was his deputy in Najrān.” The Muslims have agreed that Mu‘āwiyah’s Islam was better than that of his father, Abū Sufyān. How, then, could these men be hypocrites when the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—entrusted them with the Muslims’ affairs in matters of knowledge and practice?

It is well known that conflicts occurred between Mu‘āwiyah, ‘Amr ibn al-‘Ās, and others. Yet none of their allies, those who fought them, or those who did not fight them accused them of lying about the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Rather, all the scholars among the Companions and the succeeding generation agreed that these men were truthful in reporting from the Messenger of Allah and trustworthy in transmitting his words. A hypocrite, by contrast, cannot be trusted in reporting from the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Rather, he both lies about him and disbelieves him.

If they were believers who loved Allah and His Messenger, then whoever curses them has disobeyed Allah and His Messenger. It is established in Sahīh al-Bukhārī, in substance, that:

“A man nicknamed Himār (‘Donkey’) used to drink wine. Whenever he drank, he was brought before the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—who would flog him. On one occasion, when he was brought before him, a man said, ‘May Allah curse him! How often he is brought before the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace!’ The Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said, ‘Do not curse him, for he loves Allah and His Messenger.’”

Every believer loves Allah and His Messenger, and whoever does not love Allah and His Messenger is not a believer, although believers differ in their degree of faith and in the love and other qualities it encompasses.

This is so even though he—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—“cursed wine, those who press it, those who have it pressed, those who drink it, those who serve it, those who carry it, those to whom it is carried, and those who consume its proceeds.” Yet he forbade cursing this particular individual, because cursing falls under the category of “threats of punishment”; such a judgment is therefore applied