16
They said:
Muʿāwiyah’s subjects loved him, and he loved them (1); they prayed for him, and he prayed for them. [It is established] in the Sahih (2) that the Prophet—peace and blessings of Allah be upon him—said:
“A group of my ummah will continue to prevail upon the truth. Neither those who oppose them nor those who forsake them will harm them.” (3)
Mālik ibn Yukhamir said: “I heard Muʿādh say, ‘They are in Syria.’” They said: “These were Muʿāwiyah’s army.”
In Sahih Muslim, the Prophet—peace and blessings of Allah be upon him—said:
“The people of the West will continue to prevail until the Hour comes.” (4)
Ahmad ibn Hanbal (5) said that the people of
(1) A reads: “They love him, and he loves them”; B reads: “They love him, and he, in turn, loves them.”
(2) N and M read: “and in the Sahīh.”
(3) The hadith—with variations in wording—is narrated from al-Mughīra ibn Shuʿba, ʿUqba ibn ʿĀmir, Thawbān, Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh, Muʿāwiya ibn Abī Sufyān, and others—may Allah be pleased with them. It occurs in four places in *al-Bukhārī*: 4/85 (Book of the Obligatory One-Fifth, chapter “For to Allah Belongs One-Fifth Thereof”); 4/207 (Book of Virtues, chapter “Muhammad ibn al-Muthannā Related to Me: Muʿādh Related to Us,” chapter no. 28); 9/101 (Book of Holding Fast to the Quran and Sunnah, chapter “A Group of My Community Will Continue to Prevail upon the Truth, Fighting—and They Are the People of Knowledge”); and 9/136 (Book of *Tawhīd*, chapter on the words of Allah Most High, “Our Word to a Thing Is Only…”). The hadith also appears in *Muslim*, 1/137 (Book of Faith, chapter on the Descent of Jesus Son of Mary to Rule According to the Sacred Law of Our Prophet Muhammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace), and 3/1523–1525 (Book of Governance, chapter “A Group of My Community Will Continue to Prevail…”); *Sunan Abī Dāwūd*, 3 (Book of Jihad, chapter on the Continuance of Jihad), where it is narrated from ʿImrān ibn Husayn—may Allah be pleased with him—and 4/138–139 (Book of Tribulations, chapter on the Tribulations and Their Signs); and *Sunan al-Tirmidhī*, 3/342 (Book of Tribulations, chapter on Reports Concerning Misguiding Leaders). It is also found in the *Sunan* works of Ibn Mājah and al-Dārimī, and in numerous places in the *Musnad* of Ahmad.
(4) The hadith is narrated from Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqās—may Allah be pleased with him—in *Muslim*, 3/1525 (Book of Governance, chapter “A Group Will Continue…”). Al-Nawawī states in his commentary on *Muslim*, 14/68: “Muʿādh said: ‘They are in al-Shām.’ Another hadith states: ‘They are in Bayt al-Maqdis.’ It has also been said: ‘They are the people of al-Shām and those beyond it.’”
(5) The words “ibn Hanbal” are omitted from A and B.
قَالُوا:
وَمُعَاوِيَةُ كَانَتْ رَعِيَّتُهُ تُحِبُّهُ وَهُوَ يُحِبُّهُمْ
(١)
، وَيُصَلُّونَ عَلَيْهِ وَهُوَ يُصَلِّي عَلَيْهِمْ.
[وَقَدْ ثَبَتَ]
فِي الصَّحِيحِ
(٢)
عَنِ النَّبِيِّ - صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ -
أَنَّهُ قَالَ:
"
«لَا تَزَالُ طَائِفَةٌ مِنْ أُمَّتِي ظَاهِرِينَ عَلَى الْحَقِّ لَا يَضُرُّهُمْ مَنْ خَالَفَهُمْ وَلَا مَنْ خَذَلَهُمْ»
"
(٣)
.
قَالَ مَالِكُ بْنُ يُخَامِرَ:
سَمِعْتُ مُعَاذًا يَقُولُ:
" وَهُمْ بِالشَّامِ "
قَالُوا:
" وَهَؤُلَاءِ كَانُوا عَسْكَرَ مُعَاوِيَةَ "
.
وَفِي صَحِيحِ مُسْلِمٍ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ - صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ -
أَنَّهُ قَالَ:
"
«لَا يَزَالُ أَهْلُ الْغَرْبِ ظَاهِرِينَ حَتَّى تَقُومَ السَّاعَةُ»
"
(٤)
قَالَ أَحْمَدُ بْنُ حَنْبَلٍ
(٥)
أَهْلُ
(١) أ: يُحِبُّونَهُ وَيُحِبُّهُمْ ; ب: يُحِبُّونَهُ وَهُوَ يُحِبُّهُمْ.
(٢) ن، م: وَفِي الصَّحِيحِ.
(٣) الْحَدِيثُ - مَعَ اخْتِلَافٍ فِي الْأَلْفَاظِ - عَنِ الْمُغِيرَةِ بْنِ شُعْبَةَ وَعُقْبَةَ بْنِ عَامِرٍ وَثَوْبَانَ وَجَابِرِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ وَمُعَاوِيَةَ بْنِ أَبِي سُفْيَانَ وَغَيْرِهِمْ - رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ - فِي أَرْبَعَةِ مَوَاضِعَ فِي: الْبُخَارِيِّ ٤/٨٥ (كِتَابُ فَرْضِ الْخُمُسِ، بَابُ فَأَنَّ لِلَّهِ خُمُسَهُ) ، ٤/٢٠٧ (كِتَابُ الْمَنَاقِبِ، بَابُ حَدَّثَنِي مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْمُثَنَّى حَدَّثَنَا مُعَاذٌ بَابُ رَقْمِ ٢٨) ، ٩/١٠١ (كِتَابُ الِاعْتِصَامِ بِالْكِتَابِ وَالسُّنَّةِ، بَابُ لَا تَزَالُ طَائِفَةٌ مِنْ أُمَّتِي ظَاهِرِينَ عَلَى الْحَقِّ يُقَاتِلُونَ وَهُمْ أَهْلُ الْعِلْمِ) ، ٩/١٣٦ (كِتَابُ التَّوْحِيدِ، بَابُ قَوْلِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى: إِنَّمَا قَوْلُنَا لِشَيْءٍ) . وَالْحَدِيثُ فِي: مُسْلِمٍ ١/١٣٧ (كِتَابُ الْإِيمَانِ، بَابُ نُزُولِ عِيسَى ابْنِ مَرْيَمَ حَاكِمًا بِشَرِيعَةِ نَبِيِّنَا مُحَمَّدٍ - صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ -) ، ٣/١٥٢٣ - ١٥٢٥ (كِتَابُ الْإِمَارَةِ، بَابُ لَا تَزَالُ طَائِفَةٌ مِنْ أُمَّتِي ظَاهِرِينَ. .) ; سُنَنِ أَبِي دَاوُدَ ٣ (كِتَابُ الْجِهَادِ، بَابٌ فِي دَوَامِ الْجِهَادِ) وَهُوَ عَنْ عِمْرَانَ بْنِ حُصَيْنٍ - رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ -، ٤/١٣٨ - ١٣٩ (كِتَابُ الْفِتَنِ، بَابُ ذِكْرِ الْفِتَنِ وَدَلَائِلِهَا) ; سُنَنِ التِّرْمِذِيِّ ٣/٣٤٢ (كِتَابُ الْفِتَنِ، بَابُ مَا جَاءَ فِي الْأَئِمَّةِ الْمُضِلِّينَ) وَالْحَدِيثُ فِي سُنَنِ ابْنِ مَاجَهْ وَالدَّارِمِيِّ وَمَوَاضِعَ كَثِيرَةٍ فِي مُسْنَدِ أَحْمَدَ.
(٤) الْحَدِيثُ عَنْ سَعْدِ بْنِ أَبِي وَقَّاصٍ - رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ - فِي مُسْلِمٍ ٣/١٥٢٥ (كِتَابُ الْإِمَارَةِ، بَابُ لَا تَزَالُ طَائِفَةٌ. . .) . قَالَ النَّوَوِيُّ فِي شَرْحِهِ عَلَى مُسْلِمٍ ١٤/٦٨: ". . وَقَالَ مُعَاذٌ: هُمْ بِالشَّامِ، وَجَاءَ فِي حَدِيثٍ آخَرَ: هُمْ بِبَيْتِ الْمَقْدِسِ. وَقِيلَ: هُمْ أَهْلُ الشَّامِ وَمَا وَرَاءَ ذَلِكَ ".
(٥) بْنُ حَنْبَلٍ: سَاقِطَةٌ مِنْ (أ) ، (ب) .