Were Muʿāwiyah (RA) a Scribe of Revelation? Evidence from Authentic Ḥadīth
Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah (Tawḍīḥ al-Aḥkām), vol. 2, p. 260
❖ Question
Is it authentically proven that Muʿāwiyah ibn Abī Sufyān (RA) was a scribe of revelation? Please provide proof from a ṣaḥīḥ ḥadīth.
❖ Answer
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd!
✿ Ḥadīth Reported by Imām al-Bayhaqī
Imām al-Bayhaqī رحمه الله narrates:
“Ibn ʿAbbās (RA) said: I was playing with boys when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ came. I thought he came only for me, so I hid at a door. He came and tapped me on the back, saying: ‘Go call for me Muʿāwiyah.’
And he used to write down the revelation.”
(Dalāʾil al-Nubuwwah, vol. 6, p. 243)
✿ Authenticity of the Chain
- The chain of this ḥadīth is authentic (ṣaḥīḥ).
- Abū Ḥamzah al-Qaṣṣāb (ʿImrān ibn Abī ʿAṭāʾ al-Asadī) is a narrator in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim and is considered trustworthy (thiqqah) by the majority of ḥadīth scholars.
- For details, see: Nūr al-ʿAynayn, new edition, p. 148.
✿ Proof of Being a Scribe of Revelation
The wording “وكان يكتب الوحي” (“and he used to write down the revelation”) clearly establishes that Muʿāwiyah (RA) was indeed a scribe of the Qur’anic revelation for the Prophet ﷺ.
✿ Note
This same narration (Abū Ḥamzah from Ibn ʿAbbās) also appears in a summarized form in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (ḥadīth no. 2604, Dār al-Salām no. 6628).
ھٰذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
