Hasan ibn Ali

“Imam Hassan” redirects here. For places in Iran, seeImam Hassan, Iran.

Hasan ibn `Ali ibn Abi Talib (Arabic: بن علي بن الحسنطالب , أبي 625–670 CE), commonly called Hasan, was

the second Shiite Imam, succeeding his father Ali andpreceding his younger brother Husayn ibn Ali. He wasthe elder son of Ali and Muhammad's daughter, Fatimah.Muslims respect him as the grandson of Muhammadand a member of Ahl al-Bayt and Ahl al-Kisa. Af-ter the death of his father, Hasan also succeeded himas Rashidun Caliph. He abdicated after six or sevenmonths, and Muawiyah, who became the first UmayyadCaliph, succeeded him.[7][8] For the rest of his life, Hasanlived in Medina in seclusion until he died at the ageof 45 or 46, and was buried in the Al-Baqi' cemeteryin Medina. His wife, Ja'da bint al-Ash'at is commonlyaccused of having poisoned him at the instigation ofMuawiyah.[7][8][9][10][11][12]

Calligraphic representation of Hasan ibn Ali in Hagia SophiaMosque, Istanbul, Turkey

1 Birth and Early life

Hasan was born in the year 625 and grew up in Medinawith his parents. According to Shiite belief theirs was theonly house that archangel Gabriel allowed to have a doorto the courtyard of the Al-Masjid al-Nabawi, the Mosqueof the Prophet.[7] Both Shia and Sunni Muslims considerHasan to belong to the Ahl al-Bayt (literally: People ofthe House), the family of Muhammad, and to the Ahl al-Kisa (literally: People of the Cloak), the participants ofthe Event of Mubahala.[12]

It is said that Muhammad slaughtered a ram for the pooron the occasion of Hasan’s birth, and chose the nameHasan for him. Fatimah shaved his head and gave theweight of his hair in silver as alms.[7][13]

There are many narrations showing the respect ofMuhammad toward his grandsons, among which wherehis statement that his two grandsons would be thelords of the youth (sayyedā šabāb) of Paradise andthat they were Imams “whether they stand up or sitdown”,[lower-alpha 1][13][12][14] and also his prediction thatHasan would make peace between two factions ofMuslims.[7] In his later years Hasan was one of the guardsdefending Uthman ibn Affan when the attackers wentaround him and killed him, and also participant of Battleof Siffin and Nahrawan alongside his father.[7][13][15]

1.1 Ahl al-Kisa

Main article: Event of Mubahala

In the year 10 AH (631/32 CE) a Christian envoy fromNajran (currently in northern Yemen) came to Muham-mad to argue which of the two parties erred in its doctrineconcerning Isa (Jesus). After likening Jesus’ miraculousbirth to Adam's (Adem) creation,[lower-alpha 2]—who wasborn to neither a mother nor a father — and when theChristians did not accept the Islamic doctrine about Je-sus, Muhammad was instructed to call them to Mubahalawhere each party should ask God to destroy the false partyand their families.[12][16] If anyone dispute with you in thismatter [concerning Jesus] after the knowledge which hascome to you, say: Come let us call our sons and yoursons, our women and your women, ourselves and your-selves, then let us swear an oath and place the curse ofGod on those who lie.[lower-alpha 3][12][17] Sunnite historians,except Tabari who do not name the participants, men-tion Muhammad, Fatimah, Hasan and Husayn, and some

1

2 2 HIS IMAMATE/ CALIPHATE

agree with the Shiite tradition that Ali was also amongthe participants of this event on the side of Muham-mad. Accordingly, in the verse of Mubahala the words“Our sons” is representative of Hasan and Husayn; “ourwomen” would refer to Fatimah; and “ourselves” wouldbe “Ali”.[12][17]

2 His Imamate/ Caliphate

See also: Imamah (Shia doctrine)

According to Donaldson[7] there was not a distinguisheddifference between the idea of Imamate, or divine right,expressed by each Imam designating his successor andother ideas of succession at first.[7] Ali had apparentlyfailed to nominate a successor before he died, however,on several occasions expressed his idea that “only theProphet’s Ahl al-Bayt (the members of the house) wereentitled to rule the Community"; and Hasan, whom hehad appointed his inheritor, must have been the obvi-ous choice, as he was also chosen by the people as thenext Caliph.[12][18] Sunnites, on the other hand, rejectImamate on the basis of Quran[lower-alpha 4] which saysMuhammad, as the last of the Prophets, was not to besucceeded by any of his family; and that is why Godlet Muhammad’s sons to die in infancy.[lower-alpha 5] Andthat is why Muhammad did not nominate a successor, ashe wanted to leave the succession to be resolved “by theMuslim Community on the basis of the Quranic principleof consultation (Shura).”[19] The question Madelung pro-pose here is that why the family members of Muhammadshould not inherit other (other than prophethood) aspectsof Muhammad’s character such as rule (hukm) wisdom(Hikmah),and the Imamate. Since The Sunnite conceptof the “true caliphate” itself defines it as a “successionof the Prophet in every respect except his prophethood”.Madelung further asks “If God really wanted to indicatethat he should not be succeeded by any of his family, whydid He not let his grandsons and other kin die like hissons?"[19]

It is said that one day the Abbasid Caliph Harun al-Rashid questioned the seventh Shiite Imam, Musa al-Kadhim, saying why he had permitted people to call him“Son of Allah’s Apostle,” while he and his forefatherswere Muhammad’s daughter's children. And that “theprogeny belongs to the male (Ali) and not to the female(Fatimah)".[20] In response al-Kadhim recited the versesQuran, 6:84 and Quran, 6:85 and then asked “Who is Je-sus’s father, O Commander of the faithful?". “Jesus hadno father.” Said Harun. Al-kadhim argued that God inthese verses had ascribed Jesus to the descendants of theprophets through Mary; “similarly, we have been ascribedto the descendants of the Prophet through our mother Fa-timah,” Said al-Kadhim.[20] It is related that Harun askedMusa to give him more evidence and proof. Al-Kadhim,thus, recited the verse of Mubahala arguing that “None

claims that the Prophet made someone enter under thecloak when he challenged the Christians to a contest ofprayer to God (mubahala) except Ali, Fatimah, Hasan,and Husayn. So in the verse: “Our sons” refers to Hasanand Husayn.[20]

Hasan ibn Ali served his father Ali during the Battle of Siffin.

In any case, after Ali was assassinated and died, and fol-lowing the custom established by Abu Bakr, Hasan madea speech at the mosque of Kufa praised the merits ofhis family quoting the verses of the Quran which exaltthe special position of the Ahl al-Bayt, and said “I amof the family of the Prophet from whom God has re-moved filth and whom He has purified, whose love Hehas made obligatory in ًHis Book when He said: Whoso-ever performs a good act, We shall increase the good init.[lower-alpha 6] Performing a good act is love for us, theFamily of the Prophet.”[8][21] Qays ibn Sa'd, was the firstto give allegiance to him and then stipulated the condi-tion that the Bay'ah should be based on: on the Quran,the Sunnah of Muhammad, and on the condition of thewar (Jihad) against those who declared lawful (Halal) thatwhich is sinful (Haram). Hasan, however, tried to avoidthe last condition by saying that it was implicitly includedin the first two, as if he knew, as Jafri[8] put it, from thevery beginning of the Iraqis' lack of resolution in time oftrials; and thus Hasan wanted to “avoid commitment to anextreme stand which might lead to complete disaster”.[8]

3.2 Facing the Troops 3

3 With Muawiya

3.1 Correspondings

As soon as the news of Hasan’s selection reachedMuawiyah, who had been fighting Ali for the caliphate,he condemned the selection, and declared his decision notto recognize him. Letters exchanged between Hasan andMuawiyah before facing their troops which had no result,however, these letters which are recorded in Madelungand Jafri’s books,[8][22] provides useful arguments con-cerning the right of Caliphate which, will lead readersto the origin of Shiism. In one of his long letters toMuawiya, summoning him to pledge allegiance to him,Hasan made use of the argument of his father, Ali, whichthe latter had advanced against Abu Bakr after the deathof Muhammad. Ali had said: “If Quraysh could claim theleadership over the Ansar on the grounds that the Prophetbelonged to Quraysh, then the members of his family,who were the nearest to him in every respect, were betterqualified for the leadership of the community.”[8][12][23]

Mu'awiya’s response, to this argument is also interesting,for Muawiyah, while recognizing the excellence of theMuhammad’s family, further asserted that he would will-ingly follow Hasan’s request were it not for his own su-perior experience in governing:"…You are asking me tosettle the matter peacefully and surrender, but the situa-tion concerning you and me today is like the one betweenyou [your family] and Abu Bakr after the death of theProphet…I have a longer period of reign [probably re-ferring to his governorship], and am more experienced,better in policies, and older in age than you. …if youenter into obedience to me now, you will accede to thecaliphate after me.” Wrote back Muawiyya.[8][12][24]

In his book, The Origins and Early Development of Shi’aIslam, Jafri comes to the conclusion that the majority ofthe Muslims who became known as Sunnis afterwards“placed the religious leadership in the totality of the com-munity (Ahl al-Sunnah wal Jamaah), represented by theUlama, as the custodian of religion and the exponentof the Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet, while ac-cepting state authority as binding… A minority of theMuslims, on the other hand, could not find satisfactionfor their religious aspirations except in the charismaticleadership from among the people of the house of theProphet, the Ahl al-Bayt, as the sole exponents of theQuran and the Prophetic Sunnah, although this minor-ity too had to accept the state’s authority. This group wascalled the Shiite.”[8]

3.2 Facing the Troops

There was more corresponding with no result so as negoti-ations stalled, and Muawiyah summoned all the comman-ders of his forces in Syria, Palestine, and Transjordan,and began preparations for war. Soon later he marched

his army of sixty thousand men through Mesopotamiato Maskin, on the Tigris boundary of Mosul towards theSawad. Meanwhile, he attempted to negotiate with Has-san, sending the young heir letters asking him to give uphis claim.[25][26] According to Jafri, Muawiyah hoped toeither force Hasan to come to terms; or attack the Iraqiforces before they had time to strengthen their location.However, jafri says, Muawiyah knew if Hasan was de-feated and killed still was a threat; for, another memberof the clan of Hashim could simply claim to be his succes-sor. Should he abdicate in favor of Muawiyah, however,such claims would have no weight and Muawiyya’s po-sition would be guaranteed. According to Jafri this pol-icy proved to be correct, for even ten years later, afterthe death of Hasan, when Iraqis turned to his youngerbrother, Husayn, concerning an uprising, Husayn in-structed them to wait so long as Muawiyah was alive dueto Hasan’s peace treaty with him.[8]

As the news of Muawiyya’s army reached Hasan, he sentsomeone to his local governors ordering them to get readyto set out, then addressed the people of the Kufa with alukewarm war speech: “God had prescribed the jihad forhis creation and called it a loathsome duty.”[lower-alpha 7]

There was no response at first, as some tribal chiefs, paidby Muawiyah, were reluctant to move. Hasan’s compan-ions scolded them, asking whether they won't answer tothe son of the Prophet's daughter? Turning to Hasan theyassured him of their obedience, and immediately left forthe war camp. Hasan admired them and later joined themat al-Nukhayla, where people were coming together inlarge groups.[7][27]

Hasan appointed Ubayd Allah ibn al-Abbas as the com-mander of his vanguard of twelve thousand men to moveto Maskin. There he should keep back Muawiya untilHasan arrived with the main army. Ubayd Allah was ad-vised not to fight unless attacked and should consult withQays ibn Sa'd who was appointed as second in commandif he were killed.[8][28]

3.2.1 Hasan’s Sermone and its Aftermath

While Hasan’s vanguard was waiting for his arrival atMaskin, Hasan himself was facing a serious problem atSabat near al-Mada'in, where he gave a sermon aftermorning prayer in which he declared that he prayed toGod to be the most sincere of His creation to His cre-ation; that he bore no resentment nor hatred against anyMuslim, nor did he want evil and harm to anyone; and that“whatever they hated in community was better than whatthey loved in schism.”[7][28] He was, he continued, look-ing after their best interest, better than they themselves;and instructed them not to disobey “whatever orders hegave them.”[8][29] Some of the troops, taking this as asign that Hasan was preparing to give up battle, rebelledagainst him, looted his tent, seizing even the prayer rugfrom underneath him. Hasan shouted for his horse androde off surrounded by his partisans who kept back those

4 3 WITH MUAWIYA

who were trying to reach him. While they were passing bySabat, however, al-Jarrah ibn Sinan, a die-hard Kharijite,managed to ambush Hasan and wounded him in the thighwith a dagger, while he was shouting: “God is the Great-est! You have become an infidel (Kafir) like your fatherbefore you.” Abd Allah ibn al-Hisl jumped upon him, andas others joined in, al-Jarrah was overpowered and died.Al-Hasan was carried al-Mada'in where he was cared forby his governor, Sa'd ibn Mas’ud al-Thaqafi [7][27] Thenews of this attack, having been spread by Muawiyah, fur-ther demoralized the already discouraged army of Hasanand led to extensive desertion from his troops.[8]

3.2.2 Hasan’s Vanguard at Al-Maskin

When Ubayd Allah with the Kufan vanguard arrived al-Maskin where Muawiyah had already reached, the lattersent an envoy to tell them that he had received lettersfrom Hasan asking for an armistice and that he asked theKufans not to attack until he finish his negotiations withHasan. Muawiyyah’s claim was probably untrue; but hehad good reason to think that he could make Hasan to givein.[8][30] The Kufans, however, insulted Muawiyah’s en-voy and reviled him. Next Muawiya sent the envoy to visitUbayd Allah in private, and to swore to him that Hasanhad requested Muawiyah for a truce, and that Muawiyahwas offering Ubayd Allah 1,000,000 dirhams, half ofwhich to be paid at once, the other half in Kufa, providedhe went over to him. Ubayd Allah accepted and aban-doned at night to Muawiyah’s camp. Muawiyah was ex-tremely pleased and fulfilled his promise to him.[11][12][30]

Next morning The Kufans waited for Ubayd Allah toemerge and lead the morning prayer. Then Qays ibnSa'd took charge and, in his sermon, severely denouncedUbayd Allah, his father and his brother, from whom noth-ing good had ever come. The people shouted: “Praise beto God that He has removed him from us; stand up withus against our enemy.”[7][31] Muawiyah believing that theabandonment of Ubayd Allah had broken the spirit ofhis enemy, sent Busr with a troop to make them giveup. Qays attacked and drove him back. The next dayBusr attacked with a larger troop but was kept back again.Muawiyah now sent a letter to Qays offering bribes butQays replied that he “would never meet him except with alance between them.”[8][31] As the news of the riot againstHasan and of his having been wounded arrived, how-ever, both sides abstained from fighting to wait for furthernews.[7][32]

3.3 Abdicating to Muawiya

See also: Hasan–Muawiya treaty

Muawiyah who had already started negotiations withHasan, now sent high-level envoys, committing himselfin a witnessed letter to appoint Hasan his successor and

give him whatever he wished. Hasan accepted the offer inprinciple and sent Amr ibn Salima al-Hamdani al-Arhabland his own brother-in-law Muhammad ibn al-Ash'athback to Muawiyah as his negotiators, together with theenvoys of the latter. Muawiyah then wrote a letter sayingthat he was making peace with Hasan on the basis thatHasan would inherit the rein after him. He swore thathe would not seek to harm him; and that he would givehim 1,000,000 dirhams from the treasury (Bayt al-mal)annually, along with the land tax of Fasa and Darabjird;to which Hasan was to send his own tax agents to collectit. The letter was witnessed by the four envoys and datedin August 661.[12][32]

When al-Hasan read the letter he commented: “He is try-ing to appeal to my greed for a matter which, if I desiredit, I would not surrender to him.”[13] Then he sent AbdAllah ibn al-Harith, whose mother Hind was Muawiyah’ssister, to Muawiyah, instructing him: “Go to your un-cle and tell him: If you grant safety to the people I shallpledge allegiance to you.” After which, Mu'awiyah gavehim a blank paper with his seal at the bottom, invitingHasan to write on it whatever he desired.[8][32] Accord-ing to Jafri, historians like Ya'qubi and Al-Masudi do notmention the terms of peace treaty at all. Other histori-ans such as Dinawari, Ibn Abd al-Barr and Ibn al-Athirrecords different accounts of the conditions. And thetiming of the black sheet sent by Muawiyah to Hasanwas confusing in Tabari's account.[8] The most compre-hensive account, which explains the different ambiguousaccounts of other sources, according to Jafri, is givenby Ahmad ibn A'tham, which must have been takenit from al-Mada'ini.[8] Madelung's view is close to thatof Jafri when he stipulates that Hasan surrendered thereign over the Muslims to Muawiya on the basis that“he act in according to the Book of God, the Sunnahof His Prophet and the conduct of the righteous caliphs.Muawiyah should not be entitled to appoint his succes-sor but that there should be an electoral council (Shura);the people would be safe, wherever they were, with re-spect to their person, their property and their offspring;Muawiyah would not seek any wrong against Hasan se-cretly or openly, and would not intimidate any of hiscompanions.”[12][33] The letter was testified by Abd Al-lah ibn al-Harith, and Amr ibn Salima and transmitted bythem to Muawiyah for him to take recognition of its con-tents and to confirm his acceptance. Hasan, thus, surren-dered his control of Iraq in Rabi II 41/August 661 aftera reign of seven months.[13][7]

3.4 Surrender Ceremony at Kufa

After the peace treaty with Hasan, Muawiyah set out withhis troops to Kufa, where at a public surrender ceremonyHasan rose and reminded the people that he and Husaynwere the only grandsons of Muhammad. And that he hadsurrendered the rein to Muawiyah in the best interest ofthe community: “0 people, surely it was God who led you

5

by the first of us and Who has spared you bloodshed bythe last of us. I have made peace with Mu'awiyah, and Iknow not whether haply this be not for your trial, and thatye may enjoy yourselves for a time.[lower-alpha 8]"[7] declaredHasan.[8]

In his own speech Muawiyah told them, he had not foughtthem that they might pray, fast, perform the pilgrim-age, and give alms, since they were doing that already.Rather, he had fought them so as to command them astheir ruler (Amir), and God had bestowed him that againsttheir will.[lower-alpha 9][14][34] According to some sources healso said “The agreement I made with Hasan is null andvoid. It lies trampled under my feet.”[lower-alpha 10][14] Thenhe shouted: “God’s protection is dissolved from anyonewho does not come forth and pledge allegiance. Surely, Ihave sought revenge for the blood of Uthman, may Godkill his murderers, and have returned the reign to thoseto whom it belongs in spite of the rancor of some peo-ple. We grant respite of three nights. Whoever has notpledged allegiance by then will have no protection and nopardon.”[30] The people rushed from every direction tovow allegiance.[8][30]

While still camping outside Kufa, Muawiyah faced aKharijite revolt. He sent a cavalry troop against them, butthey were beaten back. Muawiyah now sent after Hasan,who had already left for Medina, and commanded him toreturn and fight against the Kharijites. Hasan, who hadreached al-Qadissiya, wrote back: “I have abandoned thefight against you, even though it was my legal right, forthe sake of peace and reconciliation of the Community.Do you think I shall fight together with you?"[8][35]

4 Retirement to Medina

In the nine-year period between Hasan’s abdication in41/660 and his death in 49/669, Hasan retired in Medinatrying to keep aloof from political involvement for oragainst Muawiyah. In spite of that, however, he wasconsidered the chief of Muhammad's house by the BanuHashim and the partisans of Ali, who pinned their hopeson his final succession to the Muawiyah.[8][36]

Shiite feelings, however, though not visible above the sur-face, occasionally emerged in the form of small groups,mostly from Kufa, visiting Hasan and Husayn askingthem to be their leaders - a request to which they declinedto respond.[12] Hasan has been quoted as commenting “IfMuawiyah was the rightful successor to the caliphate, hehas received it. And if I had that right, I, too, have passedit on to him; so the matter ends there.”[8][26] Madelung hasquoted Al-Baladhuri,[lower-alpha 11] as saying that Hasan, onthe basis of his peace terms with Muawiyah, sent his taxcollectors to Fasa and Darabjird. The caliph had, how-ever, instructed Abdullah ibn Aamir, now again governorof Basra, to incite the Basrans to protest that this moneybelonged to them by right of their conquest. And that they

chased Hasan’s tax collectors out of the two provinces.According to Madelung, however, that Hasan would sendtax collectors from Medina to Iran, after just havingmade plain that he would not join Muawiyah in fight-ing the Kharijites, is entirely incredible.[8][37] In any caseas Muawiyah came to know that Hasan would not helphis government, relations between them became worst.Hasan rarely, if ever, visited Muawiyah in Damascus,though he is said to have accepted gifts from him.[13]

5 Family Life

It is related that Hasan spent most of his youth in “mak-ing and unmaking marriages”, so that “these easy moralsgained him the title mitlaq, the divorcer, which involvedAli in serious enmities”.[7] According to his grandsonAbdullah ibn Ḥasan, he usually had four free wives, thelimit allowed by the law.[lower-alpha 12] Stories spread outon this subject and have led to the suggestions that he had70 or 90 wives in his lifetime,[lower-alpha 13] along with aharem of 300 concubines. According to Madelung, how-ever, These reports and descriptions are “for the mostpart vague, lacking in names, concrete specifics and ver-ifiable detail; they appear to be spun out of the reputa-tion of al-Hasan as a mitlaq, now interpreted as a habit-ual and prodigious divorcer, some clearly with a defam-atory intent.” living in his father’s household,"Ḥasan wasin no position to enter into any marriages not arrangedor approved by him.” Says Madelung.[38] According toEbn Saa'd (pp. 27–28), whose information seems to bemore reliable, however, Hasan had 15 sons and 9 daugh-ters from six wives and three named concubines. Many ofthese children died in their early years. It is said that mostof these marriages had a political intent in his father’s in-terest, for he gave the name of his Kunya (nickname),Muḥammad, to the first son from his first freely chosenwife after Ali's death, Ḵawla bint Manẓur, daughter of aFazāra chief and previously married to Muhammad ibnTalha. He evidently wanted to make this son his primaryheir. When Muḥammad died, Ḥasan chose his secondson from Ḵawla, called Ḥasan, as his heir.[39]

5.1 Marriages

In his book The Succession to Muhammad, Madelungmanages to give a detailed account of Hasan’s marriages,a summary of which goes as follows:[39]

5.1.1 In his Father’s Lifetime

• The first marriage of Hasan was probably withSalma, or Zaynab, daughter of the renowned Kalbitechief Imru' ul-Qays who was appointed by Umar ascommander over a region who would accept Islam.Ali together with his sons Hasan and Husayn came

6 5 FAMILY LIFE

forth to meet him and proposed establishing mar-riage ties. Born in the years 3/624—5 and 4/626,Hasan and Husayn, were too young for the weddingto have taken place immediately. In the later yearsof Ali’s reign, Hasan may never actually have mar-ried Salma, or may have divorced her before thistime.

• Probably soon after Ali’s arrival in Kufa, Hasan mar-ried Ja'da, daughter of the Kinda chief al-Ash'at (Alievidently was eager at this time to establish an al-liance with the powerful Yemenite tribal coalition inKufa.) Madelung relates two different accounts con-cerning how Ja'da’s father or Hasan’s father madethem marry together. Although childless, she evi-dently was not divorced by him. She is commonlyaccused of having poisoned Hasan at the instigationof Muawiyah.

• Probably also soon after his arrival in Kufa, beforethe battle of Siffin, Hasan married Umm Bashir (insome sources Umm Bishr), daughter of Abu Mas’udwho had settled in Kufa at an early stage and wasamong those opposed to the Kufan rebellion againstUthman. Ali evidently hoped to draw him to his sideand presumably arranged the marriage of his daugh-ter to Hasan. Then he appointed him governor ofKufa during his absence for the campaign to Siffin.

5.1.2 After his Father

• After his abdication and return to Medina, Hasanmarried Khawla, daughter of the Fazara chiefManzur ibn Zabban (Fazara belonged to the largeNorthern Arab tribal association claiming descentfrom Qays) . Previously she had been married toTalha's pious son Muhammad, who was killed in theBattle of the Camel, and had two sons and a daugh-ter by him. She is said either to have been givenin marriage to Hasan by Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr,who was married to her sister Tumadir, or to haveherself given the choice to Hasan, who then marriedher. Upon hearing this, her father declared that hewas not someone to be ignored with respect to hisdaughter. He came to Medina and planted a blackflag in the mosque of the Prophet. All Qaysites (de-scent from Qays ) present in Medina assembled un-der it in solidarity with him. Hasan now surrenderedher to him, and he took her away to Quba'. She re-proached him, quoting the hadith: “Al-Hasan ibnAli will be the lord of the youth among the inmatesof paradise.” He told her: “Wait here, if the man isin need of you, he will join us here.” Hasan came tothem accompanied by his brother Husayn, his cousinAbdullah ibn Ja'far and his uncle Abd Allah ibn Ab-bas and took her back, marrying her this time withthe approval of her father. Khawla bore Hasan his

son al-Hasan, from whom the Najafi dynasty of Ben-gal claim direct descent.

• In Medina Hasan married Hafsa, the daughter ofAbdul-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr. Al-Mundhir ibn al-Zubayr was in love with her, and spread a false ru-mor about her. As a result, Hasan divorced her.The report characterizes him in this context as Mit-laq, evidently meaning here: ready to divorce on in-substantial grounds. Next Asim, the son of Umar,married her. Al-Mundhir falsely accused her beforehim, and he also divorced her. Then al-Mundhirproposed marriage to her, but she refused, saying:“He has tried to destroy my reputation.” He pursuedher with further proposals, and she was advised tomarry him so that it would become patent to every-body that he had falsely accused her. She did so,and the people realized that he had lied about herand what his motive had been.

• Hasan married also in Medina, Talha's daughterUmm Ishaq. Muawiyah had asked her brother Ishaqibn Talha in Damascus to give her in marriage to hisson Yazid. Ishaq told him that he was going to Med-ina; if Muawiyah sent a messenger to him there, hewould conclude the marriage contract. After Ishaqhad left, his brother Isa ibn Talha visited Muawiyah.When the caliph told him about Ishaq’s promise,Isa offered to give Umm Ishaq immediately in mar-riage. He concluded the marriage contract withYazid without consulting her. In the meantime Ishaqhad arrived in Medina and contracted her marriageto Hasan. It was not exactly known which of the twocontracts was earlier, and Muawiyah advised his sonto leave the matter. Her marriage with Hasan wasnow consummated, and she bore him his son Talha,who later died childless.Before his death, Hasan rec-ommended to his brother Husayn that he marryher. She bore Husayn’s daughter Fatima. Presum-ably still later she was married to Abu Bakr's great-grandson Ibn Abi Atiq Abd Allah, to whom she alsobore a daughter, Amina.

• Al-Hasan further married in Medina Hind, daughterof Suhayl ibn Amr. She had been married first to theUmayyad Abd al-Rahman ibn Attab, who was killedin the Battle of the Camel, and then to Abd Allahibn Amir ibn Kurayz. When the latter divorced her,Muawiyah wrote to Abu Hurairah in Medina to con-tract her marriage with his son Yazid I. On his wayto meet her, Abu Hurayra met Hasan who inquiredwhere he was going. When Abu Hurayra explainedhis mission, Hasan suggested that he mention him,Hasan, to her. Abu Hurayra did so, and Hind askedhim to make the choice for her; Abu Hurayra choseHasan. Some time later Abd Allah ibn Amir cameto Medina and complained to Hasan that his formerwife had a deposit belonging to him in her posses-sion. Hasan allowed him to see her in his presence.

7

As Ibn Amir looked at her sitting in front of him,he softened up towards her, and Hasan suggested:“Shall I relinquish her to you? I think you couldnot find a better husband to make remarriage licit(muhallil) for you than myself.” Ibn Amir insisted:“My deposit.” She produced two boxes filled withjewels. Ibn Amir took a handful out of each oneand left the rest to her. Later she would commentabout her three husbands: “The lord (Sayyid) of allof them was al-Hasan; the most generous of themwas Ibn 'Amir; and the one dearest to me was 'Abdal-Rahman b. 'Attab.”

6 Family tree of the descendantsHasan al-Mujtabā

7 Events Surrounding his Death

See also: Ja'da bint al-Ash'atThe early sources are nearly in agreement that Hasan

The historical tomb of Al-Baqi' was destroyed in 1925. Hasanibn Ali was one of four shia Imams buried here.

was poisoned by his wife, Ja'da bint al-Ash'at atthe instigation of Muawiyah and died in the year670.[lower-alpha 14][lower-alpha 15][7][12][41] Madelung and Don-aldson further relate other versions of this story, suggest-ing that Hasan may have been poisoned by another wife,the daughter of Suhayl ibn Amr, or perhaps by one of hisservants, citing early historians such as Al-Waqidi and Al-Mada'ini.[7] Madelung believes that the famous early Is-lamic historian al-Tabari suppressed this tale out of con-cern for the faith of the common people.[42] Hasan is saidto have refused to name his suspect to Husayn for fearthat the wrong person be killed in revenge. He was 38years old when he abdicated the rein to Muawiyah whowas at the age of 58 at the time. This difference in ageindicates a serious obstacle for Muawiyah, who wanted to

nominate his son Yazid as his heir-apparent. This was notpossible due to the terms on which Hasan had abdicatedto Muawiyah; and considering the big difference in age,Muawiyah had not hoped that Hasan would die beforehim.[8] Hence, Muawiyah would naturally be suspectedof having a hand in a killing that removed an obstacle tothe succession of his son Yazid.[12][41]

His desecrated grave at Al-Baqi' in Saudi Arabia.

Hasan’s burial was another problem which was going tolead to a bloodshed. Hasan had instructed his brothers tobury him near his grandfather, Muhammad, but if theyfeared evil, they were to bury him in Al-Baqi' cemetery.The Umayyad governor, Saʿid b. al-ʿĀṣ, did not inter-fere, but Marwan I swore that he would not permit Hasanto be buried near Muhammad with Abu Bakr and Umarwhereas Uthman was buried in Al-Baqi' cemetery. As theparties were about to fight, Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyahreminded Husayn of Hasan who made it conditional say-ing “unless you fear evil”. “What evil could be greaterthan what you see?" Said Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah.And so the body was carried to Al-Baqi'.[7][42] Marwannow joined those carrying the coffin and, when ques-tioned, he said he gave his respect to a man “whose for-bearance (hilm) weighed mountains.”[43] The Umayyadgovernor Sa'd b. al-As led the funeral prayer.[44]

The shrine containing Hasan’s tomb was destroyed oncein 1925 during the conquest of Medina as part of a gen-eral destruction of memorials in cemeteries for religiousreasons. “In the eyes of Wahabis, historical sites andshrines encourage "shirq" – the sin of idolatry or poly-theism – and should be destroyed.”[45]

8 See also

• Hasan–Muawiya treaty

• Ja'da bint al-Ash'at

• Ali

• Husayn ibn Ali

8 10 REFERENCES

• Twelve Imams

• Shi'a Islam

• Muawiyah I

• Sayyed Ibn Tawus

9 Footnotes[1] Allusion to whether they occupy the external function of

caliphate or not. See also Irshad, p.181; Ithbat al-hudat,vol. V, pp- 129 and 134.[14]

[2] Quran, 3: 59

[3] Quran, 3: 61

[4] Quran, 33:40

[5] See Goldziher, Muhammedanische Studien, II, 105-6;Y. Friedmann, 'Finality of Prophethood in Sunni Islam',JSAI, 7 (1986), 177-215, at 187-9.[19]

[6] Quran, 42:23

[7] Quran, 2:216

[8] Quran, 21:111

[9] See also Ibn Abi l-Hadld, Shark, XVI, 15; Abu al-Faraj,Maqdtil, 70.[14][34]

[10] See Ya'qubi; vol.ll, p.192; Abu'l-Fida, vol.l, p.183.[14]

[11] Al-Baladhuri, Ansab, III, 47.

[12] See also Ebn Saa'd, p. 68.

[13] See al-Madāʾeni, in Ebn Abi'l-Ḥadid, XVI, pp. 21-22

[14] See Mas’oodi, Vol 2: Page 47, Tāreekh - Abul Fidā Vol 1: Page 182, Iqdul Fareed - Ibn Abd Rabbāh Vol 2, Page11, Rawzatul Manazir - Ibne Shahnah Vol 2, Page 133,Tāreekhul Khamees, Husayn Dayarbakri Vol2, Page 238,Akbarut Tiwal - Dinawari Pg 400, Mawātilat Talibeyeen- Abul Faraj Isfahāni, Isti'ab - Ibne Abdul Birr

[15] These reports are also accepted by the major Sunnite his-torians Al-Waqidi, Al-Mada'ini, Umar ibn Shabba, Al-Baladhuri and al-Haytham ibn 'Adi.[41]

10 References

10.1 Notes[1] Shabbar, S.M.R. (1997). Story of the Holy Ka’aba.

Muhammadi Trust of Great Britain. Retrieved 30 Octo-ber 2013.

[2] Shaykh Mufid. Kitab Al Irshad. p.279-289

[3] Al-Yasin, Shaykh Radi. “1”. Sulh al-Hasan. Jasim al-Rasheed. Qum: Ansariyan Publications. p. 4.

[4] Yousuf N. Lalljee. Know Your Islam.

[5] Al-Yasin, Shaykh Radi. “1”. Sulh al-Hasan. Jasim al-Rasheed. Qum: Ansariyan Publications. p. 4. ; al-Qurashi, Baqir Shareef. “2”. The Life of Imam al-Hasanal-Mujtaba. Jasim al-Rasheed. Qum: Ansariyan Publica-tions. p. 59.

[6] Tirmidhi, Vol. II, p. 221 ; ص الخلفاء، 189تاريخ

[7] Donaldson, Dwight M. (1933). The Shi'ite Religion: AHistory of Islam in Persia and Irak. BURLEIGH PRESS.pp. 66–78.

[8] Jafri, Syed Husain Mohammad (2002). The Origins andEarly Development of Shi’a Islam; Chapter 6. Oxford Uni-versity Press. ISBN 978-0195793871.

[9] Madelung 1997

[10] Tabåatabåa'åi, Muhammad Husayn (1981). A Shi'ite An-thology. Selected and with a Foreword by MuhammadHusayn Tabataba'i; Translated with Explanatory Notes byWilliam Chittick; Under the Direction of and with an In-troduction by Hossein Nasr. State University of New YorkPress. p. 137. ISBN 9780585078182.

[11] Lalani, Arzina R. (March 9, 2001). Early Shi'i Thought:The Teachings of Imam Muhammad Al-Baqir. I. B. Tau-ris. p. 4. ISBN 978-1860644344.

[12] Momen, Moojan (1985). An Introduction to Shi'i Islam.Yale University Press. p. 14,26,27. ISBN 978-0-300-03531-5.

[13] Madelung 2003.

[14] Tabatabai, Sayyid Muhammad Husayn (1997). Shi'ite Is-lam. Translated by Seyyed Hossein Nasr. SUNY press.pp. 65,172–173. ISBN 0-87395-272-3.

[15] Madelung 1997, pp. 166–167.

[16] Madelung 1997, pp. 15–16

[17] Madelung 1997, p. 16

[18] Madelung 1997, p. 311

[19] Madelung 1997, p. 17

[20] Sharif al-Qarashi2, Baqir (2000). The Life Of ImamMusa Bin Ja'far aL-Kazim (PDF). Translated by Jasim al-Rasheed. Iraq: Ansarian. pp. 200–202.

[21] Madelung 1997, pp. 311–312

[22] Madelung 1997, pp. 314–318

[23] Madelung 1997, p. 314

[24] Madelung 1997, pp. 316–317

[25] Madelung 1997, p. 317

[26] Ahmad, Israr (2003), The Tragedy of Karbala (2nd ed.),Society of the Servants of Al-Quran, pp. 13, 15 (in En-glish, translated from Urdu)

[27] Madelung 1997, pp. 117–118

9

[28] Madelung 1997, p. 318

[29] Madelung 1997, p. 319

[30] Madelung 1997, p. 320

[31] Madelung 1997, p. 321

[32] Madelung 1997, p. 322

[33] Madelung 1997, pp. 322–323

[34] Madelung 1997, p. 325

[35] Madelung 1997, pp. 324–325

[36] Madelung 1997, p. 327

[37] Madelung 1997, p. 328

[38] Madelung 1997, p. 385

[39] Madelung 1997, pp. 380–387

[40] Madelung, “Al-Ukhaydir,” p. 792

[41] Madelung 1997, p. 331

[42] Madelung 1997, p. 332

[43] Madelung 1997, pp. 332–333

[44] Madelung 1997, p. 333

[45] Taylor, Jerome. “Mecca for the rich: Islam’s holiest site'turning into Vegas’ , by , 24 September 2011.”. The In-dependent.

10.2 Literature

• Madelung, Wilferd (1997). The Succession toMuhammad: A Study of the Early Caliphate.Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-64696-0.

• Madelung, Wilferd (2003). ḤASAN B. ʿALI B. ABIṬĀLEB. Encyclopedia Iranica.

11 External links

10 12 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

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