A Muslim Convert Once Before

‎ بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Sayyidina Dawud ibn Swalih at-Tammar ( r.a. ) said, “One day, Marwan came, and he saw that a man was lying down with his mouth turned close to the Prophet’s ( s.a.w. ) grave.  Then he said to him, ‘Do you know what you are doing?’  When he moved towards him, he saw that it was Abu Ayyub al-Answari.   He said, ‘Yes.  I have come to the Messenger of Allah ( s.a.w. ), and not to a stone.  I have heard it from the Messenger of Allah ( s.a.w. ) not to cry over religion, when its guardian is competent, but shed tears over religion, when its guardian is incompetent.’”   In al-Mustadrak asw-Swahihayn , Imam Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullah al-Hakim an-Nishaburi ( r.a. ) declared it swahih .  Imam Shams ad-Din Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Ahmad adz-Dzahabi ( r.a. ) agreed with him.  Imam Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal ( r.a. ) recorded it, with a swahih chain of transmission, in his Musnad .

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 w...

Marwan ibn al-Hakam is classified by many Sunni scholars as a swahabah , on the technical ground of having seen the Prophet as a child.  He later became secretary to Mu’awiyah ibn Abu Sufyan, then chief advisor to Yazid ibn Mu’awiyah, and eventually the fourth Umayyad caliph in his own right.  That career arc alone should raise an eyebrow.  What follows should raise considerably more than that. Marwan advised Yazid to dispatch an army against Makkah and Madina.  The result was the siege of the Haramayn, the sacking of the Prophet’s Mosque, the burning of the Ka’bah, the deaths of thousands of swahabah , and the violation of the womenfolk of the Prophet’s own city.  This included the Battle of al-Harrah in 63 AH, 683 CE, one of the darkest episodes ever inflicted on Madina by a Muslim army.  Marwan also advised Yazid to intercept Sayyidina Husayn ibn ‘Ali and the Ahl al-Bayt at Karbala, an operation that produced the single greatest atrocity in Islamic memo...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Abu al-Qasim Sulayman ibn Ayyub ath-Thabarani ( r.a. ) recorded that when Sayyidina Abu Hurayrah ‘Abd ar-Rahman ibn Sakhr ad-Dawsi az-Zahrani al-Azdi ( r.a. ) was on his deathbed, the cursed Marwan entered upon him and said, “Since I have been acquainted with you, there is nothing that upsets me about you except your love for Hasan and Husayn.”   Sayyidina Abu Hurayrah ( r.a. ) replied, “I recall that I was in a journey with the Messenger of Allah ( s.a.w. ) once, and he heard the cries of Hasan and Husayn, so he rushed towards them and asked, ‘What is the matter with my sons?’   He was told, ‘Thirst.’   So, he looked for water, but none was found.   So, he then took one of the boys in his arms and made him suck his blessed tongue until he stopped crying.   Then he did the same with the other boy.   So, do you not want me to love those two after what I saw from Rasulullah (s.a.w.)?”   And yet, it shou...