Imam al-Hasan b. Ali al-Mujtaba (a): Difference between revisions

'''Al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (a)''' (Arabic: {{ia|الحسن بن علي بن أبي طالب}}) (b. [[3]]/[[625 CE|625]] - d. [[50]]/[[670 CE|670]]), known as '''Imam al-Hasan al-Mujtaba''', was the second [[Imam]] of the [[Shiʿa]] (40-50 AH), the fifth [[caliph]] of the Muslim community for seven months, and regarded by some Sunnis as the last of the [[Rightly Guided Caliphs]].

Shiite and Sunni sources contain numerous reports of al-Hasan’s virtues. According to these reports, he was one of the [[People of the Cloak]], about whom the [[Verse of Purity]] (Qur'an 33:33) was revealed. The verses [[76:8]], [[42:23]], and [[3:61]] were also revealed about him, his parents, and his brother. He gave all his wealth to charity twice, and because of such acts of [[generosity]], he came to be called “The Generous One of the Family of the Prophet (s)”. He went to [[hajj]] twenty-five times barefoot.

There is not much information about his life during the caliphate of [[Abu Bakr]] and [[Umar]]. It is reported that Umar appointed him as a witness in the [[six-member council]] that was to choose the third caliph. During the revolt at the end of [[Uthman]]’s caliphate, he was tasked by [[Imam Ali (a)]] to protect the house of the caliph. During the caliphate of Imam Ali (a), al-Hasan (a) moved with his father to [[Kufa]] and was one of the commanders of his army in the battles of [[battle of Jamal|Jamal]] and [[battle of Siffin|Siffin]].

On [[Ramadan 21]], [[40 AH]]/[[January 28]], [[661 CE|661]], and after the [[martyrdom]] of Imam Ali (a), al-Hasan (a) became the Imam and successor of his father. More than forty-thousand men pledged their [[allegiance]] to him on the same day. However, [[Muʿawiya]] did not accept his caliphate, and launched a military expedition against him. Imam al-Hasan (a) sent an army under the command of [['Ubayd Allah b. 'Abbas]] to confront Muʿawiya’s army. The Imam (a) himself headed to [[Sabat]] with a group of soldiers. Muʿawiya tried to spread rumors among the Imam’s (a) troops to prepare the ground for a peace-treaty. At the same time, one of the [[Kharijites]] tried to assassinate Imam al-Hasan (a), which resulted in the Imam’s (a) injury. The Imam (a) was taken to [[Madain]] to receive treatment. Simultaneously, a group of Kufan chiefs wrote a letter to Muʿawiya and promised him to either kill al-Hasan (a) or to surrender him to Muʿawiya. Muʿawiya sent their letter to Imam al-Hasan (a) and proposed a peace treaty to the Imam (a). Seeing no other choices before him, Imam al-Hasan (a) accepted the peace treaty and abdicated the caliphate with the condition that Muʿawiya should rule according to the [[Qur'an]] and the [[Sunna]] of the Prophet (s) and should not appoint any successor for himself, and that no one, including the Shiites, should be persecuted. Muʿawiya did not abide by any of these conditions later. The peace treaty with Muʿawiya led to the dissatisfaction of a number of the Imam’s (a) companions, so much so that some of them called the Imam (a) the Humiliator of the Believers.

The Imam (a) returned to Medina after the peace treaty in [[41 AH]] and remained there until the end of his life. In Medina, he was as a religious and scholarly authority and had a high social status.

When Muʿawiya decided to introduce his son [[Yazid]] as his successor and demanded that people pledge their allegiance to him, he sent one-hundred thousand [[dirham]]s to [[Ja'da bt. al-Ash'ath]], Imam al-Hasan’s wife, to poison the Imam (a). She did so and Imam al-Hasan (a) was martyred forty days after he was poisoned. According to a report, the Imam (a) had requested to be buried next to the grave of the Prophet (s), but [[Marwan b. al-Hakam]] and a group of the [[Umayyads]] did not let that happen. Thus, he was buried in [[al-Baqi' cemetery]].

The Word “al-Hasan” in Arabic means good or beautiful. This name was chosen for Imam al-Hasan (a) by the [[Prophet (s)]]. According to a hadith, this name was chosen by God’s command, and did not have a precedent in pre-Islamic history.

According to some Sunni sources, Imam al-Hasan (a) and Imam al-Husayn (a), participated in the Battle of Ifriqiyya in [[26 AH]] and in the Battle of [[Tabaristan]] in [[29 AH]] or [[30 AH]]. Scholars disagree as to whether these reports are reliable. Considering problems in their chains of transmitters and taking into account the opposition of the Imams (a) to the conquests, [[Sayyid Ja'far Murtada]] regards these reports as unreliable. He refers as further evidence for his view to the fact that [[Imam Ali (a)]] did not allow Imam al-Hasan (a) and [[Imam al-Husayn (a)]] to participate in the [[Battle of Siffin]].

It is also reported that in this period, whenever people complained about [[Uthman]]’s conducts to Imam Ali (a), he would send his son al-Hasan (a) to Uthman. According to al-Baladhuri, during the revolt at the end of Uthman’s caliphate, when his house was besieged, al-Hasan (a) and al-Husayn (a) and a number of other people were commanded by Imam Ali (a) to protect Uthman’s house, and, according to [[Qadi Nuʿman al-Maghribi]] (d. 363 AH) to take water for him. Some reports indicate that al-Hasan (a) was even injured in this episode. Some Shiite scholars, such as [[Allama Amini]], regard these reports as unreliable. [[Al-Sharif al-Murtada]] also questions the authenticity of these reports and states that even if they were authentic, they only indicate that Imam Ali (a) was against [[murdering Uthamn]] and depriving his family of food and water, not that he opposed overthrowing him as the caliph.

There are various reports about the number of Imam al-Hasan’s (a) children and wives. Although historical sources do not mention the names of more than  eighteen women as the wives of the Imam (a), some of them claim that the Imam (a) had 70, 90, 200, or 250 wives. It has been claimed that Imam al-Hasan (a) was mitlaq (one who marries and divorces numerous women) and that he had many concubines, with some of whom he had children.

This claim has been subjected to much criticism in past and recent scholarly works. According to [[Madelung]], the first person to have spread the rumor that Imam al-Hasan (a) had ninety wives was Muhammad b. al-Kalbi, and the number was made up by al-Madaʾini (d. 225 AH). However, al-Kalbi himself mentions only the names of eleven women as the Imam’s wives, and from these eleven, five were arguably not the Imam’s wives. Al-Qurashi maintains that these reports were fabricated by the [[Abbasids]] to tarnish the reputation of the descendants of Imam al-Hasan (a) who led several revolts against them.

There is disagreement as to the number of Imam al-Hasan’s (a) children. According to [[al-Shaykh al-Mufid]], they were fifteen, but [[al-Tabrisi]] considers them 16, among whom was Abu Bakr who was martyred in the [[event of Karbala]].

Imam al-Hasan (a) was present in the five-year caliphate of his father beside him in all situation. It is reported that when the people pledged their allegiance to Imam Ali (a), Imam al-Hasan (a) went on the [[minbar]] at his father’s request and delivered a speech to the people. It also appears that al-Hasan (a) was with his father since the first days of the latter’s residence in Kufa.

Al-Shaykh al-Mufid (d. 413) reports that Imam al-Hasan (a), together with [[Ammar b. Yasir]] and [[Qays b. Sa'd b. 'Ubada]], was tasked with calling the Kufans to join the Imam’s (a) army. In [[Kufa]], al-Hasan (a) delivered a speech in which he mentioned his father’s virtues and high status in Islam and [[Talha]]’s and [[Zubayr]]’s betrayal of their [[allegiance]], and then called the people to support Imam Ali (a).

During the battle, when [[Abd Allah b. al-Zubayr]] accused Imam Ali (a) of murdering Uthman, al-Hasan (a) delivered a speech and mentioned the role of Talha and Zubayr in Uthman’s murder.

[[Nasr b. Muzahim]] (d. [[212 AH]]) reports that prior to the beginning of the expedition of Imam Ali’s army to [[Siffin]], al-Hasan (a) delivered a speech and encouraged the people to [[jihad]]. It is said that in this battle, the right wing of the army was under the command of al-Hasan (a) and his brother al-Husayn (a).

According to [[al-Iskafi]] (d. 240), when, during the battle, al-Hasan (a) confronted one of the commanders of the [[Syria|Syrian]] army, the latter refused to fight with him and said, “I saw the Prophet (s) on a camel while you were sitting in front of him. I don’t want to meet the Prophet (s) while having your blood on my hands.”

Al-Hasan b. Ali (a) is the second Imam of the Shiʿa. He became the Imam after the martyrdom of his father on [[21 Ramadan]], [[40 AH]]. His imamate lasted for ten years. In ''[[al-Kafi]]'', [[al-Kulayni]] (d. 329) has collected the hadiths related to the appointment of al-Hasan (a) to [[imamate]]. According to one of these [[hadith]]s, before his martyrdom, Imam Ali (a) gave his books and weapon (from the [[Trusts of Imamate]]) to al-Hasan (a) in the presence of his children and some prominent Shiite figures, and announced that the Prophet (s) had commanded him to appoint al-Hasan (a) as the executor of his will. According to another hadith, when Imam Ali (a) was going to [[Kufa]], he left some of the Trusts of Imamate with [[Umm Salama]], and al-Hasan (a) received them from her when he returned from Kufa.

Al-Hasan’s (a) imamate is also supported by such prophetic hadiths as “These two sons of mine are two Imams, whether they rise or sit” and the [[Hadith of the Twelve Caliphs]].

Imam al-Hasan (a) was a Caliphate of Muslims since [[Ramadan 21]], [[40]]/[[January 28]], [[661 CE|661]], for 6 or 8 months. Appealing to a hadith attributed to the Prophet (s), Sunni Muslims takes him as the last caliph from among the [[Rashidun Caliphs]]. His caliphate began after the allegiance of people of [[Iraq]] and support of people from neighboring lands. People of [[Syria]] (al-Sham) opposed his caliphate under the leadership of [[Mu'awiya]]. Mu'awiya and armies from Syria went to a war with Iraq. The war was cultivated in a peace in which the position of caliphate was left to Mu'awiya, the first [[Umayyad]] caliphate.

According to Shiite and Sunni sources, after the martyrdom of [[Amir al-Mu'minin (a)]] in 40/661, people pledged their allegiance to al-Hasan b. 'Ali (a). According to al-Baladhuri (d. 279/892), after the burial of Imam 'Ali (a), [['Ubayad Allah b. 'Abbas]] went to people and gave the news of the Imam's martyrdom, telling them: "he has left a well-deserved and patient successor. You can pledge your allegiance to him if you would like to." According to ''[[al-Irshad]]'', in the morning of Friday, Ramadan 21/January 28, al-Hasan b. 'Ali gave a speech in the mosque, in which he enumerated the virtues and merits of his father, emphasized on his own connection to the Prophet (s), pointed to his own merits, and appealed to verses of the Qur'an concerning the special place of [[Ahl al-Bayt]]. After the speech, [['Abd Allah b. 'Abbas]] stood up and told people: "pledge your allegiance to the son of your Prophet and the successor of your Imam." And people pledged their allegiance to him. According to sources, the number of people who pledged allegiance to him amounted to over 40,000. On al-Tabari's account, [[Qays b. Sa'd b. 'Ubada]], a commander of Imam Ali's army, was the first person to pledge allegiance to him.

According to Husayn Muhammad Ja'fari in his book, ''[[Tashayyu' dar masir-i tarikh]]'' (Shiism in the course of history), many companions of the Prophet (s) who had resided in [[Kufa]] after the construction of the city or had moved to the city in the period of Imam 'Ali's caliphate pledged their allegiance to Imam al-Hasan (a) or otherwise accepted his caliphate. Ja'fari relies on certain pieces of evidence to show that people of Mecca and Medina also agreed with the caliphate of al-Hasan b. 'Ali, and people of Iraq considered him as the only candidate for the position. According to Ja'fari, people of [[Yemen]] and Fars (Persia) had also implicitly endorsed his caliphate, or at least, they showed no opposition thereto.

According to some sources, certain conditions were proposed at the time of allegiance. For example, the book, ''[[al-Imama wa l-siyasa]]'', reports that al-Hasan b. 'Ali told people, "will you pledge your allegiance on the condition that you obey me, and you fight whomever I fight, and you make peace with whomever I make peace?" Upon hearing these words, some people became hesitant. Thus, they went to al-Husayn b. 'Ali to make their allegiance to him, but he said, "I refuge to God from letting you make allegiance to me as long as al-Hasan is still alive." They went back and made allegiance with al-Hasan b. 'Ali. Al-Tabari (d. 310/923) says that when Qays b. Sa'd pledged his allegiance to him, he stated the condition that he acts upon the Book of God and the Tradition of the Prophet and to fight those who permit the shedding of the bloods of Muslims. However, al-Imam al-Hasan (a) only accepted the Book of God and the [[Tradition of the Prophet (s)]], suggesting that every other condition should derive from these two. Some people concluded from these reports that Imam al-Hasan (a) was a pacifist, war averse person, and his practice was different from that of his father and brother.

Imam al-Hasan (a) was the administrator of the endowments and charities of his father after the latter’s martyrdom, according to a will written by Imam Ali (a) in [[Jumada I 10]], [[37 AH]].

There are several reports of Imam al-Hasan’s sessions in Medina, which were intended to educate and guide people in matters of religion. For instance, Ibn Saʿd (d. 230 AH), al-Baladhuri (d. 279 AH), and Ibn ʿAsakir (d. 571 AH) have reported that al-Hasan (a) would perform [[morning prayer]] in the [[mosque of the Prophet (s)]] and would continue worshipping there until sunrise. Afterwards, people would gather around him and discuss with him about different issues. He had the same gatherings after noon [[prayer]] as well. In ''[[al-Fusul al-muhimma]]'', it is reported that Imam al-Hasan (a) would sit in the mosque of the Prophet (s) and respond to the questions of the people who would gather around him.

Historical sources have mentioned the years 49, 50, or 51 AH as the year of the Imam’s (a) martyrdom. Among these years, 50 AH seems to be more probable ([[670 CE]]).

As to the day of Imam al-Hasan’s martyrdom, many Shiite scholars such as [[al-Shaykh al-Mufid]], [[al-Shaykh al-Tusi]], [[al-Tabrisi]], Ibn Shahrashub have mentioned [[Safar 28]]th ([[March 27]], [[670 CE]]). [[Al-Kulayni]] has mentioned the last day of Safar, and [[al-Shahid al-Awwal]] has mentioned [[Safar 7]]th ([[March 6]], [[670 CE]]). Investigating the authenticity of these different reports, Muqaddasi has concluded that Safar 28th is the right date.

Considering the disagreements over the date of Imam al-Hasan’s martyrdom, the Imam (a) is considered to have been 46, 47, or 48 years old when he passed away.

According to [[al-Ya'qubi]] (d. 292 AH), al-Hasan b. Ali (a) was the most similar person to the Prophet (s) in his appearance and behavior. He was of medium height and had a thick beard, which he would dye black.

There are several accounts of Imam al-Hasan’s (a) forbearance, which was so great that earned him the epithet “al-Halim” (the Forbearing One). It is reported, for instance, that a Syrian man saw Imam al-Hasan (a) and started cursing him. When he finished his insults, the Imam (a) smiled, greeted him, and said, “It looks like you are a stranger in this city … If you needed anything, we will fulfill your needs.” The man was deeply impressed by the Imam’s (a) noble reaction; he started crying and recited the following verse: “God knows best with whom to place His message” ([[Quran 6]]:124), indicating that the Imam (a) deserved to be a descendant of the Prophet (s).