al-Kindi—better known as Ḥujr al-Khayr (Hujr the Good)—while his father ʿAdi was called al-Adbar. He had once been stabbed from behind as he was withdrawing, hence the sobriquet al-Adbar. He was a Kufan, kunya Abu ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, and he died a martyr.
He possessed both Companionship and a record of coming to the Prophet as part of a delegation. More than one authority states that he traveled as a delegate together with his brother Hāniʾ ibn al-Adbar, yet he has no direct narration from the Prophet ﷺ.
He heard hadith from ʿAli and ʿAmmār. Those who related from him include his freedman Abu Laylā, Abu al-Bakhtari al-Ṭāʾi, and others.
Hujr was of noble stock, an obeyed commander, one who enjoined what is right and hastened to forbid wrong. He belonged to the partisans of ʿAli—may Allah be pleased with him. He fought at Ṣiffīn as a commander and was known for piety and devotion.
It is reported that he once branded Ziyād ibn Abīhi, the governor of Iraq, a liar while the latter was preaching, and on another occasion pelted him with stones. Ziyād therefore wrote to Muʿāwiyah about him.
In response, Hujr mustered three thousand armed men and left Kūfa, but then thought better of it and stayed put. Ziyād nevertheless continued to fear a second uprising, so he sent Hujr, together with a group of supporters, to Muʿāwiyah.
Ibn Saʿd said: “Hujr lived through both the pre-Islamic and the Islamic periods and fought at al-Qādisiyyah.” He is the one who conquered Marj ʿAdhrāʾ, and his stipend amounted to two thousand five hundred.
When Ziyād arrived to assume the governorship, he summoned Hujr and said:
“You know that I know you well, and that you and I once shared the love of ʿAli you are aware of—but things have changed. I adjure you by Allah: let not so much as a drop of your blood come to me, for I would then be forced to spill it all. Master your tongue; let your house suffice you. This couch of mine is your seat, and whatever you need from me is granted. Spare me the trouble of having to act against you, for I know how hasty you are. I beseech you by Allah, O Abu ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, safeguard yourself, and beware of these rabble that—”