Hadith 23

from Al Hakam Bin Zuheyr, from Ismail, from Al Hassan who said, ‘And it is narrated to us by Al Hakam as well, from Aasim Bin Abu Al Nujoud, from Zirr Bin Hubeys, from Abdullah Bin Masoud who both said, ‘When you see Muawiya Bin Abu Sufyan addressing upon my-saww pulpit, then strike off his neck! ’
Al-Hassan (the narrator) said, ‘By Allah-azwj! They neither did it nor were they successful’’. [73]
And it is reported as well in another place from the history of Muhammad Bin Jareer Al Tabari who said, ‘In this year (284 AH), Al-Mo’tazid (the Abbaside caliph) determined upon cursing Muawiya Bin Abu Sufyan upon the pulpit and ordered with the publicising a letter to be read out to the people. Ubeydullah Bin Suleyman frightened him of the restlessness of the general public, and there would be not safety from the occurrence of the Fitna. But he did not turn to him. The first thing Al-Mo’tazid began with from that is the advancing to the general public by necessitating their deeds, and neglecting the unity and the prejudices and the testimony in the presence of the ruling authority, except that they would be asked, and forbade the story tellers from sitting upon the streets, and he publicised this letter, and worked out a copy from it read out in the two sides of the Medina Al-Salaam, in the squares, and the neighbourhoods, and the markets during the day of Wednesday, on six (days) remaining from it. And he forbade the story tellers from the sitting back in the two sides, and forbade the people of the circles regarding the verdicts, or something else from sitting in the two Masjids; and he called out in the central Masjid prohibiting the people from the gathering upon story-telling or something else, and forbade story tellers, and the people of the circles from the sitting. And he called out that the guarantee (of safety) is void from the ones from the people who gather regarding a debate, and quarrelling, and he went ahead to the drink vendors, those who were quenching the water in the gatherings, and they should not say, ‘May Allah-azwj have Mercy upon Muawiya’, nor should they mention him with good. And it was their on-going custom with the saying, ‘May Allah-azwj have Mercy upon Muawiya’, and the people discussed that the letter which Al-Mo’tazid has ordered with publicising it cursed Muawiya. ‘He will read it after the Friday Salat, upon the pulpit’. When the people had prayed the Friday Salat, they rushed to the booth in order to listen the reading out of the letter. But he did not read it. And it is said that Ubeydullah Bin Suleyman turned away from reading it, and Yusuf Bin Yaqoub the judge was present, and instructed him that he work out a means of invalidating what Al-Mo’tazid had determined upon. Yusuf went and spoke to Al-Mo’tazid regarding that and said to him, ‘I am afraid the general public would be restless and there would be a movement (rebellion) from it at the hearing of this letter’. He said, ‘If the general public have a movement or speak out, the sword would be placed therein’. He said, ‘O commander of the faithful! So, what will you do with students, the ones who are coming out in every area and a lo