Al-Ashʿath ibn Qays al-Kindī was a chief of the Kinda tribe of Hadhramawt in Yemen. According to some historical reports, his teknonym was Abu Muhammad and his original name was Ma’dikarib, ibn Qays but he was popularly known as Al-Ash’ath (meaning, ‘the dishevelled’) because he was known to have dishevelled hair. His nickname possibly derived from his status as a warrior, being unconcerned with his physical appearance and luxury. Like his father and grandfather, al-Ash’ath was a chief of the Banu Jabala house, a clan of the Kinda’s main division, the Banu Mu’awiya.
Maʿdīkarib ibn Qays al-Ashʿath was born around 599 CE in the eastern Hadhramawt region of South Arabia. His father, Qays ibn Ma’dikarib, was a convert to Judaism which, in his time, had become widespread in South Arabia, including among al-Ash’ath’s tribe, the Kinda. Al-Ash’ath was probably also Jewish before his later conversion to Islam.
According to reports, Al-Ash’ath embraced Islam in the presence of the noble Prophet Muhammad. After the death of the noble Prophet (PBUHH), al-Ash’ath refused to pledge allegiance to Abu Bakr, so the latter sent a number of troops to Yemen to arrest and bring him to Medina. Al-Ash’ath led his tribesmen against the caliphate troop during the Battle of Ridda but surrendered during a siege of his fortress, after which many Kindites were executed. He was imprisoned, but afterwards, Abu Bakr pardoned and set him free (r. 632–634) upon his repentance and wed his sister Umm Farwa to al-Ash’ath.
During the caliphate of Umar ibn al-Khattab, al-Ash’ath participated in the Battle of Yarmuk, the conquest of Iraq, and the Battle of Qadisiyya and he later resided in Kufa. Thereafter, he became the governor of Uthman ibn Affan in Azerbaijan and remained in that position during the caliphate of Imam Ali.
It was documented that after the Battle of Jamal, the Commander of the Faithful Ali ibn Abi Talib (PBUH) wrote a letter to al-Ash’ath ibn Qays (al-Kindi) who had been the Governor of Azarbayjan from the days of Uthman, to send the revenue and levies of his province. But since he had fears about the future of his position and assignment, he intended to swallow all this money like other officers of Uthman. The letter read thus: “Certainly, your assignment is not a morsel for you, but it is a trust round your neck, and you have been charged with the protection (of the people) on behalf of your superiors. It is not for you to be oppressive towards the ruled, nor to risk yourself save on strong grounds. You have in your hands the funds which are the property of Allah, to Whom belong Might and Majesty, and you hold its charge till you pass it on to me. Probably, I will not be one of the bad rulers for you, and that is an end to the matter.” (Nahj al-Balaghah, Letter 5)
Therefore, when this letter reached him, he requested for his chief associates and after mentioning this letter to them said: “I fear that this money will be taken away from me; I therefore intend to join Mu`awiyah.” Whereupon those people said that it was a matter of shame to leave kith and kin and seek refuge with Mu’awiyah. Consequently, on the advice of these people, he postponed his idea to run away but did not agree to part with the money. On getting this information, Imam Ali (PBUH) sent Hujr ibn `Adi al-Kindi to bring him to Kufa. He persuaded him and brought him to Kufa. On reaching there his kit was found to contain four hundred thousand Dirhams out of which the Commander of the Faithful (PBUH) left thirty thousand for him and deposited the rest in the public treasury.
In the Battle of Siffin, Al-Ash’ath was one of the commanders of Imam Ali’s army; the commander of the troops from the Kinda and Rabi’a tribes. It is reported that when the victory of the Imam’s army was near in the Battle of Siffin, al-Ash’ath disagreed with the continuation of the battle. Thus, when Mu’awiya learned about al-Ash’ath’s position, he commanded his troops to raise copies of the Qur’an with their spears and call the Imam’s army to arbitration on the basis of the Qur’an. When they did so, the Imam rejected the request for arbitration, but al-Ash’ath objected to him and demanded that the Imam should accept the arbitration. In addition, for the arbitration, Imam Ali chose Abdullah ibn Abbas from his side but al-Ash’ath opposed the Imam’s choice and called for choosing Abu Musa al-Ash’ari.
Similarly, after the Battle of Nahrawan, when Imam Ali wanted to wage war against Mu’awiya again, he opposed the Imam on the pretext that the soldiers were tired. This disagreement dampened the spirits of the Imam’s army and thus the Imam changed his decision.
According to historical sources, Al-Ash’ath was aware of Ibn Muljam’s plan for Imam Ali’s assassination. Al-Ya’qubi reports that when Ibn Muljam travelled from Egypt to Kufa to assassinate the Imam, he stayed in al-Ash’ath’s house for one month, preparing himself for the assassination. (Yaʿqūbī, Tārīkh al-Yaʿqūbī, vol. 2, p. 212.) It is reported that on the day the Imam was assassinated before he entered the mosque, al-Ash’ath asked Ibn Muljam to do his task before dawn. A hadith from Imam al-Sadiq (PBUH) also affirms that al-Ash’ath had a role in the assassination of Imam Ali (a). (Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 8, p. 167, 187) However, there is another report according to which, when al-Ash’ath learned about Ibn Muljam’s plan, he informed Imam Ali (PBUH) about it. (Mubarrad, al-Kāmil, vol. 2, p. 146.)
Al-Ash’ath died in Kufa in 661 when he was sixty-three years old and he was buried there. His descendants, referred to in Muslim sources as the Asha’itha, were one of the most prominent families of the Arab tribal nobility in Iraq. His sons Qays and Muhammad succeeded him as leader of the Kufan Kindites. The former was among the Kufans who wrote to Imam al-Husain (PBUH) and invited him to Kufa, but thereafter commanded the Kindite fighters in the Umayyad army against Husain ibn Ali at the Battle of Karbala in 680 A.H, while the latter was among the companions of Ziyad ibn Abih and Ibn Ziyad, who participated in arresting Hujr b. Adi, Hani ibn Urwa, and Muslim ibn Aqil. According to a hadith from Imam al-Sadiq (PBUH), Muhammad ibn al-Ash’ath participated in killing Imam al-Husain (PBUH) as well. (Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 8, p. 167, hadith 187)
