Kharija ibn Hudhafa (; died 22 January 661) was a

companion of Muhammad The Companions of the Prophet () were the Muslim disciples and followers of the Islamic prophet Muhammad who saw or met him during his lifetime. The companions played a major role in Muslim battles, society, hadith narration, and governance ...

and a commander in the

Muslim conquest of Egypt The Arab conquest of Egypt, led by the army of Amr ibn al-As, took place between 639 and 642 AD and was overseen by the Rashidun Caliphate. It ended the seven-century-long Roman Egypt, Roman period in Egypt that had begun in 30 BC and, more broa ...

during the reign of Caliph

Umar Umar ibn al-Khattab (; ), also spelled Omar, was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () and is regarded as a senior companion and father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Mu ...

(). He served as the chief judge and commander of the security forces in Egypt under the governor

Amr ibn al-As Amr ibn al-As ibn Wa'il al-Sahmi (664) was an Arab commander and companion of Muhammad who led the Muslim conquest of Egypt and served as its governor in 640–646 and 658–664. The son of a wealthy Qurayshite, Amr embraced Islam in and was ...

Life

Kharija ibn Hudhafa hailed from the

Quraysh The Quraysh () are an Tribes of Arabia, Arab tribe who controlled Mecca before the rise of Islam. Their members were divided into ten main clans, most notably including the Banu Hashim, into which Islam's founding prophet Muhammad was born. By ...

tribe of Mecca. The specific clan to which he belonged is a matter of contradiction in the traditional Muslim sources; the

Banu Sahm The Banu Sahm () is a clan of the Quraish tribe. They are related to the Banu Jumah, as they both were part of a larger clan descended from the same ancestor, the Banu Husays. People * Khunais ibn Hudhaifa * 'Amr ibn al-'As * Hisham ibn al-A'as ...

Banu Adi Banu Adi () was a clan of the Quraysh tribe descended from Adi ibn Ka'b. The Banu Adi were with the Meccans as part of the escort that preceded the Battle of Badr; they did not join Quraysh further. Notable members Clan members include: * Umar ...

and Banu Amir ibn Lu'ayy are all mentioned as Kharija's clan. Kharija was a companion of the Islamic prophet

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

. He gained distinction for his bravery and horsemanship during Muhammad's lifetime. In 640, Caliph

() dispatched him as one of four commanders an Arab army led by

al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam Al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam ibn Khuwaylid al-Asadi (; ) was an Arab Muslim commander in the service of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the caliphs Abu Bakr () and Umar () who played a leading role in the Ridda Wars, Ridda wars against rebel tribes in ...

to reinforce the campaign of

to conquer Byzantine Egypt. After the Muslim victory at the Battle of Heliopolis, Amr had Kharija's brother Abd Allah take possession of Heliopolis and establish terms with the inhabitants of the surrounding villages. After the

fall of Babylon Autumn, also known as fall (especially in US & Canada), is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March (Southern Hemisphere ...

in April 641, Amr dispatched Kharija to conquer the

Fayyum Faiyum ( ; , ) is a city in Middle Egypt. Located southwest of Cairo, in the Faiyum Oasis, it is the capital of the modern Faiyum Governorate. It is one of Egypt's oldest cities due to its strategic location. Name and etymology Originally f ...

oasis,

Hermopolis Hermopolis (or ''Hermopolis Magna'') was a major city in antiquity, located near the boundary between Lower and Upper Egypt. Its Egyptian name ''Khemenu'' derives from the eight deities (the Ogdoad) said to reside in the city. A provincial capi ...

Akhmim Akhmim (, ; Akhmimic , ; Sahidic/Bohairic ) is a city in the Sohag Governorate of Upper Egypt. Referred to by the ancient Greeks as Khemmis or Chemmis () and Panopolis (), it is located on the east bank of the Nile, to the northeast of Sohag. ...

, Bashrudat and the villages of

Upper Egypt Upper Egypt ( ', shortened to , , locally: ) is the southern portion of Egypt and is composed of the Nile River valley south of the delta and the 30th parallel North. It thus consists of the entire Nile River valley from Cairo south to Lake N ...

and make similar terms with their inhabitants. While Amr was away besieging Alexandria, he left Kharija as his deputy over the Arab capital in Egypt,

Fustat Fustat (), also Fostat, was the first capital of Egypt under Muslim rule, though it has been integrated into Cairo. It was built adjacent to what is now known as Old Cairo by the Rashidun Muslim general 'Amr ibn al-'As immediately after the Mus ...

. He made Kharija the (chief judge) of Egypt, where he became popular, and the head of his ' (select troops or security forces). He remained in this office for at least two years into Caliph

Uthman Uthman ibn Affan (17 June 656) was the third caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate, ruling from 644 until his assassination in 656. Uthman, a second cousin, son-in-law, and notable companion of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, played a major role ...

's reign (644–656) or throughout Uthman's reign. As opposition to Uthman culminated with a siege of his house in Medina, Kharija was at the forefront of those in Egypt calling to support the caliph. On 22 January 661, Amr, who had been restored to the governorship of Egypt and restored Kharija as the head of his , made Kharija stand in for him to lead the Friday prayers as he was ill. A Kharijite assassin intending to kill Amr during the prayers killed Kharija instead, mistaking him for Amr. The assassin was subsequently apprehended and executed by Amr. In a letter sent to the latter in the aftermath of the assassination, Caliph

Mu'awiya I Mu'awiya I (–April 680) was the founder and first caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from 661 until his death. He became caliph less than thirty years after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and immediately after the four Rashid ...

() called Kharija a

shaykh Sheikh ( , , , , ''shuyūkh'' ) is an honorific title in the Arabic language, literally meaning "elder (administrative title), elder". It commonly designates a tribal chief or a Muslim ulama, scholar. Though this title generally refers to me ...

(chief or elder) of the Quraysh and consoled Amr as Kharija's "paternal uncle and his companion, above his male relatives".

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{EI2 , article=ʿAmr b. al-ʿĀṣ al-Sahmī , last=Wensinck , first=A. J. , volume=1 , page=451 661 deaths Generals of the Rashidun Caliphate Companions of the Prophet Muslim conquest of Egypt Quraysh