2785 – Muhammad ibn Rizq Allah informed us; Ahmad ibn ʿUmar ibn Yahya told us; Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Abi al-ʿAwam narrated to us; Riyaḥ ibn al-Jarrāḥ al-Mawṣilī narrated, saying:

“I heard a man ask al-Muʿāfā ibn ʿImrān, ‘O Abu Masʿūd, how does ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz compare with Muʿāwiya ibn Abi Sufyān?’

Al-Muʿāfā became exceedingly angry and replied, ‘No one may be compared with the Companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Muʿāwiya was his Companion, his in-law, his scribe, and the one entrusted with Allah’s revelation. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Leave my Companions and my relatives by marriage alone; whoever insults them is under the curse of Allah, the angels, and all people.”’