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Peace Treaty of Imam al-Hasan (a): Difference between revisions
Peace Treaty of Imam al-Hasan (a) (view source)
Revision as of 08:05, 9 September 2016
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Abu Sa'id al-'Aqisa narrates, "I visited Imam al-Hasan (a) and said to him: 'You son of the prophet! Why did you accept peace with the cruel and corrupt Mu'awiya despite the fact that you already knew you were right?' He (Imam) replied: 'If I had not done so, no one of our followers would have remained on earth and they all would have been slaughtered.'" | Abu Sa'id al-'Aqisa narrates, "I visited Imam al-Hasan (a) and said to him: 'You son of the prophet! Why did you accept peace with the cruel and corrupt Mu'awiya despite the fact that you already knew you were right?' He (Imam) replied: 'If I had not done so, no one of our followers would have remained on earth and they all would have been slaughtered.'" | ||
Imam al-Hasan (a)'s response to a person who called | Imam al-Hasan (a)'s response to a person who called Imam as the "humiliator of pious men" was: "I am not the humiliator of pious men, rather I've raised their honor. So when I realized you (Shi'as) did not have the power to resist and confront Syrian army, I handed the caliphate on to Mu'awiya in order to save our (your) lives. Just as a tactful person who causes a defect in a ship to save its owners' and passengers' lives (pointing to the Quranic story of [[Moses (a)]] and [[Khidr (a)]] in [[Sura al-Kahf]]). Our story is similar to this. This is because we could remain among our enemies and opponents." | ||
His Excellency says in another hadith: "I swear to God that what I did is better and more beneficial for my Shi'as than sunset and sunrise." | His Excellency says in another hadith: "I swear to God that what I did is better and more beneficial for my Shi'as than sunset and sunrise." | ||
It is also narrated that after peace, Hujr b. 'Adi came to Imam al-Hasan (a), protesting by saying: You humiliated the pious men. Imam al-Hasan (a) replied: "It is not like this that all the people want what you wish, or think as you do. What I did was just for your protection and survival and no more." | It is also narrated that after peace, [[Hujr b. 'Adi]] came to Imam al-Hasan (a), protesting by saying: You humiliated the pious men. Imam al-Hasan (a) replied: "It is not like this that all the people want what you wish, or think as you do. What I did was just for your protection and survival and no more." | ||
=== People Refused to Support Imam al-Hasan (a) === | === People Refused to Support Imam al-Hasan (a) === | ||
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[[Sulaym b. Qays al-Hilali]] states, "When Mu'awiya came to kufa, Imam al-Hasan (a) went up the pulpit and after praising God said: 'I take oath to God, if people pledged allegiance to me and helped me, the sky would generously grant them its rain and the earth would give them its bless, and you Mu'awiya would never be tempted to take over caliphate.'" | [[Sulaym b. Qays al-Hilali]] states, "When Mu'awiya came to kufa, Imam al-Hasan (a) went up the pulpit and after praising God said: 'I take oath to God, if people pledged allegiance to me and helped me, the sky would generously grant them its rain and the earth would give them its bless, and you Mu'awiya would never be tempted to take over caliphate.'" | ||
Imam al-Hasan (a) refers to the disloyalty and lack of support from people in a sermon by saying, "If I had a friend or a companion, I would never hand the caliphate on to Mu'awiya, since the caliphate is prohibited to Banu | Imam al-Hasan (a) refers to the disloyalty and lack of support from people in a sermon by saying, "If I had a friend or a companion, I would never hand the caliphate on to Mu'awiya, since the caliphate is prohibited to [[Banu Umyya]]." Moreover, he replied to the person protesting the peace: "I handed the caliphate on to Mu'awiya on account that I did not have enough companions to fight with him. If I had some, I would fight with him day and night to finally defeat him." | ||
=== Preventing Bloodshed === | === Preventing Bloodshed === | ||
Imam al-Hasan (a) puts forth the reason of establishing peace with Mu'awiya by saying, "I thought it would be appropriate to behave towards Mu'awiya peacefully and to declare ceasefire. I knew preventing bloodshed is better. My only purpose was your survival and goodness." He also said, "I had all Arabs' heads in my hand, if I established peace, they would do so, and if I fought, they would take arms, but I ignored it because of God's satisfaction and saving Muslims' lives." He replied to [[Sulayman b. Surad]]'s objection, "I see something way beyond what you see, and I did not do so but only to prevent bloodshed." Imam al-Hasan (a) explained elsewhere that: "I thought preventing bloodshed is better than the opposite." | |||
Imam al-Hasan (a) puts forth the reason of establishing peace with Mu'awiya by saying, "I thought it would be appropriate to behave towards Mu'awiya peacefully and to declare ceasefire. I knew preventing bloodshed is better. My only purpose was your survival and goodness." He also said, "I had all Arabs' heads in my hand, if I established peace, they would do so, and if I fought, they would take arms, but I ignored it because of God's satisfaction and saving Muslims' lives." He replied to Sulayman b. Surad's objection, "I see something way beyond what you see, and I did not do so but only to prevent bloodshed." Imam al-Hasan (a) explained elsewhere that: "I thought preventing bloodshed is better than the opposite." | |||
After the peace treaty, Mu'awiya asked Imam al-Hasan (a) to take part in fighting with Khawarij. He did not participate and sent Mu'awiya a letter saying, "If I wanted to fight with any Muslim, the first one of them would be you. But I did not make a war against you for Muslims' goodness and protection of their lives." | After the peace treaty, Mu'awiya asked Imam al-Hasan (a) to take part in fighting with Khawarij. He did not participate and sent Mu'awiya a letter saying, "If I wanted to fight with any Muslim, the first one of them would be you. But I did not make a war against you for Muslims' goodness and protection of their lives." | ||
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=== Protecting Religion === | === Protecting Religion === | ||
One of the main reasons why Imam al-Hasan (a) accepted the peace treaty is protecting the religion, since fighting with Muslims would have exposed the Islamic territories to the danger of the religion becoming extinct. To go on war against Mu'awiya, was not a beneficial decision to make, neither for Kufa nor Syria. It only paved Rome Empire's path to attack Islamic territories. | One of the main reasons why Imam al-Hasan (a) accepted the peace treaty is protecting the religion, since fighting with Muslims would have exposed the Islamic territories to the danger of the religion becoming extinct. To go on war against Mu'awiya, was not a beneficial decision to make, neither for [[Kufa]] nor [[Syria]]. It only paved Rome Empire's path to attack Islamic territories. | ||
[[Al-Ya'qubi]] writes, "Mu'awiya returned to Syria in [[41]]/661. Having been notified about Rome large army, Mu'awiya sent an ambassador to them and established peace by offering 100 thousand dinars. | [[Al-Ya'qubi]] writes, "Mu'awiya returned to Syria in [[41]]/661. Having been notified about Rome large army, Mu'awiya sent an ambassador to them and established peace by offering 100 thousand dinars. | ||
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=== Tired of Fighting === | === Tired of Fighting === | ||
Due to 40 years of fighting in different wars, there had not remained any spirit of fighting among Muslims except for a handful of pure Shi'as and brave youths. After establishing Islamic government, Muslims participated in [[ghazwa]]s and [[sariyya]]s at the Prophet's presence. Then they had to fight with soldiers of Rome, [[Iran]], and some neighboring nations of [[Arabian Peninsula]] during the caliphate of the three first caliphs. And after that, they suffered from three great civil wars imposed on the then ruler, [[Imam Ali (a)]]. | |||
Due to 40 years of fighting in different wars, there had not remained any spirit of fighting among Muslims except for a handful of pure Shi'as and brave youths. After establishing Islamic government, Muslims participated in [[ghazwa]]s and [[sariyya]]s at the Prophet's presence. Then they had to fight with soldiers of Rome, [[Iran]], and some neighboring nations of [[Arabian Peninsula]] during the caliphate of the three caliphs. And after that, they suffered from three great civil wars imposed on the then ruler, Imam Ali (a). | |||
Considering all these factors, a few volunteered to take part in war when Imam al-Hasan (a) and his close friends such as [[Hujr b. 'Adi]] and [[Qays b. Sa'd al-Ansari]] invited people to unite against Mu'awiya. | Considering all these factors, a few volunteered to take part in war when Imam al-Hasan (a) and his close friends such as [[Hujr b. 'Adi]] and [[Qays b. Sa'd al-Ansari]] invited people to unite against Mu'awiya. | ||
Imam al-Hasan (a) told the people who had pledged allegiance to him and promised to give him a hand in fighting against Mu'awiya, "If you are honest in what you have said, join me at the camp in | Imam al-Hasan (a) told the people who had pledged allegiance to him and promised to give him a hand in fighting against Mu'awiya, "If you are honest in what you have said, join me at the camp in [[Madain]]." Then, Imam (a) set out for Madain. Those who had really decided to fight went along with Imam, yet a large number of them, turned out to be unfaithful to Imam and did not fulfill their promises. They deceived Imam al-Hasan (a) as they had deceived his father Imam 'Ali (a). Imam al-Hasan (a) expressed his anger and criticism by saying, "I'm surprised of a nation who has neither any sense of embarrassment nor any rank of faith in religion. If I hand the caliphate on to Mu'awiya, I take oath to God you will not live easily and Banu Umayya will torment you with the most severe behaviors and tortures." He reiterated, "I saw you have been slow towards war ([[jihad]]), and I do not enforce you to do something you are unwilling to do." | ||
=== Threat of Khawarij === | === Threat of Khawarij === | ||
Abu Bakr Muhammad b. 'Abd Allah b. Arabi, the author of ''[[Ahkam al-Qur'an]]'' says, :"One of the main reasons Imam al-Hasan (a) accepted peace was that he was aware that Khawarij had surrounded him. So, if he kept on fighting with Mu'awiya, Khawarij would take the control of Islamic lands. On the other hand, if he fought with Khawarij, Mu'awiya (indulged in the fantasy of domination) would take over the Islamic regions under Imam al-Hasan (a)'s control." | Abu Bakr Muhammad b. 'Abd Allah b. 'Arabi, the author of ''[[Ahkam al-Qur'an]]'' says, :"One of the main reasons Imam al-Hasan (a) accepted peace was that he was aware that Khawarij had surrounded him. So, if he kept on fighting with Mu'awiya, Khawarij would take the control of Islamic lands. On the other hand, if he fought with Khawarij, Mu'awiya (indulged in the fantasy of domination) would take over the Islamic regions under Imam al-Hasan (a)'s control." | ||
=== Inconsistent Army === | === Inconsistent Army === | ||
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Al-Shaykh al-Mufid believes, "Imam al-Hasan (a) had no alternative but to accept peace and abandon war, since his followers had weak beliefs and were discouraged to fight due to Mu'awiya's worldly promises. They no longer had much faith in Imam al-Hasan (a) so as to fight Mu'awiya. According to what happened, they disagreed with him and merited taking his life as halal. They wanted to turn him over to his enemy. His cousin [['Ubayd Allah b. al-'Abbas]] gave up assisting him and joined his enemy and generally people turned their faces to the worldly desires and disregarded blesses of [[Akhira]]." | Al-Shaykh al-Mufid believes, "Imam al-Hasan (a) had no alternative but to accept peace and abandon war, since his followers had weak beliefs and were discouraged to fight due to Mu'awiya's worldly promises. They no longer had much faith in Imam al-Hasan (a) so as to fight Mu'awiya. According to what happened, they disagreed with him and merited taking his life as halal. They wanted to turn him over to his enemy. His cousin [['Ubayd Allah b. al-'Abbas]] gave up assisting him and joined his enemy and generally people turned their faces to the worldly desires and disregarded blesses of [[Akhira]]." | ||
Among Imam al-Hasan (a)'s army, there were those who seemingly were obedient of Imam's orders. A group of Kufa great men wrote a letter to Mu'awiya secretly saying: we are totally obedient of you". Then, they encouraged him to travel to them, promising to turn al-Hasan over to him when his army approached, or kill him surprisingly off-guard. [[Zayd b. | Among Imam al-Hasan (a)'s army, there were those who seemingly were obedient of Imam's orders. A group of Kufa great men wrote a letter to Mu'awiya secretly saying: we are totally obedient of you". Then, they encouraged him to travel to them, promising to turn al-Hasan over to him when his army approached, or kill him surprisingly off-guard. [[Zayd b. Wahb al-Juhani]] explains, "When Imam al-Hasan (a) was injured and was resting in bed in Madain, I visited him and said to him: What is your decision? People are confused. He replied: "I take oath to God that I see Mu'awiya better for me than these people who, supposedly, are my Shi'as and at the same time make schemes to kill me. They plunder my furniture, and steal my property." | ||
== No Stipulations Fulfilled == | == No Stipulations Fulfilled == | ||