Hasan ibn Ali
Hasan ibn Ali ibn Abu Talib () (c.
625 –
669) was the son of
Ali ibn Abu Talib and
Fatima Zahra, and the first grandson of
Muhammad. He is considered the second
Shia Imam by most
Shi'a Muslim sects; other sects accept his brother
Husayn ibn Ali as the second Shia Imam. Nonetheless, he is an important figure in both
Sunni and Shi'a Islam as a member of the
Ahl al-Bayt, the household of Muhammad.
Hasan ibn Ali was born two years after the
Hijra (622 CE), the migration of the early Muslim community from
Mecca to
Medina. His parents were Ali, Muhammad's cousin and trusted lieutenant, and Fatima Zahra, Muhammad's daughter.
Hasan ibn Ali was Muhammad's first grandchild. According to Shi'a tradition, he was named by his grandfather, who acted on divine inspiration. Hasan means "handsome" in
Arabic.
Hasan and his brother
Husayn ibn Ali are said to have been greatly beloved by their grandfather. There are numerous
hadith, or oral traditions, that make this claim. Other hadiths say that Hasan and Husayn will be the leaders of the youth in paradise. Shi'a believe that Hasan is one of the four persons included in the
Hadith Of The Cloak.
Upon the death of Ali at
Kufa, the Muslim garrison town in what is now southern
Iraq, a number of Ali's Kufan supporters swore allegiance to Hasan as caliph. This threatened the ambitious
Muawiyah I, who been fighting Ali for the caliphate. Mu'awiya summoned all the commanders of his forces in Syria, Palestine, and Transjordan to join him in preparation for war. He also attempted to negotiate with Hasan, sending the young heir letters asking him to give up his claim. If he could persuad Hasan to renounce his claim to the caliphate, then Muawiyah could avoid having to kill fellow Muslims and would have a much stronger claim to the caliphate himself. If Muawiyah were forced to defeat Hasan in battle, Muawiyah would gain absolute power, but questions regarding his legitimacy would linger.
Negotiations stalled, and Mu'awiya marched against Hasan with an army said to number sixty thousand men
[Ibn A'tham IV, p. 153. Other numbers: [1]]. Hasan too marched his army towards Mu'awiya. The two armies faced each near Sabat.
During this period of suspense, Hasan is said to have given a sermon in which he proclaimed his hatred of schism and appealed to his men to follow his orders even though they did not agree with him. Some of the troops took this as a sign that Hasan was preparing to surrender, and attacked Hasan. Hasan was wounded, but loyal soldiers surrounded him and killed the mutineers. Another one of Hasan's commanders, Ubayd Allah, deserted and joined Mu'awiya's forces.
The two armies fought a few inconclusive skirmishes. Muawiyah, distressed that the result of a battle would mean a loss of many men and a lack of people to go back and partake in caring for the people, sent two Quraishi men to Hasan in order to negotiate a settlement with a cash incentive for Hasan and his followers.
[Sahih Bukhari 3:49:867] Hasan, wounded, facing disaffection in his own army and finally negotiated a settlement with Mu'awiyah. According to Sunnis, Hasan stipulated that Mu'awiyah should follow the Qur'an and the Sunnah, allow a
shura to be held after his death, and refrain from any acts of revenge against Hasan's followers . Shias state that Hasan stipulated the caliphate to be returned to him .
Mu'awiyah proceeded to Kufa and demanded that the Muslims there swear allegiance. He also attempted to force Hasan to fight for him against the rebellious
Kharijites. Hasan is said to have written:
"I have abandoned the fight against you, even though it was my legal right, for the sake of peace and reconciliation of the Community. Do you think that I shall fight together with you?"
[Madelung The Succession to Muhammad 1997 pp. 324-325]Was he a Sunni Caliph?
Most caliph chronologies do not include Hasan. Hasan claimed the caliphate only briefly and was recognized by only a small portion of the Islamic empire. He resigned his claim, and recognized Mu'awiya. However, a handful of the older Sunni historians, such as
Suyuti,
Ibn al-Arabi,
Ibn Taymiyya, and
Ibn Kathir accept Hasan as a caliph before Muawiyah
[:Suyuti in The Khalifas who took the right way page 9 and History of the Caliphs Vol 12:Ibn al-Arabi in his Sharh Sunan al-Tirmidhi 9:68-69 ref:Ibn Kathir in The Beginning and the End Vol 6 page 249-250Examples of other brief and partialy recognized caliphs include Muawiya II and Abd-Allah ibn Zubayr.].
Twelver Shi'a Muslims also regard Hasan as one of the twelve infallible
imams.
Hasan retired to
Medina. He received a pension from Mu'awiyah and also some income from the properties he had inherited.
Some Islamic historians, such as Al-Madā'inī and Muhammad Al-Kalbī, claimed that Hasan lived a life of indulgence and ease, marrying and divorcing numerous wives (said to number sixty to ninety) and accumulating three hundred concubines. Some scholars still accept these stories
[(Encyclopedia of Islam, Second Version, per Madelung 1997: 330)].
One contemporary Sunni scholar, Ali Muhammad Sulabi, claims that the
isnad of Sunni traditions on this matter are calumny. He points out that Hasan had fewer than twenty children, which would suggest that he couldn't have married as many times as Al-Madā'inī and Muhammad Al-Kalbī claim.
Wilferd Madelung, a contemporary Western academic in early Islam and Shi'a studies, also regards those stories as base slander and devotes a whole section of his book on the succession to refuting them
[(Madelung 1997: pp. 380-387)].
Historians believe that Hasan died in Medina in 669 (or in some accounts, 670). He is buried at the famous
Jannat al-Baqi cemetery across from the
Masjid al-Nabawi, the Mosque of the Prophet.
Was Hasan poisoned?
Some early Arab historians give a more detailed story. They say that Muawiyah wished to pass the caliphate to his son Yazid, and saw Hasan as an obstacle to his plans. Muawiyah plotted to kill Hasan. He secretly contacted Hasan's wife Ja'da binte al-Ash'ath ibn Qays, and asked her to poison her husband. Ja'da did as Muawiyah suggested, giving her husband poison mixed with honey. Madelung (pp. 331-333) notes other traditions suggesting that Hasan had been poisoned by another wife, the daughter of Suhayl bin 'Amr, or perhaps by a servant. Madelung also cites the early historians (
Baladhuri,
Waqidi, etc.) who recounted these traditions. Madelung, who is more accepting of Shi'a traditions than most Western academic historians, believes that Hasan was poisoned and that the famous early Islamic historian
Tabari suppressed the tale out of concern for the faith of the common people.
Shi'a accounts have embroidered this basic story. Ja'da was promised much gold and marriage to Yazid. Seduced by the promise of money and power, she poisoned her husband, then hastened to the court of Muawiyah in
Damascus to receive her reward. Muawiyah reneged on his promises and married her to another man.
[[2], [3], [4], [5]]Sunnis believe that all these reports are fables, created for the sole purpose of slandering Muawiyah.
[Muawiyah didn't order for Hasan to be poisoned] One of the narrators of this hadith was a widely acknowledged hadith-forger,
"In Madinah there were seven people who used to forge chains of narration. One of them was al-Waqidi."[Ash-Shafi‘i in Tahdhib al-Kamal vol. 26 p. 194]Burial of Hasan
Shi'a also say that Hasan had asked to be buried next to his grandfather, the prophet Muhammad, if it could be done. Prophet Muhammad was buried in his widow Aisha's rooms, which were attached to the main mosque of Medina. According to one story, Aisha refused to let Hasan be buried where he wished. The governor of Medina, who had been appointed by Muawiyah, sent soldiers to prevent a burial next to prophet Muhammad. Hasan's family was forced to bury him in Jannat ul-Baqi.
The shrine of his tomb was destroyed by the
Salafi Saudis
[His shrine demolished by Salafis] according to a Shia website.
He was married to the following women:
*
Umm Ishaq bint Talhah. She was the mother of
Husain Athram,
Talha ibn Hassan. This marriage also had taken place in Medina. She survived Imam Hasan; and was later married to Imam Husain
[http://www.playandlearn.org/Article/431.htm]. Umm Ishaq had also a daughter named
Fatimah bint Husayn.
[http://www.islam4theworld.com/Sahabah/talhah_bn_ubaydullah_R.htm]*
Khawal Fazariya, who was the mother of Hasan Muthanna (the grandfather of Muhammad Nafs al-Zakiyya). She survived Imam Hasan. This marriage had taken place in Medina.
*
Ju'da bint Ash-ath. This marriage took place in Kufa and she also survived Imam Hasan. (Accordin to Shi'a, she poisoned him on instigation of Mu'aviya.)
Sunni view
Sunnis honour Hasan ibn Ali as one of the
ahl al-Bayt and one of the
Sahaba. Certain Sunni scholars of the past also bestoy the honor of being the fifth caliph, before Muawiyah, on him because of his appointment by Ali.
Shi'a view
Shi'as hold Hasan ibn Ali in a very high postive view. Shi'as regard Hassan ibn Ali ibn Abu Talib as their second Imam and they also regard his as a martyr because Hassan ibn Ali ibn Abu Talib was killed by Ja'da (his wife) on the urging of Muawiyah in Shi'a hadith narrations.
*Islamic
Prophet Mohammed*
Ali ibn Abu Talib*
Hassan ibn Ali*
Hussain ibn Ali*
Shi'a Islam*
Qasim ibn Hassan*
Sharif* http://home.swipnet.se/islam/imamhassan.htm
*
The Second Imam*
Sulh al-Hasan The Peace Treaty of al-Hasan by Shaykh Radi Al-Yasin.
*http://www.balagh.net/english/ahl_bayt/sulh_al-hasan/25.htm
