In this connection we read in al-Bidaya wa-al Nihaya...

In this connection we read in al-Bidaya wa-al Nihaya,(5) Dhikr Mu’awiya: Aswad bin Yazeed narrated: ‘I heared Ayesha say: ‘Aren’t you surprised over a person who is from Tulaqa (freed captive) and yet he fights against the companions of Prophet regarding the issue of caliphate?’ Ayesha further stated: ‘And aren’t you surprised that this is Allah’s reign which He (swt) grants to good and bad and He (swt) made Pharoah King over the people of Egypt for 400 years, and similarly other infidel kings”.

Al-Bidayah (Urdu), under the topic of Merits and virtuous of Muawiyah (6) Based on the comments of Ayesha, if Mu’awiya’s children deem their father to be a Khailfa of the Prophet (s.a.w.a) then they have perpetuated a major injustice. Reply Fourteen – Mu’awiya took the Caliphate by force Ansar.org states: “Mu’awiyah did not take the caliphate by force, but it was given to him by Al-Hasan bin Ali after peace occurred between them.

One needs to look at the historical background to understand why Imam Hasan (as) stood down. The circumstances were such that he had been forced into making a difficult choice peace or bloodshed, Mu’awiya used bribery and intimidation to “win over” Hasan (as)’s army and had posted his army outside Kufa (a clear pressure tactic). Mu’awiya summoned all the commanders of his forces in Syria, Palestine, and Transjordan to join him.

Not long after, the Syrian leader marched against Hasan with an army of sixty thousand men.(7) Clearly marching towards Imam Hasan (as) with a 60,000 force in no way demonstrates Mu’awiya wanted peace – he WAS preparing for battle. If his interest was just peace why not go alone with a handful of supporters? By bringing such a powerful force Mu’awiya was making his intention clear, that he intended to wrest the khilafth from Imam Hasan (as) willingly or unwillingly.

Mu’awiya had used the threat of force as a bargaining chip, Imam Hasan (as) was placed under duress to hand over the caliphate, it was not willingly handed to Mu’awiya on silver platter rather Imam Hasan (as) was pressurised into yielding to Mu’awiya’s demands. The taking of Caliphate by force has also been acknowledged by late Sunni Scholar Sayyid Abu’l Ala Maudoodi who writes: Kingship’s foundation began with this change.