soon as the Romans were driven back and the Islamic army gained the advantage, they cried with a great regret: "O, pity for you Romans!"(65)
When the battle ended and the Muslims defeated the Romans, I told the story to my father az-Zubayr. He laughed and said: "May God destroy them, for not abandoning their rancor! For, we are better than the Romans for them."(66)
The above incident is narrated differently elsewhere, namely: Whenever the Romans drove back the Muslims Abu. Sufyan shouted: "Long live the Romans!" But when the Muslims gained some advantage, Abu Sufyan cried out: "It seems that no living personality has remained from the Roman nobility."
When the warriors of Islam won the final victory, and I told my father the story, he held my hand and took me among various groups of Muslims, saying to each group: "My son! Repeat the story for them!" I repeated all I had heard, and they were amazed at all that hypocrisy and hostility to Islam.(67)

Abu Sufyan in the time of 'Uthman

By God! There exists neither a heaven, nor a hell!
Abu Sufyan

Time passed and with the assassination of 'Umar, 'Uthman became caliph, and Abu Sufyan, owing to his kinship with 'Uthman, found new respect, and he was no longer humiliated. One day when he went to 'Uthman's presence and said: "0 sons of Umayyah! Since the time the caliphate had fallen into the hands of the men of the Taym and 'Adi tribes (meaning Abu Bakr and 'Umar) I coveted that position. Now that it has fallen into your hands, you should take turns in seizing it, in the same way that children pass a ball to one another. I swear to God that there exists neither a heaven nor a hell!"(68)(69)
Another narration says that Abu Sufyan declared: "O Banu Umayyah! Pass the caliphate like a ball to each other. I swear in the name of him to whom Abu Sufyan takes an oath that I have been hoping for a long time to see the caliphate in your