During the period in which Sayyiduna Mu‘aawiyah (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) was the leader of the Muslim Ummah, the Muslims had negotiated a temporary peace treaty with the Romans. When the treaty was close to expiring, he prepared the Muslim army and began proceeding to the border of the Muslim and Roman lands. His intention was to cross the border and attack the moment the treaty terminated. The Romans, being unaware of this, would have been taken by utter surprise.
While Sayyiduna Mu‘aawiyah (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) was advancing with the army, he suddenly saw a man on horseback shouting, “Allahu Akbar! Fulfil the pledge! Don’t deceive!” When they looked closely, they saw that it was the Sahaabi, Sayyiduna ‘Amr bin ‘Abasah (radhiyallahu ‘anhu).
Sayyiduna Mu‘aawiyah (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) sent for him and when he arrived, he said to Sayyiduna Mu‘aawiyah (radhiyallahu ‘anhu), “I heard Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) saying, ‘The one who has a treaty or pledge with a people should neither make any change to the pledge nor break it until it either terminates or he first informs them equally.’”
On hearing the blessed hadeeth of Nabi (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam), Sayyiduna Mu‘aawiyah (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) immediately accepted the correction and retreated with the entire army.
(Sunan Abi Dawood #2759 and Sunan Tirmizi #1580)
Lessons:
1. Sayyiduna Mu‘aawiyah’s (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) actions of mustering the army and marching to the border were for the pleasure of Allah Ta‘ala. However, when Sayyiduna ‘Amr bin ‘Abasah (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) corrected him, he understood that in this instance, the pleasure of Allah Ta‘ala lay in him ordering the army to retreat, not in advancing. Hence, Sayyiduna Mu‘aawiyah (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) immediately ordered the army to retreat, even though extensive preparations had been made and they were on the verge of gaining a victory. In doing so, he demonstrated to us that a true believer always strives to do what is most pleasing to Allah Ta‘ala.
2. When a person is corrected, he should not look at who is correcting him but should rather examine his weaknesses and determine whether or not it is applicable to him. If it is, he should realize that accepting correction is not below his dignity but will actually be a means of him gaining nearness to Allah Ta‘ala.
3. Islam is a Deen of such justice that it even advocates dealing with the enemies of Islam justly and fairly. Although Sayyiduna Mu‘aawiyah (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) did not launch an attack during the period of the treaty, the actions of preparing an army and marching to the border were “actions of war” and thus contravened the peace treaty. When the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) treated the enemy fairly, is it conceivable that they would have ever treated their own family or even fellow Muslims in an oppressive and abusive manner?
4. When the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) would hear the hadeeth of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam), they would immediately express submission and honour the blessed words of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) without raising any objections and applying their own reasoning.