There are various things to be seen in this story. First of all, when 'Abdu'r-Rahman b. Zayd **considered he had been wronged by the governor, **Marwan, he felt free to go straight to the Khalif and take up the matter. Although Mu'awiya's **position was based on valid **ijtihad, realising that it was a conflict between himself and someone else, Mu'awiya empowered the Qadi **to judge over him. This means that the khalif was not above the judgement of the Shari'a. Indeed, the Qadi would not even go to the **khalifa. The khalif had to go to the qadi, which indicates that all were equal as far as the Shari'a **was concerned, and Mu'awiya **accepted **this. He accepted it when the judgement went against him and even **thanked **the Qadi for ensuring that he did what **was right. There is absolutely no sense of royal **prerogative **here and a complete admission that he was in the wrong and the willingness to be corrected and put right.
Once Mu'awiya said in a khutba, "'Umar *appointed me over **Syria **and then *'Uthman **did so after him. By Allah, I never **swindled **nor **monopolised. Then Allah appointed me to command, and I did well sometimes and badly sometimes." Then a man stood up and said, "O Mu'awiya! Rather you monopolised and were bad and neither good nor just!" He said to the man, "Sit down. Why are you speaking?" They went on to exchange words with each other until Mu'awiya said, "Sit down or I will make you sit down." At which the man exclaimed, "I will not sit down! I will go as far from you as possible!" He made to leave and Mu'awiya said, "Bring him back." They brought him back and Mu'awiya said, "I ask Allah's forgiveness. I saw you when you came to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and greeted him and he returned the greeting to you and you were guided to him and he accepted that from you. You became a good Muslim. We have spoken harshly to you. *Tell us what you need and I will give to you and you will be satisfied." *
The Companion, al-Miswar b. Makhrama *visited Mu'awiya and said, "Peace be upon, you, **O king!" *......Muavia said, "I know better what you said. Why do you attack the **amirs?" **He replied, "I do not leave anything without **criticising **it." He said, 'Miswar! We are not **innocent **of wrong actions but we hope for **the mercy **of Allah. I am following a **Shari'a **of certainty in which Allah accepts the good and **overlooks **the evil. If I were to be given a choice between Allah and what is other than Him, I would **chose Him, and then He would take care of my needs."
He once wrote to 'A'isha **requesting some succinct **advice **and she wrote back, "I heard the Messenger of Allah say, 'If anyone seeks the **pleasure **of people at the expense of the **wrath **of Allah, Allah will entrust him to them until the one who praised him becomes his **critic. If anyone seeks the pleasure of Allah at the expense **of people, Allah will be enough for him against them.'" He took this to heart and later said on the **minbar of Damascus, "No one abandons fearfulness **of Allah but that the one who praised him becomes his **critic."
One of the instructions of **Mu'awiya **to a new **governor **was:
"Open your door **to the people; thus you will have information from them. You and they are equal. When you decide on a matter, express it **openly **to the people, and no one will expect anything or make demands on you, and you will be able to **carry **it out. When you encounter your **enemies, and they defeat you at the border of your territory, do not let them defeat you in its interior. If your companions need you to assist them personally, do so."
He also said, "Fear Allah **and do not prefer anything to that, for there is a reward in fearing Him." He added, "Do not tempt anyone with that to which he has no **right, and do not make anyone feel **hopeless **regarding his rights." This sense of **duty **to the people under one's authority was important.
Mu'awiya also said when he appointed someone, *"The matters most proper to be hastened are the rights of Allah." *
If you look closely at *Mu'awiya **and examine his behaviour, you will see that what he actually did was to take on the **Sunna **of the Prophet and try to embody it as much as **possible **in a real and constructive way. If one looks at his statements and behaviour, his **inspiration **always came from the Prophet, may Allah's blessings be upon him. He envisaged himself as following in the **footsteps of his predecessors. *
Really Sis ...your behaviour is so painful to me...is difference of opinion is so **great **issue that you start behaving like this...so sad i am....
You are doing MBA but your attitude seems to be pony-tail 8 years old school going girl ..... I am really sad by your behaviour...even my shia friends have not done such things......
At this point, we should perhaps remark on what is perhaps the major criticism *most people direct against **Mu'awiya *– the fact that he chose his son **Yazid **to succeed him, thereby instituting a dynasty. Mu'awiya had seen the effects of a **civil war **and was keen to **avoid another one. There was more than one possible contender for leadership at that time. There was not ONLY *Husayn, the grandson of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, but also *'Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr, who had an even larger following in the Hijaz. *'Abdullah ibn 'Umar **could also have made a claim, but he was only interested in matters of the deen. There were also various **Kharijite groups waiting for an opportunity to assert themselves. *
Mu'awiya, a great pragmatist, realised that Husayn **certainly had **better **character than his son and **Ibn az-Zubayr a wider following, but he realised also that Yazid had the army of Syria **behind him, which could **enforce peace **and **prevent civil war. **He urged Yazid to **avoid bloodshed **as much as possible. **When criticised for having people give their allegiance to Yazid in advance, Mu'awiya pointed out that Abu Bakr had named 'Umar as his successor before his death, and that the upheaval involved in an election could lead to another civil war, **which would involve Muslim blood being shed and offer the **enemies **of the Muslims an opportunity to **attack. It was not the desire for a dynasty **which led Mu'awiya to have people offer allegiance to his son while he was still alive, but the desire to ensure **peace **and **prevent civil war.
This is too much!