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| ==Shi'a view of Muˤāwiyya== | ==Shi'a view of Muˤāwiyya== | ||
| {{main|Shi'a view of Muawiyah I}} | |||
| The Shi'a have lost no opportunity to vilify Muˤāwiyya. His supposed conversion to Islam before the conquest of Mecca is dismissed as a fable, or mere hypocrisy. He is said to have opposed ˤAlī, the rightful ], out of sheer greed for power and wealth. His reign opened the door to unparalleled disaster, marked by persecution of ˤAlī and his followers, resulting in ] coming into power, shortly followed by the ]. He is said to have killed many of Muhammad's companions (Sahaba), either in battle or by poison, due to his lust for power. | The Shi'a have lost no opportunity to vilify Muˤāwiyya. His supposed conversion to Islam before the conquest of Mecca is dismissed as a fable, or mere hypocrisy. He is said to have opposed ˤAlī, the rightful ], out of sheer greed for power and wealth. His reign opened the door to unparalleled disaster, marked by persecution of ˤAlī and his followers, resulting in ] coming into power, shortly followed by the ]. He is said to have killed many of Muhammad's companions (Sahaba), either in battle or by poison, due to his lust for power. | ||
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Muˤāwiyya I, or Muˤāwiyya ibn Abī-Sufyān (Template:Lang-ar).
(602 - May 6, 680) was the fifth Muslim Caliph and founder of the Umayyad Dynasty of Islamic caliphs. He fought against the fourth caliph, ˤAlī (Muhammad's son-in-law), seized Egypt, and assumed the Caliphate after ˤAlī's assassination in 661. He reigned from 661 to 680.
Because of his character and actions, in particular going to war with ˤAlī, whom the Shia Muslims believe was Muhammad's true successor (see Succession to Muhammad), he has been hated and reviled by generations of Shi'a.
Early Life
Muˤāwiyya was born (c. 602) into a powerful clan, (Banū ˤAbd-Šams), of the tribe of the Quraysh. The Quraysh controlled the city of Mecca, in what is now northwestern Saudi Arabia, and the Banū ˤAbd-Šams were among the most influential of its citizens. Mu'awiyah's father was Abu Sufiyan ibn Harb and mother was Hind bint Utbah.
Many of the ˤAbd-Šams opposed and persecuted the Islamic prophet Muhammad when he was preaching his new faith in Mecca, and joined in the armed battles that followed the flight of Muhammad and his followers to Medina. Muˤāwiyya is said to have accepted Islam in defiance of his relatives, but hid his conversion and stayed in Mecca rather than immigrate to Medina. (The Shi'a dispute this.) In 630 CE, Muhammad and his followers conquered Mecca, and most of the Meccans, including the ˤAbd-Šams, formally submitted to Muhammad and to Islam.
Muhammad was merciful to his former opponents, letting them join his armies and hold important posts in the expanding Islamic empire. Muˤāwiyya became one of Muhammad's scribes. After Muhammad's death in 632, he served in the Islamic army sent against the Byzantine forces in present-day Syria. He served with his brother Yazid, who was appointed governor of the newly conquered province.
Governor of Syria
Upon the death of Yazid in 640, Muˤāwiyya was appointed Governor of Syria by Caliph 'Umar and gradually gained mastery over the other areas of Syria, instilling remarkable personal loyalty among his troops and the people of the region. By 647, Muˤāwiyya had built a Syrian army strong enough to repel a Byzantine attack and, in subsequent years, to take the offensive against the Byzantines in campaigns that resulted in the capture of Cyprus (649) and Rhodes (654) and a devastating defeat of the Byzantine navy off the coast of Lycia (655). At the same time, Muˤāwiyya periodically dispatched land expeditions into Anatolia.
All these campaigns came to a halt with the accession of ˤAlī to the Caliphate, when a new and decisive phase of Muˤāwiyya career began.
Conflict with Ali
As a kinsman of the slain caliph 'Uthman, Muˤāwiyya bore the duty of revenge. Because ˤAlī did not apprehend and punish 'Uthman's murderers, Muˤāwiyya regarded him as an accomplice to the murder and refused to acknowledge his caliphate. However, he did not participate in the Rebellion of Aisha (the prophet's widow), Talha and Zubair who went to war against ˤAlī in the Battle of the Camel. ˤAlī was victorious and pardoned Aisha, had her escorted to Medina and allocated her a pension.
ˤAlī then turned towards Syria, which was in open revolt under her governor. He marched to the Euphrates and engaged Muˤāwiyya's troops at the famous Battle of Siffin (657). There Muˤāwiyya's guile turned near defeat into a truce. Resorting to a strategy that played upon the religious sensibilities of 'Ali's forces, he ordered his troops to hoist copies of the Qur'an on their lances, as a request for religious arbitration. He thus persuaded the enemy to enter into negotiations that ultimately cast doubt on the legitimacy of ˤAlī's caliphate and alienated a sizable number of his supporters. When these former supporters - the Kharijites - rose in rebellion against ˤAlī, Muˤāwiyya took advantage of ˤAlī's difficulties in Iraq to send a force to seize control of Egypt.
When ˤAlī was assassinated in 661, Muˤāwiyya held both Syria and Egypt and, as commander of the largest force in the Muslim Empire, had the strongest claim to the Caliphate. ˤAlī's son Hasan, after initial defiance of Muˤāwiyya, ceased hostilities and retired to Medina, where he lived a quiet private life.
Sunni Muslims claim that Hasan pledged allegiance to Muˤāwiyya. Most Shi'a Muslims say that he never pledged allegiance, merely ceased to advance his claim to the caliphate. This was done out of consideration for the supporters of ˤAlī's family, who had been much reduced during the tumults of ˤAlī's caliphate.
Rule
After his accession to the position of Caliph, Muˤāwiyya governed the geographically and politically disparate Caliphate, which spread from Egypt in the West to Iran in the East, by strengthening the power of his allies in the newly conquered Arab territories. Prominent positions within the emerging governmental structures were held by Christians, some of whom belonged to families that had served in Byzantine governments. The employment of Christians was part of a broader policy of religious tolerance that was necessitated by the presence of large Christian populations in the conquered provinces, especially in Syria itself. This policy also boosted his popularity and solidified Syria as his power base. Muˤāwiyya instituted several Byzantine-style bureaucracies, called diwans, to aid him in the governance and the centralization of the Caliphate and the empire. Early Arabic sources credit two diwans in particular to Muˤāwiyya: the Diwan al-Khatam "Chancellery" and the Barīd "Postal Service", both of which greatly improved communications within the empire.
Muˤāwiyya died May 6, 680. He was succeeded by his son Yazid I, who did not hold power long. Muˤāwiyya had held the expanding empire together by force of his personality, through personal allegiances, in the style of a traditional Arab shaykh. Yazid did not have his father's charisma and was soon deposed by a kinsman.
Legacy
Muˤāwiyya greatly beautified Damascus and developed a court to rival that of the Byzantines. He expanded the frontiers of the empire, reaching the very gates of Constantinople at one point, though failing to hold any territory in Asia Minor. Sunni Muslims credit him with saving the fledgling Muslim nation from post civil war anarchy.
One of Muˤāwiyya's most controversial and enduring legacies was his decision to designate his son as his successor, thereby converting the Caliphate from an elective office to a dynasty. He attempted to preserve the form of the election however, by causing his nobles and the chiefs of the empire to elect and swear allegiance to his son in his own lifetime, a tradition that endured for several succeeding dynasties.
Sunni view of Muˤāwiyya
Most of the early Sunni historians saw his rule, and that of the Umayyad dynasty that followed him, as a descent into mere worldly rule; kingship rather than religious leadership. Few later Sunni historians wholeheartedly defend Muˤāwiyya, but many advocate restraint in critiquing his character and regime, citing his status as a companion of Muhammad.
However, even Sunni scholars who have been critical of Muˤāwiyya do not dispute his right to rule. Sunni clerics and scholars have generally preached submission to authority, even when authority is less than perfect. Sunnis tend to view communal dissension with horror and accept flawed rule as preferable to civil war.
Shi'a view of Muˤāwiyya
Main article: Shi'a view of Muawiyah IThe Shi'a have lost no opportunity to vilify Muˤāwiyya. His supposed conversion to Islam before the conquest of Mecca is dismissed as a fable, or mere hypocrisy. He is said to have opposed ˤAlī, the rightful Caliph, out of sheer greed for power and wealth. His reign opened the door to unparalleled disaster, marked by persecution of ˤAlī and his followers, resulting in Yazid I coming into power, shortly followed by the Battle of Karbala. He is said to have killed many of Muhammad's companions (Sahaba), either in battle or by poison, due to his lust for power.
Shi'a say that Muˤāwiyya's mother, Hind bint Utbah, had relations with four men, and that Abu Sufyan may not have been his father. . They also vilify his mother, charging her with prostitution, infanticide, and cannibalism.
Etymology of the name
Muˤāwiyya's name may also be used as a common noun in the Arabic language, muˤāwiyya, which translates literally to "howling bitch" (i.e., a female canine in heat), derived from the root ˤawā "to howl". For this reason, some critics often make a point of referencing his name's literal meaning as a form of personal attack (insulting plays on prominent public figures' names are not solely a feature of modern times). Nevertheless, the name is not always inherently used as an insult, and some Arabs continue to use the name, presumably without the intention of specifically suggesting that their child is a "bitch in heat".
| Preceded byˤAlī | Caliph 661–680 |
Succeeded byYazid I |
See also
External links
Neutral view
Critical view
- Answering Ansar.org's defence of Mu'awyia bin Hind
- Shianews.com's Exposing Muaweyah, the father of all Wahabis