Global Intifada

One of the many allegations of the Shi’a is that the family of Abu Sufyan (radhi allahu anhum) was, as a whole, a family that outwardly accepted Islam after the conquest of Makkah and secretly plotted to destroy Islam by stealing the Caliphate. They are vilified in the Shi’a narrative for being Hypocrites, with a capital “H”; a group of people who outwardly accepted Islam but remained kuffar and are classified as being in the lowest level of hell. This argument has some severe contradictions that must be exposed.

Firstly, there are a plethora of examples where different family members of religious figures committed heinous acts or kufr through out history. The son of Adam (alayhi salam) killed his brother. The father of Ibrahim (alayhi salam) made idols. The wife of Lut (alayhi salam) was considered to be of the disbelievers. Being from a particular family guarantees that one is neither a Muslim or a Kaffir. The Prophet’s own uncle, Abu Lahab, was guaranteed hellfire by Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) Himself in the Qur’an and explicitly mentioned by name. One of the granddaughters of the Prophet (sallahu alayhi wa sallam) joined the Khwaraj, the group that killed Ali (radhi allahu anhum). Clearly, one’s birth or lineage has no bearing on one’s ability to become Muslim or Kaffir. Perhaps the greatest proof of this is the fact that the Prophet (sallahu alayhi wa sallam) married the daughter of Abu Sufyan and the sister of Mu’awiyah, Umm Habeebah (radhi allahu anhum). This fact alone fully exposes the contradiction in the Shi’a paradigm of faulted families. Remember, even Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) Himself testifies to the purity of the Ahl ul Bayt, which is defined in the Qur’an in the feminine form and the dominant meaning therein is the wives of the Prophet (sallahu alayhi wa sallam).

“And Allah only wishes to remove all abomination from you, you Ahl al-Bayt (People of the House), and to make you pure and spotless.” (33:33)
If the family of Abu Sufyan were really Hypocrites, then why would the Prophet (sallahu alayhi wa sallam) marry a Hypocrite. Coupled with the fact that Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) speaks of the honor and status of the wives of the Prophet (sallahu alayhi wa sallam) and describes them as the mothers of the believers, this would in and of itself exposes the impossibility of the assertion that Abu Sufyan’s children were Hypocrites.

Secondly, assuming for the sake of argument that this paradigm is correct, it still wouldn’t apply to Abu Sufyan and Mu’awiyah (radhi allahu anhum).

Even before he accepted Islam, Abu Sufyan still treated the Prophet (sallahu alayhi wa sallam) with a certain degree of respect. When Abu Jahl slapped Fatima, she complained to Abu Sufyan and he went back with her to Abu Jahl and told her to slap him back and “May Allah make him ugly.” After she slapped him, Abu Jahl said “Has the Manafiyya zeal got hold of Abu Sufyan.” When Fatima reported this incident to the Prophet (sallahu alayhi wa sallam), he said “O Allah , do not forget it for Abu Sufyan!” (al-Baladhuri)

After he accepted Islam, Abu Sufyan distinguished himself in many battles, fighting side by side by the Prophet (sallahu alayhi wasallam). At the Battle of Hunayn, when the rest of the believers had scattered, Abu Sufyan was one of the eight man who stood firmly with the Prophet (sallahu alayhi wa sallam). The Battle of Hunayn was such a significant event that it is one of the few battles explicitly mentioned by Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) in the Qur’an:

“Assuredly Allah did help you in many battle-fields and on the day of Hunain: Behold! your great numbers elated you, but they availed you naught: the land, for all that it is wide, did constrain you, and ye turned back in retreat.” (Qur’an 9:26)

Abu Sufyan later lost an eye fighting in jihad at the conquest of Taif with the Prophet (sallahu alayhi wa sallam). The Prophet (sallahu alayhi wa sallam) told him during the midst of the battle “In exchange for it, you will have an eye in the Garden” which is an indication of his status in the akhirah. Abu Sufyan later lost his other eye at the Battle of Yarmuk (Hind was also present at this battle). Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan, his son, was in the command of one section of the army and Mu’awiyah was his second in command.

Fighting in jihad is a characteristic of the believers, not of the hypocrites who were lazy in fighting for the sake of Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) and came up with many excuses.

“But the Messenger and the believers in his company have carried out jihad with their wealth and lives, and for them there are the good things, and they are the successful. Allah (SWT) has prepared for them gardens beneath which rivers flow where they will live forever. That is the supreme success.” (Surah al-Taubah 9:88-89)

Moreover, we also see that the Prophet (sallahu alayhi wa sallam) appointed Abu Sufyan to the position of governor of Najran, located in south-western Arabia and one source indicates that he was put in charge of the zakat of Ta’if. If Abu Sufyan was a hypocrite, why would the Prophet (sallahu alayhi wa sallam) appoint him to a position that required the highest trust and honor?

Thirdly, even if we again presume that the Shi’a argument is a valid one and Abu Sufyan was a Hypocrite, it does not follow that His hypocrisy passed on to Mu’awiyah whose character was also well established. He was ascribe of the Prophet (sallahu alayhi wa sallam) and recorded both the revelation that descended down from Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) and also the letters of the Prophet (sallahu alayhi wa sallam). Both of these required noble and pure characteristics. We also have narrations of the Prophet (sallahu alayhi wa salam) making du’a for him on several occasions (Tirmidhi, Ibn Hanbal, at-Tabarani) He also used to bring the Prophet (sallahu alayhi wa sallam) water so he could make wudhu and the Prophet (sallahu alayhi wa sallam) gave him a shirt for it, which he later used for his burial. Finally, we have many hadeeth that indicate that Mu’awiyah was guaranteed paradise as well.

All of this goes to show that the argument that all of the Banu Umayya were Hypocrites who were just waiting for the right moment to steal the Caliphate is ludicrous.

Share This