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Imam Hasan
Peacemaking — Muslims believe Muhammad had foretold that Hasan would one day reconcile two great factions of Muslims; he fulfilled this by stepping aside from the caliphate in favor of Muawiya, ending the first Muslim civil war.
Imam Hasan was born in Medina in 624 CE, the first child of Imam Ali and Fatima; his grandfather, Muhammad, chose his name himself. Muslims believe that as children, Hasan and his brother Husayn were especially beloved to Muhammad, and a well-known hadith calls them the Chief of the Youth of ParadiseA title for Imam Hasan and Imam Husayn, drawn from a hadith recorded in both Shia and Sunni sources, in which Muhammad calls these two grandsons of his by this name.. After Imam Ali's martyrdom in 661 CE, Hasan, then around thirty-seven, was chosen as caliph in KufaA city in present-day Iraq that Ali ibn Abi Talib made his capital during his caliphate (656–661 CE), and where he was martyred while praying in the city's mosque., but faced defection and betrayal within much of his own army as Muawiya, governor of Syria, advanced against him. To prevent further bloodshed among Muslims, he made peace with Muawiya that same year and stepped down from the caliphate. He spent the rest of his life in Medina until he was poisoned and died in 670 CE, around age forty-six; he was buried in the BaqiThe main cemetery of Medina, near the Prophet's Mosque, where many of Muhammad's companions are buried, along with Imam Hasan and several other Shia Imams. cemetery in that city.
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Imam Hasan was born in 624 CE (3 AH) in Medina, the first child of Imam Ali and Fatima. According to a well-known account, Ali wanted to name him Harb, but Muhammad himself chose the name Hasan for his grandson. He grew up in a household that received his grandfather's special attention and affection; numerous accounts, in both Shia and Sunni tradition, describe Muhammad playing with Hasan and Husayn and carrying them on his shoulders.
According to a hadith recorded in both Shia and Sunni sources, Muhammad said of Hasan and Husayn that they were the Chief of the Youth of ParadiseA title for Imam Hasan and Imam Husayn, drawn from a hadith recorded in both Shia and Sunni sources, in which Muhammad calls these two grandsons of his by this name.. A related tradition includes Muhammad's foretelling that this grandson of his would one day reconcile two great factions of Muslims — a prophecy Muslims believe was fulfilled years later through the Peace of Imam HasanA treaty in 661 CE between Imam Hasan and Muawiya, under which Hasan — facing a weakened and disloyal army, and seeking to prevent further bloodshed among Muslims — stepped down from the caliphate in Muawiya's favor. In exchange, Muawiya pledged to guarantee the safety of Hasan's followers and to return the caliphate to a Muslim council after his own death. The treaty ended the first Muslim civil war, though many of its terms were later disregarded. Sunni Muslims view the peace as the fulfillment of a prophecy of Muhammad's and a praiseworthy act of reconciliation; Shia Muslims also regard it as wise, but tend to emphasize that it resulted more from the betrayal and weakness of Hasan's army than a fully free choice..
Imam Hasan, together with his parents and his brother Husayn, stood beside Muhammad in two notable family events: in the Hadith al-KisaA tradition in which Muhammad, one night, gathered Ali, Fatima, Hasan, and Husayn under his cloak (kisa) and referred to them as "Ahl al-Bayt" (the household). The tradition is recorded in both Shia and some Sunni sources, though Shia Islam gives it special weight and links it to the Verse of Purification (Quran, Surah al-Ahzab)., these four were gathered under the Prophet's cloak and called the Ahl al-Bayt; and for the MubahalaAn event in 631 CE in which Muhammad, after an inconclusive theological debate with a Christian delegation from Najran (in present-day Yemen), proposed a "mubahala": both sides would gather and ask God to expose whichever party was lying. Muhammad brought only Ali, Fatima, Hasan, and Husayn with him. The Najran delegation withdrew from the challenge at the last moment. Shia commentators read this choice as evidence of these four figures' special standing. with the Christian delegation of Najran, only these same four accompanied him.
Imam Hasan spent his childhood and youth in the shadow of his father's quarter-century away from political power. After Ali became caliph in 656 CE, Hasan moved with him to KufaA city in present-day Iraq that Ali ibn Abi Talib made his capital during his caliphate (656–661 CE), and where he was martyred while praying in the city's mosque. and was present at the Battle of the CamelThe first civil war among Muslims, fought in 656 CE near Basra, in present-day Iraq, between the forces of Caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib and a group led by Aisha, Talha, and al-Zubayr, who demanded retribution for the murder of Uthman. The battle takes its name from the camel Aisha rode during the fighting. Ali's forces won; Talha and al-Zubayr were killed, and Aisha was escorted back to Medina with honor. and the Battle of SiffinA prolonged battle in 657 CE near the Euphrates, in present-day Syria, between the forces of Ali ibn Abi Talib and those of Muawiya, governor of Syria, who refused to accept Ali's caliphate or hand over Uthman's killers for retribution. The fighting ended inconclusively after Muawiya's side proposed arbitration, which part of Ali's army pressured him to accept. The arbitration's outcome led directly to the Kharijites splitting off from Ali's camp. alongside his father. In 661 CE, when Ali was martyred in the mosque of KufaA city in present-day Iraq that Ali ibn Abi Talib made his capital during his caliphate (656–661 CE), and where he was martyred while praying in the city's mosque., Hasan was among those with him in his final moments.
After his father's death, the people of KufaA city in present-day Iraq that Ali ibn Abi Talib made his capital during his caliphate (656–661 CE), and where he was martyred while praying in the city's mosque. pledged allegiance to Hasan, then around thirty-seven, as the new caliph. But Muawiya, governor of Syria, refused to accept his caliphate and marched on Iraq with a large army. Hasan's own forces, worn down by years of civil war, gradually grew disloyal and disorganized; during negotiations at Mada'in, one of his own soldiers even wounded him with a dagger. Seeing his army's weakness and disarray, Hasan made peace with Muawiya to prevent further bloodshed among Muslims, stepping down from the caliphate in exchange for guarantees of his followers' safety and a promise that the caliphate would return to a Muslim council after Muawiya's death. The treaty ended the first Muslim civil war, though many of its terms were later disregarded by Muawiya.
After the peace treaty, Hasan lived away from politics in Medina for nearly a decade. He was poisoned and died in 670 CE, around age forty-six. Shia sources attribute the poisoning to his wife, Ja'da bint al-Ash'ath, said to have been deceived by a promise from Muawiya of marriage to his son YazidYazid ibn Muawiya, Muawiya's son and successor, who — contrary to the terms of Imam Hasan's peace treaty — was chosen as the second Umayyad caliph after his father's death.; Sunni sources treat this account with more skepticism, and Muawiya's direct role in it is not conclusively established. A dispute also arose over where he should be buried: although he had asked to be buried beside his grandfather Muhammad, opposition from a group that included Marwan ibn al-HakamA politician and relative of Muawiya who later became an Umayyad caliph himself. In 670 CE, he was among those who opposed burying Imam Hasan next to Muhammad's grave. prevented this, and he was ultimately buried in the BaqiThe main cemetery of Medina, near the Prophet's Mosque, where many of Muhammad's companions are buried, along with Imam Hasan and several other Shia Imams. cemetery in Medina.
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The account of Imam Hasan's poisoning by his wife Ja'da bint al-Ash'ath, at Muawiya's instigation, is recorded specifically and in detail in Shia sources; but Muawiya's direct and proven role in the event is treated with more skepticism in Sunni sources and academic scholarship, though his poisoning itself is broadly accepted across both traditions.
The Peace of Imam Hasan with Muawiya is remembered in Sunni tradition mainly as the fulfillment of Muhammad's prophecy and a praiseworthy example of reconciliation among Muslims; Shia tradition also regards it as a wise decision, but places greater emphasis on it having resulted more from the betrayal and weakness of his army than a fully free choice, and on Muawiya's later disregard for many of the treaty's terms.
The exact details of the confrontation that prevented Imam Hasan's burial beside Muhammad — including reports of arrows being shot at his coffin — vary across sources and should be treated with caution.
Shia Muslims say Hasan's wife poisoned him on Muawiya's orders. Sunni sources look at this claim with more doubt, though everyone agrees that Hasan was poisoned.
After becoming caliph for a short time, Hasan made peace with Muawiya to stop a civil war among Muslims, and stepped down. Sunni tradition remembers this mainly as the fulfillment of a prophecy by the Prophet and a praiseworthy act of peacemaking; Shia tradition also sees it as a wise choice, but points out that Hasan's own army had betrayed him, so it wasn't a fully free decision -- and that Muawiya later broke many of his promises.
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