Chapters
A word from the Persian translator
Preface: aim of the survey and discussion
The lineage of Mu'awiyah: Abu Sufyan and Hind
The Umayyads in pagan times
    Abu Sufyan in the battle of Badr
Abu Sufyan in the battle of Uhud
Hind in the battle of Uhud
Abu Sufyan as leader in the battle of al-Khandaq
Feeling of weakness and proposal of peace
Mecca is captured
    Abu Sufyan and his position in the Islamic community
    Abu Sufyan in the time of the first two caliphs
    Abu Sufyan in the time of 'Uthman
    Mu'awiyah in the time of the Prophet
    Mu'awiyah in the time of the caliphs
    Mu'awiyah and 'Uthman
    Abu Dharr facing Mu'awiyah
    A fable in the history of Islam
    Quranic Memorizers and Interpreters of Kufah in ash-Sham
    Mu'awiyah after 'Uthman
    Siffin, the battlefield scene of right over wrong
    The trickery of Mu'awiyah
    Abu Musa and 'Amr ibn al-'As
    ash-Shami plunderes
    Jariyah ibn Qudamah, a man of the Alawite front
    Two opposing politics
    Mu'awiyah in the time of Imam al-Hasan al-Mujtaba
    Motives for peace
    Cautious treatment of enemies
    Crafty Arabs in the trap laid by Mu'awiyah
    Heavy taxes
    The Shi'ah in torture and molestation
    Governing becomes hereditary and imperial
    Allegiance to Yazid in Basra
    Allegiance to Yazid in ash-Sham
    Allegiance to Yazid in Medina
    Allegiance to Yazid demands victims
    Ceremonies of allegiance to Yazid
    What caused the friendship between 'A'ishah and the Umayyads
41 Gifts of Mu'awiyah
    the influence of 'A'ishah in the rule of the Umayyads
    'A'ishah and Mu'awiyah in reciprocal contention
    Death of Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr
    'Abd ar-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr is poisoned
    'A'ishah is penitent about the battle of al-Jamal
    'A'ishah generosity
    Her family bigotry
    'A'ishah as an eminent orator
    'A'ishah as a well -dressed woman
    'A'ishah's monopoly of verdicts
    Anecdotes in the life of 'A'ishah
    TA brief glance at the life of Mu'awiyah
    Traditional making
    Freed persons and the caliphate
    A cover for inferiority complexes
    The fate of the noble persons who did not co-operate with Mu'awiyah
    Imam 'Ali is cursed on Islamic pulpits
    A group of people refuses to curse
    The ultimate goal of Mu'awiyah
    A tradition from 'A'ishah
    Conclusion and purpose
    Addendum
     

 

 

THE ROLE OF AISHAH IN THE HISTORY OF ISLAM
In the name of God, the almightyl
A fable in the history of Islam

says: When Ibn as-Sawda' arrived in ash-Sham, he met Abu Dharr and said to him: Abu Dharr, are you not surprised at Mu'awiyah who says: 'Wealth belongs to God', whereas everything belongs to God? Then he adds: Mu'awiyah intends to swallow the whole of the public funds and revenue, and deprive the Muslims of it."(120)
Here at-Tabari is quoting the story of 'Abd Allah ibn Saba', the fabulous hero of the history of Islam, with the title of Ibn asSawda' and we have shown in the book of 'Abd Allah ibn Saba', two volumes of which have been published, that it is full of lies and fables, and interested readers can refer to them.
All the historians who have succeeded at-Tabari have more or less followed his example in quoting the said story. For example, Ibn al-Athir, the great historian of the 7th century, writes in his history book: 'In that year (30th of the Hijrah) the incident of Abu Dharr's exile from ash-Sham to Medina by Mu'awiyah took place. Many things have been said about the motive and cause of this matter including Mu'awiyah's abuses and threats to Abu Dharr and his expulsion on a bare camel, his exile to Medina in that tragic state, which should be left, unsaid. If it is true, it would be fitting to offer an excuse for 'Uthman about this matter such as the claim that a ruler and imam can chastise his subject and so on, and not make use of such incidents as a basis of irony and criticism towards 'Uthman. These narrations contain matters, which I do not like to quote. But Mu'awiyah's apologists have offered some excuses in this connection. They write… "(121)
Then he narrates the story of 'Abd Allah ibn Saba', the imaginary and untrue hero of the stories of Sayf ibn 'Umar from at-Tabari, and this is exactly what Ibn Kathir, Ibn Khaldun and others have done. But when we refer to at-Tabari's words, we see that he does not disregard the numerous calamities, which have befallen Abu Dharr owing to their being false and forged, but he merely does not like to quote them, since he does not wish to blemish such Prophet's companions as 'Uthman and Mu'awiyah.
Then he speaks of apologists and excuse-makers and fills his great book with their false and fabulous reports, such reports which he himself calls "fibs". Thus he closes the door of truth


 

 


« Previous              Next »