At the beginning of this year, the army of Ḥajjāj was stationed at Dayr-i Karā, while the army of Ibn al-Ashʿath was at Dayr al-Jamājim, and daily hand-to-hand battles continued between the two sides. On most days, the Iraqis prevailed over the Syrians. In fact, the Iraqis, who were followers of Ibn al-Ashʿath, defeated the Syrians loyal to Ḥajjāj more than eighty times. Nevertheless, Ḥajjāj remained steadfast, showed sabr (patient endurance), and never retreated from his position; on the contrary, when he achieved victory on one of those days, he would advance with his army toward the enemy, demonstrating his knowledge of military tactics and experience in warfare. Both sides maintained their positions in this way. Eventually, Ḥajjāj ordered an attack on the group of scholars (ʿulamāʾ) within Ibn al-Ashʿath's army, since the other soldiers followed the scholars, who encouraged them to fight.
The scholars showed sabr in the face of the attack by Ḥajjāj's army and remained steadfast. Then, the archers of Ḥajjāj's army collectively attacked this group of scholars, and soon killed many among them. Afterwards, Ḥajjāj's army attacked Ibn al-Ashʿath and his accompanying soldiers. Ibn al-Ashʿath's men were routed and scattered in all directions. Ibn al-Ashʿath himself fled with a small group of defeated soldiers before Ḥajjāj's army. Ḥajjāj sent a large military detachment under the command of ʿAmmāra b. Gārem al-Raḥmī to pursue him, accompanied by Muḥammad b. Ḥajjāj, though command was with ʿAmmāra. They began to pursue Ibn al-Ashʿath with the aim of capturing him dead or alive, traversing towns, regions, villages, and settlements in pursuit.
Eventually, he reached Kirmān. The Syrians followed him and arrived at the kasr (fortified residence) where the Iraqis had previously resided. In the kasr, they found the following written by a Kufan among Ibn al-Ashʿath's men who had fled with him. This Kufan had written on paper the following poem by Abū Khalda al-ʿIshkarī:
"How many regrets, how many sighs I utter,
Those we encountered have burned my heart.
We abandoned both religion and worldly life.
We surrendered our wives and children to foreign hands,
We were not people devoted to our religion,
That we might show sabr in the face of calamities.
Nor were we people seeking the world,
That we might at least protect them, even if not for religion.
We left our homelands to the reckless,
To the black Anbāt and the Ashʿarīs."
Then Ibn al-Ashʿath, with his defeated men, entered the land of the Turkic ruler Rutbīl. Rutbīl honored him, hosted him, granted him safety, and showed him respect.
Al-Wāqidī said: "As Ibn al-Ashʿath was heading to Rutbīl's land, he passed through the town of a governor he had appointed during his return from Iraq. The governor honored him, presented him with gifts, and hosted him. However, the governor did this as a ruse and said to him: 'Enter our city for protection, so that you may safeguard yourself from your enemies. But do not allow any of your men to enter the city with you.' Ibn al-Ashʿath accepted this proposal, but the governor had set a trap for him. His men tried to prevent him from entering the city, but Ibn al-Ashʿath did not accept. Consequently, his men dispersed. When Ibn al-Ashʿath entered the city, the governor had him seized and shackled in iron, seeking to gain favor with Ḥajjāj by doing so."
The Turkic ruler Rutbīl, however, was pleased and satisfied with Ibn al-Ashʿath's arrival. But when he heard what the governor of the city of Bist had done, he took action and besieged the city. He sent the following message to the governor: "By Allah, if you harm Ibn al-Ashʿath, I will not leave here. In the end, I will depose you from your throne and kill all your men in your city." The governor, fearing Rutbīl's words, sent Ibn al-Ashʿath to him. Rutbīl honored Ibn al-Ashʿath, and Ibn al-Ashʿath said to Rutbīl:
– That governor was one I had appointed. He betrayed me and did what you have seen. Allow me to kill him.
– I have granted him safety.
Among those in Ibn al-Ashʿath's retinue was ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Ayyāsh b. Abī Rabīʿa b. Ḥārith b. ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib. In Rutbīl's land, this man led the people in prayer. Afterwards, some of those who had fled and been routed from Ḥajjāj's army gathered together and set out to join Ibn al-Ashʿath. They numbered close to 60,000. When they reached Sijistān, they found that Ibn al-Ashʿath had gone to the Turkic ruler Rutbīl. They seized Sijistān, tortured its governor ʿAbd Allāh b. ʿĀmir al-Naʿār, his brothers, and relatives, and took control of Sijistān and its wealth, sending the following letter to Ibn al-Ashʿath:
"Come to us so that we may be with you and help you against your opponents. Let us take the lands of Khurāsān, for in Khurāsān there are many soldiers and much strength from among us. We will remain in Khurāsān until Allah destroys Ḥajjāj or ʿAbd al-Malik. After that, we will consider what to do next."
Ibn al-Ashʿath set out to join them. After traveling a short distance toward Khurāsān, a small group of Iraqis, along with ʿUbayd Allāh b. Samura, separated from him. Ibn al-Ashʿath addressed them, reminding them of their betrayal and flight from battle, and said: "I have no need of you. I will go to my friend Rutbīl and remain with him." He then left them, and a group followed him, while the majority of the army stayed behind. After Ibn al-Ashʿath departed, they pledged allegiance to ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Ayyāsh b. Abī Rabīʿa al-Hāshimī and went with him to Khurāsān. The governor of Khurāsān, Yazīd b. al-Muhallab b. Abī Ṣufra, opposed them and prevented their entry into his territory. He sent a letter to ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Ayyāsh with the following message: "The land is vast; go to a place without a ruler. I do not wish to fight you. If you want wealth, I will send it to you."
ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Ayyāsh replied: "We have not come to fight anyone; rather, we have come to rest and let our horses recover. Then we will depart. We have no need of anything you have offered."
Then ʿAbd al-Raḥmān began to collect tribute from the surrounding towns of Khurāsān. Yazīd b. al-Muhallab, accompanied by his brother Mufaḍḍal and a large army, marched against him. When the two sides met, after a brief battle, the soldiers of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Ayyāsh were routed. Yazīd killed many of them and seized their camp and possessions. He sent the prisoners, including Muḥammad b. Saʿd b. Abī Waqqāṣ, to Ḥajjāj. It is reported that Muḥammad b. Saʿd said to Yazīd b. al-Muhallab: "For the sake of the dua (supplication) my father made for your father, I ask you to release me." Yazīd granted him freedom.
Ibn Jarīr said: Ḥajjāj killed most of the prisoners brought before him, sparing only a few. On the day Ḥajjāj defeated Ibn al-Ashʿath, he made the following announcement to the people: "Whoever returns is safe. Whoever goes to Muslim b. Qutayba in the city of Rayy is safe." As a result, the majority of those with Ibn al-Ashʿath went to Muslim b. Qutayba, and Ḥajjāj granted them safety. As for those who did not go to Muslim b. Qutayba, Ḥajjāj ordered that they be sought out and pursued, and he had most of those captured killed. The last of those he killed was Saʿīd b. Jubayr, as will be explained later.
Among those who went to Muslim b. Qutayba and joined his forces was al-Shaʿbī. When Ḥajjāj inquired about him one day, he was told that al-Shaʿbī had gone to Muslim b. Qutayba. Ḥajjāj wrote to Muslim b. Qutayba: "Send al-Shaʿbī to me."
Al-Shaʿbī relates: "When I arrived in the presence of Ḥajjāj, I greeted him with the salutation of the emirate and said:
'O emir! Everyone has asked me to make excuses by saying something other than what Allah knows to be true. But I swear by Allah, I will not say anything but the truth here. By Allah, we came to you, encouraged fighting against you, and did all we could in this matter. When we were strong, we were not among those who caused corruption, nor were we among those who avoided the slightest evil. Now Allah has aided you, granted you victory over us, and given you the opportunity to capture us. If you use your power, it will be because of our sins and as a result of what our own hands have done. If you pardon, it will be due to your forbearance. Henceforth, the evidence is in your favor and against us.'
Ḥajjāj said to me: 'By Allah, your words please us more than those who, when their swords are dripping with our blood and they come to us, say: "I did not do it, I did not see it, I was not present." O al-Shaʿbī! You are now safe.'
Upon hearing this, I turned and left. After walking a little, he called out again: 'Come here, O al-Shaʿbī!' I began to fear, but then I remembered his words assuring my safety and was reassured. He asked me:
'O al-Shaʿbī, how did you find the people after us?'
Before I rebelled against him, Ḥajjāj was a man of great worth in my eyes. I replied:
'May Allah rectify the emir! After you, our eyes have known no sleep, our beds have become hard, our sides have become inflamed, fear has not left us, and sorrow and grief have become sweet to us. I have lost good brothers, and I have found no successor for the emir.'
Upon this answer, Ḥajjāj said: 'You may go, O al-Shaʿbī.' So I left his presence."
According to al-Bayhaqī's narration, Ḥajjāj asked about the shares in inheritance of a deceased man's surviving mother, wife, and sister, and the differing opinions of Abū Bakr, ʿUmar, ʿUthmān, ʿAlī, and Ibn Masʿūd on this matter. Al-Shaʿbī recounted all their opinions at once, preferred the opinion of ʿAlī, but gave judgment according to the opinion of ʿUthmān, and for this reason, Ḥajjāj released him.
It is reported that Ḥajjāj had 5,000 prisoners sent to him by Yazīd b. al-Muhallab killed, as has been mentioned previously.
Later, Ḥajjāj went to Kūfa. Upon entering the city, he would say to everyone he met: "Testify against your own nafs (lower self) that you are a kāfir (disbeliever)." Whoever did so, he accepted their pledge of allegiance; whoever did not, he had them killed. In this way, he killed many who refused to testify to the kufr (disbelief) of their own nafs. A man was brought before him, and Ḥajjāj said: "Because of this man's righteousness and piety, I do not think he will testify to the kufr of his own nafs." He tried to trick him, but the man replied: "Will you try to trick me against my own nafs? Indeed, I am the greatest kāfir on earth, more so than Pharaoh, Hāmān, or Nimrod." Upon this answer, Ḥajjāj laughed and released him.
According to Ibn Jarīr, the poet Aʿshā of Hamadān was brought before Ḥajjāj. Aʿshā had composed a qasīda (ode) criticizing Ḥajjāj and ʿAbd al-Malik b. Marwān and praising Ibn al-Ashʿath and his men. Ḥajjāj asked him to recite this qasīda, and he recited a long poem, but in it he praised the house of ʿAbd al-Malik. The Syrians said: "O emir, he did well," but Ḥajjāj replied: "No, he did not do well; he recited this qasīda out of flattery." He then insisted that he recite another qasīda. When he recited the other, Ḥajjāj became angry, ordered his execution, and he was beheaded before him with his hands and feet bound.
The real name of this Aʿshā was ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. ʿAbd Allāh b. Ḥārith Abū al-Iṣbaḥ al-Hamadānī al-Kūfī. He was a poet, renowned for his eloquence and fluency. He was once a virtuous and devout man, but later abandoned virtue and worship and turned to poetry, becoming famous for it. He had visited Nuʿmān b. Bashīr, the governor of Ḥimṣ, and praised him, receiving a reward of 40,000 dinars from Nuʿmān and his soldiers for this visit.
He was the brother-in-law of al-Shaʿbī, and al-Shaʿbī was his brother-in-law. He was among those who rebelled with Ibn al-Ashʿath. As mentioned on the previous page, Ḥajjāj killed him. May Allah have mercy on him.
Ḥajjāj continued to pursue Ibn al-Ashʿath, setting a trap for him by sending a military detachment to encircle him from behind. Then Ḥajjāj and Ibn al-Ashʿath confronted each other. Ḥajjāj, with his soldiers, abandoned his camp and fled. Ibn al-Ashʿath came, seized the belongings in the camp, and spent the night there. At night, the rear detachment suddenly attacked Ibn al-Ashʿath and his men, who had left their weapons behind. Ḥajjāj returned with his men, besieged them, and a fierce battle ensued. Many of Ibn al-Ashʿath's men were killed, and many drowned in the Tigris and Dujayl rivers. Ḥajjāj entered their camp and killed the soldiers he found there, about 4,000 in total, including a group of leaders and notables. He captured the entire army of Ibn al-Ashʿath along with their possessions.
Ibn al-Ashʿath fled with about 300 men, boarded a boat, and set out on the Dujayl river, slaughtering their mounts. He reached Basra and then set out for the Turkic lands, as previously mentioned, entering the land of the Turkic ruler Rutbīl.
Afterwards, Ḥajjāj sought out Ibn al-Ashʿath's men and killed those he captured one by one. It is said that he killed 130,000 soldiers from among Ibn al-Ashʿath's men who were captured with their hands and feet bound. This was reported by Naḍr b. Shumayl through Hishām b. Ḥassān.
Among those killed by Ḥajjāj from Ibn al-Ashʿath's men were Muḥammad b. Saʿd b. Abī Waqqāṣ and a group of distinguished leaders and righteous scholars. The last of the soldiers he killed was Saʿīd b. Jubayr. May Allah have mercy on them and be pleased with them.