Lessons from Nahjul Balagha [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Sermons
Sermon
56

SERMON 56

Amir al-mu'minin said to his
companions about Muawiyah

Soon after me there
would be put on you a man with a broad mouth and a big belly. He
would swallow whatever he gets and would crave for what he does
not get. You should kill him but (I know) you would not kill him.
He would command you to abuse me and to renounce me. As for
abusing, you do abuse me because that would mean purification for
me and salvation for you. As regards renunciation, you should not
renounce me because I have been born on the natural religion
(Islam) and was foremost in accepting it as well as in Hijrah (
migrating from Mecca to Medina). (1)

(1).
About the person to whom Amir al-mu'minin has alluded in this
sermon some people hold that he is Ziyad ibn Abih; some hold that
he is al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf ath-Thaqafi and some hold that he is
Mughirah ibn Shubah. But most of the commentators have held him
to be Muawiyah and this is correct because the qualities that
Amir al-mu'minin has described prove true fully on him alone .Thus
Ibn Abi'l-Hadid has written about the gluttonous quality of
Muawiyah that once the prophet sent for him and he was informed
that Muawiyah was busy eating. Then a second and third time a man
was sent to call him but he brought the same news. Thereupon the
Prophet said , "May Allah never satisfy his belly." The
effect of this curse was that when he felt tired of eating he
would say , "Take away, for, by Allah I am not satiated but I
am tired and disgusted." Similarly, his abusing Amir
al-mu'minin and ordering his officers for it are such accepted
facts of history about which there is no scope of denying. In this
connection such words were used on the pulpit that even Allah and
the Prophet were hit by them. Thus, Umm al-mu'minin Umm Salamah
wrote to Muawiyah, "Certainly you people abuse Allah and the
Prophet, and this is like this that you hurl abuses on Ali and
those who love him, while I do stand witness that Allah and the
Prophet did love him." (al-Iqd al-Farid, Vol. 3, p. 131)

Thanks to Umar ibn
Abdil-Aziz who put a stop to it, and introduced the following
verse in place of abuse in the sermons:

Verily Allah enjoineth
justice and benevolence (to others) and giving unto the kindred,
and forbidden lewdness, and evil, and rebellion; He exhorteth you
that ye may take heed (Qur'an 16:90)

In this sermon Amir
al-mu'minin has ordered his killing on the basis of the Prophet's
order that "When you (O' Muslims) see Muawiyah on my pulpit,
kill him." (Kitab Siffin, pp. 243, 248; Sharh of Ibn
Abi'l-Hadid, Vol. 1, p.348; Ta'rikh Baghdad, Vol. 12, p. 181;
Mizan al-Itidal, Vol. 2, p. 128; Tahdhib at-tahdhib, Vol. 2, p.
428; Vol. 5, p. 110; Vol. 7, p. 324)