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

  |born = [[Rabi' II 10]], [[232]]/[[December 8]], 846

  |beginning of imamate = [[Rajab 3]], [[254]]/[[July 2]], 868

  |martyrdom = [[Rabi' I 8]], [[260]]/[[January 5]], 874

'''ʾAbū Muḥammad al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī (a)''' (Arabic:{{iarabic|(ع) أبو محمد الحسن بن علي}}) (b. [[232]]/846 d. [[260]]/874) was the 11th [[Imam]] of [[Twelver Shi'a]] and the father of [[Imam al-Mahdi (a)]]. He was given the title, '''Imam al-Askari'''({{iarabic|امام العسکري}}), because he was forced to reside in [[Samarra]] which was also known as "Askar" (a military camp or town). His other titles include [[Ibn al-Rida]], al-Hadi, al-Naqi, al-Zaki, al-Rafiq and al-Samit.

According to the majority of sources, he was born in [[Medina]],<ref>Mufīd, ''al-Irshād'', vol. 2, p. 313.</ref> but other sources suggest that he was born in Samarra.<ref>Ibn Ḥātam, ''al-Durr al-naẓīm'', p. 737.</ref> And according to the majority of early Imami sources, he was born in [[Rabi' II]], [[232]] (December 846).<ref>Nawbakhtī, ''Firaq al-Shīʿa'', p. 95; Mufīd, ''al-Irshād'', vol. 2, p. 313.</ref> The same date was mentioned in a hadith from Imam al-Hasan al-Askari as well.<ref>Ibn Rustam al-Ṭabarī, ''Dalāʾil al-imāma'', p. 423.</ref> According to other Imami and Sunni sources, he was born in 231/845.<ref>Ibn Abī l-Thalj, ''Majmūʾat nafīsa fī tārīkh al-aʾimma'', p. 14; Masʿūdī, ''Ithbāt al-waṣīyya'', p. 258.</ref> In his ''Masar al-Shi'a'', [[al-Shaykh al-Mufid]] believes that the Imam was born on Rabi' II 10, 232 (December 4, 846).<ref>Mufīd, ''Masār al-Shīʿa'', p. 52; Ṭūsī, ''Miṣbāḥ al-mutahajjid'', p. 792.</ref>  However, this account was dismissed in the 6th/12th century when the majority of the [[Imamiyya]] believed that he was born on Rabi' II 8 (December 2, 846).<ref>Ibn Shahrāshūb, ''Manāqib Āl Abī Ṭālib'', vol. 3, p. 523; Ṭabrisī, ''Tāj al-mawālīd'', p. 57.</ref>

Imam al-Askari was martyred on [[Rabi' I 8]], [[260]] (January 1, 874) during the reign of [[Mu'tamid al-Abbasi]] at the age of 28.<ref>Kulaynī, ''al-Kāfī'', vol. 1, p. 503; Mufīd, ''al-Irshād'', vol. 2, p. 314.</ref> There are accounts of his martyrdom in Rabi' II and [[Jumada I]] as well.<ref>Muqaddasī, ''Bāzpazhūhī-yi tārīkh-i wilādat wa shahādat-i maʿṣūmān'', p. 530-531.</ref> According to [[al-Tabrisi]] in ''I'lam al-wara'', many Imami scholars maintain that Imam al-Askari was martyred by poisoning. They appeal to the hadith, "I swear to God that there is none of us (i.e. the Imams) who is not murdered and martyred."<ref>Ṭabrisī, ''Iʿlām al-warā'', vol. 2, p. 131.</ref> Some historical reports imply that the two caliphs before al-Mu'tamid were also seeking to murder the Imam. According to a hadith, [[al-Mu'tazz al-'Abbasi]] ordered his personal security guard to murder the Imam on his way to [[Kufa]], but the plan failed because it was leaked to people.<ref>Ṭūsī, ''al-Ghayba'', p. 208.</ref> According to another report, [[Muhtadi al-Abbasi]] also decided to martyr the Imam in the prison, but the plan failed because his reign was over.<ref>Masʿūdī, ''Ithbāt al-waṣīyya'', p. 268; Kulaynī, ''al-Kāfī'', vol. 1, p. 329.</ref> Imam al-Askari is buried in his own house in Samarra, where [[Imam al-Hadi]] had also been buried.<ref>Mufīd, ''al-Irshād'', vol. 2, p. 313.</ref> According to Abd Allah b. Khaqan (one of al-Mu'tamid al-Abbasi's viziers),<ref>Amīn, ''Aʿyān al-Shīʿa'', vol. 1, p. 103.</ref> when Imam al-Askari was martyred, bazars were shut down, and [[Banu Hashim]], prominent figures, statesmen, and other people attended his funeral.<ref>Nawbakhtī, ''Firaq al-Shīʿa'', p. 96.</ref>