Abu Sufyan ibn Harb
''For the son of Harith, see
Abu Sufyan ibn al-Harith.
Abu Sufyan ibn al-Harb was one of Muhammad's staunchest opponents who became a
sahaba (companion) of
MuhammadAbu Sufyan ibn Harb was the leader of the
Banu Umayyah (Umayyad) clan of the
Quraish tribe and was the chieftain of the entire Quraish tribe, making him one of the most powerful men in
Mecca during the lifetime of
Muhammad.
Ancestry
His father was
Harb ibn Umayya. Abu Sufiyan's grand-father was
Umayya ibn Abd Shams for whom the
Umayyad dynasty is named, and his great-grand father was
Abd Shams ibn Abd al-Manaf. His great-grandfather's brother was
Hashim the great-grandfather of
Muhammad.
Family
He was rumored to have a relation with
Layla binte Harmalah, the mother of
Amr ibn al-A'as [www.holynajaf.net ]Abu Sufyan got a daughter in c.
595 together with
Saffya binte abi al-A'as:
Ramlah bint Abu Sufyan. She converted to
Islam against her fathers wishes and
migrated to Abyssinia with
her husband. Since her husband abandoned Islam for Christianity, after her husband's death the Prophet sent to the
Negus asking him to act as counsel and marry him to Umm Habiba. The Negus asked her for her hand and she accepted; he gave her 400
dinars as a dowry. When Abu Sufyan heard about the marriage he commented, "this stallion will not be hit on the nose..." a phrase meaning that the husband is suitable for the bride (an unsuitable stallion trying to mate with a mare would be hit on the nose, hence the phrase).
[Page 317 , Al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh by Ibn al-Athir ]Abu Sufyan was married to
Hind bint Utbah, and from that marriage was
Muawiyah I born in 602 . Muawiyah established the
Umayyad dynasty of
caliphs.
However, certain controversial
Shia Muslim sources state that the marriage to Muawiyah's mother was arranged since Hind bint Utbah was engaged in a
Nikah Ijtimah; thus, the genetic bond between Abu Sufyan and Muawiyah is disputed.
[The sources list four people thought of being Muawiyahs father:#Abu-ibn-Umar ibn Musaafir (or Musaafir Abu Umar)#Umar ibn Walid#Abbas ibn Abd-al-Muttalib or Abu Sufyan.#Sabah the Ethiopian or a unknown fourth.]
Some list Abu Sufyan as one of the four, other do not. In any case, Abu Sufyan accepted Muaiyahs as his child. For this reason, Shi'a name Muaiyahs "MuˤÄwiyya ibn Hind", after his mother whom they regard as the prostitute that killed her black children, became married to Muhammads arch enemy and chewed Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalibs liver.Sources quoted:
*Ibn Abu al-Hadid in Sharh Nahj al-Balagha Volume 10 page 130
*Rabi'ul Abrar by Allamah Zamakhshari Volume 3 page 551 [1]
*Tadkhirath al Khawwas page 114 Chapter 7
*Thanzeeya al Nasab fi Kubul al Arab
*Muasalib ibne Sa'man munkool uz thun'zeey al Nasab page 97
*al-Nasa'ih al-Kaafiyah page 85
Above and more references online: [2]In 664, Abu Sufyan's son, Mu'awiyah recognised
Ziyad ibn Abihi as a brother —
Ziyad ibn Abu Sufyan — although he had no biological relation to Abu Sufyan according to Shias.
[See Ziyad ibn Abi Sufyan for references.].
Muahmmad's era — ? â" 632
Opposition to Islam — 610
Abu Sufyan's position of power made him an enemy of Muhammad, whom he viewed as a threat and a blasphemer of the Quraish gods. The Quraish persecuted people who accepted Islam. Even Abu Sufyan's own daughter was not spared from punishment when she accepted Islam; she was one of the first Muslims
sent to Abyssinia for refuge. The enmity between the Quraish and early Muslims reached such a high pitch that many battles were fought between the two parties. Abu Sufyan led the army of Quraish in the
Battle of Uhud, he and the masters took their wives and their herds with them (to prevent desertion).
[Page 293 , Al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh by Ibn al-Athir .]Eventually the two parties would make peace with the
Treaty of Hudaybiyya. The treaty was eventually broken when
Banu Bakr, allies of the Quraish, attacked
Banu Khuza'a, allies of the Muslims. This led to the
conquest of Mecca by the Muslim armies, who took the city peacefully and spared those within.
When
Heraclius heard that there is a man claiming to be a prophet he ordered a search for anyone from this man's people. Abu Sufyan, who was in Syria to trade, was summoned meet Hericules and tell him about this man, not being able to lie in front of his companions he tried to belittle the position of the Prophet, but his answers had the opposite effect and Hericules declared: "If you had told me the truth then he will conquer what's under my feet, and I would if were by him and wash his feet, go to your business".
[Page 317 , Al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh by Ibn al-Athir .]
The story is told with more detail on pages 527 and 528 of Tarikh al-Rusul wa al-Muluk Conquest of Mecca — 630
He became a Muslim on the eve of the
Conquest of Mecca with the help of the Prophet's uncle
Al-Abbas and as a mark of honour his house was declared a sanctuary ("those who enter it are safe").
[Page 329, Al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh by Ibn al-Athir .]Hind also accepted Islam. The Prophet had ordered her killed for her mutilation of his uncle's body at
Uhud but converts were freed from any sin of their previous lives. The Prophet blessed her herd after she apologised for only giving two goats, afterwards her herd grew enormously and she would give from it and say: "This is from the blessing of the Messenger, peace be upon him, thank God for guiding us to Islam."
[Page 331, Al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh by Ibn al-Athir .]
The conversation between the Prophet and women of Makkah, lead by Hind, is on page 332 He fought in the Islamic wars, losing both his eyes; the first in
Siege of Taif, he asked Mohammed to put it back, but he was given the choice of having his eye in heaven or having it put back in life, at which point he threw it away.
Abu Bakr's era — 632â"634
When Muhammed died Abu Sufyan was in charge of
Najran.
During the
Succession to Muhammad, he offered help to
Ali, but Ali refused.
Umar's era — 634-644
He lost his second eye in the
Battle of Yarmouk (636).
[Page 393, Al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh by Ibn al-Athir .]
www.sahaba.net Uthman's era — 644-656
Abu Sufyan died aged ninety-five in
Medina, Uthman led the prayer on him.
Muawiyah, his son, started the
Banu Umayyah dynasty of
Caliphs, something that
Maududi describes as a "Kingship's foundation began with this change"
[Khilafat wa Mulukiyyat, chapter 5, pages 158-159 (citing Al Bidayah wa-Nihayah by Ibn Kathir, vol 8, page 132) ].
Sunni view
Sunni view him as an upright Sahabi, since
they view all Sahaba as upright. The fact that the third Caliph Uthman led the prayer on Abu Sufyan after he had died and the fact that Abu Sufyan fought for the Muslims and sacrificed one of his eyes in a battle is held as further evidence for his uprightousness. Sunnis hold that since Uthman led Abu Sufyan's funeral prayer, he could not have been a hypocrite (or a
kafir).(see Sahih Bukhari 2:23:359) And Muhammad himself didn't call Abu Sufyan as an infidel when Abu Sufyan became a companion and accepted Islam.
Another reason for which he is respected by Sunnis was his willingness to give up both his eyes, only a few weeks after his conversion to Islam before which he used to vehemently oppose Muslims. Furthermore, Muhammad guaranteed that he would be entering heaven, according to Sunni sources, when Muhammad said
"Which would you prefer: An eye in heaven or shall I pray to Allah that he brings it back?" Rather than questioning Muhammad and Islam, asking for an eye on Earth, he said he would accept his eye in heaven.
[www.sahaba.net ]Shi'a view
Shi'a have a very dim view of both his personality and life. Shi'a view him as a hypocrite (Arabic:
munafiq) that did not believed in Islam in the first place, but managed to infiltrate the Islamic ranks and be included among the Muslims
[www.al-islam.org ].
ShivLing of Makkeshwar
*
Ramlah bint Abi Sufyan bio*
Muawiyah I bio*
Abu Sufyan ibn Harb approaches Muhammad's uncle*http://theology101.org/isl/bukhari/bh4/bh4_223.htm
