When the Mu’azzin reached that part of the call testifying...

When the Mu’azzin reached that part of the call testifying the Prophethood of Muhammad (S), Abu Sufyan said, “ Look where my cousin Muhammad has placed his name .” Imam Ali (a.s.) who heard this retorted, “ Muhammad placed his name not out of his own fancy but as commanded by God .”[^4] This rancor in the hearts of the Banu Umayya that Prophethood is only a pretense to worldly power persisted through out centuries and continues to do so till date.

Though Abu Sufyan, Mu’awiya, Yazid and their ilk spared no effort, they could not prevent the proclamation of the Prophet’s name and Mission, five times every day, all over the world in the Azan .

Regarding this, the Qur’an reveals, “ They desire to blow out [extinguish] the light of Allah, but Allah seeks to perfect His light, though the infidels abhor it .”[^5] Long after the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) had returned to Medina after the tragedy of Karbala, Ibrahim bin Talha bin Obeidillah asked the fourth Imam al-Sajjad (a.s.): “ Who won the battle at Karbala?

.” Imam al-Sajjad (a.s.) replied, “ When the time for prayers comes and when the Azan and Eqama [the two calls before every prayer] are called out, you will know who the winner is .”[^6] Having failed to remove the Prophet’s name or substitute some other name in its place in the Azan , Mu’awiya invented a novel way of taking revenge against the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.), particularly Imam Ali (a.s.).

Mu’awiya made it obligatory, in all the provinces under his control, that five times every day, after prayers Ali (a.s.) should be abused and cursed from the pulpits [over seventy thousand pulpits according to some reckoning] by the leaders of the congregations. Inventors of stories demeaning Ali (a.s.) or coining false traditions in favour of the Banu Umayya were lavishly rewarded.

Abu Huraira and Amr ibn al-Aass earned so much wealth by this process that Umar had to confiscate their huge unaccounted wealth.[^7] Some of the close companions doubted the wisdom and infallibility of the Prophet (S), for they considered him to be an ordinary mortal like themselves.[^8] Historians record the fact that in his last moments when the Prophet (S) demanded a pen and parchment to write down his last will and testament, Umar, one of the companions, not only refused to oblige but also even prevented others under threat from complying, stating that the Prophet (S) had become delirious in his death throes and that the Qur’an is sufficient for guidance of Muslims.