Musnad Ahmad

Isa bin Talha (may Allah have mercy on him) says that once we went to Amir Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him), and during that time the muezzin began to give the call to prayer. When he said «الله اكبر، الله اكبر», Amir Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) also said «الله اكبر، الله اكبر». When he said «اشهد ان لا اله الا الله», he said «وانا اشهد». When he said «اشهد ان محمد رسول الله», Amir Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) also said «وانا اشهد». When he said «حي على الصلاة», he said «لا حول ولاقوة الا بالله», and said that I heard your Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) responding to the call to prayer in this manner.

Saeed bin Musayyib (may Allah have mercy on him) says that once Amir Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) came to Madinah Munawwarah and delivered a sermon to us, in which he took out a lock of hair and showed it, and said: "I think only the Jews do this. When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) learned of this, he called it falsehood."

Once, Hazrat Amir Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) went to the place of Hazrat Abdullah bin Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him) and Ibn Aamir. Ibn Aamir stood up out of respect for him, but Ibn Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him) did not stand up, and the Sheikh was senior to both of them. He said, "Wait! The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: Whoever likes that the servants of Allah should stand before him, he should make his abode in Hell."

Alqamah bin Waqas (may Allah have mercy on him) says that once I was with Hazrat Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) when the muezzin began to give the adhan. Hazrat Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) also began to repeat the same words. When he said "Hayya 'ala-s-Salah," he replied, "La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah." In response to "Hayya 'ala-l-Falah," he said the same. After that, he continued to repeat the words of the muezzin. Then he said, "I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saying the same."

Once, Hazrat Amir Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) visited Hazrat Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her). She said, "Did you not fear that I might seat a man here and he would kill you?" He replied, "You cannot do that, because I am in a house of safety and security, and I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say that faith puts shackles on bravery. Tell me, how has my conduct been with you and regarding your needs?" She said, "It is correct." Hazrat Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "Then leave us and them alone until we meet our Lord."

Abu Shaykh Hanai says that I was once sitting with Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) in a gathering of some of the noble Companions (may Allah be pleased with them). Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) asked them, "I ask you by Allah, do you know that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade wearing silk?" They replied, "Yes!" Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "I also bear witness to this." Then he said, "I ask you by Allah, do you know that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade men from wearing gold except a small amount?" They replied, "Yes!" Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "I also bear witness to this." Then he said, "I ask you by Allah, do you know that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade riding on a leopard?" They replied, "Yes!" He said, "I also bear witness to this." Then he said, "I ask you by Allah, do you know that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade drinking water from silver vessels?" They replied, "Yes!" He said, "I also bear witness to this." Then he said, "I ask you by Allah, do you know that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade combining Hajj and Umrah in one journey?" They replied, "We do not know this." Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "This matter is also established and is with the previous matters."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Amir Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "When Allah intends good for a servant, He grants him understanding of the religion."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) that once Sayyiduna Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) came to a gathering of remembrance in the mosque and asked them, "What has made you sit here?" They replied, "We are sitting here remembering Allah." Sayyiduna Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) asked them under oath, "Is it really only this that has made you sit here?" They swore and replied, "We are sitting here only for this purpose." Sayyiduna Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "I did not make you swear because I thought you were lying. There will be no one who narrates fewer Prophetic traditions than me. The fact is that once the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) also came to a gathering of his companions and asked them the same questions and made them swear, and then said, 'I did not make you swear because I thought you were lying, but rather Jibreel (peace be upon him) came to me and informed me that at this moment Allah is boasting about you to His angels.'"

Ata says that Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) cut the hair of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with the scissors he had with him, at that time the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was in the state of Ihram (and cutting the hair is necessary to exit this state). This happened during the days of the ten (i.e., Dhul-Hijjah), but some people deny this.

Mu'abad Juhani says that Sayyiduna Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) would rarely narrate hadith from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), but he would often mention these words from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in many gatherings: "When Allah intends good for someone, He grants him understanding of the religion. And the wealth of this world is very sweet and lush; so whoever takes it rightfully, there is blessing in it for him. And beware of praising someone to his face, for that is like slaughtering him."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do not perform bowing (ruku) or prostration (sajdah) before me, because when I bow before you, you will find me in ruku before I raise my head, and when I prostrate before you, you will find me in sajdah before I raise my head. I am saying this because now my body has become heavy."

Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) once said these words on the pulpit: «اللَّهُمَّ لَا مَانِعَ لِمَا أَعْطَيْتَ وَلَا مُعْطِيَ لِمَا مَنَعْتَ وَلَا يَنْفَعُ ذَا الْجَدِّ مِنْكَ الْجَدُّ مَنْ يُرِدْ اللَّهُ بِهِ خَيْرًا يُفَقِّهُّ فِي الدِّينِ» O Allah! None can withhold what You give, and none can give what You withhold, and the honor of the honorable does not benefit him before You. Allah, for whomever He intends good, grants him understanding of the religion. I heard these words from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) on this very pulpit.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do not ride on an animal with silk or leopard skin spread over it."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to recite the testimony (tashahhud) along with the muezzin.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "When Allah intends good for a servant, He grants him understanding of the religion."

Saeed bin Musayyib says that once Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "You have invented a bad practice; the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade «زور»." Meanwhile, a man came whose hand held a staff and who had a woman's cloth on his head. Sayyiduna Amir Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "This is «زور»."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade riding on cheetahs and wearing gold, except if it is in small pieces (a small amount).

Once, Sayyiduna Amir Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) went to Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him) and Ibn Aamir. Ibn Aamir stood up out of respect for him, but Ibn Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him) did not stand up. Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "Sit down. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: 'Whoever likes that Allah’s servants should stand before him, he should make his abode in Hell.'"

Mu'abad Juhani says that Sayyiduna Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) would very rarely narrate any hadith from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), but he would often mention these words from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in various gatherings: "When Allah intends good for someone, He grants him understanding of the religion. And the wealth of this world is very sweet and lush; so whoever takes it rightfully, there is blessing in it for him. And beware of praising someone to his face, for that is like slaughtering him."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) that I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say: "Whoever drinks alcohol, flog him. If he drinks again, flog him again. Even if he drinks a fourth time, then kill him."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) that I saw the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sucking the tongue or lips of Imam Hasan (may Allah be pleased with him), and that tongue or lips will not be punished, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has sucked it.

Yazid bin Asam says that Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) would very rarely narrate any hadith from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), but I heard this hadith from him: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "When Allah intends good for someone, He grants him understanding of the religion. And a group of Muslims will always fight for the truth; these people will remain dominant over their opponents until the Day of Resurrection."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) that I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) saying on this pulpit: «اللَّهُمَّ لَا مَانِعَ لِمَا أَعْطَيْتَ وَلَا مُعْطِيَ لِمَا مَنَعْتَ وَلَا يَنْفَعُ ذَا الْجَدِّ مِنْكَ الْجَدُّ» "O Allah! No one can withhold what You give, and no one can give what You withhold, and the honor of an honorable person cannot benefit him before You. Allah grants understanding of religion to whomever He intends good for."

Saeed bin Musayyib (may Allah be pleased with him) says that once, in Madinah Munawwarah, Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) came and delivered a sermon to us, in which he took out a bunch of hair and showed it, and said: "I think that only the Jews do this. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came to know of this, he called it 'falsehood'."

Muhammad bin Jubair (may Allah have mercy on him) says that once, when Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) was with a delegation of the Quraysh, and Muhammad was also present among them, news reached him that Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr bin Aas (may Allah be pleased with him) was narrating this hadith: "Soon there will be a king in Qahtan." Upon hearing this, he stood up angrily, praised Allah as is befitting to Him, and said «اما بعد»: "I have come to know that some of you are narrating such ahadith which are neither in the Book of Allah nor transmitted from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). These people are ignorant. Protect yourselves from such hopes and desires that lead a person astray. I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: 'This authority will remain among the Quraysh. Whoever disputes with them in this matter, Allah will throw him down on his face, as long as the people of Quraysh remain established on the religion.'"

Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) once said from the pulpit: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say, "Only trials and tests remain in this world, and your deeds are like a vessel: if its upper part is good, this is a sign that its lower part is also good, and if the upper part is bad, then its lower part will also be bad."

Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) once demonstrated to the people how the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) performed ablution. While wiping the head, he took a handful of water and wiped until drops of water began to drip from his head. He placed his palms on the front part of his head and, wiping, drew them back to the nape of his neck, then returned them to the place from where he had started wiping.

Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) once demonstrated to the people how the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) performed ablution, and he washed each part of the ablution three times, and washed his feet without counting the number of times.

A‘raj reports that once Sayyiduna Abbas bin Abdullah married his daughter to Abdur Rahman bin Hakam, and Abdur Rahman married his daughter to Abbas, and they made this exchange itself the dowry. When Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) came to know of this, he wrote a letter to Marwan, "because he was the caliph," and ordered that separation be made between them, and said that this is the same shighar marriage from which the Prophet (peace be upon him) had forbidden.

Ubad says: When Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) came to us for Hajj, we also went with him to Makkah Mukarramah. He led us in two rak‘ahs of Zuhr and went to Dar al-Nadwah. Whereas, from the time Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) started performing the full prayer, whenever he came to Makkah Mukarramah, he would perform four rak‘ahs each for Zuhr, Asr, and Isha, and would shorten the prayer in Mina and Arafat. And when he would stay in Mina after completing Hajj, he would perform the full prayer until he departed from Makkah. When Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) led us in two rak‘ahs of Zuhr (contrary to this), Marwan bin Hakam and Amr bin Uthman stood up and said: "No one has ever criticized your cousin as badly as you have." He asked: "How is that?" Both of them said: "Do you not know that Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) used to perform the full prayer in Makkah Mukarramah?" Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) replied: "Alas! I thought, what is it that I have done? I have only performed two rak‘ahs with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and the two Shaykhs (Abu Bakr and Umar)." Both of them said: "Your cousin performed the full four rak‘ahs, and your opposing him is a blameworthy act." So when he came to lead the Asr prayer, he led four rak‘ahs.

Abu Al-Tufail (may Allah have mercy on him) says that once Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) and Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) came to the Sacred Sanctuary of Mecca. Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) performed Tawaf and touched all the corners of the Ka'bah. Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him, "The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) only touched two corners?" Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) replied, "No corner of the Ka'bah is to be neglected." Shu'bah says that some people narrate this hadith in a different way and say that this last sentence is from Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever drinks alcohol, flog him. If he drinks again, flog him again. Even if he drinks a fourth time, then kill him."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) that I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saying from this pulpit: O Allah! No one can withhold what You give, and no one can give what You withhold, and the honor of an honorable person cannot benefit him before You. Allah grants understanding of the religion to whomever He intends good for.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) that I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say: On the Day of Resurrection, the mu’adhdhins will have the longest necks.

Majma’ bin Yahya says that once I was beside Abu Umamah bin Sahl, who was in front of the muezzin. The muezzin said «اللہ اكࣿبر» twice, so Abu Umamah also said «الله اكࣿبر» twice. The muezzin said «ا شهد انࣿ لا اله الا اللہ» twice, so he also said it twice. The muezzin said «اشهد ان محمدا رسول اللہ» twice, so he also said it. Then he turned to me and said that Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated to me in the same way from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).

Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) cut the hair of the Prophet’s head with the scissors he had with him.

Abu Shaykh Hanai says that (I was once sitting in a gathering of some of the noble companions with Sayyiduna Amir Muawiyah, may Allah be pleased with him). Sayyiduna Muawiyah, may Allah be pleased with him, asked them: "Do you know that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, forbade riding on leopard skin?" They replied: "Yes!" Then he asked: "Do you know that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, forbade men from wearing gold, except if it is very little?" They replied: "Yes!" Then he asked: "Do you know that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, forbade drinking water from gold and silver vessels?" They said: "Yes!" Then he asked: "Do you know that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, forbade combining Hajj and Umrah in one journey?" They replied: "We do not know about this."

Humaid bin Abdur Rahman says that he heard Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) giving a sermon on the pulpit while holding a bunch of hair in his hands, saying: "O people of Madinah! Where are your scholars? I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) forbidding such things, and he said that punishment came upon the Children of Israel only when their women made this their occupation."

Umar bin Ata says that once Nafi’ bin Jubair sent me to Sa’ib bin Yazid to ask whether he had seen Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) offering prayer. He replied, "Yes! Once I offered Jumu’ah with him in the 'Maqsurah.' When he finished the prayer with salam, I stood at my place and began to offer the Sunnah prayers. Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) went inside, then called me and said: 'Do not do as you just did again after today. When you offer the Jumu’ah prayer, do not offer another prayer immediately after it until you have spoken or moved from your place, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded that no prayer should be offered immediately after another until one has spoken or moved from that place.'"

Humaid says that he once heard Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) in Madinah Munawwarah during a sermon saying: "O people of Madinah, where have your scholars gone? I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say: 'This is the day of Ashura, fasting on it is not obligatory upon us, so whoever among you wishes to fast may do so, and I am fasting.' Upon this, the people also fasted."