[2][3] Following the lifting of the siege, Ibn al-Zubayr declared himself caliph and Najda and other Kharijite leaders left for Basra.
[2] Political differences emerged between Najda and Nafi, leading the former to defect and return to the Yamama, where the Kharijites were led by Abu Talut Salim ibn Matar.
[2][4] In 685, Najda and his retinue intercepted at Jabala a Mecca-bound caravan from Basra and distributed the loot among his Kharijite partisans in Jawn al-Khadarim, whom he also advised to continue utilizing the slaves they captured to work the fields after they had been freed from this labor.
[2][4] His actions and advice brought him distinction among the Kharijites of the Yamama and when he proposed to be their leader, he gained their unanimous support, including from Abu Talut, who stepped down.
[1] Najda's increasing strength and control of Bahrayn and the Yamama threatened the contiguity of Ibn al-Zubayr's caliphate by blocking the routes between his headquarters in Mecca and his key province of Basra.
[7] Atiyya succeeded, held the region for a few months then left it to his deputy, a certain Abu'l-Qasim, but the latter was soon after killed by Sa'id and Sulayman, who with local support recaptured Oman.
[7] Ties between Najda and Atiyya became frayed, possibly as a result of the former's unequal distribution of pay and communications with the Umayyad caliph, Abd al-Malik, who controlled Syria and Egypt.
[8] In the ensuing months, he entered Sana'a in Yemen and sent his deputy Abu Fudayk to Hadramawt; both places gave their allegiance to Najda and paid him tribute.