Al-Zuhri said: Sayyiduna Uthman bin Hunayf (may Allah be pleased with him) greeted Sayyiduna Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) with salam while the people of Syria were with him. Sayyiduna Uthman bin Hunayf (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Peace be upon you, O Amir!" The people of Syria said: "Who is this hypocrite who has cut short the title 'Commander of the Believers'?" Sayyiduna Uthman bin Hunayf (may Allah be pleased with him) said to Sayyiduna Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him): "These people are faulting me for something about which you know better: I greeted Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) and Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) with these very words." Sayyiduna Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I think it was as you say, but when the dissensions arose, the people of Syria said: 'By Allah! We know our religion well, and we will not cut short the words with which we address our caliph.' O people of Madinah! I think that you even call the official who collects the zakah 'Amir'."
Al-Tabarani recorded it. Al-Zuhri did not live in the time of Sayyiduna Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him), but the rest of its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih. (Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say: Among the virtues of Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) is that he was the first person to be given the title "Commander of the Believers (Amir al-Mu'minin)".
Hadith Referenceمجمع الزوائد ومنبع الفوائد / كتاب الخلافة / 9013
Hadith Gradingمحدثین:إسنادہ صحیح
Hadith Takhrij«اخرجه الطبراني فى المعجم الكبير (8309)»