Following the collapse of Umayyad authority in the caliphate's eastern provinces in the aftermath of Caliph Yazid's death, Abbad relocated with 2,000 of his "mawālī" (non-Arab, Muslim freedmen or clients) to Syria where they fought alongside the army of the Umayyad caliph Marwan I at the Battle of Marj Rahit in 684. In contrast, Zetterstéen claims Abbad's contingent at Marj Rahit consisted of his own kinsmen. Following the decisive Umayyad victory in the battle, Abbad sought to retire to the north Arabian oasis town of Dumat al-Jandal, but was dispatched by Caliph Abd al-Malik to confront a commander of the Kufa-based, pro-Alid rebel leader al-Mukhtar al-Thaqafi at some point prior to 687. Abbad later advised Caliph al-Walid I () when the latter unsuccessfully attempted to replace the caliph's brother Sulayman in the line of succession with al-Walid's son Abd al-Aziz. Though Zetterstéen claims Abbad's date of death is not known, the historians I. K. A. Howard and Khurshid Ahmad Fariq state Abbad died in 718/19.