Mu'awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan

A companion of the Prophet ﷺ from the Quraysh, specifically from the Banū Umayyah clan. He is the son of Abū Sufyān ibn Ḥarb, the chief of Quraysh who was among the most persistent opponents of the Prophet ﷺ, and Hind bint ʿUtbah.

Muʿāwiyah accepted Islam after the Conquest of Makkah in the 8th year of the Hijra (Fath Makkah), along with his father and many other Qurashīs. He is therefore among those termed al-ṭulaqāʾ (the freed ones) by some scholars, those who accepted Islam upon the Conquest rather than earlier, and whom the Prophet ﷺ freed without requiring ransom.

After his acceptance of Islam, the Prophet ﷺ made a Mu'akhah between him and a companion named Ḥaṭṭāṭ al-Taymī. This pairing, done so late in the Madani period, even after the Conquest, is one of the evidences that the institution of Mu'akhah was not a temporary early-Madani measure but continued throughout the Prophet's life.

Muʿāwiyah served as one of the Prophet's scribes, writing down revelation. After the Prophet's death, he rose to prominence under the Caliphates of Abū Bakr and ʿUmar. He became the Governor of Syria under ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān and founded the Umayyad Caliphate after the death of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, ruling from 41–60 AH. He is a deeply contested figure in Islamic history, with views ranging from praise of his political acumen to criticism of his role in the first civil war (fitnah).