Why Do We Take Ahadits from Marwan ibn al-Hakam?

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

Marwan ibn al-Hakam converted in the time of the Prophet (s.a.w.) and spent time in his company.  By all accounts, he would be considered a swahabah in Sunni Islam. 

However, besides being the fourth Umayyad caliph, he also incited Muslim ibn ‘Uqbah, Yazid ibn Mu’awiyah’s general, against the people of Makkah and Madina, in al-Harrah.  The Ka’bah was burnt, the Prophet’s (s.a.w.) Mosque was defiled, the ‘amir and leader of Madina, the swahabah Sayyidina ‘Abdullah ibn Hanzhalah (r.a.), was murdered and thousands of the swahabah and tabi’un were put to the sword, the women raped, and slaves taken.  It was this act that caused Yazid ibn Mu’awiyah to elevate the states of his cousin, Marwan, which lead to his caliphate. 

A year before, Marwan also incited Yazid to confront Sayyidina Husayn ibn ‘Ali (r.a.) and the Ahl al-Bayt at Karbala, leading to the infamous massacre on ‘Ashura.  As caliph, he was responsible for the policy of cursing Sayyidina ‘Ali ibn Abu Thalib (k.w.) and his lineage from the pulpit throughout the land.  He also confronted Sayyidina Abu Hurayrah ‘Abd ar-Rahman ibn Sakhr ad-Dawsi az-Zahrani al-Azdi (r.a.), and remonstrated with the latter, on his death bed, for his love of Sayyidina Hasan ibn ‘Ali (r.a.) and Sayyidina Husayn (r.a.) – Marwan considered that defects of character. 

In light of this, is Marwan still considered a swahabah?  No.  He was a munafiq who turned from the light of Islam, and waged war upon the family of the Prophet (s.a.w.).  It is disappointing that scholars such as Imam Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Isma’il al-Bukhari (r.a.) narrated from him in his Swahih.  This is a stain that Sunni Islam needs to confront and erase.


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