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HISTORY OF THE ISLAMIC STATE

The Differences Between the RighteousCaliphate and the Umayyad Caliphate

Submitted ByJunaid Mirza

Date

September 30, 2004

Submitted ToDr. Tariq Abdelhaleem

Dar Al-ArqamAmerican Open University


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Table of Contents Introduction _________________________________________________________________ 1

Appointment of the Caliph______________________________________________________ 3

Role of Consultation (Shura) in Running the Government____________________________ 5

Status of the Public Treasury (Bait al-Maal) _______________________________________ 7

Freedom of Expression _______________________________________________________ 10

Superiority of the Law ________________________________________________________ 13

Tribal Loyalty and Nationalism_________________________________________________ 17

Conclusion _________________________________________________________________ 18

Bibliography________________________________________________________________ 20


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The Differences between the RighteousCaliphate and the Umayyad Caliphate

IntroductionIn the Quran Allah uses the word deen for Islam. By calling Islam a deen -- a way of life --Allah distinguishes Islam from a set of rituals and gives it a comprehensive status. As a way of life, Islam has the authority to rule the private and the public conduct of humankind. Unlike other ways of life that govern either the public only or the private only, Islam traces the source of allauthority back to the Creator and thus relies solely on the Creator for guidance in all mattersconcerning this life.

The clearest distinction between Islam and other religions of the 21 st century is that Islam insistson running the public life in accordance with what Allah has revealed where other religions limitGod to only the private life. The Quran clearly and repeatedly explains the legal sovereignty(hakimiyyah ) of Allah. Allah says in the Quran:

Surely, We have revealed the scripture to you (O Muhammad) with truth, soobey Allah, making deen pure for Him (only) .1

The Quran even goes to the extent of declaring all authority that does not find its source in Allahas wicked and unjust. Allah states in the Quran:

and whoever did not judge by what Allah revealed, those are they that are theunbelievers and whoever did not judge by what Allah revealed, those are theythat are the unjust and whoever did not judge by what Allah revealed, those are

they that are the transgressors. 2

Having established that authority rests with Allah, the Quran also states the role of human beings:

And when your Lord said to the angels, I am going to place in the earth aviceroy (caliph), they said: What! will You place in it such as shall make mischief in it and shed blood, and we celebrate Your praise and extol Your holiness? He

said: Surely I know what you do not know. 3

So from the outset of human existence, man was to be a representative of Allah on this Earth. To

carryout his responsibilities man is required to establish the laws of Allah on His Earth. For this purpose, Allah sent Prophets after Prophets, from Adam to Muhammad . After the seal of the

1 Quran 39: 22 Quran 5: 44, 45, 473 Quran 2: 31


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Prophets, Muhammad , this responsibility fell on the shoulders of his companions and the restof the Muslim Ummah .

The four righteous Caliphs (lit. representatives) after the Prophet ran the affairs of the Muslimstate on the same lines as the Prophet himself. Though the Prophet never clearly stated

how the leadership of the Muslim Ummah should be decided, his companions knew that Islamrequires a consultative government based on meritocracy and not kingship based on inheritance. 4 The first four Caliphs of Islam did not seek leadership; rather they got it by the popular choice of the Muslim Ummah without ever striving to become Caliphs.

In the thirty years that passed between the passing away of the Prophet and the martyrdom of Caliph Ali , the Quran and the Sunnah were applied in their entirety. The Islamic state wasrun on the correct principles of Islam and this era came to be known as the era of the righteousCaliphs, or rightly guided Caliphs.

With the martyrdom of Ali in 40 A.H., the era of the righteous Caliphs came to an end. Whatfollowed it for the next thirteen hundred years was kingship based on the models of the Persianand the Roman empires. Though at the de jure level Islam always remained the officialconstitution and the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Prophet always remained the sourceof all law, at the de facto level the conduct of the Caliphs was sometimes in conflict with Islam.This conflict was often minor and negligible but sometimes it transgressed all bounds.

The shift away from Islams principles of government started with the ascension of Muawiyyahto the rank of Caliph and his appointment of his son Yazid as his successor. That was the start

of the Umayyad dynasty in specific and dynasties in general in the Islamic history. Though theera of the Umayyad dynasty is an era of great conquests and victories for Islam, it was verydifferent from the era of the righteous Caliphs.

These differences can be categorized into various groups; six of whom are briefly mentioned inthe following pages. These are:

1. Appointment of the Caliph;2. Role of consultation (Shura) in running the government;3. Status of the public treasury ( Bait al-Maal );4. Freedom of expression and criticism;5. Superiority of the law; and6. Role of race and ethnicity. 5

All of these highlight stark differences between the era of the righteous Caliphs and the era of the

Umayyad Caliphs. The following pages dwell on the areas where the Umayyad Caliphs waveredfrom the path of their righteous predecessors. Due to this, a very negative picture of theUmayyad Caliphate transpires. However, the era of the Umayyad Caliphate is the golden age of Islam. At the collective level, the Muslim Ummah was very close to its peak. Nevertheless, the

4 Mawdudi, 825 Mawdudi, 83


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conduct of the Caliphs, when compared against the righteous Caliphs was lacking in some areas;and it is only their mistakes over a hundred-year time span that are the primary focus of thefollowing pages. 6

Appointment of the Caliph

The first clear change was in the principle on which the leadership of the Muslim Ummah was to be chosen. In the era of the righteous Caliphs, the principle was that no one sought the positionof Caliphate. Rather, people selected the Caliphs on their own freewill based on a consultative

process. Pledge of allegiance was not the result of authority, but a reason for it. This changeddrastically after the era of the righteous Caliphs.

The Righteous Caliphs

Abu Bakr was the first Caliph after the Prophet and he was chosen for this position by the people of Madina, who represented the Muslim Ummah in general. He did not seek the position.

In fact, Abu Bakr had asked people to select either Ubaydah ibn Jarrah or Umar bin al-Khattab for the position when Umar hastened in pledging allegiance to him and theMuslims followed. 7

Similarly, Umar was appointed by Abu Bakr as a Caliph but his appointment was inconsultation with and affirmed by the Muslim Ummah . Abu Bakr consulted the respectedcompanions of the Prophet before announcing his decision, with their agreement, to leave theCaliphate to Umar . 8

In the case of Uthman , Abd ar-Rahman ibn Awf went around in the streets of Madina andthe through-ways of Hajj and asked people who, in their opinion, is the best person for theCaliphate and selected Uthman based on these surveys. Abd ar-Rahman ibn Awf , whenannouncing his decision, said, I saw that people refuse anybody but Uthman. 9

Even in the time of anarchy and chaos after the martyrdom of Uthman , Ali did not wish to be selected for the post of the Caliph without proper process. When some people hastened to pledge allegiance to him, he shunned them saying,

This is not for you to decide; rather this is the decision of the people of Shuraand the people of Badr. Whoever the two of them wish, will be the Caliph. So wewill gather and give thought to this matter. 10

6 Though one of the Umayyad Caliphs ruled on the same lines as the righteous Caliphs, the focus is still primarilythe shortcomings of the Umayyad dynasty. In this situation, the examples from the life of Umar bin Abd al-Azizare used to further highlight the shortcomings of the Umayyad dynasty overall.7 Suyuti, 578 Suyuti, 769 Suyuti, 16510 Mawdudi, 86


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In another narration, Ali said that pledge of allegiance on me should not be done secretly; it should be by the wishes of the people. 11

These clearly demonstrate that the Caliphate according to the companions of the Prophet wasan elected position based on consultation among the Muslims, and not an inherited position. The

difference between the Caliphate and the kingship is explained in the words of Abu Musa al-Ashari , Amaara (Caliphate) is that which is established by consultation and kingship isthat which is established by the sword .12

After the Righteous Caliphate

The principle of selecting the Caliph based on a consultative process changed with Muawiyyah, the first Caliph of the Umayyad dynasty. He was not elected by the Muslim Ummah , rather

he seized power by the sword; though the circumstances were such that, it can be argued, had henot seized power the Islamic state would have been thrust into anarchy and disintegration. 13 Whatever the reasons might be, the way Muawiyyah came into power was a deviation fromthe established principle.

Muawiyyah rejected the Caliphate of Ali , who was selected by the people of Madina and positioned himself as a claimant for Caliphate as well. He fought the battle of Siffin against Ali

and later negotiated with Hasan bin Ali to get Caliphate. Hasan bin Ali was thechoice of the majority of the Muslim Ummah after the demise of Ali and Muawiyyah wasaccepted by them only when Hasan withdrew in the interest of preserving peace and avoiding

bloodshed among the Muslims.

Muawiyyah himself was well-aware that he had come into power against the wishes of theMuslim Ummah . He said in an address in Madina,

By Allah, when taking the reigns of government over you, I was not unaware that you are not pleased with me in this and dislike it much. Whatever is in your heartsin this regard, I know it well; but I have taken this position by overpowering youwith my sword And now if you see that I am not fulfilling your rights fully, behappy with me with little. 14

Muawiyyah also started the tradition of Caliphate by inheritance when he appointed his sonYazid to be a Caliph after him. In the words of Hasan al-Basri, Yazid was an alcoholic who woresilk and used to indulge in music and was thus the least suitable person for the position of Caliphate. 15 However, Muawiyyah was perhaps unaware of these characteristics of Yazidand appointed him a successor after him. The companions of the Prophet were against the

appointment of Yazid. Scholars and companions like Ibn Zubayr and Ibn Umar tried to

11 Tabari, 4: 11212 Mawdudi, 8713 Tabari 18: 22114 Ibn Kathir 2: 12215 Mawdudi, 170


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stop Muawiyyah from appointing Yazid but to no avail. 16 A report by Bukhari indicates theefforts of the Umayyad family to justify the appointment of Yazid as the heir-apparent and thedislike of the companions for this,

Narrated Yusuf bin Mahak: Marwan had been appointed as the governor of Hijaz by Muawiyyah. He delivered a sermon and mentioned Yazid binMuawiyyah so that the people might take the oath of allegiance to him as the

successor of his father (Muawiyyah). Then 'Abdur Rahman bin Abu Bakr told him something whereupon Marwan ordered that he be arrested. But 'Abdur-

Rahman entered 'Aisha's house and they could not arrest him... "17

The above mentioned incident, given in more detail in the tafsir of Ibn Kathir mentions thatMarwan likened the appointment of Yazid by Muawiyyah to the appointment of Umar byAbu Bakr at which Abdur Rahman chastised him and likened it to the Caesar of Romeappointing his son as his successor. 18

Moreover, people of Madina resisted pledging allegiance on Yazid for some time. When all elsefailed, Yazid sent an army under the command of Muslim bin Uqba. After defeating the peopleof Madina, Muslim bin Uqba summoned people to give the oath of allegiance on the basis that they were servants of Yazid b. Muawiyyah, who would judge over their lives, their property, and their families as he wished .19

After this, it did not matter what the general Muslims thought about the Caliph. No one had thechoice of not pledging allegiance to the Caliph and even if someone did not do so, it had no

bearing on the position of the Caliph.

Appointing a successor from ones family was the beginning of a tradition that continued until1924 when Mustafa Kamal Pasha overthrew the last Ottoman Caliph to put an end to the

Caliphate.

Role of Consultation (Shura) in Running the Government

Once the principle of consultation with the Ummah disappeared in the selection of the Caliph, itwas only logical for it to disappear from the day to day running of the government. A leader,who is not selected according to the wishes of the populous, does not feel obliged to limithimself in decision-making to the wishes of the populous.

16 Mawdudi, 15017 Bukhari: Volume 6, Book 60, Number 35218 Ibn Kathir, Ahqaf: 1719 Tabari 19: 220


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In the Quran, Allah described Muslims as those who conduct their affairs through mutual consultation .20 At another place in the Quran, Allah ordered His Prophet saying, And takecounsel with them (the Muslims) upon the conduct of affairs .21

These two verses alone highlight the importance of consultation in running the collective affairs.

The principle of consultation is so vital to an Islamic system of government that even the Prophetwas asked to make decisions (that did not involve the revealed knowledge) by mutualconsultation.


The four righteous Caliphs upheld the principle of mutual consultation. All of them are known tomake no decision but through consultation with others. Mawdudi quotes from Kinz ul Ummaal that when a matter came to these Caliphs, they would first look at what the Book of Allah sayson the matter. If they did not find an answer there, they turned to the Sunnah of the Prophetand in the case of Umar and Uthman , the way of the Caliphs before them. 22 Failing that,they would turn to the leading companions and adopt the decision that came out fromconsultations with them. 23

Umar has also been reported to have said, Whoever invites to (accepting) his own leadershipor someone elses leadership without consultation with the Muslims, then it is not permissible for

you to not kill him, and without consultation, there is no Caliphate .24

After the Righteous Caliphs

After the era of the righteous Caliphs, the rule of mutual consultation was replaced with theindividual decision-making. Though there were various instances where the Caliph consulted thescholars and the elites of the society before making a decision, few of those consulted ever garnered the courage to speak against the wishes of the Caliph.

Making the situation worse was the fact that the God-conscious individuals distanced themselvesfrom the leadership. Imam Abu Hanifah considered it a threat to his faith ( Iman ) to accept any

20 Quran 42: 3821 Quran 3: 15922

Ali is not specifically mentioned because of his saying that he will judge according to the Quran and theSunnah only. This is somewhat misleading. Ali was a jurist himself and understood the Islamic Shariah better than most companions. In fact, all Caliphs before him were known to have asked him for advice on matters of application of the law. It was perhaps for this reason that Ali felt that he can do his own ijtihad in matters whereno guidance is found in the Quran and the Sunnah, rather than relying on someone elses ijtihad . One must keep inmind though that the ijtihad must always be consistent with the spirit of the Quran and the Sunnah. Therefore,ijtihad done by two upright and knowledgeable individuals, in consultation with other knowledgeable individuals,should mainly be consistent.23 Mawdudi, 8724 Mawdudi, 70


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position in the government and rejected the positions of chief justice ( Qadi al-Qada) and judge(Qadi ) many times. 25

In the absence of God-conscious people, the Caliphs surrounded themselves with relatives andother politicians who did not necessarily exhibit the best qualities as Muslims. These peoplewere not capable of providing the correct opinions even when consulted with. Additionally, theUmmah trusted neither the character, nor the abilities of these advisors to the Caliphate and their decisions in religious matters were rarely accepted generally. 26

In a growing empire, alienation of the scholars created obstacles in the field of legislation. Thelack of consultation at the top meant that there was no organized body of scholars to interpretand develop Islamic law as new issues emerged. The Caliphs, on the other hand, knew that theywere seen as fasiq and fajir by the Ummah and the upright scholars; their decisions in the mattersof deen will not be taken as binding by the Ummah .27 That resulted in every judge doing his ownijtihad and forming his own interpretations. The logical result of that was inconsistency inapplication of the law throughout the state and great confusion over the correct opinion to beused as precedence. Moreover, individual ijtihad of the scholars across the empire lackedinfluence and backing needed to make it binding in a state that spread from Spain and Moroccoto India and Central Asia.

These problems stemmed from the lack of mutual consultation on the part of the Caliphs.

Status of the Public Treasury ( Bait al-Maal )

The Sunnah of the Prophet was that he did not take anything from the public funds for himself. The righteous companions continued this practice and considered the public treasury atrust. The attitude of the Caliphs who came after the righteous Caliphs towards the publictreasury was drastically different.


Considering it a trust, the righteous Caliphs did not use the public treasury for their personal use.The exception to that was the little they got for their sustenance because they did not have thetime to carry on their personal livelihoods. About Abu Bakr it is said,

When Abu Bakr was pledged allegiance he arose in the morning and upon his forearm there were some garments and he was going to the market place. Umar said, Where are you going? He said, To the market place. He said, What are you going to do, when you have been put in charge of the affairs of the Muslims?

He said, What am I going to do to feed my family? He said, Let us go. AbuUbaydah will allocate a sum for you. So they went to Abu Ubaydah and he

said, I allocate you the supplies of a man among the Muhajirun (emigrants), not

25 Mawdudi, 250-25126 Mawdudi, 16927 Mawdudi, 168


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the best of them nor the least of them, and the clothing of winter and summer. If you wear out something, return and take something in its place. The two of themallocated him half a sheep everyday and what would clothe his head and his

person. 28

This highlights how moderately the commander of the believers lived as his armies were fightingthe Romans and the Persians. Before Abu Bakr passed away, whatever was left with him, hesent that to his successor, Umar . When Umar received the possessions of Abu Bakr hesaid, May Allah show mercy to you, Abu Bakr! You have exhausted the one who comes after

you.29

Umar himself did not take from the public treasury freely. The first words Umar said after his succession to the leadership of the Ummah included the following,

I have placed myself in respect to Allahs property in the same relation as the guardian of the orphan to the orphans wealth. If I am in good circumstances, I will refrain from it, and if I am in need I will eat of it in moderation, and if (again) I am in good circumstances, I will repay (whatever I took before). 30

Imam Suyuti also narrates that whenever Umar was in need, he would go to the man incharge of the public treasury and get a loan from him. Often, Umar would have difficultyrepaying the loan back on time and the man would seek him for repayment and Umar would

be evasive to him until he was able to pay the debt. 31 This was the situation of the most powerful person on earth, whose armies were waging war simultaneously on both the Romanand the Persian empires.

Caliph Uthman was a wealthy man himself and did not require the assistance from the publictreasury that was necessary for the other Caliphs for their sustenance. After him, when Ali

took the reigns of leadership, he appointed for himself the same stipend that Abu Bakr andUmar used to draw from the public treasury. This was at a time when he was at odds withMuawiyyah , who was liberally using the public funds to reward his supporters. 32 Ali ,however, refused to use the public funds for personal reasons.

The standard of the righteous Caliphs in using the funds from the public treasury was muchhigher. It is narrated that:

An in-law of Umars came to see him and asked him to give him something fromthe bait al-mal and Umar refused him and said, Do you want me to meet Allahas a treacherous King? 33

28 Suyuti, 7229 Suyuti, 7230 Suyuti, 14631 Suyuti, 14632 Mawdudi, 9033 Suyuti, 134


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As clear from Umars statement, Caliphs do not use public funds on their own person. Thekings, however, view public treasury as their personal wealth. This has been the principle of kingdoms since the early history of mankind and this was the way the Caliphs after the righteous

Caliphs adopted. While the righteous Caliphs were accountable to their people, the later Caliphsdid not owe any accountability to their subjects.

The Caliphs after the righteous Caliphs spent so much on the luxuries of life that when Umar binAbd al-Aziz returned all unlawfully amassed wealth, 40,000 dinar were returned from hisown house alone. The Caliphs stable of animals at the time gives a better indication of howlavishly the public money was spent on personal wants. At-Tabari reports that there were manyanimals there; there were slow-paced horses, swift riding horses, and mules, each animal withits own groom .34 About Umar bin Abd al-Aziz it is said that he used to turn off the lamp of his office whenever he tended to personal matters, wishing to not spend even a negligible amountof fuel without right.

As for the income coming into the treasury, Caliphs and their governors added taxes and tributesat will. A listing of many of these can be found in a letter Umar bin Abd al-Aziz wrote to hisgovernors ordering them to no longer take certain taxes.

The following levies are not permitted: tolls; the wages of mint officials; presentsat the Nawruz and Mihrajan festivals; and fees for official papers, for couriers,

for housing, and for weddings. No tribute shall be levied on those peasants whoconvert to Islam. 35

The Umayyad governors also levied the Jizya on new Muslims, arguing that they have acceptedIslam only for monetary reasons. Historians argue that conversions to Islam resulted in lower

revenues for the state, prompting the Umayyad governors to place Jizya on new Muslims. 36 Assuch, the government and its administrators at times did not desire for Islam to spread to themasses. An exchange of letters from the life of Umar bin Abd al-Aziz sheds more light onthis attitude.

Umar wrote to al-Jarrah (governor of Khurasan), saying, Whoever prayswith you in the direction of the qiblah is to be relieved of the poll tax. As a result,many people hastened to accept Islam. Someone said to al-Jarrah, The peopleare rushing to accept Islam in order to avoid the poll tax, so test them byrequiring that they submit to circumcision. Al-Jarrah conveyed this suggestion toUmar, who wrote back, God sent Muhammad in order to summon people to

Islam, not to circumcise them.37

34 Tabari 24: 7335 Tabari 24: 9636 Tabari 24: 82 and Goldschmidt, 15737 Tabari 24: 83


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The attitude of Hajjaj bin Yusuf, the governor of Iraq before the time of Umar bin Abd al-Azizwas not different. Mawdudi writes from Ibn al-Atheer that when dhimmies accepted Islam in

hordes during the era of Hajjaj bin Yusuf and settled in and around Basra and Kufa, hisrepresentatives wrote to him informing him that due to mass conversions of people to Islam,revenues are decreasing. Hajjaj bin Yusuf ordered these new Muslims out of the cities and levied

the Jizya on them as before.38

Freedom of Expression

Islam allows, rather encourages the freedom of expression. The Prophet of Allah is reportedto have said, The best jihad in the way of Allah is (to speak) a word of justice to an oppressiveruler. 39 The position of leadership in Islam never absolved the leader from answering to the

public and that is only possible if the public is allowed to express their views. Another distinction we see between the era of the righteous Caliphs and the era of Caliphs who came after is the degree of freedom of expression that was allowed.

The Righteous CaliphsThe righteous Caliphs were accessible to the common public and listened to their concerns. Theysought criticism rather than blindly following.

Abu Bakr in his first speech after becoming the Caliph addressed the believers and said tothem,

I have been appointed in command over you and I am not the best of you People, I am only a follower, I am not an innovator, so that if I do well, help meand if I deviate then put me straight. 40

Umar is reported to have said, The person I like the most is the one who points out to me mydefects. 41 His life, especially as a Caliph, is full of stories that demonstrate him living up to hiswords. He sought criticism, and he corrected himself or defended himself as the need be, butnever did he dismiss the criticism or reprimand the critic. One incident from his life epitomizesthis quality of Umar :

Among some spoils which were distributed one day was cloth out of which eachcompanion had one piece of clothing cut. One day `Umar got up to speak and

said: Lower your voices so that I may hear you. He was wearing two pieces of that cloth. Salman said, By God, we will not hear you, because you prefer

yourself to your people. How is that? asked Umar. He said: You are wearing

two pieces of cloth and everyone else is wearing only one. Umar called out: O Abdullah! No one answered him. He said again, O Abdullah ibn Umar!

38 Mawdudi, 16339 Abu Dawud 37: 433040 Suyuti, 6341 Suyuti, 135


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Abdullah, his son called out: At your service! Umar said, I ask you by God,don't you say that the second piece is yours? Abdullah said Yes. Salman said:Now we shall hear you. 42

Ibn Kathir in his tafsir of Verse 20 of Surah Nisa mentions that Umar wished to limit dowrythat men give to their wives and was criticized by a woman, 43 upon which he corrected himself and took back his orders. 44


With the end of the righteous Caliphate came an end to the freedom of expression as well.During the times of the Caliphs after the righteous Caliphs, the principle of put me straight if Ideviate disappeared and the principle of say the word of praise if you must say somethingtook its place.

The shift started in Muawiyyahs era with the execution of Hujr bin Adi . WhenMuawiyyah became the Caliph, he put al-Mughirah bin Shubah in charge of Kufah. Tabaristates:

He (Muawiyyah) summoned him (Mughirah). After praising and glorifying God,he said, The wise might do what you want without instruction. Although I havewanted to advise you about many things, I left them alone, trusting in your discernment of what pleases me, what helps my regime and what sets my subjectson the right path. I would continue to advise you about a quality of your do not refrain from abusing Ali and criticizing him, nor from asking Gods mercy uponUthman and His forgiveness for him. Continue to shame the companions of Ali,keep them at a distance, and dont listen to them. 45

Mughirah did exactly as told and openly criticized Ali and his companions, even making it part of the Friday sermon. At this, a companion of the Prophet , Hujr bin Adi got enragedand stood up against Mughirah saying,

Indeed, God, Almighty and Great, says, Be custodians in fairness, witness for God. I testify that the one you rebuke and condemn is more deserving of merit,and the one you vindicate and extol is more entitled to blame. 46

At this Mughirah told him: O Hujr, woe unto you. Fear the regime. Fear its wrath and its power. Indeed the fury of the regime can destroy many of the likes of you. 47

42 Anonymous Source well known story!43 Mawdudi regards the authenticity of this incident to be weak, an opinion shared by various scholars.44 Tafsir Ibn Kathir 45 Tabari 18: 12346 Tabari 18: 12347 Tabari 18: 124


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Eventually, Hujr had to face the fury of the regime. He and his companions were capturedand sent to Muawiyyah , who ordered their execution on the testimony of seventy people thatHujr bin Adi has gathered people, openly abused the Caliph and called for war against thecommander of the faithful. 48

Among those from whom Muawiyyah received written testimonies was Shurayh bin Hani.When Shurayh found out that his testimony is used against Hujr , he wrote to Muawiyyahthe following letter that suggests that testimonies against Hujr were falsified:

In the name of God, the Compassionate and Merciful. To the Servant of God,Muawiyyah, Commander of the Faithful, from Shurayh bin Hani. Now then, I have heard that Ziyad wrote to you concerning my testimony against Hujr bin

Adi, and indeed my testimony about Hujr bin Adi is that he is among those who perform the salat, give charity, always perform the rites of pilgrimage and theumrah annually, command good and forbid evil, and whose blood and propertyare forbidden. So kill him if you like, and let him alone if you like. 49

After ordering their execution, Muawiyyah sent messengers who came telling them, Wehave been ordered to let you disavow Ali and curse him. If you do so, we shall release you; and if you refuse, we shall kill you. 50

Hujr bin Adi and his companions refused and were killed. 51 Muawiyyah later met theMother of the believers, Aishah and she asked him, O Muawiyyah, where was your

forbearance towards Hujr? To which Muawiyyah replied, [Someone] rightly guided did not attend me on that occasion, O Mother of the Believers .52

Mawdudi quotes from Al-Aqd al-Fareed of Ibn Abd Rabbi that once Waleed bin Abd al-Malik prolonged the Friday sermon so much that time for sunset almost approached, at which a man

stood up and said, O Commander of the faithful, the time will not wait for you and you will not be able to present any excuse in front of Allah for this delay in prayer. The Caliph replied, Oman, you have spoken the truth; but the status of a truthful person is not such that he standswhere you stand , and with that ordered his execution. 53

These are just two incidents that epitomize the price one had to pay for standing up to the rulers.With attitudes like these, people became less and less inclined to forbid what is evil and enjoin

48 Tabari 18: 14049 Tabari 18: 14650 Tabari 18: 14951 Hasan al-Basri states that there are four actions of Muawiyyah that even one of them will be deadly for

anyone else and the execution of Hajr bin Adi is one of them. However, looking at the details of the incident,there is reason to believe that Muawiyyah sincerely believed Hajr bin Adi to be inciting a rebellionagainst his Caliphate. His reply to Aisha that someone did not guide him gives the view that he was remorsefulat his decision to execute Hajr and did so only under the falsified information provided to him. However, onequestion that remains is his insistence on denouncement of Ali as a proof that Hajr is not a rebel.

52 Tabari 18: 12753 Mawdudi, 167


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what is good. People who had goodness in them, separated themselves from the governmentwherever possible, leaving the rulers in the company of those who feared Allah little and praisedevery action of the rulers, good or bad.

Superiority of the Law

The law applies to all, equally, under Islam. This is characterized by the following incident fromthe life of the Prophet of Allah :

Narrated 'Aisha: Usama approached the Prophet on behalf of a woman (whohad committed theft). The Prophet said, The people before you were destroyed because they used to inflict the legal punishments on the poor and forgive therich. By Him in Whose Hand my soul is! If Fatima (the daughter of the Prophet)did that (i.e. stole), I would cut off her hand. 54

With the change from the righteous Caliphate, came the change in attitude towards the law aswell.


The righteous Caliphs saw themselves as subjects under the law. They received no special statusor immunity under the law. They appointed the judges, but also gave them full authority to givedecisions regardless of rank and file.

Bayhaqi narrates that during the time of Umars Caliphate, once he and Ubai bin Kab gotinto an argument and they made Zaid bin Thabit an arbitrator among them. The two of themwent to Zaid and he tried to offer his seat to Umar (out of respect) but Umar sat withUbai bin Kab. According to the principle, Zaid should have taken an oath from both

parties but due to his status as the Caliph, Zaid was hesitant in taking an oath from Umar .Umar took the oath himself and at the end of the proceedings said that Zaid is not fit to bean arbitrator until he sees Umar and an ordinary Muslim as equals. 55 Similar narrations aboutother righteous Caliphs show the high regard they had for the law.


The Umayyad Caliphs never viewed themselves as being the source of law, and consequently,never wavered from the Quran and Sunnah of the Prophet as the constitution of the Islamicstate. However, the law of Islam did not always limit their private lives or their personal politics.

The change started in Muawiyyahs time. Ibn Kathir narrates in Al-Badaya wan-Nahaya thatduring the time of the Prophet a non-Muslim could not inherit from a Muslim and a Muslimwas not allowed to inherit from a non-Muslim. Muawiyyah in his time allowed a Muslim to

54 Bukhari 81: 77855 Mawdudi, 96


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inherit from a non-Muslim but not vice-versa. Umar bin Abd al-Aziz later revoked thisinnovation but Hisham bin Malik revived the practice. 56

Also, as stated above, the practice of cursing Ali and his companions in the Friday sermonstarted in the time of Muawiyyah as well, and on his behest. 57 To curse the family of the

Prophet of Allah in such a manner was wrong and would have been wrong even if Ali wason the wrong and Muawiyyah was on the truth in their disagreements. To curse a dead person and to do so in the Friday sermon is not from Islam. Umar bin Abd al-Aziz reformedthis practice as well.

During the time of Muawiyyah as well, Ziyad son of Abu Sufyan born out of wedlock before he accepted Islam 58 inflicted painful torture on those who did not curse Ali . Tabarimentions that he ordered Sayfi bin Fasil to be beaten up with a stick until he hugs the ground.Once he dropped to the ground, Ziyad asked him, What do you say about Ali? Sayfi said onlythe best of words about Ali on which Ziyad ordered to Push [Sayfi] by his neck, load himwith iron, and cast him into prison. 59

Another deviation from the Sunnah was that Muawiyyah ordered to select gold, silver and precious objects for him before the war booty was divided according to the Shariah. 60 This wasin contradiction to the Shariah, which required the fifth for the public treasury and the rest to bedivided up in the fighting army.

When Ziyad was appointed governor of al-Basra by Muawiyyah , he stood at the pulpit togive a speech and people in the Masjid pelted him with pebbles. He ordered the gates to beclosed and singled out thirty some say eighty men and ordered their hands to be cutoff. 61 Even if the people of al-Basra were wrong in throwing pebbles at Ziyad, cutting off the hand isnot a punishment for this crime in the Islamic Shariah. The Caliph did not take any notice of thisoppression by Ziyad. The barbaric practice of cutting off the hands for minor offences continued

then until the time of Umar bin Abd al-Aziz when he put an end to it. 62

56 Ibn Kathir 8: 13357 Tabari 18: 12358 Muawiyyah is reported to have called Ziyad his brother despite the clear Hadith of the Prophet stating that a

child born out of wedlock is only of the one to whom he is born. The action of Muawiyyah was politically based as Ziyad was a strong and able commander who had sided with Ali in his conflict with Muawiyyah .At the political level, the strategy was successful as Ziyad, who had fought against Muawiyyah in Siffin,siding with Ali , became one of the most famous commanders of Umayyad army. Ironically, however, Ziyad

became most famous for his hatred for Ali and his family as displayed by the unimaginable torture he inflictedon those who did not curse Ali . Mother of the believers, Umm Habiba , who was a sister of Muawiyyah

did not agree with calling Ziyad a brother. Hasan al-Basri includes this in the list of four actions of Muawiyyah stated above (Mawdudi, 81).

59 Tabari 18: 13960 Tabari 18: 12061 Tabari 18: 9762 Tabari 24: 96


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Moreover, the practice from the days of ignorance of beheading the dead enemy and transportinghis head from one place to another for exhibition was also revived in this era. Imam Ahmed binHanbal in his Musnad narrates that the first head that was cut off and transported in Islamwas that of Ammar bin Yasir in the battle of Siffin when it was taken to Muawiyyah . 63 Asimilar treatment was meted out to Muhammad bin Abi Bakr in Egypt when Muawiyyahs

forces took Egypt from Ali . Even the grandson of the Prophet , Husayn bin Ali ,was not spared this barbaric treatment. 64

The most chilling, however, is the tale of the battle of al-Harrah. The people of Madina rebelledagainst Yazid in 63 A.H. He sent an army under the command of Muslim bin Uqbah, 65 instructing him,

Leave the people for three days. If they agree to your demands, so be it.Otherwise fight them and when you overcome them, give license to pillage the city

for three days. Whatever property, silver coins, weapons, and food are found belong to the army. When the three days have passed, withdraw from the

people. 66

The Syrian army of Muslim bin Uqbah pillaged the city of the Prophet for three days. ImamZuhri mentions that more than ten thousand were killed and the Syrian army went house tohouse, raping the women of Madina. Ibn Kathir mentions in his Al-Bidaya wan-Nahaya that year one thousand women (of Madina) were impregnated by rape. 67 Even if the rebellion of the

people of Madina against Yazid was wrong, Islam does not permit pillaging any city and rapingany women, let alone pillaging the city of the Prophet and raping the Muslim women, manyof whom were daughters of the companions of the Prophet . 68

Yazid also ordered his forces to attack Makkah to fight Abdullah bin Zubayr . The Syrianarmy bombarded the Kabah with stones. During the commotion caused by this attack, theKabah was accidentally burnt down. 69

After Yazid, Abd al-Malik bin Marwan ordered an attack on Makkah again, under the commandof his governor Hajjaj bin Yusuf to deal with Abdullah bin Zubayrs rebellion and Muslims

63 Musnad Ahmad: 6538, 692964 Tabari 19: 16165 Early Scholars of Islam often refer to him as Musrif bin Uqba66 Tabari 19: 20567 Mawdudi, 18268

This is one of few actions by Umayyad Caliphs for which scholars prefer not to find excuses. This is because of ahadith that gives a stern warning to one who casts an evil eye towards Madinah. The only opinion in defence of Yazid in this case is that some historians argue that Yazid might have passed away just a few days before theactual attack on Madina (others say he passed away just a few days after). Even if he did pass away before theactual attack, orders to pillage the city were his. There are two main views on Yazid: those who say it is allowedto invoke Allahs curse ( lanah ) on him based on the hadith mentioned above and those who advise againstcursing him do that so that ]cursing him does not open the doors to cursing his family and his father, Muawiyyah

and his grandfather Abu Sufyan , both of whom are respected companions. Mawdudi writes that ImamAhmed was asked by his son Abdullah if cursing Yazid is allowed to which Imam Ahmad replied in affirmative.

69 Tabari 19: 210


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were prevented from Hajj that year. 70 Dhul Hajjah is a time of year in which even the polytheistsof the days of ignorance ceased fighting so that the pilgrims can visit the house of Allah in peace.Hajjaj bin Yusuf, however, showed no regard for the sanctity of Makkah.

Governance of Hajjaj bin Yusuf under the Umayyad Caliphate is one of the darkest chapters of Islamic history. When Hajjaj became the governor of Kufa, he came in the Masjid and addressedthe Muslims,

I see heads ripe for the cutting. People of Iraq, I will not let myself be crushed like a soft fig The commander of the believers has drawn arrows from hisquiver and tested the wood, and has found that I am the hardest And so, byGod, I will strip you as men strip the bark from trees I will beat you as straycamels are beaten .71

He continued on, saying:

The one who has a long life, I will make it short for him. The one whose head becomes heavy for him, it is upon us to lighten his load. The mother who wants to

get rid of her son, we will get rid of him. The husband who wants to throw awayhis wife, we will throw her away. By Allah, if I told anyone to leave through that door and he left through another, I will chop his head off! 72

This was the entrance of Hajjaj bin Yusuf in Kufa; Hajjaj bin Yusuf, the unique manifestation of tyranny and oppression; 73 Hajjaj bin Yusuf, about whom Umar bin Abd al-Aziz said, if thenations of the world compete in evil and bring all their evil-doers ( khabeeth ), Muslims will win

by just presenting Hajjaj bin Yusuf; 74 Hajjaj bin Yusuf, about whom Asim bin Abi Najood said,there is not a prohibition from the prohibitions of Allah but Hajjaj transgressed it. 75 He used toask rebels against the Umayyad Caliphate if they are believers or unbelievers. Those who said

they are unbelievers would be let go, but those who said they are believers would be persecutedand killed. 76 Great scholars like Said ibn Jubayr were killed in the cruellest manners by Hajjaj. 77 So, Hajjaj took the law in hand and did as he pleased without any regard to the hereafter.

Umar bin Abd al-Aziz put an end to this lawlessness in his era as well. He treated himself equal to any ordinary Muslim and did not take anything that was not lawfully his. 78 However,after him the conduct of the Caliphs returned to the same corrupt ways.

70 Mawdudi, 18571 Goldschmidt, 6972 Qaradawi, XV73 Qaradawi, XVI74 Mawdudi, 18575 Mawdudi, 18676 Tabari 23: 4477 Tabari 23: 209, Qaradawi, 8278 Tabari 24: 99


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Tribal Loyalty and Nationalism

Allah created everyone equal and then divided into nations and tribes so that humans mayrecognize each other. 79 Humans in every time and every part of the world have displayedtendencies to favour their own tribe and their own nation over all others. This can be termed

tribal loyalty or nationalism.

Before Islam, Arabs were strictly divided into tribes. They were constantly involved in tribalwarfare over petty issues. Islam came and settled these differences. Quran declares in SurahHujraat, The believers are but brethren, therefore make peace between your brethren and becareful of (your duty to) Allah that mercy may be had on you. 80

Islam taught the message of equality between humans. To favour one over the other based onethnicity is not from Islam. However, a defining characteristic of the Umayyad reign was their

pro-Arab tendency.

The Righteous CaliphsDuring the time of Abu Bakr the apostasy wars were the result of tribal loyalties. Many tribesreverted from Islam upon the death of the Prophet because they wished to be ruled by their own people in the absence of a Prophet . This attitude is crystallized by the saying of afollower of Musailamah the Liar: I know Musailamah is a liar, but a liar of Rabia is preferableto me than the truthful of Mudarr .81

Based on the same tribal loyalty, Abu Sufyan suggested to Ali that he should be theCaliph over Abu Bakr , who was from a small tribe of Quraysh. Ali reprimanded himseverely for even thinking in such a way.

There is no indication of special treatment to ones family during the time of Abu Bakr or Umar .


The practice of tribal loyalties once again gained prominence in the era of Muawiyyah . Asmentioned before, Jizya was imposed on many new Muslims, against the Hadith of the Prophet

reported by Abu Dawud, There is no Jizya on a Muslim . The second class citizenship statusthat the non-Arab Muslims got in the Umayyad state eventually led to the downfall of theUmayyad Caliphate. While the Arabs busied themselves with petty arguments, non-Arabs

became the intellectuals of the Ummah . This led to feelings of inequity and oppression, feelingsthat the Abbasid Dawah was then able to use against the Umayyad Caliphate. 82

79 Quran 49: 1380 Quran 49: 1081 Mawdudi, 9782 Goldschmidt, 72


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A governor appointed by Sulayman bin Abd al-Malik, al-Jarrah, is famous for declaring openly, I am a partisan of the Arabs and, by God, and one man from my tribe is dearer to me than ahundred men who are not. 83

In Kufa, Hajjaj bin Yusuf gave orders that only an Arab can lead prayers and be a judge. 84 WhenSaid ibn Jubayr was arrested by Hajjaj and sentenced to death, one of the favours that Hajjajremind him of was that Said was made a judge despite being a Mawali .85 Among the Arabs it

became customary that a purely Arab offspring (from an Arab wife) had more share ininheritance than a half Arab offspring (from a non-Arab wife). 86

The Umayyad weakness in this area was an opportunity for the Abbasids. The Arab tribes were bitterly divided between Adnani, Qahtani, Yemeni, Mudari and various other divisions from thedays of ignorance. The army was demoralized and the conquests came to a halt, raisingdissention among the general populous. Popular opinion called for Muslim equality rather thanArab supremacy that the Umayyad family practiced.

The Persian Muslims of Khurasan were especially uncomfortable with the way they were treated by the government. In this situation, a man by the name of Abu Muslim unfurled the banner of revolution on behalf of the Abbasids. Within a few short years, the Abbasids put an end to theUmayyad Caliphate by announcing the Caliphate of Abu al-Abbas as-Saffah.

Conclusion

The mistakes of the Umayyad dynasty were in effect the reasons for its demise as well. However,unfortunately the Caliphs of the later years did not learn from the mistakes made by their

predecessors and for the large part failed to improve. This was the main reason the MuslimUmmah was ruled by dynasties after dynasties for over thirteen-hundred years.

Nevertheless, when criticizing the Umayyad dynasty, it must be remembered that they led theMuslim Ummah to its peak as the largest civilization known to mankind. The empire was stillruled by the Quran and the Sunnah and theirs was the era of great advances in science andmedicine -- advances that continued on through the Abbasids as well.

The above pages can also leave the reader with a very unfairly negative portrait of Muawiyyah. He was a companion of the Prophet and a writer of revelation. He was also a proven

leader and was appointed the governor of Damascus by Umar . The biggest proof of hisleadership is that he was dearly loved by the people of Damascus. At a personal level, he wasknown for his forbearance ( hilm), as indicated by the incident reported above when the Mother of the believers, Aishah inquired him about Hujr bin Adi .

83 Tabari 24: 8384 Goldschmidt, 6585 Mawdudi, 17086 Goldschmidt, 65


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One may ask, how then some of the actions mentioned above are consistent with his personality.The scholars like Hasan al-Basri find only four of his actions to be puzzling, as mentioned above.We can never know the intention of Muawiyyah behind these actions, however, we can infer from his actions that he worked under the best of intentions. He also admitted to hisshortcomings at times (as can be inferred from his conversation with Aishah regarding Hujr

bin Adi ). Muawiyyah did, however, submit to Islam near the end of the Prophets lifeand same is true for many of his advisors. After his conflict with Ali , Muawiyyah wasforced into a situation where he could not rely on anyone but his family members. This workedto alienate the companions of the Prophet and the people around Muawiyyah were not the

best for giving advice on religious matters.

As mentioned before, the Ummah as the whole was near its peak in this era. The empireexpanded to India and Spain during the Umayyad reign and many of the indigenous peopleconverted to Islam. Great scholarly works were done in this era as well, along with manyscientific advances. In comparison, the Umayyad Caliphs collectively were better than mostMuslim leaders of the recent centuries.

Had the Umayyad Caliphs followed the examples of the righteous Caliphs more closely, theMuslim Ummah could have possibly made more advances; but that was not the Will of Allah. Infact, it was due to the mistakes of the rulers that some of the greatest scholarly works were done.

The Caliphs themselves were often well-versed in the matters of religion. Many were known to be scholars of fiqh and Quran. However, under the stresses of leadership, they sometimeswavered from the ideal path.

This ideal path was the path of the Prophet and the four righteous Caliphs. However, to matchthe calibre of those who were among the first ones to accept Islam ( as-Sabiqoon ) is not possiblefor everyone; to expect perfection on part of anyone is not realistic. What is important is for Muslims to understand the ideal form of government in Islam. To understand the ideal, however,one must also study that which deviates from the ideal.

The above pages have highlighted six major areas in which the Umayyad Caliphate deviatedfrom the ideal set by the righteous Caliphate. These six areas encompass majority of the mistakesmade by hundreds of individuals over the time span of a century. Once viewed in proper

perspective, these mistakes are not nearly as significant as some of the errors and mistakes wesee in the recent years. These mistakes have, however, shaped our history and many of the eventswe see throughout the history are linked, in one way or another, with the actions of the UmayyadCaliphs.

The first of these events is the downfall of the Umayyad dynasty that ushered the MuslimUmmah into over five-hundred years of Abbasid rule.


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