Difference between revisions of "Muawiyah" - New World Encyclopedia

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Mu'awiyah I (602 - May 6, 680) was founder of the Umayyad Dynasty of Islamic caliphs. He fought against the fourth caliph, 'Ali (Muhammad's son-in-law), seized Egypt, and assumed the caliphate after 'Ali's assassination in 661. He reigned from 661 to 680. His full name was Mu`āwīyah ibn Abu Sufyan.

Because he opposed Ali, whom the Shi'a Muslims believe was Muhammad's true successor (see Succession to Muhammad), he has been hated and reviled by generations of Shi'a.

Early Life

Muawiyah(معاوية) was born (c. 602) into a powerful clan, (Banu Abd Shams), of the tribe of the Quraysh. The Quraysh controlled the city of Mecca, in what is now northwestern Saudi Arabia, and the Banu Abd Shams were among the most influential of its citizens. Mu'awiyah's father was Abu Sufiyan ibn Harb.

Many of the Abd Shams opposed and persecuted the Islamic prophet Muhammad when he was preaching his new faith in Mecca, and joined in the armed battles that followed the flight of Muhammad and his followers to Medina. Mu'awiyah is said to have accepted Islam in defiance of his relatives, but hid his conversion and stayed in Mecca rather than immigrate to Medina. (The Shi'a dispute this.) In 630 C.E., Muhammad and his followers conquered Mecca, and most of the Meccans, including the Abd Shams, formally submitted to Muhammad and to Islam.

Muhammad was merciful to his former opponents, letting them join his armies and hold important posts in the expanding Islamic empire. Mu'awiyah became one of Muhammad's scribes. After Muhammad's death in 632, he served in the Islamic army sent against the Byzantine forces in present-day Syria. He served with his brother Yazid, who was appointed governor of the newly conquered province.

Governor of Syria

Upon the death of Yazid in 640, Mu'awiyah was appointed governor of Syria by the caliph 'Umar and gradually gained mastery over the other areas of Syria, instilling remarkable personal loyalty among his troops and the people of the region. By 647 Mu'awiyah had built a Syrian army strong enough to repel a Byzantine attack and, in subsequent years, to take the offensive against the Byzantines in campaigns that resulted in the capture of Cyprus (649) and Rhodes (654) and a devastating defeat of the Byzantine navy off the coast of Lycia (655). At the same time, Mu'awiyah periodically dispatched land expeditions into Anatolia. All these campaigns, however, came to a halt with the accession of Ali ibn Abi Talib to the caliphate, when a new and decisive phase of Mu'awiyah's career began.

Conflict with Ali

As a kinsman of the slain caliph 'Uthman, Mu'awiyah bore the duty of revenge. Because 'Ali did not apprehend and punish 'Uthman's murderers, Mu'awiyah regarded him as an accomplice to the murder and refused to acknowledge his caliphate. However he did not participate in the rebellion of Aisha (the Prophet's widow), Talha and Zubair who went to war against Ali in the Battle of the Camel. Ali was victorious and pardoned Aisha, had her escorted to Medina and allocated her a pension. Ali then turned towards Syria, which was in open revolt under her governor. He marched to the Euphrates and engaged Mu'awiyah's troops at the famous Battle of Siffin (657).

There, Mu'awiyah's guile turned near defeat into a truce. Resorting to a strategy that played upon the religious sensibilities of 'Ali's forces, he ordered his troops to hoist copies of the Qur'an on their lances, as a request for religious arbitration. He thus persuaded the enemy to enter into negotiations that ultimately cast doubt on the legitimacy of 'Ali's caliphate and alienated a sizable number of his supporters. When these former supporters—the Kharijites—rose in rebellion against 'Ali, Mu'awiyah took advantage of 'Ali's difficulties in Iraq to send a force to seize control of Egypt.

Thus, when 'Ali was assassinated in 661, Mu'awiyah held both Syria and Egypt and, as commander of the largest force in the Muslim Empire, had the strongest claim to the caliphate. 'Ali's son Hasan, after initial defiance of Mu'awiyah, ceased hostilities and retired to Medina, where he lived a quiet private life.

Sunni Muslims claim that Hasan pledged allegiance to Mu'awiyah. Most Shi'a Muslims say that he never pledged allegiance, merely ceased to advance his claim to the caliphate. This was done out of consideration for the supporters of Ali's family, who had been much reduced during the tumults of Ali's caliphate.

Rule

After his accession to the position of Caliph, Mu'awiya governed the geographically and politically disparate Caliphate, which spread from Egypt in the West to Iran in the East, by strengthening the power of his allies in the newly conquered Arab territories. Prominent positions within the emerging governmental structures were held by Christians, some of whom belonged to families that had served in Byzantine governments. The employment of Christians was part of a broader policy of religious tolerance that was necessitated by the presence of large Christian populations in the conquered provinces, especially in Syria itself. This policy also boosted his popularity and solidified Syria as his power base. Mu'awiyah instituted several Byzantine-style bureaucracies, called diwans, to aid him in the governance and the centralization of the Caliphate and the empire. Early Arabic sources credit two diwans in particular to Mu'awiyah: the diwan al-khatam, or chancellery, and the bareed, or postal service, both of which greatly improved communications within the empire.

Mu'awiyah died May 6, 680. He was succeeded by his son Yazid I. Yazid did not hold power long. Mu'awiyah had held the expanding empire together by force of his personality, through personal allegiances, in the style of a traditional Arab sheikh. Yazid did not have his father's charisma and was soon deposed by a kinsman.

Legacy

Mu'awiyah greatly beautified Damascus and developed a court to rival that of the Byzantines. He expanded the frontiers of the empire, reaching the very gates of Constantinople at one point, though failing to hold any territory in Asia Minor. Sunni Muslims credit him with saving the fledgling Muslim nation from post civil war anarchy.

One of Mu'awiyah's most controversial and enduring legacies was his decision to designate his son as his successor, thereby converting the Caliphate from an elective office to a dynasty. He attempted to preserve the form of the election however, by causing his nobles and the chiefs of the empire to elect and swear allegiance to his son in his own lifetime, a tradition that endured for several succeeding dynasties.

The Sunni view of Mu'awiya

Mu'awiya is not recognized as one of the Four Rightly Guided caliphs. Most of the early Sunni historians saw his rule, and that of the Umayyad dynasty that followed him, as a descent into mere worldly rule, kingship rather than religious leadership. These historians were writing after the fall of the Umayyad dynasty to the Abbasids, and hence their writings reflect the Abbasid justifications for the Umayyad overthrow. (See Historiography of early Islam.) Few later Sunni historians wholeheartedly defend Mu'awiya.

However, they do not dispute his right to rule. Sunni clerics and scholars have generally preached submission to authority, even when authority is less than perfect. Sunnis tend to view communal dissension with horror and accept flawed rule as preferable to civil war.

The Shi'a view of Mu'awiya

The Shi'a have lost no opportunity to vilify Mu'awiya. His name is said to mean "Howling bitch in heat" [1]. His supposed conversion to Islam before the conquest of Mecca is dismissed as a fable, or mere hypocrisy. He is said to have opposed Ali, the rightful caliph, out of sheer greed for power and wealth. His reign was an unparalleled disaster, marked by persecution of Ali and his followers.

Preceded by:
Ali
Caliph
661–680
Succeeded by:
Yazid I

See also

  • Family tree of Muawiyah ibn Abu Sufyan
  • Sahaba

External links

Neutral view

Critical view


Apologetic view

ar:معاوية بن أبي سفيان de:Muawiya I. fr:Muawiya Ier ms:Muawiyah bin Abu Sufyan ja:ムアーウィヤ zh:穆阿维叶一世

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