# Hurqus ibn Zuhayr as-Sa'di

Hurqūs ibn Zuhayr al-Sa'di at-Tamimi (Arabic: حرقوص بن زهير السعدي التميمي, romanized: Hurqūṣ ibn Zuhayr al-Saʿdī al-Tamīmī), commonly known by the laqab Dhu al-Khuwaysira (Arabic: ذو الخويصرة, romanized: Dhū al-Khuwayṣira), was a Kharijite, and a leader of Banu Tamim tribal descent. He objected to Muhammad's distribution of war loot, saying to him: "Be just." He was a first generation Kharijites and veteran of the Battle of Hunayn.
During the wars between the Muslims and the Sasanian Empire in Persia, when Utba ibn Ghazwan wrote to Umar ibn al-Khattab seeking help, Umar sent Hurqus who played a significant role in the defeat of Hormuzan, particularly in the conquest of Ahvaz. Hurqus remained active until the caliphate of Ali ibn Abi Talib. He participated in the Battle of Siffin and later became one of the Kharijites, vehemently opposing Ali.

## During the life of Muhammad

Dhu al-Khuwaysira opposed Muhammad's distribution of the spoils of war, according to a hadith narrated by Abu Sa'id al-Khudri:
   While we were with Allah's Messenger who was distributing (i.e. some property), there came Dhu al-Khuwaysira, a man from the tribe of Banu Tamim and said, "O Allah's Messenger! Do Justice." The Prophet said, "Woe to you! Who could do justice if I did not? I would be a desperate loser if I did not do justice." Umar said, "O Allah's Messenger! Allow me to chop his head off." The Prophet said, "Leave him, for he has companions who pray and fast in such a way that you will consider your praying and fasting negligible in comparison to theirs. They recite Qur'an but it does not go beyond their throats (i.e. they do not act on it) and they will desert Islam as an arrow goes through a victim's body, so that the hunter, on looking at the arrow's blade, would see nothing on it; he would look at its Risaf and see nothing: he would look at its Nadiyy and see nothing, and he would look at its Qudhadh and see nothing (neither meat nor blood), for the arrow has been too fast even for the blood and excretions to smear. The sign by which they will be recognized is that among them there will be a black man, one of whose arms will resemble woman's breasts or a lump of meat moving loosely. Those people will appear when there will be differences amongst the people.

## During the Rashidun Caliphate

Hurqus participated among the Arab settler hosts brought by Arfajah during Conquest of Khuzestan, Hurqus participation recorded particularly when he was sent by Rashidun army superiors to defeat Hormuzan in 638 at Ahvaz, and forced the city to pay jizya (poll-tax).

## His stance in the Battle of Nahrawan

When Ali sent Abu Musa and those with him from the army to Dumat al-Jandal, his situation with the Kharijites worsened and they intensified their denunciation of Ali, openly declaring him as an unbeliever. Two men among them, Zir'ah ibn al-Burj al-Ta'i and Hurqus ibn Zuhayr as-Sa'di, approached him and said: "Judgment belongs to God alone" (la hukma illa li-llah). Ali responded: "Judgment belongs to God alone." Hurqus then said to him: "Repent for your mistake and come with us to fight our enemies until we meet our Lord." Ali said: "I intended this but you refused, and we have written covenants between us and these people. Allah, the Exalted, has said: 'Honour Allah’s covenant when you make a pledge, and do not break your oaths after confirming them, having made Allah your guarantor. Surely Allah knows all you do.'" Hurqus told him: "That is a sin from which you should repent." Ali replied: "It is not a sin, but rather a matter of difference in opinion. I have approached you regarding it and advised you against it." Zir'ah ibn al-Burj then said to him: "By Allah, O Ali, if you do not reject the arbitration by men in the Book of Allah, I will fight you seeking the mercy and pleasure of Allah." Ali exclaimed: "Woe unto you! How miserable you have become! It is as if I see you as a dead person upon whom the wind blows." The man responded: "I wish that were the case." Ali said to him: "If you were correct, death would have been a solace from this world. However, Satan has beguiled you." They went spreading Taḥkīm among the people. They openly confronted Ali in his sermons, hurling insults, curses, and Quranic verses at him. When Ali stood as a preacher in one of the gatherings, criticizing and admonishing the Kharijites, a group among them stood up, each one saying, 'Judgment belongs to God alone.' A man among them put his finger in his ear, reciting: "It has already been revealed to you—and to those ˹prophets˺ before you—that if you associate others ˹with Allah˺, your deeds will certainly be void and you will truly be one of the losers." Ali gestured with his hands while on the minbar and said: 'We await the hukm (judgment) of Allah regarding you.' He then said: 'You have the right to use our mosques as long as you do not fight against us. You have the right to your share of the spoils as long as your hands are with ours, and we will not fight against you until you fight against us.' When Ali sent Abu Musa to implement the arbitration, the Kharijites gathered at the house of Abd Allah ibn Wahb al-Rasibi. Ali delivered a sermon urging them to aspire to the Hereafter and Paradise, and encouraging them to enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong. Hurqus ibn Zuhayr then stood up after praising and thanking Allah, saying: 'The enjoyment of this world is brief, and separation from it is imminent. Do not let its adornments or delights divert you from seeking the truth and denouncing injustice.'

## Death

Hurqus lived until the caliphate of Ali, witnessing the Battle of Siffin with him. Later, he joined the Kharijites and became one of their strong opponents against Ali. He was killed on 38 AH (658 CE) by Hubaysh ibn Rabi'a Abu al-Mughira.