Al-Ṭabarānī reports from Ibn ʿAbbās that he said, “I have always been certain that Muʿāwiyah would one day hold dominion and authority (1) on the basis of this verse.” We have already cited the report’s chain and wording in our commentary on that verse.

When Muʿāwiyah refused to give the pledge of allegiance to ʿAlī, the Battle of Ṣiffīn took place, as we have previously described. The matter then went to arbitration, and what occurred between ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ and Abū Mūsā—namely, the apparent strengthening (2) of the Syrian side—has already been detailed. Muʿāwiyah’s position only grew more formidable, while ʿAlī’s affairs were continually disturbed by dissent among his followers until he was killed by Ibn Muljam, as mentioned earlier.

At that point the people of Iraq pledged allegiance to al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī, whereas the Syrians pledged allegiance to Muʿāwiyah. Al-Ḥasan, unwillingly, set out with the Iraqi forces, and Muʿāwiyah advanced with the Syrians. When the two armies faced one another, mediators sought reconciliation. The outcome was that al-Ḥasan abdicated the caliphate and handed authority over to Muʿāwiyah ibn Abī Sufyān. This occurred in Rabīʿ al-Awwal of the year 41 AH. Muʿāwiyah then entered Kūfa and, after the people had pledged their allegiance, delivered an eloquent sermon.

The dominions—east and west, near and far—became firmly united under him, and that year was called “The Year of Unity” (ʿĀm al-Jamāʿah) because the community came together behind a single leader after a period of division.

Muʿāwiyah appointed Faḍālah ibn ʿUbayd as chief judge of Syria, and after him Abū Idrīs al-Khawlānī. Qays ibn Ḥamzah was put in charge of the shurṭa (police force). His secretary and the man who managed his affairs was Sarjūn (3) ibn Manṣūr the Byzantine.

It is said that Muʿāwiyah was the first to institute a personal bodyguard and the first to bind letters and seal them.

The first notable event of his reign (may Allah be pleased with him) was the uprising of a faction of the Khārijites against him.

The cause was that, after Muʿāwiyah entered Kūfa and al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī and his family headed for the Ḥijāz, a band of about five hundred Khārijites declared, “The decisive moment has arrived; march to Muʿāwiyah and wage jihad against him.” They advanced until they neared Kūfa under the command of Furwah ibn Nawfal (4). Muʿāwiyah sent a contingent of Syrian cavalry against them, but the Khārijites routed the Syrians. Muʿāwiyah therefore said to the people of Kūfa (5), “You have no security with me until you restrain your own mischief-makers.” The Kufans then set out against the Khārijites.

The Khārijites said to them, “Woe to you! What do you want? Is not Muʿāwiyah both your enemy and ours? Leave us to fight him. If we defeat him, we will have spared you, and if he defeats us, you will have been spared from us.” They replied, “By Allah, not until we fight you.”