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Hasan Ibn Ali, May Allah be pleased with him
Who He was
He was Hasan ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib bin AbdulMuttalib bin Hashem bin abd Manaf, may Allah be pleased with him, the grandson of our noble Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. It was said that the name Hasan was unkown before Islam and that he was the first to be named Hasan, his brother Husain was also the first to have that name for these names were not known before Islam.
His father was Ali Ibn Abi Talib, the Prophet's cousin and one of his most beloved companions. He was the first youth to embrace Islam and the last of the four righteous Caliphs who ruled the Islamic nation after the death of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him.
His mother was Fatimah Zahra, daughter of Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. Fatimah was considered to be the leader (Arabic: Sayyedih) of all women in the Islamic nation as the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him told her: "O Fatima! Will you not be pleased that you will be chief of all the believing women (or chief of the women of this nation i.e. my followers?")" (Sahih Bukhari-Volume 8, Book 74, Number 301)
His Birth
He was born in the middle of Ramadan, in the third year after Hijrah.
It is reported that Saughah bint Al-Misrah may Allah be pleased with her, said: "I was one of those who came to Fatimah when she was seized with the pains of childbirth and the Messenger of Allah came to us and said: "How is my daughter, may I be sacrificed for her?"
I said: "She is in labor, oh, Messenger of Allah!'
He said: 'Then when she gives birth, do not do anything without me."
So, he was born and I cut his umbilical cord and wrapped him in a piece of yellow material, then the Messenger of Allah came and said: "What has happened to my daughter, may I be sacrificed for her, what is her situation and how is she?"
I said: "Oh, Messenger of Allah! I have delivered him, cut his umbilical cord and placed him in a piece of yellow materials"
He said: 'You have disobeyed me." I said: "I seek refuge with Allah from disobedience to Allah and disobedience to His Messenger; I cut his umbilical cord and there was no alternative to that."
He said: "Bring him to me." So I brought him to him and he removed the yellow cloth and wrapped him in white cloth and he spat in his mouth, feeding him with his saliva. Then Ali came and the Messenger of Allah said to him: "What have you named him?"
He said: "I have named him ja'far, oh, Messenger of Allah."
He said: "No, he is Hasan and the child born after him will be Husain, and you will be Abul-Hasan and Abul-Husain."
When the Prophet held him for the first time he honoured his grandson by reciting the Adhan in his right ear, the Iqamah in his left ear. Thus Hasan, may Allah be pleased with him, came into the world; from the time he was born, he was surrounded by the care, love and attention of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him.
On the seventh day following his birth, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, held the Aqiqah for his birth. It is reported in the authority of Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, sacrificed a sheep for the Aqiqah for Hasan and Husain (i.e. a sheep for each of them)."
His early childhood
AlHasan's grandfather, our noble prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, died when he was about eight years old. Only six months later his mother died too. These two incidents played a major role in his life. He and his brother were strongly attached to their father Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, who taught them wisdom and bravery in their early age.
He lived through the caliphate of Abu bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, then the caliphate of Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, and the caliphate of Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him, and he was bravely defending him during the mutiny that was carried out by a mob who finally killed the Caliph Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him. He had also seen that the caliphs, in turn, respected Ali ibn Abi Talib for his overall knowledge, and consulted him on many occasions as the need arose.
When the third caliph was murdered and Ali ibn Abi Talib was elected to lead the Muslim nation, Hasan ibn Ali took active part in assisting his father in many ways. He went to Kufa and successfully raised the first army of believers against the dissenting Muslims. He participated actively in the battlefields of Basra, Siffin, and Nahrawan alongside his father, and demonstrated his skills as a soldier and as a leader.
His Accession to the Caliphate
Ali bin Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, was killed with thirteen days of Ramadan remaining, in the year 40 AH. When his father was killed, eyes were turned towards Hasan, may Allah be pleased with him, was the elder son, well known for his praiseworthy character, his adherence to the truth, his generosity, his courage, his gentleness and patient perseverance this is aside from the qualities mentioned by the Messenger of Allah and the recommendations of the Companions, who were unanimous in their opinion of him.
So, he went out to them and delivered an excellent sermon, dignified in words and eloquent in meaning, included in which were the words: "'This night, a man without equal among the early or the later generations has died; the Messenger of Allah used to give him his standard and he would fight and he would not return until Allah had granted him victory and he left on this earth neither gold nor silver, except seven hundred dirhams, with which he wished to buy a servant for his family."
Then he presented himself to the people and invited them to pledge their allegiance to him. The people hastened to do so, pledging to support him through thick and thin. More than forty thousand persons pledged their allegiance to him they had previously pledged their allegiance to his father unto. He remained Caliph for about seven months in Iraq and the lands beyond Khurasan and in Al-Hijaz and Yemen.
Allegiance had been pledged to Muawiyah bin Abi Sufyan, may Allah be pleased with him, in Ash-sham (Syria, Palestine, and Transjordan). This was a first indicator that a war can take place between Muslims.
Meanwhile, Muawiyah bin Abi Sufyan, may Allah be pleased with him, knew that Hasan, may Allah be pleased with him, detested division more than anyone and so he wrote to him proposing a truce and start negociations between them which ended up in AlHasan's willingly giving up the caliphate to Muawiyah to spare Muslims blood.
Abdullah bin jafar, may Allah be pleased with him, reported: Hasan, may Allah be pleased with him, said: ''I have come to an opinion and I want you to follow me in it."
I said: ''What is it?"
He replied: ''My opinion is that I should go to Al-Madinah and stay there and leave the Caliphate to Muawiyah, for this division has lasted too long and much blood has been spilt and travel has become impossible."
I said to him: ''May Allah reward you with goodness for (sparing) the nation of Muhammad." (from al-Isbah fi Thaman As-sahabah, by Ibn Hajar).
Thus Hasan bin Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, gave up the Caliphate in order to spare the blood of the Muslims. Thus our noble Prophet's prophecy that AlHasan would be the direct cause in reconciling two major Muslim parties when he said: "This son of mine is a Sayyid (chief), and I hope Allah may reconcile two parties of my community by means of him. Hammad's version has: And perhaps Allah may reconcile two large parties of Muslims by means of him. " - Narrated by Abu Bakrah (Partial Translation of Sunan Abu-Dawud, Book 40, Number 4645, Model Behavior of the Prophet (Kitab Al-Sunnah))
His Merits
The bond between our noble Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and AlHasan, may Allah be pleased with him, was so close that he sometimes called him "father" even in the precence of his father Ali.
It is reported on the authority of Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah. Peace and blessings be upon him, was asked: "Which member of your family is dearest to you?" He said: "Hasan and Husain" and he used to sniff them and embrace them. (Reported by Al-Tirmidhi).
It was reported on the Authrity of Abu Hurairah that our noble Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, was once leading the Isha prayer and when he prostrated, Hasan and Husain climbed on his back and when he raised his head he would lift them gently, then when he prostrated, they would return. After he had prayed, I said: "Shall I not take them to their mother?" Then lightning flashed and they remained illuminated by it intil they entered their mother's house." (Declared authentic by Al-Hakim and it is in Al-Musnad).
The beloved Prophet led by example when he kissed his grandchildren at a time in Arabia when such intimacy was not common. We learn from Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) that, "Allah's Apostle kissed Al-Hasan bin Ali while Al-Aqra' bin Habis At-Tamim was sitting beside him. Al-Aqra said, "I have ten children and I have never kissed anyone of them." Allah's Apostle cast a look at him and said, "Whoever is not merciful to others will not be treated mercifully."" (Sahih BukhariThe Book Pertaining to the Excellent Qualities of the Holy Prophet (may Peace be upon them) and His Companions (Kitab Al-Fada'il), Number 5736)
The family of our noble prophet was mentioned in the holy Quran several times such as:
1. The verse of Purification (Tathir):
"...Allah only desires to keep away the uncleanness from you O people of the house! And to purify you a (thorough) purifying." - Holy Qur'an (33:33)
It is reported that the reason the Verse of al-Tathir (purification) was revealed was that the Prophet [s] called for a Khaibari cloak (made in Khaibar), and covered Fatimah, Imams Ali, Hasan and Husayn with it, and said:
"O Lord! These are my family. So keep away uncleanness from them and purify them."
In response to the prayer of the Prophet [s], this ayah was revealed. It is a witness, given by Allah, in the Holy Qur'an, about the purity of Ahlul Bayt [a], and that they were Islam incarnate.
2. The Verse of Malediction (Mubahalah):
"...come let us call our sons and your sons and our women and your women and our near people and your near people,..." - Holy Qur'an (3:61)
The exegetes, in explaining the cause of the revelation of this verse known as the verse of al-Mubahalah (malediction), say that the Christians of Najran agreed with the Messenger of Allah to pray to Allah to kill the parry which espoused falsehood. The Messenger of Allah went out accompanied only by his family; Fatimah, Imams Ali, Hasan and Husayn to the contest.
3. The verse of Affection (Mawaddah):
"...Say: I do not ask of you any reward for it but love for my near relatives..." - Holy Qur'an (42:23)
Exegetes say that this ayah called al-Muwaddah (love) was revealed concerning Ali, Fatimah, Hasan and Husayn [a]. The two sahihs (authentic books of hadith), Musnad Ahmad bin Hanbal (Book of Hadith with complete chains of transmission), the Qur'anic exegesis of al-Tha'labi, and the Qur'anic exegesis of bin Abbas quotes bin Abbas as saying:
"When the verse '...say: I do not ask of you any reward for it...' was revealed, they (the Muslims) asked: 'O Messenger of Allah! who are your relations whom you ordered us to love?' 'Ali,' he replied, 'Fatimah, and her two sons.'"
- Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying to Hasan: O Allah, behold, I love him. Thou too love him and love one who loves him.(Sahih Bukhari, Chapter 8: The merits of Hasan and Husain, may Allah be pleased with them, Book 031, Number 5951)
- Al-Tirmidhi reports from bin Abbas as saying: "The Messenger of Allah [s] was carrying Hasan bin Ali [a], when a man said: "What an excellent mount you are riding, lad." "What an excellent rider he is," the Holy Prophet [s] replied."
- It is reported on the authority of Hudhaifa, may Allah be pleased with him, that he heard the messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, saying: "This is an angel who has never descended before; he sought permission from his Lord to deliver salutations of peace to me and he informs me that Fatimah is the leader (Syedah) of the women in Paradise and that Hasan and Husain are the Masters of the young men in Paradise" (from siyar Alalam An-Nubala)
- Iyas reported on the authority of his father: I (had the honour of) leading the white mule on which rode Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) and with him were Hasan and Husain, till it reached the apartment of Allah's Apostle, may peace be upon him. The one amongst them was seated before him and the other one was seated behind him. .(Sahih Bukhari, Chapter 8: The merits of Hasan and Husain, may Allah be pleased with them, Book 031, Number 5954)
His resemblance to our noble prophet, peace and blessings be upon him
Az-Zuhri reported that Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "The nearest of them in resemblance to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, was Hasan bin Ali"
Abu hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, used to say: "I never saw Hasan without my eyes filling with tears."
His characteristics
He did not only resemble his grandfather, Muhammad bin 'Abdullah in appearance, he also resembled him in many of his characteristics; for he was generous, gentle, courageous, God-fearing, pious, awe-inspiring, a scholar, knowledgeable in Islamic Jurisprudence, and an orator who could seize people's hearts.
May be the most eminent of Imam Hasan's attributes is his generosity. He said: " Fulfilling the need of my brother is dearer to me than spending a month in seclusion in the mosque. (itikaf)"
His Generosity
AlHasan was known by his generosity. It was reported that he gave up half his money three times to charity and twice gave up all he had for charity.
It was reported that Hasan, may Allah be pleased with him, saw a black slave eating a morsel of flat bread and he was feeding a dog with it.
He asked him: "What made you do this?"
He said:" I was embarrassed to eat without feeding him."
Al Hasan said: "Don't leave your place until I come to you."
So he went to the boy's owner and bought the garden in which he was and he freed him and gave him the garden (From Albidayah wa Alnihaya)
His Piety
He performed AlHajj twenty-five times on foot. Ibn Abbas said: "I have not regretted anything which I missed during my youth, except that I did not perform Hajj on foot; Hasan performed Hajj on foot twenty-five times."
His Gentleness
- Juwairiyyah bint Asma said that when Hasan died, Marwan cried over him at his funeral and Husain said to him: ''Would you cry for him after all the problems you caused him?"
He said: ''I behaved so towards one who was more enduring than that" and he pointed to the mountain." (From Almidayah wan-Nihayah)
Marwan used to treat Hasan badly but Hasan behaved with gentleness towards him, bearing his ignorance like a mountain; and he responded thus towards anyone who behaved ignorantly towards him.
- What gentleness is greater than this that he gave up the Caliphate, which was his by right, due to fear of spilling the blood of the Muslims? He used to say: ''I did not wish to have power over the nation of Muhammad at the cost of spilling the Muslims' blood.
His Courage
Despite his generosity, AlHasan was a warrior and a stout hearted fighter whenever war was a necessity. He was one of those who hastened to support Uthman bin Affan during the days of rebellion and he fought with his father against the Khawarij and he participated in many battles.
Actually his refusal to fight against Muawiyah and giving up the caliphate willingly for the purpose of sparing Muslim blood must have required greater courage than any war would have required. This incident shows that he really cared for nothing but the welfare of Islam. He didn't care who would accuse him of what as long as he would be sparing blood. It also shows how much confidence he had in himself and his judgment because his well deserved reputation as a courageous warrior would silence anyone who might accuse him of lack of courage to fight back, God forbids that he would be accused of that.
Actually human history is full of stories about leaders who claimed courage and consequently embark upon war not because they are courageous, but because of their greed for material gain and their desire for personal glory even if the blood of their people flows in rivers.
His Fear of Allah
He was extremely pious, ever mindful of the fact Allah was observing him and extremely fearful of His Anger and how could he not be, when he was a graduate from the Prophetic School, for he had been instructed in piety by the Messenger of Allah from childhood.
It is reported on the authority of Abul-Hawra' that he said to Hasan bin Ali: ''What do you remember from the Messenger of Allah?" He said: ''I remember that I took a date from the dates which were intended for Sadaqah (charity) and I kept it in my mouth and he removed it along with the salaiva accompanying it and placed it with the dates for charity and it was said: "Oh Messenger of Allah! What was your objection to this date?" He replied: ''We are the family of Muhammad and it is not permissible for us to take Sadaqah.'' And he used to say: ''Leave what makes you doubt in favour of what does not make you doubt, for truthfulness brings peace of mind, while lies cause still doubt and uncertainty. (Reported by At-Tirmidhi)
His Knowledge
He was a scholar, whose knowledge was vast. In spite of the fact that he was still only young when the Messenger of Allah died, he memorized from him some Ahadith and he narrated them; perhaps we may remember the Hadith in which it is stated that the Messenger of Allah a removed a date from the dates which were intended for Sadaqah from his mouth and said: ''We are the family of Muhammad and it is not permissible for us to take Sadaqah.''
And it is reported from him that he said: ''The Messenger of Allah taught me some words which I reite in Qunut (An invocation during prayer) ''Oh, Allah! Guide me among those whom You have guided.
Words which reveal His Personality
The following Hadith reveals the personality of Hasan and what he loved and what he hated and it is as if he is speaking about himself. Hasan said to his companions one day:
"I will inform you about a brother of mine who was the greatest of people in my view; and one of the greatest things about him in my view was the lack of importance which he attached to material things. He was not ruled by his stomach and did not desire that which he had not, and when he had something, he would not take much of it. He was not ruled by his ignorance and would not extend his hand except to one whom he was sure would benefit from it, nor would he take a single step except towards that which was good. He neither became angry, nor annoyed. If he gathered a group of scholars, he was more keen to listen than to speak. Most of the time, he was silent and when he spoke, he was the best speaker. He was not careless or unmindful of his brothers and would not keep anything to himself without sharing it with them."
His Eloquence
The books of Seerah have reported many statements which prove his eloquence, his linguistic ability and his profound thoughts. He was asked on one occasion what Al-Ghanimah (gain) is and he said: ''It is the desire to be God-fearing and abstemious in the life of this world; that is the easy Ghanimah.''
He was also asked what is Al-Hilm (patience) and he said: ''it is suppressing one's anger and controlling oneself.''
He was also asked about As-safah (lewdness) and he said: ''It is following that which is base and lowly and keeping company with transgressors.''
He was asked what Al-Ghafah (heedlessness) is and he said: ''It is to abandon the mosque and to obey the spreader of corruption.''
He used to say: ''No one has good character who has not good sense, there is no love for one who is not high-minded, there is no Haya' (modesty, shyness, etc.) for one who is without religion. The apex of good sense is to be on good terms with the people; and through good sense, one may attain (the best of) both worlds (i.e., this life and the Hereafter.)''
He said: ''Abstain from the things which Allah has forbidden and you will be a (true) worshipper, and be pleased with what Allah has apportioned to you and you will be wealthy. Treat your neighbour well and you will be a (true) Muslim. Treat people as you would wish to be treated and you will be just."
He said: "The ruin of people is found in three things: pride, greed and envy. As for pride, it destroys religion and it was the cause of Iblis (Satan) being cursed. Greed is the enemy of the soul; due to it Adam was expelled from the Garden. Envy leads to evil; because of it, Cain killed Abel."
His Death
It is reported on the authority of Imran bin Abdullah bin Talhah that he saw Hasan in a dream and it was written between his eyes: ''Say He is Allah, the One.'' He was very happy about this and informed saeed bin Al-Musayyab of it, who said: ''lf this vision is true, then his time remaining is but Little."And Hasan did not live more than a few days after that and he died." (From Tahzibul-Kamal)
Hasan had said when he was poisoned: ''I have tasted poison many times, but I have never tasted a worse poison than this." The poison which was administered to him on this occasion was deadly, so much so that the physician said: ''This man's intestines have been cut up by poison. When the poison had spread throughout his body, his brother Husain came to him and sat at his head and said: ''Oh, my brother! Who is your companion (i.e. who poisoned you)?
He said: ''Do you intend to kill him."
He replied: ''Yes.''
He said: "If my killer was the one whom I think it was, then he will face a worse punishment from Allah than from me; and if it is not he, then I do not wish for you to kill an innocent man for me." (From Hilyatul Awliya)
And he said: ''This life is but fleeting nights; leave him until we meet before Allah.'' And he refused to name him.
When death came to him, he said: ''Take my bed out to the courtyard of the house, so that I may look towards the Kingdom of the heavens.'' so they took out his bed and he raised his head towards the heaven and said: ''Oh, Allah! I believe that my soul will soon be with You and it is the dearest of souls to me." And a part of what Allah wrote for him was that he believed that he would be with Allah.( From Hilyatul-Awliya)
When his death was close, he asked permission from 'Aishah to be buried in her house, beside his grandfather of and Aishah agreed to this; however, Marwan and some people with him from the tribe of Banu Umaiyyah prevented him from being buried near to the Messenger of Allah.
His brother, Husain wanted to take up the sword against those who prevented Hasan from being buried near to his grandfather of, but Ibn Umar reminded him that his brother had ordered him not to shed blood in the matter and so he changed his mind and Hasan was buried in Al-Baqi' Cemetery beside his mother, Fatimah, the leader of all women in the Islamic nation.
He died at the age of forty-seven years and the accepted fact is that he died in the year 49 AH may Allah have mercy on him.
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