If there was one figure in early Islamic history who gave Imam ‘Alī and his sons Imam Ḥasan and Imam Ḥusayn a very difficult time with his tyrannical policies, it was Mu‘āwīyah the son of Abū Sufyān. A question that is often posed is: why did Imam Ḥasan agree to a truce with Mu‘āwīyah while his brother Imam Ḥusayn later stood in defiance against Yazīd the son of Mu‘āwīyah in later years?