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.
Incorrect Interpretation of "حُفِظتَ" and "عُصِمتَ":
Mirza Sahib translates these words as: Habib bin Muslimah said, "Abdullah bin Umar remained silent and thus saved both his honor and his life." Then he says, "Now it is clear what happens when one speaks out?"
This is a pointless nitpicking matter; the issue is simply that when Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) himself said that there was a possibility that his words could be misunderstood, and on the basis of some misunderstanding, division and fighting could occur between the two groups, and if that happened, then Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) could also be blamed. For this very reason, Habib bin Muslimah said that you were saved from this issue and fitnah. He never said that you saved your life by remaining silent.
Imam Yahya bin Hubayrah (may Allah have mercy on him) writes in the explanation of these words:
"حفظت وعصمت" يعني أن الله تعالى عصمه من الخطأ، وحفظه من قول يثير فتنة۔ "The meaning of حُفِظتَ and عُصِمتَ is that Allah Almighty kept you free from error and you avoided saying something that could cause fitnah."
Reference: (Al-Ifsah 'an Ma'ani al-Sihah:206/4)
All this is just the talk of Engineer Sahib, who claims that the rule of Hazrat Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) was a tyrannical monarchy, that those who spoke against him met a very bad end, oppression was rampant, and people were silenced by the sword. This is one hundred percent false and baseless. Many examples can be presented against this, but since this is not our topic, we will suffice with just one narration:
عَنْ أَبِي قَبِيلٍ قَالَ: خَطَبَنَا مُعَاوِيَةُ فِي يَوْمِ جُمُعَةٍ فَقَالَ: إِنَّمَا الْمَالُ مَالُنَا وَالْفَيْءُ فَيْئُنَا، مَنْ شِئْنَا أَعْطَيْنَا، وَمَنْ شِئْنَا مَنَعْنَا، فَلَمْ يَرُدَّ عَلَيْهِ أَحَدٌ، فَلَمَّا كَانَتِ الْجُمُعَةُ الثَّانِيَةُ، قَالَ مِثْلَ مَقَالَتِهِ، فَلَمْ يَرُدَّ عَلَيْهِ أَحَدٌ، فَلَمَّا كَانَتِ الْجُمُعَةُ الثَّالِثَةُ، قَالَ مِثْلَ مَقَالَتِهِ، فَقَامَ إِلَيْهِ رَجُلٌ مِمَّنْ شَهِدَ الْمَسْجِدَ فَقَالَ: كَلَّا، بَلِ الْمَالُ مَالُنَا وَالْفَيْءُ فَيْئُنَا، مَنْ حَالَ بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَهُ حَاكَمْنَاهُ بِأَسْيَافِنَا، فَلَمَّا صَلَّى أَمَرَ بِالرَّجُلِ، فَأُدْخِلَ عَلَيْهِ، فَأَجْلَسَهُ مَعَهُ عَلَى السَّرِيرِ، ثُمَّ أَذِنَ لِلنَّاسِ فَدَخَلُوا عَلَيْهِ، ثُمَّ قَالَ: أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ، إِنِّي تَكَلَّمْتُ فِي أَوَّلِ جُمُعَةٍ فَلَمْ يَرُدَّ عَلَيَّ أَحَدٌ، وَفِي الثَّانِيَةِ فَلَمْ يَرُدَّ عَلَيَّ أَحَدٌ، فَلَمَّا كَانَتِ الثَّالِثَةُ أَحْيَانِي هَذَا أَحْيَاهُ اللهُ، سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ: سَيَأْتِي قَوْمٌ يَتَكَلَّمُونَ فَلَا يُرَدُّ عَلَيْهِمْ، يَتَقَاحَمُونَ فِي النَّارِ تَقَاحُمَ الْقِرَدَةِ، فَخَشِيتُ أَنْ يَجْعَلَنِيَ اللهُ مِنْهُمْ، فَلَمَّا رَدَّ هَذَا عَلَيَّ أَحْيَانِي، أَحْيَاهُ اللهُ، وَرَجَوْتُ أَنْ لَا يَجْعَلَنِيَ اللهُ مِنْهُمْ ۔
"It is narrated from a trustworthy Tabi'i, Abu Qabeel, who said: Once Hazrat Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) gave the Friday sermon and (as a test) said: Indeed, this wealth is ours and this Fai' wealth is ours; we give it to whomever we wish and withhold it from whomever we wish." No one contradicted him. Then the next Friday, he repeated the same statement, and again no one contradicted him. Then on the third Friday, he repeated the same statement, and a man stood up and said: Absolutely not! This wealth is ours and this Fai' wealth is also ours, and whoever stands between us and it, we will take it by our swords. After Hazrat Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) finished the prayer, he ordered that the man be brought to him. The man was brought, and Hazrat Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) seated him on a cot, then allowed others to come in. Then Hazrat Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: O people! When I spoke on the first Friday, no one contradicted me; on the second Friday, no one opposed me; but on the third Friday, this man revived me—may Allah keep him alive. I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) say: 'Soon such people will come who will speak but their falsehood will not be refuted; they will jump after each other like monkeys in Hell.' I feared that Allah might make me one of them, but this man rejected my words and revived me—may Allah keep him alive. Now I hope that Allah will not count me among those (unfortunate) people."
Reference: (Musnad Abi Ya'la:7382)
This narration has been graded Hasan by Imam Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) and Muhaddith Albani (may Allah have mercy on him)
Reference: (Tarikh al-Islam by Dhahabi:314/4, Sahihah:398/4)
, and Sheikh Hussain Saleem Asad (may Allah have mercy on him) declared it authentic in the authentication of Musnad Abi Ya'la. Here you go! The impression they give based on these vague narrations is completely opposite to the truth. Rather, Hazrat Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) used to wish that if he said something wrong, it should be rejected, and full freedom of opinion was granted.
Was the name of Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) mentioned first when forming the Shura committee?
Now let us also take a look at Mirza Sahib's doctrine that Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) mentioned the name of Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) first among the companions of the Shura. This clarification is necessary because on this basis Mirza Sahib lied about Hazrat Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him), claiming that he actually took revenge because you mentioned six people’s names and Ali’s name was first! That is, Mirza Sahib wants to convince that Hazrat Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) thought that Umar did not mention his name, and if he did mention, then among those mentioned, the first was Sayyidina Ali (may Allah be pleased with him). This gave the impression that Hazrat Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) harbored enmity and hatred towards Sayyidina Ali (may Allah be pleased with him). Whereas all this is a bundle of lies and rather the ignorance of Engineer Sahib.
This very hadith is in "Tabaqat al-Kubra" with an authentic chain and in this order of names: وَإِنَّمَا الْأَمْرُ إِلَى سِتَّةٍ، إِلَى عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ وَعُثْمَانَ وَعَلِيٍّ وَالزُّبَيْرِ وَطَلْحَةَ وَسَعْدٌ۔ that "The matter of the caliphate was settled among these six persons: Abdur Rahman bin Awf, Uthman, Ali, Zubair, Talha, and Saad (may Allah be pleased with them)." At the end of this narration is:
قَالَ سَالِمٌ: قُلْتُ لِعَبْدِ اللَّهِ: أَبَدَأَ بِعَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ قَبْلَ عَلِيٍّ قَالَ: نَعَمْ وَاللَّهِ۔
"The narrator of the hadith, Salim, asked Hazrat Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them), did Sayyidina Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) mention the name of Hazrat Abdur Rahman bin Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) before Sayyidina Ali (may Allah be pleased with him)? Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) said: By Allah, yes!"
Reference: (Al-Tabaqat al-Kubra:344/3)
Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) comments on this:
وقع عِنْدَ بْنِ سَعْدٍ مِنْ رِوَايَةِ بْنِ عُمَرَ أَنَّهُ ذَكَرَ عَبْدَ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنَ عَوْفٍ وَعُثْمَانَ وَعَلِيًّا وَفِيهِ قُلْتُ لِسَالِمٍ أَبَدَأَ بِعَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ عَوْفٍ قَبْلَهُمَا قَالَ نَعَمْ فَدَلَّ هَذَا عَلَى أَنَّ الرُّوَاةَ تَصَرَّفُوا لِأَنَّ الْوَاوَ لَا تُرَتِّبُ۔
"In Ibn Sa'd, in the narration of Hazrat Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them), the names were mentioned in this order: Abdur Rahman bin Awf, Uthman, and Ali (may Allah be pleased with them). And in that narration, the narrator said, I asked Salim, did Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) mention Hazrat Abdur Rahman (may Allah be pleased with him) before all of them? He said: By Allah, yes! This indicates that (here in the authentic Bukhari narration) one of the narrators changed the order, because 'waw' (and) is not used for ordering."
Reference: (Fath al-Bari:67/7)
So when this correct Bukhari order of names was not even stated by Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), what value remains in the lie that Mirza Sahib attributed to Hazrat Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) on this basis? Mirza Sahib spreads lies about Hazrat Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) by citing Sahih Bukhari and gives the impression that he was personally an enemy of Sayyidina Ali (may Allah be pleased with him). May Allah protect us.
