Abū Muḥammad Maʿdīkarib ibn Qays ibn Maʿdīkarib (599–661), better known as al-Ashʿath (Arabic: الأشعث), was a chief of the Kinda tribe of Hadhramawt and founder of a leading noble Arab household in Kufa, one of the two main garrison towns and administrative centers of Iraq under the Rashidun (632–661) and Umayyad (661–750) caliphs.
He was succeeded by his son Muhammad as leader of the Kufan Kindites, while his grandson, known as 'Ibn al-Ash'ath' after him, led an abortive mass Iraqi rebellion against the Umayyads in 701.
Al-Ash'ath's later descendants, the Asha'itha, lacked their ancestors' influence, but continued to play political, military, or cultural roles in Iraq well into the early decades of Abbasid rule (750–1258).
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.
[9] The Kindite chiefs were considered 'kings', in light of their tribe's previous kingship over the Arabs of central Arabia, but by the eve of Islam in the 620s, their individual realms were limited to single valleys or forts in the Hadhramawt.
[12] The historian Michael Lecker considers this an exaggeration whose purpose was to demonstrate al-Ash'ath's status in South Arabia, paying a ransom thrice as high as that of a typical king.
[16] The governor of the Hadhramawt, Ziyad ibn Labid al-Ansari, ambushed the Banu Amr, dealing them a severe blow, and proceeded to defeat other Kindite clans in minor skirmishes.
[18] Al-Ash'ath mobilized Kindites from his branch of the tribe against the Muslim forces of Ziyad, who were by then reinforced by another army led by Muhajir ibn Abi Umayya.
Nonetheless, he defeated the larger Muslim army, whose ranks included many Kindites from the large Sakun division, at the valley of Zurqan.
[23] As the early Muslim conquests were underway, Umar prohibited former apostates like al-Ash'ath from participating in the efforts and taking a share in the spoils.
Nevertheless, the ban was eventually lifted and al-Ash'ath joined the army of Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, which was dispatched to conquer Iraq from the Sasanian Empire.
[14] He vied for paramountcy over the Kindite soldiery of Kufa with another prominent member of the Banu Jabala, Shurahbil ibn Simt.
[2] Under the recommendation of Uthman, al-Ash'ath exchanged his land in Hadhramawt for a caliphal-owned estate in the village of Tiznabadh in the fertile Sawad, near Kufa.
[27] The enrichment and empowerment of latecomers to the faith like al-Ash'ath provoked the early converts in Kufa, who became known as the qurra (Quran readers), to oppose Uthman.
His successor, Caliph Ali (r. 656–661), drew the opposition of key Qurayshite leaders, who mobilized against him in Basra, the other major garrison town of Iraq.
Kennedy notes that al-Ash'ath's firsthand experience in Iran, which was yet to be pacified, guided his support for arbitration, as well as a desire not to strengthen Ali in view of his heavy reliance on the qurra and his patronization of a rival leader of the Kufan Kindites, Hujr ibn Adi.
In addition, considerations of tribal solidarity may have played a role in his advocacy of peace, as South Arabian tribes were numerous both in Iraq and in Syria, and thus would suffer from a continuation of the conflict.
[6] Ja'da is charged in some sources for poisoning and murdering al-Hasan, though the historian Asad Ahmed notes this "is very likely an elaboration of ʿAlīd propaganda against al-Ash'ath".