Prior to the First Muslim Civil War (656–661), Zufar settled in Basra.[2] At the Battle of the Camel in November 656, he fought alongside Aisha's forces and commanded troops from the Banu 'Amir.[2] He also participated in the Battle of Siffin in 657.[2] Sometime later during the war, he migrated to Upper Mesopotamia (al-Jazira).[2] During the reign of Umayyad caliph, Yazid I (680–683), Zufar served as a commander in Muslim ibn Uqba's army in its 683 campaign to quash a rebellion in the Hejaz; the rebellion was in support of Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr's bid for the caliphate.[2] Zufar is also said to have met with Ibn al-Zubayr in the Hejaz at that time.[2]