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Imam Hasan al-Askari
Steadfastness under the tightest siege — his short and perilous imamate passed under unprecedented surveillance by the Abbasid caliphate, a caliphate that, Shia belief holds, feared the prophecies surrounding a son of his who was to be the awaited Mahdi.
Imam Hasan al-Askari was born in Medina in 846 CE, the son of Imam Hadi. His mother, SusanImam Hadi's wife and the mother of Imam Hasan al-Askari. Like Samana and the other Imams' mothers, she too was a freed slave., was a freed slave. In 868 CE, after Imam Hadi's death, he succeeded his father at around age twenty-two — unlike the two previous Imams, who had both assumed the imamate as children, this succession came in adulthood. Like his father, he continued living in SamarraA city in Iraq that the Abbasid caliphs made their capital. Al-Mutawakkil forcibly summoned Imam Hadi to this city in 848 CE, specifically to its military garrison quarter (Askar); it was this forced residence there by Imam Hadi and his son, Imam Hasan, that gave them both the epithet al-Askari. under the Abbasid caliphate's direct surveillance; this surveillance peaked during his era, especially under the caliph al-Mu'tamid, because the caliphate was anxious over Shia prophecies that a son of his would be the awaited Mahdi. Imam Askari spent his short imamate (six years) largely under this siege, staying in touch with his followers only through a limited number of representatives. He died in 874 CE, at around age twenty-eight, in SamarraA city in Iraq that the Abbasid caliphs made their capital. Al-Mutawakkil forcibly summoned Imam Hadi to this city in 848 CE, specifically to its military garrison quarter (Askar); it was this forced residence there by Imam Hadi and his son, Imam Hasan, that gave them both the epithet al-Askari. — poisoned, Shia belief holds, on the order of al-Mu'tamid. Twelver Shia belief holds that his son, Imam Muhammad, who because of that same intense surveillance had been born and raised in complete secrecy, succeeded him as the twelfth and final Imam and, shortly after his father's death, entered a period of occultation — a period that, according to this belief, continues to this day. Some of his contemporaries, including his brother Ja'far, denied the existence of such a son, a dispute that gave rise to several other small groups among Imam Askari's followers.
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Imam Hasan al-Askari was born in Medina in 846 CE, the son of Imam Hadi. His mother, SusanImam Hadi's wife and the mother of Imam Hasan al-Askari. Like Samana and the other Imams' mothers, she too was a freed slave., was a freed slave.
From around age two, coinciding with his father's forced summons to SamarraA city in Iraq that the Abbasid caliphs made their capital. Al-Mutawakkil forcibly summoned Imam Hadi to this city in 848 CE, specifically to its military garrison quarter (Askar); it was this forced residence there by Imam Hadi and his son, Imam Hasan, that gave them both the epithet al-Askari. in 848 CE, Imam Askari grew up in that same city and under the same Abbasid surveillance. He was a close witness to years of pressure and repeated searches on his family — an experience that prepared him for the even harder circumstances of his own imamate.
In 868 CE, after Imam Hadi's death, Imam Askari succeeded his father at around age twenty-two — unlike the two previous Imams (his father and grandfather), who had both assumed the imamate as children, this succession came in adulthood.
With the start of al-Mu'tamid's caliphate in 870 CE, when Imam Askari was around twenty-four, surveillance of him reached its peak. The Abbasid caliphate was anxious over prophecies circulating among Shia Muslims that Imam Askari's son would be the very Mahdi promised to end oppression. For this reason, the caliph's agents kept his house under constant watch, especially to detect any sign of a child being born to him.
Because of this intense siege, Imam Askari maintained most of his contact with his followers through a limited number of trusted representatives, rather than directly and openly — a practice that continued after him, during his son's occultation.
Imam Askari died in 874 CE, at around age twenty-eight, in SamarraA city in Iraq that the Abbasid caliphs made their capital. Al-Mutawakkil forcibly summoned Imam Hadi to this city in 848 CE, specifically to its military garrison quarter (Askar); it was this forced residence there by Imam Hadi and his son, Imam Hasan, that gave them both the epithet al-Askari.. Shia sources attribute his death to poisoning ordered by al-Mu'tamid, though, as with the poisonings attributed to earlier Imams, Sunni sources treat this claim with more skepticism. Twelver Shia belief holds that he had a son named Muhammad whose birth and childhood, because of the caliphate's intense surveillance, passed in complete secrecy.
After Imam Askari's death, Twelver Shia Muslims believe that his son, Imam Muhammad, succeeded him at around age five as the twelfth and final Imam and, shortly after, first entered the Minor OccultationIn Twelver Shia belief, the period during which the twelfth Imam, Muhammad ibn Hasan, is hidden from public view. The Minor Occultation (874–941 CE) was a period in which he communicated with his followers through four successive deputies; the Major Occultation began in 941 CE and, according to this belief, continues to this day, until he returns as the promised Mahdi. (874–941 CE), during which he stayed in contact with his followers through four successive deputies, and then the Major OccultationIn Twelver Shia belief, the period during which the twelfth Imam, Muhammad ibn Hasan, is hidden from public view. The Minor Occultation (874–941 CE) was a period in which he communicated with his followers through four successive deputies; the Major Occultation began in 941 CE and, according to this belief, continues to this day, until he returns as the promised Mahdi. began, which, according to this belief, continues to this day. Some of Imam Askari's contemporaries, including his brother Ja'far, denied the existence of such a son and claimed succession themselves; this dispute gave rise to several other small groups among Imam Askari's followers, though the majority of Shia Muslims accepted the account of his son's existence and occultation.
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The account of Imam Askari's poisoning on al-Mu'tamid's order, like the poisonings attributed to earlier Imams, is treated as established fact in Shia sources, but is regarded with more skepticism in Sunni sources and academic scholarship.
The existence, identity, and fate of Imam Askari's son, Muhammad, is the most foundational and, at the same time, the most contested belief in Twelver Shia Islam. Because of the Abbasid caliphate's intense surveillance, his birth took place in complete secrecy, and from that time on, some contemporaries, including Imam Askari's brother, denied his existence outright. Belief in his occultation — first Minor, then Major — is the central pillar of Twelver Shia theology and is fundamentally theological and doctrinal in nature, not a claim that can be proven or disproven by ordinary historical methods; this platform reports this belief as such, as the official Twelver Shia account.
The accuracy and authenticity of the accounts of the system of four successive deputies during the Minor OccultationIn Twelver Shia belief, the period during which the twelfth Imam, Muhammad ibn Hasan, is hidden from public view. The Minor Occultation (874–941 CE) was a period in which he communicated with his followers through four successive deputies; the Major Occultation began in 941 CE and, according to this belief, continues to this day, until he returns as the promised Mahdi., as recorded in later Shia sources, is debated among academic scholars.
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