Lessons learned from the Companions – Muawiya Governor of Syria

With the murder of Uthman who was Muawiyya’s cousin, Muawiyya wanted revenge. He had promised Uthman that if he were murdered he would revenge him and he wanted to keep that promise. Ali wanted to wait to get revenge and this is where the problem lay between the two. Muawiyaa knew he would have to fight ali and he knew that if he had to go to fight against Ali, the Byzantines could take advantage of such rift among the Muslims and invade Syria. He, therefore, made peace with the Byzantines on terms favorable to them, and even agreed to pay them an annual tribute.