Authentic Proof That Muʿāwiyah (RA) Was a Scribe of Revelation

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