—peace and blessings of Allah be upon him—appointed his father, Abū Sufyān, governor of Najrān; and when the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings of Allah be upon him—died, he was still its governor (1). Many of those whom the Prophet—peace and blessings of Allah be upon him—appointed as governors over various regions were from Banū Umayyah. He appointed ʿAttāb ibn Asīd ibn Abī al-ʿĀs ibn Umayyah over Mecca, and Khālid ibn Saʿīd ibn al-ʿĀs ibn Umayyah over the zakat revenues of Madhhij and Sanʿāʾ in Yemen; he remained in that post until the Prophet—peace and blessings of Allah be upon him—died. He appointed ʿAmr over Taymāʾ [and Khaybar and the villages of ʿUraynah] (2).

As for Abān ibn Saʿīd ibn al-ʿĀs, [the Prophet also appointed him over Bahrain, both its land and sea, when he dismissed al-ʿAlāʾ ibn al-Hadramī. He remained in that post until the Prophet—peace and blessings of Allah be upon him—died. Before that, he had sent him as commander of several expeditions, including one to Najd] (3). ʿUmar—may Allah be pleased with him—also appointed Muʿāwiyah, and no one can impugn either ʿUmar’s religion or his political judgment.

[It is established] in the Sahih (4) that the Prophet—peace and blessings of Allah be upon him—said:

“The best of your rulers are those whom you love and who love you, for whom you pray and who pray for you. The worst of your rulers are those whom you hate and who hate you, whom you curse and who curse you.” (5).