"We have named him : Muawiyah (سَمَّيْنَاهُ : مُعَاوِيَةُ)"
Alhamdulillah – all Praises and thanks to Allah – after eight years of
Honeymoon * with the wifey, Allah had granted us with our very first child, a
baby boy, on 16th February 2018.
* Our optimistic “glass-is-half-full" terminology as opposed to the
common term of “trying” or “waiting”
After much deliberation and discussion which began even prior to his
birth, we had decided to name him Muawiyah, after one of the great leaders
amongst the companions of The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, Muawiyah bin Abi Sufyan bin Harb معاوية بن
أبي سفيان بن حرب (radhiAllahu anhuma).
It is worth noting that there are other companions who are also named
Muawiyah – another notable one being Muawiyah Al-Hakam as-Sulami, who narrated
the famous hadith on his slave girl who was asked “where is Allah?” https://sunnah.com/muslim/5/39.
So, who is Muawiyah bin Abi Sufyan?
He was amongst the few companions who was literate throughout the
lifetime of the Prophet ﷺ, and due to his trustworthiness, intelligence and loyalty, he was
hence selected to be one of the official scribers of the Qur’an throughout the
lifetime of the Prophet : and mind you, the monumental task of being a scriber
for the Final Revelation of Allah to mankind until the Day of Judgment, is nothing
to scoff at. The Prophet himself was illiterate (could not read or write) just
as many of his other companions, hence had to entrust his scribers to
truthfully put the Qur’an into written form, acknowledging this will layout the
foundations and blueprint that will be preserved as a guidance for mankind.
Muawiyah was also the companion who narrated this famous hadith narrated
by Al-Bukhari and Muslim – which was a source of inspiration to me when I first
learnt the sunnah, and continues to be inspirational to me till this day. Muawiyah
narrated that the Prophet said,
مَنْ
يُرِدِ اللَّهُ بِهِ خَيْرًا يُفَقِّهْهُ فِي الدِّينِ،
“Whomsoever Allah Wishes good
for, He grants him an understanding of the religion;
وَإِنَّمَا
أَنَا قَاسِمٌ وَيُعْطِي اللَّهُ،
I am only a distributor – the One
who grants (the understanding) is Allah
وَلَنْ
يَزَالَ أَمْرُ هَذِهِ الأُمَّةِ مُسْتَقِيمًا حَتَّى تَقُومَ السَّاعَةُ، أَوْ
حَتَّى يَأْتِيَ أَمْرُ اللَّهِ
And there will never cease to be from my ummah (my nation) – a group of
people who remain upright upon the Straight Path, until the Day of Judgment –
or until the Order of Allah comes” https://sunnah.com/bukhari/96/43
The Prophet ﷺ would supplicate and make Du’aa to Allah for
Muawiyah:
" قَالَ
لِمُعَاوِيَةَ "اللَّهُمَّ اجْعَلْهُ هَادِيًا مَهْدِيًّا وَاهْدِ
بِهِ
“O Allah, make him a guide (i.e. a person who guides
others), one who is rightly guided, and guide (others) by him." (Narrated
by At-Tirmidzi who graded it Hassan https://sunnah.com/urn/737270)
This du’aa in itself is so inspiring in its vision and meaning : And as we all know, the blessed supplication
of the Prophet is accepted. I
always make this du’aa to my son.
What makes Muawiyah bin Abi Sufyan a “guide”? Beyond the qualities stated above, Muawiyah
was a very capable leader: quick-witted, wise, and was very skilled in the art
of leadership and managing conflict.
He was one of the few leaders amongst the companions who held the
position of leadership for a very long duration. He was the only person who had
maintained his position of leadership as governor / leader of state throughout
the caliphate of all four Khulafa Ar-Rasyidin – Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, even
Ali : inspite of the civil war that ensued, he was never ‘fired’ from office.
Which is interesting when you put things into perspective of politics today :
how many political leaders today do you know of maintained their political
leadership throughout four offices of rule, and not be affected by ‘cabinet
reshuffling’ due to any miscellaneous reasons?
How many ministers in Malaysia’s cabinet today are still in office since
previous two prime ministers? Food for thought. No political agendas here.
For a person to maintain that position for so many different offices –
in spite of the internal conflict and turmoil that occurred throughout the
years – showcases an empowerment bestowed to an individual and highlights his
competency, trust and leadership qualities of that individual.
The peak of his leadership capability truly manifest himself when when
Hassan bin Ali bin Abi Talib gave up his position of Caliphate, pledged
Muawiyah bin Abi Sufyan as the legitimate Khalifah – and the entire Muslim
nation subsequently agreed to based on consensus. Immediately after Hassan’s
actions, the civil war had ended between the Muslims and all had united under
one banner of leadership. This is exactly what was prophesized by the Prophet
Muhammad ﷺ
regarding Hassan,
ابْنِي
هَذَا سَيِّدٌ وَلَعَلَّ اللَّهَ أَنْ يُصْلِحَ بِهِ بَيْنَ فِئَتَيْنِ مِنَ
الْمُسْلِمِينَ
“This (grand) son of mine is a Leader, and Perhaps – Allah may make
peace and unite two groups of Muslims through him” (Narrated by Al-Bukhari https://sunnah.com/bukhari/92/56)
Little known to many people, Muawiyah ruled as Khalifah for twenty years:
and within those twenty years, there was peace and tranqullity throughout the
Muslim nation : not a single event of civil war or internal strife – in spite
of the massive turmoil that existed prior to his Caliphate.
Imam Ibnu Kathir – the famous commentator (mufassir) of the Qur’an
– said in his book Al-Bidayah wan-Nihayah :
“All the Muslims unanimously agreed to swear allegince to
him in 41 AH, and he remained in charge throughout this period until the year
in which he died. Throughout this period Jihaad was ongoing in the lands of the
enemies, and the Word of Allah remained supreme, and booty was coming to him
from the ends of the earth; the Muslims were at ease, enjoying justice,
tolerance, and goodwill. He was forbearing, dignified, a leader, prominent
among people, noble, just, and a man of chivalry. He was a man of good conduct,
forgiving, tolerant and overlooking the mistakes of others - may Allah have
mercy upon him.” (al-Bidaayah wan-Nihaayah, 8/118)
There are also
authentic narrations indicating that the Prophet guaranteed Muawiyah to be amongst
the people of Paradise: Muawiyah was the very first khalifah to advane the
nation to arrange the very first naval expedition (i.e. by sea) – hence being
the leader responsible for opening the door for his ummah to be the People of
Paradise. The Prophet said,
أَوَّلُ
جَيْشٍ مِنْ أُمَّتِي يَغْزُونَ الْبَحْرَ قَدْ أَوْجَبُوا
“Paradise is granted to
the first batch of followers who will undertake a naval expedition.” (Narrated
by Al-Bukhari https://sunnah.com/bukhari/56/137)
And it is further explained by Anas bin Malik that - فَرَكِبَتِ الْبَحْرَ زَمَانَ مُعَاوِيَةَ - this very first naval expedition was undertaken
during the rule of Muawiyah (Narrated by Al-Bukhari https://sunnah.com/bukhari/79/56).
The famous Shafi’I scholar Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani, in his book
Fathul-Bari (the commentary of Sahih Al-Bukhari) mentioned :
“Muhallab said : In this hadith there is a virtue of Muawiyah,
because he was the first to invade the sea”.
Having said all that, Muawiyah bin Abi Sufyan is also amongst one of the
most misunderstood – and often distorted – figures in history. Many enemies of
Islam have tried to undermine him, slander and defame him – especially the shi’ah,
and other poitical factions with hidden agendas – spreading conspiracies and
fabricating slander about Muawiyah’s so-called lust for power and manipulative skill
at playing the “Game of Thrones”. These filthy fabrications exist in books and
continues to poison the minds of people throughout the internet today; and
unfortunately many people – including Muslims out of their ignorance in recognizing
true authentic source of information in history – also fall victim to these
conclusions. And unfortunately as well – in our own high school textbooks has
some negative writings about him (which I was told was subsequently
removed/corrected).
The truth is, Muawiyah is such an important figure that he has become
the criterion to distinguish the correctness of a person’s faith : whether he
is indeed amongst the Ahlus Sunnah (i.e. the People of the Sunnah).
A person asked the great tabi’I scholar, Abdullah Ibn
al-Mubarak: who is better, Muawiyah bin Abi Sufyan or Khalifah Umar Bin Abdul
Aziz ?
He answered :
و الله إن الغبار الذي دخل في أنف
معاوية مع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم أفضل من عمر بألف مرة
"I swear by Allah, the dust that entered the nose of Muawiyah
in the company of the Prophet ﷺ is better than Umar Bin Abdul Aziz, a
thousand times (of Umar)! " (البداية والنهاية لابن كثير 11/450)
An attack to Muawiyah is akin to an attack to the companions of the
Prophet ﷺ as
a whole,
قال عبد الله بن المبارك رحمه الله
: معاوية عندنا محنة ، فمن رأيناه ينظر إليه شزراً اتهمناه على القوم ، يعني
الصحابة (البداية والنهاية (8/139))
Abdullah bin Al-Mubarak said :
“Muawiyah is a test for us: who looks
towards him in disregard, we accuse him of having a misguided opinion in the
Companions of the Prophet (as a whole)” – Al-Bidayah Wan-Nihayah, 139/8
And an attack to the companions is basically to against the Ahlus Sunnah as it is a precursor to kufr (disbelief), because
Allah had promised – GUARANTEED – the companions with Paradise :
وَالسَّابِقُونَ
الْأَوَّلُونَ مِنَ الْمُهَاجِرِينَ وَالْأَنْصَارِ وَالَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوهُمْ
بِإِحْسَانٍ رَضِيَ اللَّـهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُوا عَنْهُ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُمْ جَنَّاتٍ
تَجْرِي تَحْتَهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَدًا ۚ ذَٰلِكَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ
“And those who were first and foremost,
from amongst the Muhajirun (Emigrants) and Ansar (helpers in the cause of the
Prophet) – and those who follow them in goodness : Allah is Pleased with them,
and they were Pleased with Him.
And He has prepared for them Paradise,
for which rivers flow beneath – they reside therein forever.
That is the Great Success” (Qur’an,
surah At-Taubah, verse 100)
Suffice to say, we pray Allah opens our hearts to learn the true history
of His righteous slaves, and that we harbor no ill-feelings or hatred against
any companion of the Prophet; to be amongst those whom Allah says :
وَالَّذِينَ جَاءُوا
مِنْ بَعْدِهِمْ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا اغْفِرْ لَنَا وَلِإِخْوَانِنَا الَّذِينَ
سَبَقُونَا بِالْإِيمَانِ وَلَا تَجْعَلْ فِي قُلُوبِنَا غِلًّا لِلَّذِينَ
آمَنُوا رَبَّنَا إِنَّكَ رَءُوفٌ رَحِيمٌ
“And those who came after them (the
companions), they say :
Oh Our Lord! Please forgive us and our
brothers who have preceded us in faith.
And DO NOT place in our hearts any
hatred or spite against those people of faith, oh our Lord!
You are the Most Kind, Most Merciful”
(Surah Al-Hasyr, verse 10)
And with all that in mind, we pray that Allah grants us a healthy,
righteous son in Muawiyah bin Faisal – May Allah endow him with the positive
traits of Muawiyah bin Abi Sufyan. Allahumma barik.
اللَّهُمَّ اجْعَلْهُ هَادِيًا
مَهْدِيًّا وَاهْدِ بِهِ
“O Allah,
make him a guiding one (i.e. a person who guides others), one who is rightly
guided, and guide (others) by him.”
Amin, ya Rabb..
