Muʿāwiya sends ʿAbdallāh ibn al-Ḥaḍramī to rally Basra (38 AH)

Name: Muʿāwiya sends ʿAbdallāh ibn al-Ḥaḍramī to rally Basra (38 AH)
Start: 0658

إرسال معاوية عبد الله بن الحضرمي إلى البصرة

658 CE · 38 AH

After ʿAmr took Egypt, Muʿāwiya sent ʿAbdallāh ibn ʿAmr ibn al-Ḥaḍramī to Basra — «most of its people share our view of ʿUthmān; lodge with Muḍar, court the Azd, beware Rabīʿa, they are all Turābiyya«. Reading Muʿāwiya's letter among Banū Tamīm — two stipends a year promised — he split the town: al-Ḍaḥḥāk ibn Qays, Ibn ʿAbbās's police chief, cried «you bring us what Ṭalḥa and al-Zubayr brought — shall we draw swords on each other that Muʿāwiya may be amir?«; ʿAbdallāh ibn Khāzim pledged support; al-Aḥnaf withdrew with «no camel of mine is in this» ¹.

Depth

At a glance

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In time

The Rashidun Caliphate · The Umayyad Period

In space

Map: Natural Earth, public domain · places and route from the graph

Summary

When Amr ibn al-As (may God be pleased with him) had taken Egypt, Mu'awiya sent Abd Allah ibn Amr ibn al-Hadrami to Basra to win over its people. He instructed him to settle among Mudar, win the goodwill of the Azd, and beware of Rabi'a. He settled among the Banu Tamim and preached that Uthman, the "Imam of guidance," had been killed unjustly. He read Mu'awiya's letter reminding them of Uthman's favours to them, and promised them two stipends a year. Then al-Dahhak ibn Qays al-Hilali, chief of police for Ibn Abbas, confronted him and said: "You have brought us what Talha and al-Zubayr brought us. Do you order us to draw our swords against one another so that Mu'awiya may be amir?" Abd Allah ibn Khazim al-Sulami answered him: "We are your supporters and your hand." Al-Ahnaf stood up and said: "Neither my she-camel nor my male camel is in this," and withdrew from the people. ¹.

Connections

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Occurred at: Basra
Had participant: 'Abdallah ibn 'Amr ibn al-Hadrami· Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan· al-Dahhak ibn Qays al-Hilali· Abdallah ibn Khazim al-Sulami· al-Ahnaf ibn Qays

People and things also explored

Ibn ʿAbbās quits Basra for Mecca (40 AH)· Great Mosque of Basra· Qasr Qubadh / the Hajjaj palace at Basra· Abd al-Malik's Coinage Reform· Balkh's Sulh and al-Ahnaf's Khwarizm March· al-Ahnaf's Petition to Umar for Basra· al-Ahnaf's Sulh at Qasr al-Ahnaf and Marw al-Rudh· al-Ahnaf's Battle in Tukharistan

Sources

al-Kamil fi'l-Tarikh of Ibn al-Athir , p. 711

Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Muʿāwiya sends ʿAbdallāh ibn al-Ḥaḍramī to rally Basra (38 AH)”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/ibn-al-hadrami-basra-38/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-21.

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Ibn ʿAbbās quits Basra for Mecca (40 AH)

Ibn ʿAbbās left Basra for Mecca — so most sīra men say, against the report that he stayed governor till ʿAli's death. Abū'l-Aswad al-Duʾalī had written to ʿAli that his cousin had consumed what was under his hand; ʿAli demanded the jizya accounts, Ibn ʿAbbās answered «send whom you like to the post, I am leaving», gathered his maternal uncles of Hilāl — all of Qays rallied — and carried off the treasury as «our pay». The Basrans overtook him at al-Ṭaff; Qays swore the money would not be touched while one of them lived; Ṣabra ibn Shaymān persuaded most back («they are worth more to you than the money»), Banū Tamīm fought on until al-Aḥnaf's rebuke fell flat, and Ibn ʿAbbās reached Mecca.