PEOPLEand many of the Bakr ibn Wii'il, deprived of the bonuses granted them
by 'All, raided the treasury in Basra and then joined 'Ali.40
These issues also seem to have motivated some Kufans to support
'All. The emergence of the Shi'i wing of the Kinda at Kufa appears
to be related to competition over the leadership (Ar. riyasa) of Kinda
between Mu1).ammad ibn al-Ash'ath and I:Iujr ibn 'Adi, to 'All's
support of I:Iujr, and to I:Iujr's leadership of dissident elements at Kufa
who wanted immediate payment of stipends under Mu'iiwiya.^41 In-
creasing polarization involved impoverished tribesmen in sectarian
movements and led them into confrontations with their own ashraf,
such as the sedition of Muslim ibn 'Aqil in Kufa in 680 when the
Kufan mob besieged the ashraf in the citade1.^42
Such conflicts seem to underlie the objections of some Muslims to
the material aspects of acculturation in Iraq. They are summarized in
the warning, as tradition claims, that 'Umar gave to his appointees
not to ride a birdhawn, have a doorkeeper (Ar. ~ajib), wear linen (Ar.
kattan), or eat refined food (Ar. darmak).43 Resistance to abandoning
Arab styles of clothing and to wearing expensive, ostentatious gar-
ments of silk was both pious and egalitarian. 'Umar objected to 'Utba
ibri Farqad wearing a tunic (L.? qamfs) with long sleeves,44 and the
mawla Sa'id ibn Jubayr at Kufa disapproved of wearing a taylasan
of silk brocade.45 In a typical scene representing 'Ali's opposition to
the adoption of such Persian customs, the mule of a dihqan was brought
to him at Mada'in. When he put his hand on the saddle-bow, he found
that it was slippery. When he asked why, he was told that it was silk
brocade, so he refused to ride on it.46 There was also a feeling that
the luxurious nature of the new styles and the wealth from the conquest
were undermining the fighting quality of Arab soldiers. In his khutba
at Basra in 683, 'Ubaydulliih ibn Ziyiid told the Basrans that "we
have worn silk, the striped cloth of Yaman, and soft clothing until we
and our skin have become disgusted with it. We must replace it with
iron."47 This is the same 'Ubaydulliih whose identity was given away
at the Battle of the Khazir by the odor of musk.^48
40 Tabari, Ta'rtkh, I, 3127-28, 3131.
41 Dinawari, Akhbiir aNiwiil, pp. 236-38.
42 Ibid., p. 252.
43 Jiil:ti~, Rasii'il, Il, 31.
44 Ibn Sa'd, Tabaqiit, VI, 27.
45 Ibid., VI, 187.
46 Ibid., VI, 170. It is significant that all three of these examples come from Kufa.
47 Tabari, Ta'rtkh, Il, 439.
48 Dinawari, Akhbiir at-tiwiil, p. 303.