Hadiths in which Banu Umayyah is mentioned
◈ Hazrat Abu Hurairah (RA) said that I heard from the truthful Messenger of Allah ﷺ, who said that the destruction of my Ummah will be at the hands of a few boys of Quraysh.
Reference: (Sahih Bukhari:3605)
◈ It is narrated from Abu Dharr (RA) that he said to Yazid bin Abi Sufyan: I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say: The first person who will change my Sunnah (way) will be from Banu Umayyah.
Reference: (Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah: 20/156, Silsilat al-Ahadith al-Sahihah:1749)
From these two hadiths, it apparently seems that the Prophet ﷺ condemned Banu Umayyah!
First Point
First of all, it is necessary to know who Banu Umayyah are. In reality, Banu Umayyah refers to the descendants of Umayyah, and Umayyah was the son of Abd Shams. Abd Shams and Hashim were brothers, who are the great-great-grandfathers of the Prophet ﷺ. Now that we have understood that Banu Umayyah are the paternal cousins of the Prophet ﷺ, and this tribe was among the famous tribes of Quraysh residing in Mecca, some of the well-known personalities from them who embraced Islam and attained the honor of companionship include foremostly the son-in-law of the Messenger ﷺ, Hazrat Uthman bin Affan رضي الله عنه, who was blessed with the honor of being related to the Prophet ﷺ through two of his daughters. Similarly, Umm al-Mu'minin Umm Habibah and her father Abu Sufyan رضي الله عنهم أجمعين.
Second point
It is a Muslim reality that not all people in every nation and tribe are good or bad, and the Prophetic hadiths do not necessarily imply praise or condemnation of every individual of a nation; rather, it is limited to the context in which the statement is made. Similarly, Banu Umayyah is also a tribe, and if we find any hadith or hadiths about them that contain some aspect of criticism, it does not affect their good people.
Third Point
The real criterion of goodness in Islam is piety, not affiliation to any nation or tribe!
The affiliation to a nation or tribe is only for identification (introduction), as Allah Almighty says:
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنَّا خَلَقْنَاكُم مِّن ذَكَرٍ وَأُنثَىٰ وَجَعَلْنَاكُمْ شُعُوبًا وَقَبَائِلَ لِتَعَارَفُوا ۚ إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِندَ اللَّهِ أَتْقَاكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ خَبِيرٌ
Reference: (Surah Al-Hujurat:13)
Translation: O mankind! We have created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another. Verily, the most honored of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted.
So how can merely belonging to a certain nation or tribe be a cause for condemnation, when that is not within any person's control?!
Fourth Point
The marriage of the Prophet ﷺ to Hazrat Umm Habiba bint Abi Sufyan (may Allah be pleased with them), and giving one daughter after another in marriage to Hazrat Uthman bin Affan (may Allah be pleased with him), makes it very clear that Banu Umayyah was not a blameworthy tribe; otherwise, why would the Messenger of Allah ﷺ form marital ties with them? Did the Messenger of Allah ﷺ marry into a blameworthy tribe? Certainly not.
Fifth Point
The first of the mentioned hadiths is from Sahih Bukhari, in which the Prophet ﷺ said: "The destruction of my Ummah will be at the hands of a few boys from Quraysh." It is among the miracles of the Prophet ﷺ that he warned about the upcoming trials, stating that a time will come when some unqualified people will become rulers, who due to their young age or lack of intellect will cause the destruction of the Ummah, and this destruction will be because of their fighting for power, as the commentators of the hadith have mentioned in their explanation of this hadith
Reference: (See: Fath al-Bari Hadith:7058)
.Accordingly, in accordance with the Prophet’s ﷺ statement, after the golden era of the Rightly Guided Caliphs, during the era of the Umayyads, some rulers came who caused the destruction of the Ummah. But how can the entire group be considered blameworthy because of a few individuals, especially the noble Companions, when the hadith specifies "a few boys"? How can this be understood as a general condemnation of the entire tribe?!
Just think, does Abu Lahab being a Hashemite bring disgrace to Banu Hashim, and Abu Jahl being a Qurayshi bring disgrace to all Quraysh?!
Sixth Point
Among the mentioned hadiths, the second hadith "The first person who will change my Sunnah (way) will be from Banu Umayyah" has differences regarding its authenticity. Some Muhaddithin have declared this hadith weak due to a break in the chain of narration between Hazrat Abu Dharr Ghifari and the narrator (ابو العالیہ رفیع بن مہران).
Reference: See: Tarikh Ibn Ma'in (4/12) - Riwayah al-Dawri -, Al-Tarikh al-Awsat lil-Bukhari (1/397), Al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya by Ibn Kathir (11/649)
.And some Muhaddithin consider this hadith Hasan. Assuming the hadith is authentic, its reference is to some individuals from Banu Umayyah who did not uphold or observe the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ as it was due.
Imam Muhammad Nasiruddin al-Albani, may Allah have mercy on him, classified the chain of this hadith as Hasan and then explained its meaning:
(شایداس حدیث سے مراد خلیفہ کے انتخاب کے نظام کو بدل کر اسے موروثی قرار دینا ہے واللہ اعلم).
Reference: (See: Silsilat al-Ahadith al-Sahihah: 1749)
Or like some rulers of Banu Umayyah (مروان بن حكم) who delivered the Eid sermon before the prayer, whereas you ﷺ used to deliver the Eid sermon after the prayer.
Reference: Sahih Bukhari (956)
So this is a change in your Sunnah.
