• The Messenger of Allah (s) said:
  • "Loving Ali is the sign of belief, and hating Ali is the sign of hypocrasy". [1]
  • "Whoever hurts Ali, has hurt me". [2]
  • "Whoever reviles/curses Ali, has reviled/cursed me". [3]
• The Holy Prophet (s) looked toward Ali, al-Hasan, al-Husain, and Fatimah, and said: "I am in the state of war with those who will fight you, and in the state of peace with those who are peaceful to you". [4]
• Imam Ali (a) said: By him who split up the seed and created something living, the Apostle (s) gave me a promise that no one but a believer would love me, and none but a hypocrite would nurse grudge against me. [5]

Muawiyah not only fought Imam Ali (a), he cursed Imam Ali (a) as well. Furthermore, he did force/make everybody to curse Imam Ali (a).

Sahih Muslim:

This hadith has been narrated on the authority of Shu'ba with the same chain of transmitters. Amir b. Sa'd b. Abi Waqqas reported on the authority of his father that Muawiya b. Abi Sufyin appointed Sa'd as the Governor and said: What prevents you from abusing Abu Turab (Hadrat 'Ali), whereupon be said : It is because of three things which I remember Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) having said about him that I would not abuse him and even if I find one of those three things for me, it would be more dear to me than the red camelg. I heard Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) say about 'Ali as he left behind hrin in one of his campaigns (that was Tabuk). 'Ali said to him: Allah's Messenger, you leave me behind along with women and children. Thereupon Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said to him: Aren't you satisfied with being unto me what Aaron was unto Moses but with this exception that there is no prophethood after me. And I (also) heard him say on the Day of Khaibar: I would certainly give this standard to a person who loves Allah and his Messenger and Allah and his Messenger love him too. He (the narrator) said: We have been anxiously waiting for it, when he (the Holy Prophet) said: Call 'Ali. He was called and his eyes were inflamed. He applied saliva to his eyes and handed over the standard to him, and Allah gave him victory. (The third occasion is this) when the (following) verse was revealed: "Let us summon our children and your children." [3:61] Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) called 'Ali, Fitima, Hasan and Husain and said: O Allah, they are my family. [6]

The above tradition, by the way, indicates that Muawiyah was surprised why Sa'd ibn abi waqqas does not follow his order of cursing Ali, like others do. This shows that cursing Ali was a habit (Sunnah) for people at that time.

Who made this Sunnah?

Was it Imam Ali, or those who fought him?

Now, who fought against Imam Ali?

Wasn't he Muawiyah?

So this implies that Muawiyah did innovate that habit (cursing Imam Ali as Sunnah).

The Governor of Medina who was one of the members of the house of Marwan called Sahl Ibn Sa'd, and ordered him to curse Ali. But Sahl refused to do so. The governor said: "If you don't want to curse Ali, just say God curse Abu Turab (the nickname of Ali)." Sahl said: "Ali did not like any name for himself better than Abu Turab, and Ali used to become very happy when somebody would call him Abu Turab." [7]

One of the ugliest innovations that started during the reign of Muawiyah was that Muawiyah himself, and through his order to his Governors, they used to insult Imam Ali (a) during the Sermons in the Mosques. This was even done on the pulpit of the mosque of the Prophet in Medina in front of the grave of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (s), so that even the dearest Companions of the Prophet (s), and Imam Ali (a), his family and his near relatives used to hear these swears with their ears. [8]

"Ali Ibn Abi Talib was cursed on the pulpits (manabir) of the east and west...", during the time of Muawiyah. [9]

In her letter, Umm Salama, the wife of the Prophet (s) wrote to Muawiyah: "...You are cursing Allah and His messenger on your minbar, and that is because you are cursing Ali Ibn Abi Talib and whomever loves him, and I am a witness that Allah and His messengerloved him." [10]

"That it was in the days of Bani Umayyah, more than seventy thousand minbar (in mosques) upon which they cursed Ali Ibn Abi-Talib, in some of what Muawiyah made a Sunnah for them." [11]

Abdullah Ibn Ahmad Ibn Hanbal said:

I asked my father about Ali and Muawiyah. He (Ahmad Ibn Hanbal) answered: "Know that Ali had a lot of enemies who tried hard to find a fault in him, but they found it not. As such, they joined a man (i.e., Muawiyah, as given in the footnotes) who verily fought him battled him, and they praised him (Muawiyah) extravagantly setting a snare for themselves for him. [12]

Allah's messenger (s) said to Ammar: "A group of rebels would kill you." [13]

Umm Salama narrated that Allah's messenger (s) said: "A band of rebels would kill Ammar." [14]

Do you know that Ammar, the great companion of the Holy Prophet Mohammad (s) was martyred in the battle of Siffin by Muawiyah soldiers, at the age of ninety-three?

Is it clear, now, that the gang of Muawiyah were rebels?

Do you know what is the sentence of rebels mentioned in Quran?

It is interesting to see that the English translator of Sahih Muslim (Abdul Hamid Siddiqui) has written in the footnote of the above traditions that:

This narration is clearly indicative of the fact that in the conflict between Hadrat Ali and his opponents, Hadrat Ali was on the right as Ammar Ibn Yasir was killed in the Battle of Siffin fighting in the camp of Hadrat Ali. (Footnote of Sahih Muslim, English version, v4, p1508).

The Messenger of Allah (s) said: If one while praying between the Rukn and Maqam (near Ka'bah) and fasting, dies but with the hate of the family of Muhammad, he will enter the Fire. And he who abuses my Ahlul-Bayt is verily an apostate and is driven out of Islam. And he who inflicts pain on my progeny upon him is the curse of Allah. And he who hurts me by hurting my progeny has verily hurt/angered Allah. Certainly Allah has made Paradise forbidden to he who does injustice to my Ahlul-Bayt, or kills them, or assists against them, or abuses them. [15]

The Messenger of Allah said: "Whoever curses (or verbally abuses) Ali, he has, in fact, cursed me, and whoever has cursed me, he has cursed Allah, and whoever has cursed Allah, then Allah will throw him into the Hell-fire." [16]

al-Hasan al-Basri said:

Muawiyah had four flaws, and any one of them would have been a serious offense:

• His appointment of trouble makers for this community so that he stole its rule without consultation with its members, while there was a remnant of the Companions and possessors of virtue among them.
• His appointment of his son as his successor after him, a drunkard and a winebibber who wears silk and plays tunburs.
• His claim about Ziyad (as his son), while the Messenger of God (s) has said: 'The child belongs to the bed, and the adulterer should be stoned.'
• His killing of Hujr and his companions. Woe unto him twice for Hujr and his companions. [17]

Notes:

[1]
- Sahih Muslim, v1, p48;
- Sahih Tirmidhi, v5, p643;
- Sunan Ibn Majah, v1, p142;
- Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal v1, pp 84,95,128

[2]
- Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, v3, p483
- Fada'il al-Sahaba, by Ahmad Hanbal, v2, p580, Tradition #981
- Majma' al-Zawa'id, by al-Haythami, v9, p129
- al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, by Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Ch. 11, section 1, p263

[3]
- al-Mustadrak, by al-Hakim, v3, p121, who mentioned this tradition is Authentic.
- Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, v6, p323
- Fada'il al-Sahaba, by Ahmad Hanbal, v2, p594, Tradition #1011
- Majma' al-Zawa'id, by al-Haythami, v9, p130
- Tarikh al-Khulafa, by Jalaluddin al-Suyuti, p173

[4]
- Sahih al-Tirmidhi, v5, p699
- Sunan Ibn Majah, v1, p52
- Fada'il al-Sahaba, by Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, v2, p767, Tradition #1350
- al-Mustadrak, by al-Hakim, v3, p149

[5]- Sahih Muslim, English version, Chapter XXXIV, p46, Tradition #141

[6]
- Sahih Muslim, Chapter of Virtues of Companions, Section of Virtues of Ali, Arabic, v4, p1871, Tradition #32.
- English version of Sahih Muslim, see Chapter CMXCVI, p1284, Tradition #5915

[7]- Sahih Muslim, Chapter of Virtues of Companions, Section of Virtues of Ali, Arabic version, v4, p1874, Tradition #38.

[8]
- History of al-Tabari, v4, p188
- History of Ibn Kathir, v3, p234; v4, p154
- al-Bidayah wa al-Nihayah, v8, p259; v9, p80

[9]- Ma'jam al-Buldan, al-Hamawi, v5, p38

[10]- al-Aqd al-Fareed, v2, p300

[11]
- Rabeea' al-Abrar, al-Zamakhshari
- al-Hafidh Jalaluddin al-Suyuti

[12]
- al-Toyuriyyat, by al-Salafi, from Abdullah Ibn Ahmad Hanbal
- al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, by Ibn Hajar, Ch. 9, section 4, p197
- History of the Caliphs, by Jalaluddin al-Suyuti, English version, p202

[13]- Sahih Muslim, English version, v4, chapter MCCV, Tradition #6968

[14]- Sahih Muslim, English version, v4, chapter MCCV, Tradition #6970

[15]- al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, by Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Ch. 11, p357 who said this tradition is authentic.

[16]- Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, v6, p33

[17]
- History of al-Tabari, English version, The Events of Year 51 AH, v8, p154
- History of Ibn al-Athir, v3, p242
- al-Bidayah wa al-Nihayah, by Ibn Kathir, v8, p130 who mentions the first crime as: "His fighting Ali."
- History of Ibn Kathir, v3, p242
- Khilafat Mulukiyat, Syed Abul Ala Maududi, pp 165-166