Firstly: Abou Sufyan the Director:

1- Only naïve watchers of movies heed the actors and never heed the real moviemakers: directors who control actors and their lines of dialogue as well as the scenes and cameras, and every element in moviemaking industry.

2- As for our topic here about the cunning ways and plots of Qorayish, its director and mastermind was the leader of the tribe at the time: Abou Sufyan Ibn Harb Ibn Umayya Ibn Abd-Shams Ibn Abd-Manaf. Why are we saying so? Because Abou Sufyan was 1) the most important leader of the Qorayish troops in their wars waged for years against Muhammad in Yathreb, 2) the leader of the caravan before the Battle of Badr, 3) the leader of the Qorayish troops within the Battle of Uhud, 4) the one who gathered and united all tribes to try to annihilate all of the early Muslims within the Battle of the Trench (aka the Battle of the Confederates), 5) the one who converted to Islam once Mecca was captured by Muslims troops peacefully with no fighting, thus becoming the beneficiary of appointing his sons as leaders of wars against the renegades and later on leaders of Arab conquests, eventually resulting in civil wars among Arabs resulting in establishing the monarchy/caliphate for his eldest son, Mu'aweiya, to begin the era of the Umayyads that last for nearly a century of successive line of rulers. Hence, we can be certain to assert that Abou Sufyan was the director and orchestrator of all events and plots we narrate and quote here in this book; he was the one that recruited agents and spies from the very beginning while Muhammad was residing in Mecca until shortly before early Muslims captured Mecca later on.     

Secondly: Overlooking the Role of Abou Sufyan in Plotting against Muhammad in Mecca:

1- It is noteworthy that all historians had intentionally ignored the role of Abou Sufyan in the persecution of Muhammad and early believers in Mecca; the focus of all historians was on historical figures such as Abou Jahl, Al-Waleed Ibn Al-Mughira, Umayya Ibn Khalaf, Umayya Ibn Abou Al-Salt, and Safwan Ibn Umayya, among others, who died as disbelievers and deniers of Islam. Yet, historians had to mention Abou Sufyan within events of the Battles of Badr, Uhud, and the Confederates (the Trench). Otherwise, historians purposefully ignored to mention Abou Sufyan within other events for years; he is mentioned once more to have met Muhammad on his way to conquer Mecca, declaring his conversion to Islam to Muhammad himself. Historians claim falsely that Muhammad had said then that whoever would enter the house of Abou Sufyan would be safe. We believe that the main reason of such purposeful ignorance of mentioning Abou Sufyan was that the main source of such oral narratives was named Abban Ibn Othman Ibn Affan, the one made governor over Yathreb during the Umayyad caliphate of Abdel-Malik Ibn Marawan in 76 A.H., and his fabricated narratives spread all over Arabia to the extent that things ignored by him remained unknown: chief among such ignored facts was the role of Abou Sufyan in leading and heading the cunning plots of Qorayish against Muhammad and Islam first in Mecca and later on in Yathreb.       

2- We have re-read the historical accounts of Al-Tabary focused on the Meccan period, and to our surprise, no mention of Abou Sufyan has been found at all in relation to the persecution of early Muslims and Muhammad in Mecca, and likewise in relation to enumeration of the Qorayish leaders who led the troops and movements of hatred and animosity against Muhammad and the early Muslims. For instance, Al-Tabary writes the following about delegations of Qorayish coming to Abou Talib, the paternal uncle of Muhammad, once Muhammad proclaimed his call to Islam, with no mention of Abou Sufyan: (… the delegations of Qorayish felt troubled because Muhammad the Prophet denied their idols and deities, and they went to meet with Abou Talib who was in charge of protecting Muhammad the Prophet of God, to complain to him about his nephew who forsake their ancestral religion and to warn him to urge him to stop abusing their idols or to leave them to exact punishment against him. This delegation included the following leaders of Qorayish: Otba Ibn Rabei'a, Sheiba Ibn Rabei'a, Abou Al-Bakhtary Ibn Hisham, Al-Aswad Ibn Al-Mutalib, Al-Waleed Ibn Al-Mughira, Abou Jahl Ibn Hisham, Al-As Ibn Wael, and Nabeeh and Munbeih the sons of Al-Hajaj…).

3- Yet, there is one historical account, that we perceive as being a fabricated falsehood and a myth, mentioned by Al-Tabary linked with Abou Sufyan, as a leader among the biggest ones of Qorayish. This account is well-known because it is often quoted now and was made into a scene in an Egyptian movie of the genre of period/historical drama: the gathering of the Qorayish leaders, among them was Abou Sufyan, in their forum to discuss how to get rid of Muhammad, and Satan took the form of an sheikh of Najd to advise them to assassinate Muhammad by the way Abou Jahl suggested; a representative youth of every tribe of Mecca stabbing Muhammad at the same time so that Muhammad's tribe would have to accept the diyya (i.e., money paid to folks of the murdered one to stop more vendetta or revenge) instead of taking revenge from all tribes of Mecca, which was impossible to do. This falsehood fabricated by Al-Tabary goes as follows: (…consecutive series of narrators told us that the leaders of Qorayish gathered in their forum to discuss how to get rid of Prophet Muhammad and his call, and as debate grew hotter, Satan took the form of an old sheikh at their door. They saw him and asked about his identity, and he told them he was a sheikh from the Najd area who came to hear them and to give them pieces of advice concerning the matter they were discussing. They allowed him to join them. All leaders and affluent ones of Qorayish were gathered at the forum, with representative of all tribes of Mecca, not just from the Qorayish tribe… most men were of the opinion to murder Muhammad and all the new converts who followed him. They held various opinions about how to execute a plan of assassination. Some of them suggested that Muhammad was to be fettered in chains inside his house, while well-guarded at the door, until he would die of hunger and thirst, like mad poets before him. Satan in his human form of disguise told them that the tribe of Muhammad would manage to strike them all with their swords to release him, and thus, this suggestion was discarded. After some further deliberation, some men suggested that Muhammad was to be forced into exile, to leave Mecca forever, so that they would get rid of him regardless of his fate later on. Satan advised them that this solution is wrong, as Muhammad would gather more followers and fight them by huge troops one day. Thus, this suggestion was discarded as well. Abou Jahl Ibn Hisham (aka: Abou Al-Hakam Ibn Hisham) made the following suggestion that was approved by all of them, including Satan; representative youths each from one tribe in Mecca would carry a sharp sword to deal one blow each to Muhammad to murder him inside his house, and thus, all tribes would carry his blood, and Muhammad's tribe, Bani Abd-Manaf, would have to accept diyya money as they could not possible wage war against all tribes of Mecca simultaneously. Satan approved of this plan. The Archangel Gabriel told Muhammad of this plot, and told him not to spend the night in his bed. The criminals waited outside the gate of Muhammad's house until he would fall asleep. Seeing them, Muhammad told Ali Ibn Abou Talib to sleep in his bed instead, covered with a green mantle that used to be Muhammad's, promising him not to get harmed at all…Muhammad prepared his means, victuals, camels, and a man-guide through desert routes to flee to Yathreb as the last one to immigrate to it, miraculously getting out of his house without anyone seeing him as he passed through them, and to their dismay, once they crushed the gate to get to his bed, they found Ali instead of Muhammad…). This is the very first narrative mentioning Abou Sufyan along with other Qorayish leaders as taking part in plotting against Muhammad and Islam. Of course, this narrative is a myth and falsehood, even with its series/chain of narrators proves it, as it includes the name of Abdullah Ibn Abbas, who was a child at the time! Narratives linked to Abdullah Ibn Abbas were mostly fabrications, as fabricators of hadiths wanted to flatter the Abbasids by mentioning their forefather Abdullah Ibn Abbas. Even the text of this narrative is improbable; who could tell that Satan took a human form; he did not need to be in disguise, as he and other devils are unseen by human eyes, as we know from the Quran: "…He sees you, him and his clan, from where you cannot see them…" (7:27). The whisperings of Satan and the devils are enough to drive evil people to commit sins and evil deeds, and devils do not need to take a human form at all for any reason! Thus, this narrative is utterly nonsensical! Another element that cast doubt on this falsehood of a narrative is that Bani Abd-Manaf was the largest tribe of Qorayish that included the Umayyads and Bani Abd-Shams, and some of the men gathered in this event were from both tribes. Another element that debunks this narrative is this: who told the narrators that Gabriel warned Muhammad?! The Quran asserts that the Qorayish tribe forcibly drove Muhammad and early Muslims out of Mecca, as we have explained in a previous article.    

4- We conclude from the above that there were intentional ignoring of the role played by Abou Sufyan in Mecca against Islam and Muhammad; even the only narrative mentioning him is a falsehood and a myth in terms of series/chain of narrators, text, and topic. This ignoring him on purpose is curious; he was the most important leader in the tribe of Qorayish, and he played major roles in the events after the Battle of Badr, and he killed several of Qorayish tribesmen, and let us not forget that his in-law, the father of his wife Hind, was Otba Ibn Rabei'a, and that Abou Sufyan was the descendant of the famous founder of the tribe Abd-Shams Ibn Abd-Manaf   

Thirdly: The Stature of Abou Sufyan inside and outside Mecca at the Time:

1- We read the following in the biography of Abou Sufyan: (…Abou Sufyan Sakhar Ibn Harb Ibn Umayya Ibn Abd-Shams Ibn Abd-Manaf, the Umayyad of the Qorayish tribe, the father of Mu'aweiya and Yazeed, among other sons, born ten years before Muhammad, among the affluent families of the Qorayish tribe, and he became a wealthy merchant who traded in his own money and in the money of the affluent ones in Qorayish via caravans into the Levant and other countries of non-Arabs, sometimes leading the caravans himself, and when the Qorayish tribesmen wanted to wage wars, they would give Abou Sufyan the war banner to carry, as their best leader. The three most esteemed men before the advent of Islam were Abou Jahl, Otba, and Abou Sufyan…).

2- This historical account asserts that Abou Sufyan used to lead the Qorayish tribe single-handedly and all of the tribesmen used to obey him: (…when a fierce fighting would break out between two factions of Qorayish, Abou Sufyan convinced both factions to accept mutual peace and forgiveness by preaching to them that forgiveness is better than what is right or should be the right of someone…)

3- The king of Yemen once wanted to know who the most influential and strongest leader in Mecca was, and thus he sent ten expensive camels to Mecca to be sacrificed and slaughtered by the noblest person in the Qorayish tribe. At the time, Abou Sufyan was spending his honeymoon with his bride Hind the daughter of Otba, who urged his husband not to miss such an honor, and he told her he would not miss it; he would slaughter any man who would take his place in slaughtering these camels. After the passage of seven days, no man dared to get near the camels, until eventually Abou Sufyan got out of his house and slaughtered himself all the camels.

4- Abou Qohafa, the father of Abou Bakr, used to live in Mecca, revering, obeying, honoring, and submitting to Abou Sufyan. He outlived his son, Abou Bakr. This scene in Mecca was witnessed by both Abou Bakr the caliph and his father: (…Abou Bakr the caliph sent for Abou Sufyan in Mecca to discuss a certain matter, and he shouted angrily at Abou Sufyan, who flattered and tried to appease the angry caliph. At the time Abou Qohafa was blind, and he asked his attendant about the one shouted at by his son the caliph. When he knew that Abou Sufyan was shouted at, he approached Abou Bakr his son and told him that he transgressed his limits against one of the most important leaders of high stature in Mecca. But Abou Bakr smiled along with his retinue of men gathered around him and told his father that Islam made some persons to rise above other persons who deserve to be humiliated…). Thus, this was the high stature of Abou Sufyan of the Qorayish tribe, let alone his renown and stature as a statesmen and tradesman within the annual caravans of the summer and winter to the north and to the south of Mecca.

5- A well-known historian, Al-Asmaai, writes about the entrance of Abou Sufyan into the court of the Persian emperor, Khosrow II, in pre-Islamic times, as the Persian emperor gave him a precious cushion as a gift, and Al-Asmaai wanted to authenticate this narrative, and he asked Abou Sufyan himself, ho told him the following: (… I gave the Persian emperor, Khosrow, whose face was bigger and larger than any face I ever saw before, gifts of fine horses, and he gave me a precious-looking cushion that was beside him, but I muttered to myself that this is too little a thing to receive by such a grand emperor, but his retinue men outside the palace court appreciated this gift very much, until one of them took it from me in return for 800 gold and silver cups, and I was content…). Al-Asmaai asked a Persian man converted to Islam about the precious cushions of the emperor, and this man told him that such cushions were worthy of 1000 gold and silver cups, as Abou Sufyan was cheated of 200 ones! Anyway, such a story asserts the stature and importance of Abou Sufyan as a figure in international trade at the time. Another long story, that we will not mention here due to its length, that links Abou Sufyan to Ceres, the Roman governor of Egypt, asserts the importance and international stature of Abou Sufyan as well. 

Fourthly: Abou Sufyan Restored his Stature after a late Conversion to Islam:

1- Abou Sufyan declared his conversion to Islam after he met with Muhammad who was on his way to conquer Mecca. Obviously, Abou Sufyan was keen on retaining his leadership and high stature after his assumed conversion to Islam. He seized the chance to retain his status once Muhammad died and Abou Bakr became the ruler/caliph. Let us remember that Abou Bakr was a nobody at the time in terms of the criteria of affluent families of tradesmen of the Qorayish tribe, as we discern from the above story of Abou Qohafa, the father of Abou Bakr. Another narrative tells us that once Muhammad died, furor spread all over Mecca, and Abou Qohafa asked, when he knew his son became the ruler, if Bani Abd-Shams (the tribe of Abou Sufyan and the Umayyads) and Bani Al-Mughira, the most powerful factions in Mecca within Qorayish, approve of it. When he received the answer in the affirmative, he felt content, as he never imagined his son to become a ruler one day in the presence of the most powerful and affluent personalities. This was the dominant culture at the time, expressed by the hapless naïve Abou Qohafa.

2- Similarly, the stance of the Umayyad Khaled Ibn Saeed Ibn Al-As Ibn Abd-Shams Ibn Abd-Manaf, who converted to Islam earlier and immigrated to Abyssinia and then to Yathreb, and who witnessed the caliphate of About Bakr. He disliked the fact that Abou Bakr became a ruler over Arabs while he did not belong to the Hashemites and the Bani Abd-Manaf factions of Qorayish, and he adamantly refused for three consecutive months to give fealty and swear allegiance to Abou Bakr. He expressed his discontent to Ali and Othman, who became later on caliphs. Abou Bakr could not blame him, unlike Omar who begrudged this disloyalty against him. Abou Bakr had to coax and cajole Khaled, and he later on made him one of the military leaders of the Arab conquests.

3- Abou Sufyan planned and plotted to serve his own purposes; he indirectly and purposefully caused the breaking out of wars that came to be known later on as the ''renegade wars'', wreaking havoc within all early Muslims and shaking the new ruler, Abou Bakr, to the core. Within such storming times, Abou Sufyan managed to pressurize Abou Bakr as he led what was like a protest or oppositional movement decrying the lost rights of the Hashemites, the cousins of Abou Sufyan. The same devilish plotting technique was later on adopted by Mu'aweiya Ibn Abou Sufyan when he incited others and gathered them around him under the pretext of avenging the assassination of the caliph Othman, the son of his paternal uncle, despite the fact that Mu'aweiya Ibn Abou Sufyan was the one who have deserted Othman, refused to come to his aid, and left him to be sieged until revolting masses killed him. His sole purpose was to take hold of the gown of Othman, stained with blood, to reach the throne of caliphate himself! Earlier, Abou Sufyan incited Ali Ibn Abou Talib and Abbas, the paternal uncle of Muhammad, against Abou Bakr the caliph, threatening to wage wars against the caliph. This historical account proves this: (…When people gathered to swear allegiance and fealty to Abou Bakr, Abou Sufyan shouted at them that Abou Bakr was not worthy enough to become a ruler as this was an Insult and an affront to Bani Abd-Manaf, urging Abbas and Ali to revolt against him, calling people to swear fealty and allegiance to Ali, who refused of course, and Abou Sufyan recited poetry of lamentation over lost reputation and stature and the humiliation of affluent tribesmen. Yet, Ali rebuked him strongly and accused him of trying to incite rebellion and wars among Arabs, manipulating all evil methods, and that Arabs did not need his advice or consultation…). (…Abou Sufyan in his angry speeches against swearing fealty and allegiance to Abou Bakr as a caliph shouted at Abbas and Ali as the most humiliated ones in the whole affair…). (…when Abou Sufyan tried to urge Ali to rebel against Abou Bakr, telling him he could support him with countless horses and cavaliers, Ali told Abou Sufyan that he (i.e. Abou Sufyan) used to be an archenemy of Islam and Muslims but he could not harm both before his conversion, and Abou Bakr accordingly deserved the position more than him…). Abou Sufyan had to remain silent for a while, to bend with the wind of the majority's support for Abou Bakr; yet, he managed to embezzle Abou Bakr, who in turn tried to win Abou Sufyan to his side, by forcing him to appoint Yazeed, the son of Abou Sufyan, as a leader and among the retinue of Abou Bakr himself.  

4- Concerning the appointment of Yazeed Ibn Abou Sufyan as a leader by Abou Bakr, we have several historical narratives: (…When Abou Bakr appointed Yazeed Ibn Abou Sufyan as the governor of the Levant, he sent them with no horse to ride, but Yazeed insisted on being given a horse and threatened to give up the appointment…). (…Once Abou Bakr finished his own journey of pilgrimage in 12 A.H., he prepared his armies to conquer the Levant, and he sent several leaders there, with reconnaissance troops, and among these leaders were Amr Ibn Al-As and Yazeed Ibn Abou Sufyan…). (Abou Bakr sent his armies and troops to conquer the Levant in 13 A.H., under the leadership of Khaled Ibn Saeed Ibn Al-As, who was later on replaced by Yazeed Ibn Abou Sufyan, who led first troops of 7000 soldiers, and the number multiplied several times later on from the youth of Arabia…). We quote the following extracts from the biography of Yazeed Ibn Abou Sufyan: (…he converted to Islam on the day Mecca was conquered by early Muslims, and Abou Bakr made him lead an army into the Levant, and Abou Bakr saw him off while Yazeed was on horseback while Abou Bakr was on foot…). Yazeed Ibn Abou Sufyan was rewarded by being appointed as the governor of Damascus, as military conquests traditions dictated for victorious military leaders who conquered a certain location, and other leaders of other troops were appointed as governors of Palestine, Jordan, Homs, etc.

Fifthly: Abou Sufyan Coveted the Levant:

1- Within the summer and winter trade caravans journeys, Abou Sufyan held close relations with the tries of Kalb that used to control caravans routes from Arabia to the Levant. When summer and winter journeys stopped later on, Abou Sufyan wanted to manipulate the burgeoning religion, Islam, once Muhammad died to serve his purpose: to control not only trade routes to the Levant, Iraq, and Yemen, but to conquer and rule over these areas. Abou Sufyan planned and plotted what came to be known as the renegades' wars, which were later on took the form of conquests of other nations around Arabia. His plans were so successful that eventually, his son Mu'aweiya ruled as governor the whole region of the Levant during the caliphate of Omar and Othman. Mu'aweiya got married to Maysson the daughter of the leader of the Kalb tribe, to guarantee his controlling the Levant. Later on, when he founded the Umayyad Dynasty, Damascus his capital became the center of the Umayyad Empire that stretched into parts of Asia, Africa, and Europe after the death of Mu'aweiya, achieving his plans and expansionist ambitions. Let us never forget that all such events started by the so-called renegades' wars, planned by Abou Sufyan, after he defeated the Byzantines in the Levant, in the Battle of Yarmouk. 

2- Abou Sufyan considered the Battle of Yarmouk as a personal battle; historical accounts confirm this: (… there were 1000 soldiers in the troops of the Battle of Yarmouk, among them 100 soldiers who fought before in the Battle of Badr, and Abou Sufyan used to shout at them in the battlefield to encourage them, saying to them that they are the supporters of Islam and Allah and the defeaters of the polytheists and the Byzantines, invoking God to grant them victory…). Here's another quote from records of history: (…Yazeed fought with his father in the Battle of Yarmouk, shouting that the victory of God is drawing nearer to the defeaters of polytheism and defenders of Islam, and invoking God to grant them victory…). Mu'aweiya participated of course in this battle, even his sister-fighter Juweireiya along with her husband, as women used to take part as soldiers in such battles, and this sister got injured after fighting fiercely, and even Mu'aweiya was shot at with an arrow on the eye, and when the Arab troops were supported by additional 3000 soldiers, victory was achieved and the number of injured ones increased, including the close associates and followers of Abou Sufyan who converted to Islam after the conquest of Mecca.   

3- We personally do not believe the historical account narrated by Abdulla Ibn Al-Zubayr who claimed that he saw Abou Sufyan in the battlefield flattering and praising the Byzantines in poetry. We do not believe this as Ibn Al-Zubayr was a foe of the Umayyads, and it is illogical that Abou Sufyan would sing the praises of the enemy fought and defeated by his progeny.

4- The Battle of Yarmouk was the very first important step in achieving the dream of Abou Sufyan of forming an empire. Abou Sufyan died during the caliphate of Othman in 33 or 34 A.H., after witnessing his son, Mu'aweiya, as the governor of the Levant, and after Abou Sufyan helped his paternal uncle's son, Othman, to become caliph. This story will be told later on below. But here, we quote this extract from the book titled ''Moroj Al-Zahab'' by the historian Al-Masoody, Tome I, page 551, and we personally believe this story: (…When Othman became caliph and received fealty and allegiance of all Arabs, Abou Sufyan, who was blind in his old age, entered his own house, along with kinsmen from the Umayyads, and asked if there were other non-Umayyads present in his house. When he was answered in the negative, he repeated to them several times that his will and testament to them before his near death was that they seize the opportunity and the chance to become monarchs and form a ruling dynasty that he dreamt of…).

5- Abou Bakr died without knowing the fact that Abou Sufyan masterminded the so-called renegades' wars to manipulate them to serve his purposes, and he was the one to employ agents to urge Abou Bakr to begin the Arab conquests of other nations. Abou Bakr died without knowing the fact that he was controlled and manipulated like a marionette figure by the agents and spies whom in their turn were controlled by Abou Sufyan, especially the two major agents: Abou Bakr's close leaders: Khaled Ibn Al-Waleed and Amr Ibn Al-As.