This excerpt is taken from Dr. Hafiz Muhammad Zubair's book "Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza: Thoughts and Ideas".
Is there no authentic hadith regarding the virtue of Amir Muawiya (may Allah be pleased with him)?
Although all the verses in the Holy Quran that mention the virtue of the Companions of the Messenger ﷺ include Amir Muawiya رضي الله عنه in their generality, as it is in the Holy Quran:
﴿وَالسَّابِقُونَ الْأَوَّلُونَ مِنَ الْمُهَاجِرِينَ وَالْأَنصَارِ وَالَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوهُم بِإِحْسَانٍ رَّضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُوا عَنْهُ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُمْ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي تَحْتَهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَدًا ۚ ذَٰلِكَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ﴾
"And [also] the first forerunners [in the faith] among the Muhajireen and the Ansar and those who followed them with good conduct - Allah is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him. And He has prepared for them gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide forever. That is the great attainment."
Reference: (At-Tawbah: 100)
In another place, Allah the Exalted says:
﴿لَا يَسْتَوِي مِنكُم مَّنْ أَنفَقَ مِن قَبْلِ الْفَتْحِ وَقَاتَلَ ۚ أُولَٰئِكَ أَعْظَمُ دَرَجَةً مِّنَ الَّذِينَ أَنفَقُوا مِن بَعْدُ وَقَاتَلُوا ۚ وَكُلًّا وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الْحُسْنَىٰ ۚ وَاللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرٌ﴾
"Not equal are those of the believers who sit [at home] and those who strive and fight in the cause of Allah with their wealth and their lives. Allah has preferred those who strive and fight with their wealth and lives over those who sit at home by a great reward. From each, Allah has promised good, but Allah has preferred those who strive and fight over those who sit by a great reward."
Reference: (Al-Hadid: 10)
So, Amir Muawiya رضي الله عنه fought and struggled alongside the Messenger of Allah ﷺ against the disbelievers after the conquest of Makkah and also spent in the way of Allah, because he participated on the side of the Muslims in the battles of Ta’if and Hunayn. And Hazrat Umar رضي الله عنه appointed him as the governor of Sham during his caliphate, and many areas were conquered by his hands. Therefore, his virtue is established from the generality of the Quranic verses, but there are also specific hadiths that confirm his virtue, among which three hadiths are quite well-known. We will mention two of them below, while the third will be mentioned later.
①Prayer for being a Guide and Mahdi:
Mirza Sahib writes in the third chapter of his writing "The True Background of the Incident of Karbala": "Except for the companionship, no authentic hadith has been narrated regarding the virtues of Hazrat Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him)."
Reference: (The True Background of the Incident of Karbala: In the Light of 72 Authentic Hadiths, p. 27)
Before Mirza Sahib, some Shia scholars have also presented similar thoughts in some of their writings, but this claim is not correct, as in the narration of Sunan al-Tirmidhi, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said about Amir Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him):
اللهم اجعله هاديا مهديا واهد به
"O Allah! Make him a guide and a rightly guided one, and guide the creation of Allah through him."
Reference: (Al-Tirmidhi, Muhammad ibn Isa ibn Surah, Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Chapters on Virtues from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), Chapter on the Virtues of Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan (may Allah be pleased with him), Mustafa al-Babi al-Halabi Library and Press, Egypt, 1975, 687/5)
A guide (Hadi) is one who shows the path of guidance, and Mahdi means the person who is shown the path of guidance. Imam Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) also included this narration in his book "Al-Tarikh al-Kabir."
Reference: (Al-Bukhari, Muhammad ibn Ismail ibn Ibrahim ibn al-Mughira, Al-Tarikh al-Kabir, Ottoman Encyclopedia, Hyderabad, 240/5)
Imam Tirmidhi (may Allah have mercy on him) classified this narration as "Hasan" (good).
Reference: (Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Chapters on Virtues from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), Chapter on the Virtues of Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan (may Allah be pleased with him), 687/5)
Allama al-Jurqani (may Allah have mercy on him) said that this narration is "Hasan." Imam al-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) said its chain of narration is "strong" and it is narrated through more than one route.
Reference: (Al-Dhahabi, Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Uthman, Talkhis al-‘Ilal al-Mutanahiyah, verified by Yasser Ibrahim Muhammad, Al-Rushd Library, Riyadh, First Edition, 1419 AH, p. 53)
According to Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani (may Allah have mercy on him), this narration is "Hasan."
Reference: (Ahmad ibn Ali ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Takhrij Mishkat al-Masabih, verified by Ali ibn Hasan ibn Abdul Hamid al-Halabi, Dar Ibn al-Qayyim, Dammam, First Edition, 1422 AH, 486/5)
Ibn Hajar al-Haythami (may Allah have mercy on him) also called this narration "Hasan."
Reference: (Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Al-Sawa’iq al-Muhriqah ‘ala Ahl al-Rafd wal-Dalal wal-Zandaqah, Al-Risalah Foundation, Lebanon, First Edition, 1997, 626/2)
And Allama al-Albani (may Allah have mercy on him) declared it "Sahih" (authentic).
Reference: (Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Chapters on Virtues from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), Chapter on the Virtues of Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan (may Allah be pleased with him), 687/5)
② Prayer for protection from the knowledge of the book and punishment:
The second narration regarding the virtue of Hazrat Amir Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) is reported in Al-Mu'jam Al-Kabir by Al-Tabarani and Musnad Ahmad, etc., in which the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
اللهم علم معاوية الكتاب والحساب وقه العذاب
"O Allah! Teach Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) the knowledge of the Book and accounting (obligations) and save him from punishment."
Reference: (Musnad Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal: 383/28; Al-Tabarani, Sulaiman ibn Ahmad ibn Ayyub, Al-Mu'jam Al-Kabir, Dar Al-Sumai'i, Riyadh, First Edition, 1994, 251/18)
Ibn Khuzaymah
Reference: (Ibn Khuzaymah, Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Ishaq, Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah, Al-Maktab Al-Islami, Beirut, 214/3)
and Ibn Hibban have declared this narration as "Sahih" (authentic).
Reference: (Muhammad ibn Hibban ibn Ahmad ibn Hibban, Sahih Ibn Hibban arranged by Ibn Balban, Al-Risalah Foundation, Beirut, Second Edition, 1993, 191/16)
Allama Al-Albani (may Allah have mercy on him) classified this narration as "Sahih Lighayrih" (authentic with some reservations).
Reference: (Also)
Although some scholars have raised certain objections regarding the chain of narration of this hadith, the contemporary investigator Allama Al-Albani (may Allah have mercy on him) has provided sufficient and conclusive answers to these objections in his writings.
Reference: (Al-Albani, Muhammad Nasiruddin, Series of Authentic Hadiths and Some of Their Jurisprudence and Benefits, Maktabat Al-Ma'arif for Publishing and Distribution, Riyadh, 2002, 88/7-94)
In summary, the virtue and excellence of Amir Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) is established by more than one authentic narration, and it is incorrect to say that there is no narration regarding the virtue of Amir Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him). However, Mirza Sahib has quoted a statement of Imam Ishaq ibn Rahwayh (may Allah have mercy on him) in his booklet that no single narration regarding the virtue of Hazrat Amir Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) is proven authentic.
Firstly, this statement itself is not proven with an authentic chain from him. Secondly, since when has Mirza Sahib become a "Babi" (follower of the Bab)! His slogan is: "Neither Wahhabi nor Babi, I am a Muslim, a scholar, and a bookish person." But sadly, it must be said that no one is more "Babi" than Mirza Sahib.
Others at least have some rules for quoting the "Babis," but Mirza Sahib does not even have that. Whenever he wants, he starts quoting the Babis for his purpose, as he has collected dozens of statements of the Babis in this booklet as evidence for his position. And whenever he wants, he starts criticizing the Babis when they oppose his stance.
Mirza Sahib says that he quotes the "Babis" because these people accept the Babis. So then, why not also quote Allama Al-Albani (may Allah have mercy on him) in your booklet, who calls the narrations regarding the virtue of Amir Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) "authentic"? Do those for whom you quote the Babis not accept Allama Al-Albani here?
There is no doubt that Mirza Sahib is a "traitor" in his research; he hides the truth and presents only one side of the picture. He has collected every negative thing about Amir Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him), wherever he found it, whether from historical books or from the statements of the Babis, in his booklet, while hiding every positive thing about him, even if it is present in the books of Hadith. Is this called impartial research? This is research based on the highest degree of treachery. As for the virtues of Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), they are greater than those of Amir Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him), both in his merits and in his ranks, and all this is proven by authentic narrations.
