Al-Aṣfar , "the Yellow," is an appellation first adopted during the early centuries of Islam by three Yemeni (Qaḥṭān) rebels who claimed to be al-Aṣfar al-Qaḥṭānī . ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Muḥammad b. al-Ashʿath, who belonged to a noble Kindī family settled in Kūfa, was the first to use al-Aṣfar al-Qaḥṭānī as a political and religious slogan. After serving the Umayyads, he eventually rebelled and his revolt came near to overthrowing the Umayyad caliphate. Defeated in 82/701, he died in 85/704. The second of