Chapter 1: Early Life of Mu’awiyah
Early Life of Mu’awiyah:
Mu’awiyah was the son of Abu Sufyan ibn Harb and Hind bint Utbah.
He was born in Makkah roughly five years before the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ first received the revelation of the Quran.
His sister, Ramlah bint Abi Sufyan (Umm Habibah) accepted Islam in its early days and she married Ubaydullah ibn Jahsh and the couple migrated to Ethiopia.
Ubaydullah then left Islam, but Umm Habibah (Ramlah) refused to follow him and remained firmly upon Islam.
After Ubaydullah ibn Jahsh died, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ proposed to her and the marriage of the Prophet and Umm Habibah was conducted by the Negus, the King of Ethiopia.
Because of this, Mu’awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan became the Prophet’s brother-in-law.
Mu’awiyah’s father, Abu Sufyan, was a prominent leader in Makkah, who was a few years older than the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
He was among the most respected merchants in Makkah and frequently led the trade caravans of the Quraysh.
Abu Sufyan commanded several military campaigns against the Prophet and was his fiercest opponent at the Battle of Uhud. Mu’awiyah’s mother, Hind bint Utbah, was also a strong enemy of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ at first.
However, both Abu Sufyan and Hind eventually embraced Islam after the Muslims conquered Makkah in the eighth year AH.
Abu Sufyan changed from being one of Islam’s staunchest enemies to accompanying the Prophet in his expeditions. During the siege of Ta’if, Abu Sufyan lost one of his eyes.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ later appointed Abu Sufyan as governor of Najran.
In the Battle of Yarmuk, Abu Sufyan lost his other eye, at a time when he was already very old.
Abu Sufyan’s wife Hind and his son Mu’awiyah were also present at Yarmuk and in that battle, Mu’awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan was among the Muslims who took on leadership roles.
The Umayyads:
The descendants of Abu Sufyan went on to establish the first ruling dynasty in Islam, known as the Umayyads.
The Umayyads (Banu Umayyah) ruled the Islamic Empire after the time of the Four Rightly Guided Caliphs.
Following the deaths of the Four Rightly Guided Caliphs, the Umayyads chose Damascus as their capital and governed the Muslim world for about ninety years.
For several centuries afterwards, an Umayyad Caliphate continued to rule from al-Andalus, (Muslim Spain).