Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (3/131)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

—the love of Muʿāwiyah is an obligation upon My servants.’

Ibn ʿUmar transmits, traced back to the Prophet: ‘O Muʿāwiyah, you are of me and I am of you; you shall jostle with me at the gate of Paradise.’

These ḥadiths are patently fabricated—Allah knows best (1).

Nevertheless, a number of weak—yet tolerable—reports have been circulated regarding Muʿāwiyah’s merits. Among them:

Fudayl ibn Marzūq, on the authority of an unnamed man, from Anas, traced back to the Prophet: ‘Leave to me my Companions and my in-laws’ (2).

Ahmad records in his Musnad: Rawḥ narrated to us; Abū Umayyah ʿAmr ibn Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd narrated to us; my grandfather narrated to us that Muʿāwiyah once took the idāwah (water-skin) and followed the Messenger of Allah ﷺ with it. The Prophet then raised his head toward him and said, ‘O Muʿāwiyah, if you are ever entrusted with authority, fear Allah and act justly.’

‘I never stopped thinking that I would be tested with office because of the Messenger of Allah’s ﷺ statement—until I was actually tested with it’ (3).

This report has other comparable chains: Yahyā ibn Abī Zāʾidah, from Ismāʿīl ibn Ibrāhīm ibn Muhājir, from ʿAbd al-Malik ibn ʿUmayr, relates that Muʿāwiyah said, ‘By Allah, nothing impelled me to the caliphate except the Prophet’s ﷺ words to me: “O Muʿāwiyah, if you come to rule, then excel in goodness.”’

Ibn Muhājir is weak, and the report is mursal (lacking a Companion in the chain).

(1) Most of these reports are listed by al-Shawkani in Al-Fawaid al-Majmuʿa fi al-Ahadith al-Mawduʿa, pp. 403-407. After citing one of them, Ibn Kathir remarks in Al-Bidaya, 8/120: “Ibn ʿAsakir then reproduced many fabricated hadiths; it is astonishing that, despite his vast learning and memorisation, he did not flag their odd content and obvious weakness.” (2) The chain is weak because one of the transmitters is unknown. (3) All the transmitters are reliable; the report is also found in the Musnad, 4/101. Cf. Al-Bidaya, 8/123.

مُعَاوِيَةَ فَرْضٌ عَلَى عِبَادِي) . ابْنُ عُمَرَ، مَرْفُوعاً: (يَا مُعَاوِيَةُ؛ أَنْتَ مِنِّي وَأَنَا مِنْكَ، لَتُزَاحِمَنِّي عَلَى بَابِ الجَنَّةِ) . فَهَذِهِ الأَحَادِيْثُ ظَاهِرَةُ الوَضْعِ - وَاللهُ أَعْلَمُ - (١) . وَيُرْوَى فِي فَضَائِلِ مُعَاوِيَةَ أَشْيَاءُ ضَعِيْفَةٌ تُحْتَمَلُ، مِنْهَا: فُضَيْلُ بنُ مَرْزُوْقٍ: عَنْ رَجُلٍ، عَنْ أَنَسٍ مَرْفُوعاً: (دَعُوا لِي أَصْحَابِي وَأَصْهَارِي (٢)) . أَحْمَدُ فِي (المُسْنَدِ) : حَدَّثَنَا رَوْحٌ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو أُمَيَّةَ عَمْرُو بنُ يَحْيَى بنِ سَعِيْدٍ، حَدَّثَنَا جَدِّي: أَنَّ مُعَاوِيَةَ أَخَذَ الإِدَاوَةَ، وَتَبِعَ بِهَا رَسُوْلَ اللهِ ﷺ فَرَفَعَ رَأْسَهُ إِلَيْهِ، وَقَالَ: (يَا مُعَاوِيَةَ؛ إِنْ وُلِّيْتَ أَمْراً، فَاتَّقِ اللهَ، وَاعْدِلْ) . فَمَا زِلْتُ أَظُنُّ أَنِّي مُبْتَلَىً بِعَمَلٍ لِقَوْلِ رَسُوْلِ اللهِ ﷺ حَتَّى ابْتُلِيْتُ (٣) . وَلِهَذَا طُرُقٌ مُقَارِبَةٌ: يَحْيَى بنُ أَبِي زَائِدَةَ: عَنْ إِسْمَاعِيْلَ بنِ إِبْرَاهِيْمَ بنِ مُهَاجَرٍ، عَنْ عَبْدِ المَلِكِ بنِ عُمَيْرٍ: قَالَ مُعَاوِيَةُ: وَاللهِ مَا حَمَلَنِي عَلَى الخِلاَفَةِ إِلاَّ قَوْلُ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ لِي: (يَا مُعَاوِيَةُ؛ إِنْ مَلَكْتَ، فَأَحْسِنْ) . ابْنُ مُهَاجَرٍ ضَعِيْفٌ، وَالخَبَرُ مُرْسَلٌ.

(١) وقد ذكر أكثر هذه الأحاديث: الشوكاني في " الفوائد المجموعة في الأحاديث الموضوعة " في الصفحة ٤٠٣ - ٤٠٧، وقال الحافظ ابن كثير في " البداية " ٨ / ١٢٠ بعد أن ذكر حديثا منها: وقد أورد ابن عساكر بعد هذا أحاديث كثيرة موضوعة، والعجب منه مع حفظه واطلاعه كيف لا ينبه عليها وعلى نكارتها وضعف حالها. (٢) إسناده ضعيف لجهالة الرجل. (٣) رجاله ثقات، وهو في " المسند " ٤ / ١٠١، وانظر " البداية " ٨ / ١٢٣.