Al-Hasan al-Basri: Difference between revisions

Al-Hasan’s hadiths are deemed acceptable by most Sunni scholars, and his hadiths are cited by al-Bukhari and Muslim in Sahihayn. Moreover, a meeting for the transmission of hadiths was organized for al-Hasan in Mecca, in which Mujahid, 'Ata', Tawus, and 'Amr b. Shu'ayb—prominent Sunni scholars—were present.

He is praised by Ibn Sa'd as knowledgeable, reliable, and authoritative, although he dismisses his mursal hadiths (those without specified chains of transmitters) as unreliable. In his book, Tadhkirat al-huffaz, al-Dhahabi refers to al-Hasan as Imam, Shaykh al-Islam, Hafiz, and 'Allama, although he calls him a fraud. Ibn Athir says that al-Hasan combined knowledge, asceticism, worship, and piety. Abu Na'im al-Isfahani considers him as a jurist, ascetic, and worshiper who had set aside the adornments of this world, and cites hadiths concerning al-Hasan’s life and his sermons.

Of the four early sources of Shiite rijal, al-Hasan al-Basri appears only in Ikhtiyar ma'rifat al-rijal, which is the most important reference of more recent Shiite scholars of rijal. The book contains remarks attributed to Fadl b. Shadhan concerning the Eight Ascetics, in which al-Hasan al-Basri is reprehended. In this book, al-Kashshi aims to collect everything about transmitters of hadiths—from praises to blames—without deciding on the matter. His quote from Fadl b. Shadhan here is mediated by 'Ali b. Muhammad b. Qutayba who is deemed unreliable by Shiite scholars of rijal.

Of Shiite scholars, the following have dismissed al-Hasan as blameworthy and unreliable: al-Fayd al-Kashani, Muhammad Baqir al-Majlisi, Muhammad Tahir al-Qummi, and Aqa Muhammad 'Ali Kirmanshahi. They dismiss him because of his reputation as a Sufi. Thus, they try to dissuade people from following him. By appealing to some reports, they offer negative assessments of al-Hasan, such as a teacher of heresy and misguidedness, a propagator of ruhbaniyya (seclusion), the head of Qadariyya, a hypocrite, and an enemy of 'Ali.

On the other hand, some earlier and later Shiite scholars have tried to defend al-Hasan al-Basri, considering his hadiths and exegeses as reliable. In his al-Amali, Ibn Babawayh cites al-Basri’s hadiths as well as his own words concerning Imam 'Ali, which implies that his words were significant for Ibn Babawayh, without implying any reprehension of al-Hasan. Al-Sharif al-Murtada 'Alam al-Huda speaks favorably of al-Hasan, referring to him as highly knowledgeable, eloquent in sermons, a role-model, a leader, and an early scholar who explicitly talked about God’s justice. He also reports al-Hasan’s brave encounter with al-Hajjaj, as result of which he decided to kill him.

In his introduction to his Quranic exegesis, al-Tibyan, al-Shaykh al-Tusi refers to Ibn 'Abbas, al-Hasan, and Qatada (al-Hasan’s student) respectively as exegetes who had adopted a praiseworthy approach to the Quranic exegesis. In al-Shaykh’s exegesis, al-Hasan is the second most frequently cited person. The same thing can be seen in al-Tabrisi’s Majma' al-bayan. Qadi Nur Allah al-Shushtari quotes his master, Radi al-Din 'Ali b. Tawus as saying that al-Hasan was acceptable.

In many cases in his Persian exegesis of the Qur'an, Manhaj al-sadiqin, Fath Allah Kashani says after quoting a hadith or a word from al-Hasan that his words are the same as what is transmitted to us from the Imams and are acceptable to Shi'as. Moreover, he reported parts of al-Hasan’s speech in the presence of al-Hajjaj in praise of Imam 'Ali. Muhammad Taqi al-Majlisi believes that al-Hasan practiced taqiyya (or dissimulation) before Ziyad and his son, 'Ubayd Allah, as well as al-Hajjaj, at the command of Imam 'Ali. Muhammad Taqi al-Shushtari refers to and praises al-Hasan’s letter in the rejection of Jabriyya, saying that we had better consider him as a good, pious man who practiced taqiyya. Muhammad Hadi Ma'rifat elaborately and admiringly wrote about al-Hasan’s life, and rejected accusations against him.

Some Shiite scholars, such as Muhammad Baqir al-Khwansari, 'Ali Aliyari Tabrizi, and 'Abd Allah Mamaqani, appeal to a hadith by Sulaym b. Qays al-Hilali according to which al-Hasan repented to God late in his life. Thus, they believe that al-Hasan was not on the right path at first, and then he found an insight into the true denomination.