The Khabīr had to be fair...During the crossing he had virtually the authority of a general in wartime.
-Khabīr Ali at Home in Kubayh: A Brief Biography of a 19th Century Caravan Leader, Michael La Rue, African Economic History, No.13, 1984
It should not be thought extraordinary that Khabīr Ali bin Ibrahim’s name is remembered still today. Like Ali, caravan leader of the Darb al-Arba’īn, Khabīr KhairAllah also commanded an army of sorts, a camel cavalry on its death march to the slaughterhouses of Cairo.