Governorship of Mecca During the final months of Uthman ibn Affan’s caliphate, al-Hadhrami was appointed governor of
Mecca. He remained in office through the time of
Uthman's assassination in 656, after which the city became a focal point for
Umayyad loyalists and opponents of
Ali’s accession. Following his arrival in power, Ali issued a general dismissal of Uthman's provincial governors, whom he considered to be symbols of nepotism and corruption. Ali's attempt to gain control of Mecca failed when the local population refused to swear allegiance to him; the city subsequently entered into open rebellion against
Medina. Fleeing governors from
Yemen, including Ya'la ibn Umayya and Abd Allah ibn Abi Rabi'a, arrived in the city with wealth and resources which they used to equip the revolt led by
Aisha. Al-Hadhrami was among the first to support Aisha’s calls for vengeance against the regicides.
Activity in Basra Following the appointment of
Uthman ibn Hunayf as governor of
Basra by Ali, al-Hadhrami remained in the city as a deputy for the former governor,
Abd Allah ibn Amir. Ibn Hunayf subsequently arrested him without resistance to secure control of the provincial administration, ending al-Hadhrami's initial tenure there.
Pro-Umayyad revolt and death , showing the division between the territories of
Ali (green) and
Mu'awiya I (pink). In 659, following the Umayyad annexation of
Egypt,
Mu'awiya I dispatched al-Hadhrami from
Syria back to Basra to foment a pro-Umayyad uprising. His mission was highly effective;
Ziyad ibn Abihi reported to Ali that most of the people of
Basra and the majority of the
Banu Tamim had offered al-Hadhrami their allegiance ''(
bay'ah)''. This surge of support from the
Uthmaniyya rendered Ziyad's position untenable, forcing him to flee the governor's palace with the provincial treasury to seek protection from the
Banu Azd tribe. Ali initially attempted to resolve the situation by sending Aʿyan ibn Dabiʿah al-Mujashiʿ, but Aʿyan was assassinated shortly after arrival. Ali then dispatched Jariyah ibn Qudamah, who restored Ziyad to the governor’s palace and led a military crackdown on the rebels. Al-Hadhrami and approximately seventy followers withdrew to the fortified house of Sabil al-Saʿdi. During the ensuing assault, Jariyah ordered the structure to be set on fire; al-Hadhrami and most of his supporters were killed in the conflagration. Notably,
Mu'awiya I reportedly showed little reaction to the news, a detail historians highlight as evidence of the expendable nature of provincial allies during the civil war. ==See also==