Religious and Political Factors in the Transfer of the Caliphate to the Umayyads (Al-Masudi as a Model)

Abstract

The Umayyad Caliphate was a major event in the history of the Arab Islamic state since its inception in the era of the Prophet (PBUH) and through the era of the Rashidun Caliphate. The Umayyad state was built on strong foundations laid by its first founder, Caliph Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan (41-661 AD), And who was ambitious and who was able to seize the caliphate from Hasan ibn Ali (RA), who abdicated in 41 AH for saving the Muslim’s blood in the Kufa mosque in accordance with the following conditions:

‏ • That the caliphate would return to the Ahl al-Bayt after the death of Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan.

‏ • That Muawiyah would act in accordance with the Book of God and the Sunnah of His Messenger.

‏ • That Muawiyah would protect the lives and property of Muslims.

‏However, after Muawiyah assumed the caliphate after his pledge of allegiance in the year of the community (am Al-Jamaah), he withdrew from one of the most important conditions of the agreement between him and Hasan (RA), which was the return of the caliphate to the Ahl al-Bayt, by appointing his son Yazid as his successor. This is how things went with the rest of the Umayyads, whether in the Sufyanid or Marwanid branches.