Abu al-Ward

Majzaʾa ibn al-Kawthar ibn Zufar ibn al-Ḥārith al-Kilābī (Arabic: مَجْزَأَة بن الْكَوْثَر بن زُفَر بن الْحَارٍث الْكِلابِيّ الهَوازِنِيِّ‎‎) (commonly known as Abū al-Ward, also transliterated Abūʾl-Ward) (died 750) was a mid-8th century Umayyad governor of Jund Qinnasrin, a cavalry commander of Caliph Marwan II and later a leader of a rebellion against the Abbasid Caliphate in Syria which aimed to reestablish the Umayyad Caliphate in 750.

Abu al-Ward belonged to the Banu 'Amir ibn Sa'sa' tribe and was a grandson of the tribe's well-known chief, Zufar ibn al-Harith al-Kilabi, who had rebelled against the Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (r. 685–705). During the Third Fitna, Abu al-Ward became a strong supporter of Umayyad caliph Marwan II (r. 744–750). He was appointed the governor of the Jund Qinnasrin (Chalcis) district by Marwan II. In 745, Abu al-Ward was dispatched to the Ghouta oasis to aid the Qaysi governor of Jund Dimashq (Damascus), Zamil ibn Amr, and the city's residents, counter a siege by Ghoutah's Yamani inhabitants led by Yazid ibn Khalid al-Qasri.

Later in 745, Marwan dispatched Abu al-Ward with a large army to suppress a revolt in Jund Filastin (Palestine) by Thabit ibn Nu'aym, the commander of the Umayyad army in Palestine. Thabit reached as far as Tiberias, the capital of Jund al-Urdunn, which he besieged. As Abu al-Ward departed Damascus on his way to Tiberias, word of his coming aid spurred the inhabitants of Tiberias, led by governor Walid ibn Mu'awiyah ibn Marwan, a nephew of the deceased Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik, to break Thabit's siege, oust his army from the vicinity and capture his camp. Abu al-Ward arrived later and pursued Thabit, who had withdrawn to Palestine and assembled his kinsmen and his army forces. In the ensuing battle, Abu al-Ward defeated Thabit's forces, prompting Thabit to flee once more. Three of his sons, Nu'aym, Imran and Bakr, were wounded and captured by Abu al-Ward. They were sent to Marwan who had them treated for their wounds. Thabit was eventually captured and sent to Marwan, who subsequently had him and his sons' limbs chopped off and their bodies hung on the gate of the Umayyad Mosque.

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