He was the brother of Urwa ibn Udayya, one of the instigator of the Kharijite movement at the Battle of Siffin, in which Abu Bilal himself participated.
In 680, in response to persecution by the Umayyad governor Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad, Abu Bilal rose in rebellion and was killed in 681.
Abu Bilal was from the Rabia ibn Hanzala branch of Banu Tamim tribe, which provided a series of Kharijite leaders.
Asserting that human arbitration was invalid as God's command was clear that the rebels (in this case Mu'awiya) had to be fought and overcome, some of Ali's soldiers left the army.
[5] After the defeat at Nahrawan, where many of the senior Kharijite leaders were killed, Abu Bilal gave up armed insurrection and returned to Basra along with his brother Urwa.
[8] Umayyad governor Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad suppressed the Kharijite disturbances and imprisoned many of them including Abu Bilal.
According to the account of Umar ibn Shabba (d. 877), the jailer was impressed by Abu Bilal's piety and permitted him to spend the nights at his home and return in the mornings.
Upon learning that Ibn Ziyad intended to kill all the Kharijite prisoners the next morning, one of Abu Bilal's confidants reported this to his family.
[6] According to the account of al-Tabari (d. 923), Abu Bilal's brother Urwa accused Ibn Ziyad of sinful conduct and tyranny.
[11] A Kharijite woman named Bathja (or Balja or Baltha), who had been vocal against Ibn Ziyad, was arrested and tortured to death in the market of Basra.
[16] According to a variant account reported in al-Kamil of al-Mubarrad (d. 899) and Ansab al-Ashraf of al-Baladhuri (d. 892), Abbad overtook the Kharijites near Darabjird, also in Fars.
[4] As soon as Abbad returned to Basra, a group of four Kharijites at the head of Ubayda ibn Hilal killed him and his son in vengeance for Abu Bilal.