The Beginning of Muawiyah’s Rise
Selections from the Book Muawiyah Ibn Abi Sufyan (His Character And Era) And The Sufyanid State …
Written by Dr. Ali Muhammad al-Sallabi...
Episode (06)
The rise of Muawiyah, may Allah be pleased with him, in the field of political and administrative work began during the caliphate of Umar, may Allah be pleased with him. He appointed him to lead the conquest of Caesarea in the fifteenth year after Hijrah. In the letter of appointment to him, it was written: “To proceed: I have appointed you over Caesarea, so march to it and seek Allah’s help against them. Repeat often: ‘There is no power and no strength except with Allah, the Most High, the Most Great. Allah is our Lord, our trust, and our Protector—how excellent is the Protector and how excellent the Supporter’”. This great task was a major test from ‘Umar for Muawiyah in the field of real action. Muawiyah succeeded in passing this test with excellence. He marched to Caesarea with the soldiers prepared for him by his brother Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan—one of ‘Umar’s governors over al-Sham. That city was fortified, and its people were formidable. Muawiyah laid siege to it for a long time, and its people launched repeated attacks, but Muawiyah did not give up. He was determined to conquer it and exerted great effort in battle until Allah granted victory at his hands. The conquest was significant—nearly one hundred thousand of its inhabitants were killed. He sent news of the victory and the spoils to the Commander of the Faithful, ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him.
Through this conquest, and with the help of Allah, Muawiyah demonstrated his competence and effective leadership. This earned him the trust of everyone. His brother Yazid—the governor of Damascus—entrusted him with the mission of conquering the coastal regions of al-Sham. In this as well, he performed admirably. He would remain at a fortress for two or a few days; sometimes he would face fierce fighting, and at other times, he would simply attack and conquer it. Whenever the Muslims conquered a prominent city or a coastal point, they stationed enough forces there as needed. If an enemy threat emerged in one of those locations, they would send reinforcements. Dr. Abd al-Rahman al-Shuja observes that the cities of al-Sham fell one after another under the blows of the Mujahideen, because the Byzantines were so demoralized by defeat that they no longer considered resistance. Thus, the cities of Beirut, Sidon, Nablus, Lydda, Aleppo, and Antioch fell, and Caesarea was the last city in al-Sham to be conquered—at the hands of Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan—after Jerusalem.
Ubadah ibn al-Samit was on the right flank of the Muslim army during the siege of Caesarea. He stood and exhorted his troops, urging them to examine themselves and beware of sin. He then led an assault in which many Romans were killed, but he did not achieve his objective and returned to his original position. He then stirred his companions to fight and expressed his deep astonishment at the failure of the assault, saying: “O people of Islam, I was among the youngest of the military leaders and the furthest from death, yet Allah has decreed that I should live to fight this enemy with you. By the One in whose hand is my soul, I have never led a charge with a group of believers against a group of polytheists except that they fled before us and Allah granted us victory over them—so why is it that you charged these and did not drive them off?” He then expressed his fear regarding them, saying: “Indeed, by Allah, I fear for you two things: that you have committed betrayal, or that you were not sincere to Allah in your charge.”
He urged his companions to sincerely seek martyrdom and informed them that he would be at their front, and would not return to his place unless Allah granted him victory or martyrdom. When the Muslims and Romans clashed, ‘Ubadah dismounted from his horse and fought on foot. When ‘Umayr ibn Sa‘d al-Ansari saw him, he called out to the Muslims, informing them of what their commander had done and calling them to follow his example. They fought the Romans until they defeated them and drove them into their fortress.
After the conquest of Caesarea and Muawiyah’s success in opening the coastal cities of Damascus, ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab appointed him as governor over Jordan, and that was in the year 17 AH.
- Ali Muhammad al-Sallabi, Muawiyah Ibn Abi Sufyan (His Character And Era) And The Sufyanid State, pp. 93-95.
- Al-Tabari’s History (4/67).
- The Caliphate of Muawiyah, by Al-Uqaili, pp. 17, 18.
- The Ansar in the Rashidun Era, p. 207.
- Arranging and pruning the beginning and the end, pp. 63, 64.
- The Beginning and the End (7/54).
- The impact of scholars on political life in the Umayyad state, p. 59.
- Conquests of Countries, by al-Baladhuri, p. 134.
- Studies in the Era of Prophethood and the Rashidun Caliphate, p. 355.
- The impact of scholars on political life in the Umayyad state, p. 59.
For further information and review of the sources for the article, see:
The Book of “Muawiyah Ibn Abi Sufyan (His Character And Era) And The Sufyanid State” on the official website of Sheikh Dr. Ali Muhammad al-Sallabi:
