When it comes to Mu’awiya b. Abi Sufyan, he is often described as a rebel (baghi), an open transgressor (fasiq), and an innovator (mubtadi), among other things, with substantial evidence supporting these claims. Such assertions, however, require careful research and a comprehensive understanding of Islamic history. One of the simplest ways to prove the kufr of Mu'awiyah is through the Hadiths of Rasulullah (saw), in which he is reported to have cursed him. These reports are numerous, and we will present some of the key findings from our research.
The Rider, the leader & the follower of the Camel
A famous narration, located in many sources including Shi'i and Sunni Hadiths, state that the Prophet (saw) cursed three individuals, one who was on a camel, another leading the camel, and another following the camel. Al-Bazzar reported it in Kashf al-Astar Vol 1, pg. 63 - 64, H. # 90:
حَدَّثَنَا السَّكَنُ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ، ثنا عَبْدُ الصَّمَدِ، ثنا أَبِي، وثنا حَمَّادُ بْنُ سَلَمَةَ، عَنْ سَعِيدِ بْنِ جُهْمَانَ، عَنْ سَفِينَةَ، أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم كَانَ جَالِسًا فَمَرَّ رَجُلٌ عَلَى بَعِيرٍ، وَبَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ قَائِدٌ وَخَلْفَهُ سَائِقٌ، فَقَالَ: لَعَنَ اللَّهُ الْقَائِدَ وَالسَّائِقَ وَالرَّاكِبَ
Al-Sakan ibn Sa'id narrated to us, saying: 'Abd al-Samad narrated to us, saying: My father narrated to us, and Hammad ibn Salamah narrated to us from Sa'id ibn Juhman from Safinah, who said: The Prophet (SAW) was sitting when a man passed by on a camel, accompanied by two people, one of them was leading the camel and one of them was following from behind. Then the Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: "May Allah curse the rider, the leader and the follower."
Al-Haythami graded this hadith in Majma’ al-Zawaid, Vol 1, pg. 148 Hadith # 437 and said:
رواه البزار ورجاله ثقات.
Narrated by al-Bazzar and his men are thuqat (authentic).
This narration mentions that the Prophet (saw) cursed three individuals, but their names are not mentioned in the hadith. So, who are they? Another chain of transmission through Safina reveals the names of these individuals, and this can be found in al-Baladhuri's Ansab al-Ashraf, Vol. 5, pg. 136:
حدثنا خَلَف حدثنا عبد الوارث بن سعيد بن جُمهان عن سفينة مولى أمّ سَلَمَة أنّ النبي كان جالساً فمرّ أبو سفيان على بعير ومعه معاوية وأخ له ، أحدهما يقود البعير والآخر يسوقه ، فقال رسول الله ﷺ : لعن الله الحامل و المحمول والقائد والسائق
Narrated Khalaf from Abd al-Warith b. Sa'id b. Jumhan from Safina, the servant of Umm Salama (AS), who said: The Prophet (SAW) was sitting when Abu Sufyan passed by on a camel, accompanied by Mu’awiya and his brother, one of them was leading the camel and one of them was following from behind. Then the Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: "May Allah curse the rider, the leader and the follower."
Comment on the chain of narration: The mention of Abd al-Warith b. Sa’id b. Jumhan in this chain is a mistake, as Sa’id b. Jumhan did not have a child named Abd al-Warith. Rather, it should say ‘Abd al-Warith from Sa’id b. Jumhan’, as evidenced by al-Bazzar’s tradition. This error was likely due to a confusion between the names, as ‘Abd al-Warith here is Abd al-Warith b. Sa’id b. Dhakwan (Thiqah Imam). This is attested by the fact that ‘Abd al-Warith b. Sa’id narrates from Sa’id b. Jumhan, as confirmed by Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani in his Tahdhib al-Tahdhib, Vol. 1, pg. 626, where he also mentions that Ibn Ma’in, Ibn Uday, al-Sijastani, al-Nisai, Ibn Hibban and others considered him reliable. Hence he concludes him to be Saduq in his Taqrib al-Tahdhib, pg. 375.
Imam al-Hasan (as) has also repeated this well-known quotation of the Prophet (saw) in one of his sermons in Kufa, recorded by al-Tabarani's in his famed Mu'jam al-Kabir (vol. 3, pg. 71, H. 2698):
حَدَّثَنَا زَكَرِيَّا بْنُ يَحْيَى السَّاجِيُّ، ثنا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ بَشَّارٍ بُنْدَارٌ، ثنا عَبْدُ الْمَلِكِ بْنُ الصَّبَّاحِ الْمِسْمَعِيُّ، ثنا عِمْرَانُ بْنُ حُدَيْرٍ، أَظُنُّهُ عَنْ أَبِي مِجْلَزٍ وَعَنْ أَبِي مِجْلَزٍ قَالَ: قَالَ عَمْرٌو وَالْمُغِيرَةُ بْنُ شُعْبَةَ لِمُعَاوِيَةَ: إِنَّ الْحَسَنَ بْنَ عَلِيٍّ رَجُلٌ عَيي، وَإِنَّ لَهُ كَلَامًا وَرَأْيًا، وَإِنَّا قَدْ عَلمْنَا كَلَامَهُ فَنَتَكَلَّمُ كَلَامَهُ فَلا يَجِد كَلَامًا. قَالَ: لَا تَفْعَلُوا. فَأَبَوْا عَلَيْهِ، فَصَعِدَ عَمْرٌو الْمِنْبَرَ، فَذَكَرَ علِيًا وَوَقَعَ فِيهِ، ثُمَّ صَعِدَ الْمُغِيرَةُ بْنُ شُعبَةَ، فَحَمِدَ اللَّهَ وَأَثْنَى عَلَيْه، ثُمَ وَقَعَ فِي عَلِيٍّ. ثُمَّ قِيلَ لِلْحَسَن بْنِ عَلِيّ: اصْعَدْ. فَقَالَ: لَا أَصْعَدُ وَلَا أَتَكَلَّمُ حَتَّى تُعْطُونِي إِنْ قُلْتُ حَقًا أَنْ تُصَدِقُونِي، وَإِنْ قُلْتُ بَاطِلًا أَنْ تُكَذِّبونِي. فَأَعْطَوْهُ، فَصَعِدَ الْمِنْبَرَ، فَحَمِدَ اللَهَ وَأَثْنَى عَلَيْهِ، فَقَالَ: أَنْشُدُكَمَا بِاللَّهِ يَا عَمْرُو وَيَا مُغِيرَةُ، أَتَعْلَمَانِ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ - صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - قَالَ: " لَعَنَ اللَّهُ السَّابِقَ وَالرَّاكِبَ " أَحَدُهُمَا فُلَانٌ؟ قَالَا: اللَّهُمَّ بَلَى. قَالَ: أَنْشُدُكَ بِاللَّهِ يَا مُعَاوِيَةُ وَيَا مُغِيرَةُ، أَتَعْلَمَانِ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ - صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - لَعَنَ عَمْرا بِكُلِّ قَافِيَةٍ قَالَهَا لَعْنَةً؟ قَالَا: اللَّهُمَّ بَلَى. قَالَ: أَنْشُدُكَ بِاللَّهِ يَا عَمْرُو وَيَا مُعَاوِيَةُ بْنَ أَبِي سُفْيَانَ، أَتَعْلَمَانِ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ - صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - لَعَنَ قَوْم هَذَا؟ قَالَا: بَلَى. قَالَ الْحَسَنُ: فَإِنِّي أَحْمَدُ اللَّهَ الَّذِي وَقَعْتُمْ فِيمَنْ تَبَرَأَ مِنْ هذَا، قَالَ، وَذَكَرَ الْحَدِيثَ.
Zakariyya b. Yahya al-Saji narrated to us, Muhammad b. Bashshar Bundar narrated to us, Abdul Malik b. al-Sabbah al-Misma‘i narrated to us, Imran b. Hudayr narrated to us, from Abu Mijlaz: Amr and al-Mughira b. Shu'ba said to Mu'awiyah: "Al-Hasan b. Ali is a man of few words, but he possesses eloquence and wisdom. We are aware of his style of speech, so if we speak in his manner, he will have no words left to respond with." Mu'awiyah replied, "Do not do so." However, they refused to heed his advice.
Amr ascended the pulpit and criticized Ali, speaking against him. Then al-Mughira b. Shu'ba ascended, praised Allah, glorified Him, and then criticized Ali as well. It was then said to Al-Hasan b. Ali, "Go up and speak." He replied, "I will not ascend nor will I speak until you pledge to me that if I speak the truth, you will confirm it, and if I speak falsehood, you will refute it." They agreed, so he ascended the pulpit, praised Allah, and glorified Him, and then said: "I ask you by Allah, O Amr and O al-Mughira, do you know that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said, 'May Allah curse the rider and the one leading the animal'? One of them is so-and-so."
They said, "By Allah, yes." He continued, "I ask you by Allah, O Mu'awiyah and O al-Mughira, do you know that the Messenger of Allah (saw) cursed Amr with every verse of poetry he composed, with a specific curse?" They said, "By Allah, yes." He then said, "I ask you by Allah, O Amr and O Mu'awiyah b. Abi Sufyan, do you know that the Messenger of Allah (saw) cursed the people of this man (Mu'awiyah)?" They said, "Yes." Al-Hasan then said, "I praise Allah, who has made you acknowledge that you are among those from whom this man (the Prophet) disassociated himself."
Al-Haythami again has stated all the narrators are trustworthy in his Majma' al-Zawa'id, (vol. 7, pg. 352, H. 12075). This report as said, is widely narrated and can be found in the Shi'a corpus too such as in Shaykh al-Saduq's (may Allah sanctify his soul) al-Khisal, as well as in Shaykh al-Kulayni's (may Allah have mercy on him) al-Kafi, vol. 8.
Cursed is Mu'awiya and his father
Ibn Sa’ad records in his Tabaqat Ibn Sa’ad. Vol 9, pg. 77, Hadith # 3772:
عاصم أبو نصر بن عاصم الليثى قال : أُخبرتُ عن أبي مالك كثير بن يحيى البصري قال : حدثنا غسان بن مضر قال : حدثنا سعيد بن يزيد عن نصر بن عاصم الليثى ، عن أبيه قال : دخلتُ مسجد رسول الله ، ﷺ ، وأصحاب النبي ، يقولون : نعوذ بالله من غضب الله وغضب رسوله ! قلت : ما هذا ! قالوا : معاوية مرّ قبيل آخذ بيد أبيه ورسول الله ﷺ على المنبر يخرجان من المسجد ، فقال رسول الله ﷺ فيهما قولاً
'Asim Abu Nasr b. 'Asim al-Lathy said: Abi Malik Kathir b. Yahya al-Basri said: Narrated to us Ghassan b. Madhar from Sa'eed b. Yazid from Nasr b. Asim Al-Laythi from his father who said: I entered in the mosque of Rasulullah (s) and the companions of the Prophet (s) were saying: "We seek refuge with Allah (swt) from the wrath of Allah (swt) and wrath of His Messenger (s)," I asked: "What is the matter?". They said: "Mu’awiyah walked out of the mosque holding the hand of his father walking in front of him, while Rasulullah (s) was preaching on the pulpit, then Rasulullah (s) said something about them.
This hadith mentions that the Prophet (s) said something concerning Mu'awiya and his father, but it does not specify what was said. This omission is unsurprising, as the censorship of such hadith is a known practice among certain Sunni scholars. Fortunately, the uncensored version can be found in another source, which reveals the content of the hadith and sheds light on why it was censored.
This can be read from Al-Mu'jam al-Kabir Vol 17, pg. 176, Hadith # 465:
وحدثنا عبد الرحمن بن الحسين العابوري التستري ، ثنا عقبة بن سنان الدارع قالا : ثنا غسان بن مضر ، عن سعيد بن يزيد أبي مسلمة ، عن نصر بن عاصم الليثي ، عن أبيه ، قال وعن نصر بن عاصم الليثي عن أبيه قال: دخلت مسجد المدينة، فإذا الناس يقولون: نعوذ بالله غضب الله وغضب ،رسوله، قال: قلت: ماذا؟ قالوا: كان رسول الله يخطب على منبره، فقام رجل، فأخذ بيد ابنه، فأخرجه من المسجد، فقال رسول الله : لعن الله القائد لهذه الأمة من فلان ذى الأستاه.
Abdul Rahman b. Al-Husayn Al-‘Aburi Al-Tastari narrated to us, ‘Uqbah b. Sinan Al-Dari’ narrated to us, both saying: Ghassan b. Mudar narrated to us, from Sa‘id b. Yazid Abu Muslimah, from Nasr b. ‘Asim Al-Laythi, from his father: "I entered the mosque of Medina and found the people saying, 'We seek refuge with Allah from the anger of Allah and His Messenger.' I asked, 'What is the matter?' They said, 'Rasulullah (saw) was delivering a sermon on his pulpit when a man stood up, took his son by the hand, and led him out of the mosque. Rasulullah (saw) then said: May Allah curse the leader of this nation who is so-and-so with large buttocks."
Al-Haythami authenticated this report in Majma’ al-Zawa'id, Vol 5, pg. 313 - 314, Hadith # 9240. Here, the Prophet (saw) curses the man with big buttocks, this is undoubtley referring to Mu'awiyah, as he famously was known for having large buttcocks.
In another similar narration, we find the following in Musnad al-Ruyani. Vol 1, pg. 139, Hadith # 335, graded with a reliable chain:
نا محمد بن إسحاق، أنا إسحاق بن إبراهيم، نا سلمة، حدثني محمد بن إسحاق، عن إبراهيم بن البراء بن عازب، عن أبيه، قال : مر أبو سفيان بن حرب برسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ومعاوية خلفه ورسول الله في قبة، وكان معاوية رجلا مستها، فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : اللهم عليك بصاحب الأسته
Narrated to us Muhammad b. Ishaq from Ishaq b. Ibrahim from Salama from Muhammad b. Ishaq from Ibrahim b. Al-Baraa b. Azib from his father who said: Abu Sufyan b. Harb walked away from Rasullulah (s) and Mu’awiyah after him, while Rasulullah (s) was on the pulpit, and Mu’awiya was a man with big buttocks, then Rasulullah (s) said: ‘Oh Allah (swt)! Curse the owner of the big buttocks.’
The testimony of Ammar b. Yasir
Ammar b. Yasir (s), decades later during the battle of Siffin opined that Mu’awyiah was never a Muslim. This was recorded in Tarikh Ibn Abi Khaythama, Vol. 2 pg. 97, Hadith # 4519:
حَدَّثَنَا أبي ، قال : حَدَّثَنا جَرِير ، عَنِ الأَعْمَش ، عن مُنْذِرٍ الثَّوْرِيّ ، عن سَعْد بن حُذَيْفَة ، قال : قال عَمَّار : والله ما أَسْلَموا ولَكِنَّهُم اسْتَسْلَمُوا وأسرُّوا الْكُفْر حَتَّى وجدوا عليه أَعْوَانًا فأَظْهَروه
My father narrated to us, saying: Jarir narrated to us, from Al-A‘mash, from Mundhir Al-Thawri, from Sa‘d b. Hudhayfah, who said that Ammar said: "By Allah, they did not truly accept Islam, but rather they outwardly submitted, while concealing disbelief in their hearts until they found supporters for it, and then they revealed it."
This report has another chain that was referenced by al-Haythami in Majma’ al-Zawa'id Vol. 1 pg. 148 - 149, Hadith # 439:
وعن سعد بن حذيفة قال : قال عمار بن ياسر يوم صفين وذكر أمرهم وأمر الصلح فقال : والله ما أسلموا ولكن استسلموا وأسروا الكفر فلما رأوا عليه أعوانا أظهروه
Sa’ad b. Hudayfa said: ‘On the day of Siffin Ammar b. Yasir mentioned them and mentioned the peace treaty and said: ‘By Allah they didn’t convert to Islam but they surrendered and veiled disbelief until they found supports so they unveiled it’
However, while al-Tabarani was quoted as the original source for this reference, in today's editions we do not find this hadith in any of al-Tabarani's works, meaning the Sunni Scholars removed this narration entirely from his books.
Our opponents may point out that the chain of this hadith has Sa’ad b. Hudhayfa b. al-Yaman (ra), and accuse him of being unknown (maj'hul). However, this is false.
Ibn Sa’ad recorded his bio in Tabaqat Ibn Sa’ad Vol 6, pg. 240, Bio # 2202, as did al-Bukhari in al-Tarikh al-Kabir Vol 5 pg. 34, Bio # 4787, as did Ibn Abi Hatim in al-Jarh wa al-Ta’dil Vol 4, pg. 82, Bio # 5471, and he was authenticated by Ibn Hibban in Kitab al-Thiqat Vol 2, pg. 179, Bio # 1383.
Furthermore, we read in al-Mustadrak ala al-Sahihain Vol 4, pg. 548, Hadith # 4535 a hadith that contains him in the chain. Al-Hakim graded the hadith Sahih and al-Dhahabi agreed in his talkhis, meaning Sa’ad is Thiqah according to both, and Allah knows best.
Hassan b. Farhan al-Maliki also did an analysis of the report in ‘Bahth fi Islam Mu’awyia’ pg. 64 - 65 and has stated that the chain is Sahih.
Comments