History Books

We have already given some examples with regards to Mu'awiya's intimidation tactics to gain support for his son. At this point it would be fitting to take apart this romantic notion that Ansar.Org's Abu Sulaiman had portrayed in his article on Mu'awiya:

Please see our article "Mu'awiya"

Ansar.org states:Mu'awiyah was eager for people's agreement to give allegiance to his son Yazeed. He resolved to take allegiance to Yazeed as a crown prince. So he consulted the grandest companions, the masters of the people and the district's governors. They all accepted. Delegations from the districts came with acceptance to give allegiance to Yazeed. Ha...ha...ha. What a bunch of lies for our readers to laugh at: What's this ... 'grandest companions'? We have proved that Mu'awiya killed or bribed them all! This is called whitewashing history...something very common in Sunni Islam. Sometimes the Nawasibis even rewrite history. Yes, it's the Santa Claus fairytales again in a different guise. That Pinocchio factor in Sunni Islam, like you have in today's world leaders...they just lie. Abu Sulaiman must have a very rich plastic surgeon. What, how many nose jobs is it now? We would like to cite an example of this wonderful 'consultation' process that Mu'awiya adopted, and leave it to our readers to think whether this bayya was really as popular as Abu Sulaiman would have us believe. We read in Tareekh Kamil, Dhikr events of 56 Hijri Volume 3 pages 257:

"In his efforts to secure bayya for Yazeed, whilst in Makka Mu'awiya summoned the key members from the families of Abu Bakr, Umar, Banu Hashim and Ibn Zubayr to be brought to him. He then said to them all 'I am about to make a speech and should any one of you interrupt me, this shall be the last thing that he shall say, his head shall be removed with this sword'. He then called an officer and said that he should position two soldiers next to each of these chiefs, 'should they oppose what I say then strike off their heads'. The chieftains were then brought before the podium accompanied by the guards. Mu'awiya began to speak, he praised the chieftains and then said that these individuals 'have expressed their pleasure at the bayya given to Yazeed and have also given bayya', with that the speech was brought to an end. When these Chieftains left and the people asked them about the situation, they said 'we have not given bayya to Yazeed'. When they were asked why they had not spoken up, they replied, 'we were under the threat of death'.

Nasibi ideology justifies such methods of despotic government. For them, obedience to the leader, be that man lawful or not, is mandatory. We the Shia do not regard as true Khalifas men who broke the sacred rules by which leadership is bestowed. This is a cardinal difference between Shia and Sunni. The Sunnis believe that a man who fixes the elections and becomes leader must be obeyed, or even one who like Mu'awiya murdered to do so. There is no other explanation other than this is as might is right, they believe, and all that counts is that man's holding the leadership and the army. The Shia believe that the leader must be bestowed with leadership in an honest and halal fashion. We believe that one who is unlawfully appointed is not the lawful leader. The unlawful leader has no right to demand our obeisance. Unbiased men and women can decide on who is right, Shia or Sunni. It is as obvious as the difference between day and night. It is in this context that the case of Yazeed becomes an embarrassment for Sunnis. For their khalifa Yazeed denied that Muhammad (saws) was even a prophet, in al Tabari stating that the Qur'an was a fabrication. In the first year of his rule Yazeed slayed al-Husayn (as), in the second year of his rule he put the people of Madina to the sword, and in the third year of his rule he burned the Ka'aba. All three actions are in the Sunna of Shia and Sunni acts which condemn a man to hellfire. Yet by Sunni orthodoxy Yazeed must be obeyed, and those of the khalifa's army who refused to slay Husayn (as), slay the people of Madina, or burn the Ka'aba, were transgressors! Conscience does not exist in Sunni Islam when it comes to the relationship of client/citizen to leader. The notion of individual accountability for one's actions is dummed down when it comes to obeying the leader. This strange and morally unacceptable position comes from the fact that men like Mu'awiya and Yazeed had scholars in their pockets, on their payroll, bribed like the men named above, to spin doctor Hadith that were falsely attributed to Muhammad (saws). Sahih Bukhari notes Abu Hurayra being caught lying about the Hadith he would fabricate, yet the same Sahih Bukhari, each word of which is Gospel and the truth for Sunnis, takes most of its Hadith from the same Abu Hurayra.

Adapted from the book: "Yazeed"