Likewise, civil strife occurred during the reigns of most caliph-kings. During the reign of Yazīd ibn Muāwiya, there were the killing of Husayn, the Battle of al-Harra, and the siege of Ibn al-Zubayr in Mecca. During the reign of Marwān ibn al-Hakam, the conflict of Marj Rāhit occurred between him and al-Nu‘mān ibn Bashīr. During the reign of Abd al-Malik, there was the conflict involving Musab ibn al-Zubayr and his brother Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, who was also besieged in Mecca. During the reign of Hishām, there was the uprising of Zayd ibn Alī. During the reign of Marwān ibn Muhammad, there was the uprising of Abū Muslim, until rule passed from their hands to the descendants of al-Abbās. Then, during the reign of al-Mansūr, there were the uprisings of Muhammad ibn Abd Allah ibn al-Hasan ibn al-Husayn in Medina and of his brother Ibrāhīm in Basra, as well as other episodes of civil strife that would take too long to recount.
The civil strife (1) of every age is commensurate with its people. The first episode of civil strife—the killing of Uthmān, may Allah be pleased with him—was the earliest and greatest of them.
This is why it is stated in the hadith traced back to the Prophet, narrated by Imam Ahmad in the Musnad and by others:
“There are three things from which whoever is spared has indeed been saved: my death, the killing of a caliph who is unjustly persecuted, and the Dajjāl.” (2)
(1) N, M, and W read: “and the civil strife.”
(2) The hadith of Abd Allāh ibn Hawāla—may Allah be pleased with him—is found in the Musnad (al-Halabī ed.), 4/105, 109; 5/33, 288. Its wording is: “Whoever escapes three things has indeed been saved.” He said this three times. They asked, “What are they, O Messenger of Allah?” He replied, “My death, the killing of a caliph who steadfastly adheres to justice and accords it to others, and the Dajjāl.”
Al-Suyūtī cited the hadith in al-Jāmi al-Kabīr, saying: “HM (Ahmad’s Musnad); TB (al-Tabarānī in al-Mu'jam al-Kabīr); K (al-Hākim’s al-Mustadrak); and S (Sa'īd ibn Mansūr), from Abd Allāh ibn Hawāla” (sic).
Al-Haythamī also cited the hadith in Majma al-Zawā'id, 7/334–335, saying: “Uqba ibn Āmir reported that the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said: ‘There are three things from which whoever is spared has been saved: whoever is spared at the killing of a believer has been saved; whoever is spared at the killing of a caliph who is killed unjustly while remaining steadfast and granting others their due from himself has been saved; and whoever is spared from the tribulation of the Dajjāl has been saved.’ Al-Tabarānī narrated it. Its chain contains Ibrāhīm ibn Yazīd al-Misrī, whom I could not identify; the remainder of its narrators are trustworthy.”
Ibn Hajar listed Ibrāhīm ibn Yazīd ibn al-Qadīd al-Basrī in Tahdhīb al-Tahdhīb, 1/181. Al-Dhahabī likewise mentioned him in Mīzān al-I'tidāl, vol. 1, saying of him, “an associate of al-Awzā'ī.” Perhaps he is the same man.