This excerpt is taken from A Research Review of Mirza Muhammad Ali Engineer's Objections and Issues, authored by Haroon bin Shabbir Ahmad, may Allah preserve him, and revised by Fazilat al-Sheikh Maulana Muhammad Rafiq Tahir, may Allah preserve him.
According to the Imams and commentators, what is meant here by the word "Sab"?
Our point is also very clear with evidence; now see the opinions of the commentators regarding this hadith of Sahih Muslim, and what they have understood by the word "sabb" here.
Imam Nawawi, may Allah have mercy on him, wrote:
قَالُوا وَيَحْتَمِلُ تَأْوِيلًا آخَرَ أَنَّ مَعْنَاهُ مَا مَنَعَكَ أَنْ تُخَطِّئَهُ فِي رَأْيِهِ وَاجْتِهَادِهِ وَتُظْهِرَ لِلنَّاسِ حُسْنَ رَأْيِنَا وَاجْتِهَادِنَا وَأَنَّهُ أَخْطَأَ قَوْلُهُ۔
"The scholars say that one possibility is that what he (Hazrat Muawiyah, may Allah be pleased with him) meant was: What prevented you from calling them (i.e., Hazrat Ali, may Allah be pleased with him) wrong in their opinion and ijtihad, and correcting our opinion and ijtihad among the people."
Reference: (Sharh al-Nawawi ala Muslim:176,175/15)
Imam Abu al-Abbas al-Qurtubi, may Allah have mercy on him, wrote:
He writes that it is unlikely that Hazrat Muawiyah, may Allah be pleased with him, would curse or insult Hazrat Ali, may Allah be pleased with him. Hazrat Muawiyah, may Allah be pleased with him, possessed qualities such as piety, forbearance, and excellent character. Most of the narrations attributed to Hazrat Muawiyah regarding "sabb" on Hazrat Ali are either fabricated or weak. If the narration is authentic, it is this one (the hadith under discussion in Muslim), but even in this, there is no explicit indication that Hazrat Muawiyah insulted Hazrat Ali. When Hazrat Muawiyah heard the response of Hazrat Saad ibn Abi Waqqas, may Allah be pleased with him, he also remained silent.
And he, may Allah have mercy on him, also stated that it is possible that Hazrat Muawiyah was referring to declaring Hazrat Ali's ijtihad regarding the retaliation for Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him, as incorrect.
Reference: (Al-Mufham:278/6)
Mirza Sahib says in "Mas'alah 157 Part A" that tell me which of the Ahl al-Sunnah Imams denied that during the Umayyad period, there was no cursing of Sayyiduna Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, from the pulpits (at 1:22:33), and by Umayyads they mean Hazrat Muawiyah himself. First, it is foolishness that you make the claim and ask for evidence from us; secondly, here you have it, enjoy it!! The Imam, may Allah have mercy on him, says: It is unlikely that Hazrat Muawiyah, may Allah be pleased with him, would curse or insult Hazrat Ali, may Allah be pleased with him. Hazrat Muawiyah, may Allah be pleased with him, possessed qualities such as piety, forbearance, and excellent character.
Allama Qadi Iyad, may Allah have mercy on him, states:
فمن الممكن أن يريد معاوية من سعد بقوله: "ما منعك أن تسب أبا تراب" أي يظهر للناس خطأه فى رأيه، وإن رأينا ما نحن عليه أشد وأصوب۔
"It is also possible that what Hazrat Muawiyah, may Allah be pleased with him, meant by 'Why don't you curse Abu Turab?' was that he wanted to clarify the mistake of Hazrat Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, among the people, and that our opinion is stronger and more correct."
Reference: (Ikmal al-Muallim bifa'id Muslim:416/7)
Allama Mazari also quoted Allama Qadi Iyad's statement in his commentary.
Reference: (Al-Muallim bifa'id Muslim:247/3)
. Therefore, it is understood that it can mean pointing out someone's mistake or having a difference of opinion, and it is obligatory for us to have good opinion about the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them; this is the methodology of Ahl al-Sunnah. The Imams did not take "sabb" here to mean cursing at all, nor did they say the things that Mirza Sahib keeps saying.
Mirza Sahib, in his explanation of the Hadith of Qirtas, says about a statement of Hazrat Umar, may Allah be pleased with him:
"There are two words here that I want to address here, which are very dangerous words. One word is what came from the tongue of Sayyiduna Umar; I will read the Arabic wording which was in the first narration: 'غَلَبَ عَلَيْهِ الْوَجَعُ'. The Prophet, peace be upon him, is severely ill 'وَجَعُ' means severely ill. Now this can also be interpreted that Sayyiduna Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, meant that the Prophet, peace be upon him, is severely ill, so leave him in his condition, do not trouble him, he is in pain. And the other possibility is, God forbid, what others said, but about Sayyiduna Umar we do not think this because here the words can be interpreted, so we will interpret here, because when the meaning goes both ways, one should have positive good opinion about a Muslim. But the other narration, 'Oh, Thursday is the day,' does not have the words of Sayyiduna Umar; it says that people said, and obviously at that time not everyone was educated and wise..."
55-b- Mas'alah Wassi-e-RASOOL kon hai? - 46:28
What is the principle stated by Mirza Sahib? That when the meaning goes both ways, we take the positive meaning, and he said that one should have good opinion about a Muslim. So Mirza Sahib! Hazrat Muawiyah, may Allah be pleased with him, is not only a Muslim but also a Companion of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him. Yet Mirza Sahib's duplicity is evident before you.
Consider! If Hazrat Muawiyah, may Allah be pleased with him, was indeed ordering to curse, then why did Hazrat Saad ibn Abi Waqqas, may Allah be pleased with him, narrate a hadith about the virtue of Hazrat Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, instead of narrating a hadith about the prohibition of cursing? Cursing is forbidden for everyone in any case, so if Hazrat Saad, may Allah be pleased with him, was really being ordered to curse, he should have said that cursing is forbidden, the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, strictly forbade it, therefore I will never curse. But he did not say anything like that, which also shows that the matter is not about cursing.
The Return of Hazrat Muawiyah (May Allah be pleased with him):
In the same story, it is mentioned that when Hazrat Saad bin Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in praise of Sayyidina Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), he became silent and never spoke about such matters again. At the end of this very narration in Sunan al-Kubra by al-Nasa'i (as presented by Mirza Sahib), it is stated: وَاللهِ مَا ذَكَرَهُ مُعَاوِيَةُ بِحَرْفٍ حَتّٰى خَرَجَ مِنَ الْمَدِينَةِ۔
“By Allah, after that, Hazrat Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) did not say a single word about this until he left Medina.”
Reference: (Sunan al-Kubra by al-Nasa'i: 8385)
Its chain of narration is Hasan (good). In fact, Mirza Sahib himself quoted this narration in his research paper and wrote: قال الشيخ غلام مصطفى في خصائص علي: اسناد صحيح۔
But it is regrettable that much emphasis is placed on the first part of this narration, and it is greatly exaggerated to criticize Hazrat Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him). However, there is also a positive aspect in this narration, that Hazrat Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) refrained from this act, and even after this incident, there is no evidence that he ever spoke against Sayyidina Ali (may Allah be pleased with him). Therefore, after his repentance, it is absolutely unjustified to use this as a basis to insult him. Mirza Sahib says that you people hide these hadiths, and I do not insult Hazrat Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him), rather I only state the truth and point out mistakes. By Allah, all this is false. If your intention is truly this, then why do you not highlight the positive aspect present in it and create a positive impression? And it is also a very low form of falsehood to claim that you only point out mistakes and do not insult, while your behavior and tone indicate that your sole purpose is to criticize him, and under the pretext of pointing out mistakes, you merely level false accusations against him.
And mentioning Imam Muslim (may Allah have mercy on him), you say that he wrote in the introduction of Sahih Muslim that he wrote this book for the general public. But did he say that the word "Sab" (all) means insult, and that by the order of Hazrat Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him), Sayyidina Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was insulted from pulpits for sixty years? And that Hazrat Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) did this out of hatred for Ali and tribal prejudice? Therefore, stop deceiving people in the name of Sahih Muslim and Imam Muslim.
There is no evidence in this narration to support your claim. Your claim is that Hazrat Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) himself used to insult Sayyidina Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) (may Allah protect us!) and ordered it, and by his command, curses and insults were pronounced against Sayyidina Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) from pulpits, and this continued for sixty years. So Mirza Sahib! Neither does this narration mention Hazrat Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) insulting or abusing anyone, nor does it mention any order for curses or insults, nor is there any proof of this from any pulpit, nor for sixty years! Sixty years is far-fetched, sixty months is far-fetched, sixty weeks is far-fetched, sixty days is far-fetched; rather, this narration proves that after this, nothing of this sort ever came from Hazrat Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him). Therefore, this narration should be presented in favor of Hazrat Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him), not to criticize him. And based on the differences among the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), no negative impression should be spread about any one party, nor should hatred be held or spread against any one of them. A very beautiful saying is narrated from Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal (may Allah have mercy on him) regarding this, when he was asked:
مَا تَقُولُ فِيمَا كَانَ مِنْ عَلِيٍّ وَمُعَاوِيَةَ رَحِمَهُمَا اللّٰهُ؟ فَقَالَ أَبُو عَبْدِ اللّٰهِ: مَا أَقُولُ فِيهَا إِلَّا الْحُسْنَى، رَحِمَهُمُ اللّٰهُ أَجْمَعِينَ۔
“What do you say about the matter between Sayyidina Ali and Sayyidina Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with both)?” Imam Abu Abdullah (Ahmad bin Hanbal) (may Allah have mercy on him) replied: “I only speak well about it; may Allah have mercy on all of them (the Companions).”
Reference: (Al-Sunnah by Al-Khallal: 713)
Alhamdulillah, we also follow the methodology of Ahl al-Sunnah, but is Mirza Sahib’s conduct also that of Ahl al-Sunnah? We leave that judgment to you.
Based on this narration from Muslim, Mirza Sahib deceives by claiming that Hazrat Saad (may Allah be pleased with him) was very opposed to Hazrat Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him), and then colors it differently, which is a lie. The commentary attributed to Hazrat Saad bin Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him) about Hazrat Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him), does the engineer ever present it in the name of truthfulness? You (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
ما رأيت أحدا بعد عثمان أقضى بحق من صاحب هذا الباب يعني معاوية۔
“After Hazrat Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him), I have not seen anyone who judged more rightly than the one with the door, i.e., Hazrat Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him).”
Reference: (Tarikh Dimashq by Ibn Asakir: 161/59)
Sheikh Ghulam Mustafa Amanpuri (may Allah preserve him) called its chain Hasan (good).
Reference: (Difa’ al-Sahabah: 504)
In summary, there is nothing in this narration from Sahih Muslim that supports the engineer’s claim. Your main objection is about curses and insults, but here neither curses nor insults are mentioned. Rather, if this narration even raises an objection against Hazrat Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him), then according to the same narration, that objection is removed because Hazrat Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) repented from it later and never spoke against Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) again.
And this narration is also in favor of Hazrat Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) and against the engineer because you lie that Hazrat Muawiyah’s government was oppressive and that those who spoke in front of him were treated very badly. Whereas here, Hazrat Saad (may Allah be pleased with him) fearlessly responded to Hazrat Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) and praised Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him). What was Hazrat Muawiyah’s reaction? It was 100% the opposite of what Mirza Sahib used to say. You (may Allah be pleased with him) not only listened to him but also repented through your actions and never spoke about it again.
Now see the argument presented by Mirza Sahib as evidence that in this narration of Sahih Muslim, "Sab" (all) means curse or insult.
