to renounce my allegiance to Ḥajjāj."
People from all sides cried out, "We have renounced our allegiance to the enemy of Allah, Ḥajjāj." They all turned to ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Ashʿath and gave their allegiance to him instead of Ḥajjāj. They did not mention the case of ʿAbd al-Malik b. Marwān.
Ibn Ashʿath sent word to Rutbīl. He made peace with him, informing him that if they were victorious against Ḥajjāj, they would never take tribute from Rutbīl. Then, with the soldiers accompanying him, he set out from Sijistān to fight Ḥajjāj and to take Iraq from him. When they reached halfway, the soldiers said: "To depose Ḥajjāj is also to depose ʿAbd al-Malik b. Marwān." Thus, they deposed both Ḥajjāj and ʿAbd al-Malik b. Marwān. They gave their allegiance to Ibn Ashʿath anew. He, in turn, pledged with them on the condition of adhering to the Book of Allah, the sunnah of His Messenger, deposing the leaders of misguidance, and fighting against the irreligious. Whenever they said, "Yes," he pledged with them. When Ḥajjāj heard that they had deposed him and ʿAbd al-Malik b. Marwān, he wrote a letter to ʿAbd al-Malik b. Marwān informing him of the situation and requested that he urgently send an army against Ibn Ashʿath. He himself came and encamped at Basra. Muḥallab also became aware of Ibn Ashʿath's situation. Ibn Ashʿath wrote him a letter inviting him to join his ranks, but he did not accept this invitation. He sent Ibn Ashʿath's letter to Ḥajjāj. Muḥallab himself also sent the following reply to Ibn Ashʿath:
"O Ibn Ashʿath! You have set your foot in a long stirrup. Remain within the community (ummah) of Muḥammad (peace and blessings be upon him), look to your own situation, do not destroy your soul (nafs), do not cause the blood of Muslims to be shed, do not divide the community, do not break the allegiance (bayʿa). If you say, 'I fear that people will harm me,' in reality, you should fear Allah more than people. Do not expose your soul (nafs) to Allah's wrath by causing bloodshed. Do not make yourself a target for divine punishment by declaring the unlawful to be lawful. And peace be upon you."
Muḥallab sent the following letter to Ḥajjāj:
"The Iraqis are coming toward you, resembling a flood that no one can turn back before it reaches its destination. At the outset of their uprising, the Iraqis are angry, and they long for their children and wives. Therefore, do not engage them until they reach their families and smell their children. Attack them when they are with their families and children. Then Allah will grant you victory over them."
When Ḥajjāj read this letter, he said: "May Allah do such and such to him! With this opinion, he did not look out for my welfare. He wants to protect his cousin."
When the messenger carrying Ḥajjāj's letter reached him, ʿAbd al-Malik became afraid. Then he descended from his throne. He sent word to Khālid b. Yazīd b. Muʿāwiya and summoned him. He had him read Ḥajjāj's letter. He then said to ʿAbd al-Malik:
"O Commander of the Faithful! If this event is on the Khurāsān side, conceal it. If it is on the Sijistān side, do not conceal it." Afterwards, ʿAbd al-Malik began gathering soldiers in Damascus to send as reinforcements to Iraq and took the necessary measures to prepare these soldiers to go and fight Ibn Ashʿath. He did not heed the proposals Muḥallab made to him in this matter, even though Muḥallab's advice contained admonitions and sincere expressions. At this time, Ḥajjāj's letters were arriving one after another to ʿAbd al-Malik. He was informing him of what Ibn Ashʿath was doing morning and evening, where he was encamped, where he had come from, where he was going, and who was joining him most quickly. People from all sides began to gather around Ibn Ashʿath. So much so that 33,000 cavalry and 120,000 infantry gathered around him.
Ḥajjāj also set out from Basra with the Syrian army and marched against Ibn Ashʿath. He halted at Tustar. He sent his vanguard under the command of Muṭahhar b. Ḥuyayy al-Kaʿbī. Another commander with him was ʿAbdullāh b. Zimmit. The vanguard reached the Tigris River, where they encountered 300 cavalry of Ibn Ashʿath under the command of ʿAbdullāh b. Abān al-Ḥārisī. These were the vanguard of Ibn Ashʿath's army. On the first day of the Feast of Sacrifice (ʿĪd al-Aḍḥā), they met on the banks of the Tigris River. The vanguard of Ḥajjāj's army was routed. The men of Ibn Ashʿath killed about 1,500 of their soldiers. They seized the horses, fabrics, and other goods in their camp. When news of the vanguard's defeat reached Ḥajjāj, he was delivering a sermon. As soon as he received the news, he said: "O people! Return to Basra; it is a more suitable and more merciful place for soldiers." The soldiers returned to Basra. The cavalry of Ibn Ashʿath pursued them. Whoever they caught among the fleeing and those left outside, they killed. Ḥajjāj continued to flee without looking to his right or left. Finally, he reached Zāwiya, set up camp there, and began to say: "May Allah reward Muḥallab with good. He truly knows these tactics of war. He had given us a suitable opinion, but we did not accept his view."
There, Ḥajjāj spent 150,000,000 dirhams on his army. He had a trench dug around his camp. The Iraqis came and entered Basra. They united with the people of Basra. They embraced their wives and children.
Ibn Ashʿath also entered Basra. He delivered a speech to those present and made an agreement and pledged with them regarding the dismissal of ʿAbd al-Malik and his deputy Ḥajjāj b. Yūsuf. Ibn Ashʿath said to them: "Ḥajjāj is of little importance. Come, let us march against ʿAbd al-Malik. Let us fight him." All the jurists, Qur'an reciters, elders, and old men in Basra agreed with Ibn Ashʿath on the dismissal of ʿAbd al-Malik. Then Ibn Ashʿath ordered a trench to be dug around Basra, and this order was carried out. This event took place at the end of the month of Dhu al-Ḥijja in the eighty-first year of the Hijra.
According to the accounts of Wakidī and Abū Maʿshar, in this year Isḥāq b. ʿĪsā led the people in the pilgrimage (ḥajj). The truth of the matter is best known by Allah, exalted and free from all deficiencies.
In this year, by the order of ʿAbd al-Malik, Mūsā b. Nuṣayr set out to raid the lands of al-Andalus. He conquered many cities, seized cultivated lands, advanced into the interior of the Maghrib, and reached the shores of the Atlantic Ocean. Allah knows best the truth of the matter.
Notable Figures Who Died in the Eighty-First Year of the Hijra
Bujayr b. Warka al-Sārimī
He was among the notables of Khurāsān. He was among the commanders who fought against Ibn Ḥazim and killed him. He also killed Bukayr b. Wishāḥ. Then he himself was killed in this year.