Khārijism during the Reign of Muʿāwiya b. Abī Sufyān
Khārijism during the Reign of Muʿāwiya b. Abī Sufyān
Chapter Five looks at the narratives of Khārijism during the caliphate of Muʿāwiya b. Abī Sufyān. It departs from the structure of the previous chapters by focusing not on overarching themes directly, but instead on two specific works and their treatment of the Khārijites in this period. This is because there is a marked decrease in the amount of Khārijite material transmitted for this period: al-Balādhurī and al-Ṭabarī alone preserve enough narrative material to allow for a meaningful analysis. The chapter shows that while they transmit much of the same material, their interpretations are rather different: both engage with the topic of Khārijite piety, but where al-Ṭabarī uses it to discredit militant forms of devotion, al-Balādhurī employs it as a foil for the injustice and immorality of the Umayyads. This difference characterises their depictions of early Khārijite history more generally and further emphasises the rhetorical nature of early Islamic historiography.
Keywords: Caliphate, Khārijism, Muʿāwiya b. Abī Sufyān, Khārijites, Khārijite history, al-Balādhurī, al-Ṭabarī, Piety, Umayyads, Islamic historiography
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