# What do you think of Mu'awiya?

*His view of Mu'awiya: a great figure and an astute statesman*

- URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/dynujs-dtmu/s/1/
- Date: 2021-02-13 · Kind: question · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: Thoughts on Muawiyah? | Mufti Abu Layth (0:00–1:56)
- Status: general teaching
- Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYnuJS-DTMU&t=0s
- Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/dynujs-dtmu/

**Topics:** The companions; Succession and the first civil wars

**Question as asked:** What are your thoughts on Amir Mu'awiya?

**Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** Mufti Abu Layth highly respects Mu'awiya as a great figure and admires his statesmanship, citing a story of his generosity to a woman who favoured Ali.

**Checked position (checked by two independent reviews, not by the channel):** Mufti Abu Layth says he sees Mu'awiya as a great figure in Islam whom he highly respects.

**Evidence, his words at 0:00:** “i uh see said iran as a great figure in islam i do highly respect him” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYnuJS-DTMU&t=0s)

## Longer summary

Asked for his thoughts on Mu'awiya, Mufti Abu Layth says he sees him as a great figure in Islam whom he highly respects, while acknowledging that the companions had disagreements. He says he likes Mu'awiya's statesmanship, that some people are cut out to rule and Mu'awiya was one of them, and that in his forty years of rule there was no uprising against him in Sham. He relates a story of a woman, formerly pro-Ali, who complained about her crops: Mu'awiya offered her help from the state fund and remarked that Ali would not have given it, she answered that this was because Ali was more just, and Mu'awiya laughed and ordered that she be given the crops. He says he loves that narration.

## Sources and names cited

- Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan
- Ali ibn Abi Talib

## Transcript (machine tier, 0:00–1:56)

[0:00] um somebody asked what's my thoughts on amir muhammadillah and i do i uh see said iran as a great figure in islam i do highly respect him i i understand that he they they had disagreements amongst the companions i actually kind of like the uh the statesmanship of maawyas he was incredibly astute and really knew how you know some people are cut out to rule and i would feel that muawiyah was one of those people that was cut out you know he's cut from that cloth like he knew how to rule and you can't deny that i mean in his 40 years of

[0:39] rulership he never within sham had an uprising against him like that's just amazing isn't it and i quoted the story once where he went past uh this he he was going past this place and this lady was complaining and she's saying ah she used to be really pro ali and anti moabia and he said that i've heard your crops or whatever and she said she was complaining that she didn't have the crops and things like this and he said so you want me to would you like me to assist you from the state fund to give you some and she said yeah okay and he said okay i'll give you and then he said to her he said you know

[1:18] if i if it was ali [Laughter] he wouldn't give you because he would say no you know there's a certain system and i'm not i'm just going to give you and and she says yeah that's because he's more just [Music] [Laughter] just laughs you know you gotta love it though he kind of laughs and he says to the guy he says give her the crops [Laughter] and i just i just love that narration like the way i don't know it's it's it's amazing

## Cite

Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment DYnuJS-DTMU/s/1. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/dynujs-dtmu/s/1/

Not a fatwa: these answers were given to specific people at specific times. Ask a qualified scholar about your own situation.