ʿAbd Allāh ibn Wahb al-Rāsibī ( ar, عبد الله بن وهب الراسبي; died 17 July 658 AD) was an early leader of the

Khārijites The Kharijites (, singular ), also called al-Shurat (), were an Islamic sect which emerged during the First Fitna (656–661). The first Kharijites were supporters of Ali who rebelled against his acceptance of arbitration talks to settle the c ...

., calls him "the first ‘Kharijite’ caliph". Of the Bajīla tribe, he was a '' tābiʿī'', one who learned the teachings of Islam directly from a '' ṣaḥāba'' (companion) of Muḥammad. He prostrated himself in prayer so frequently that he developed

callus A callus is an area of thickened and sometimes hardened skin that forms as a response to repeated friction, pressure, or other irritation. Since repeated contact is required, calluses are most often found on the feet and hands, but they may o ...

es on his forehead, leading to the nickname, ''dhu ʾl-thafināt'', "the man with the calluses". ʿAbd Allāh fought under

Ṣaʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ , image = File:Saad ibn Abi Waqqas Masjid an-Nabawi Calligraphy.png , alt = , caption = His name in Arabic calligraphy , birth_date = , death_date = , birth_place = Mecca, Hejaz, Arabia , death_place ...

in the conquest of Iraq. In the first Muslim civil war, he took the side of the Caliph ʿAlī and fought for him at the Battle of Ṣiffīn (657). He opposed ʿAlī's decision to accept arbitration to end the civil war and joined the dissidents, soon to be known as Khārijites, gathering at Ḥarūrāʾ in Iraq. They later moved to Kūfa, where they elected ʿAbd Allāh as their '' amīr'' (commander) and not, as is sometimes claimed, the true

caliph A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

(successor of Muḥammad). They marched out in March 658 and were routed by ʿAlī in the Battle of Nahrawān on 17 July (9 Ṣafar 38 AH). ʿAbd Allāh was killed in battle.

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Bibliography

* * {{Authority control 658 deaths Medieval Arabs killed in battle Kharijites People of the First Fitna 7th-century Arabs