{"id":3592,"date":"2020-05-09T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-09T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/3592\/imam-hasan-a-s-the-second-holy-imam\/"},"modified":"2020-04-26T14:54:30","modified_gmt":"2020-04-26T13:54:30","slug":"imam-hasan-a-s-the-second-holy-imam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/3592\/imam-hasan-a-s-the-second-holy-imam\/","title":{"rendered":"Imam Hasan (A.S) the Second Holy Imam"},"content":{"rendered":"

Imam Hasan (A.S) the Second Holy Imam<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Name: <\/strong><\/span>Hasan.<\/strong><\/span>
\nAgnomen:<\/strong><\/span> Abu Muhammad.<\/span><\/strong>
\nTitle: <\/strong><\/span>Al-Mujtaba.<\/span><\/strong>
\nFather:<\/strong><\/span> \u2018Ali bin Abi T\u0101lib.<\/span><\/strong>
\nMother:<\/strong><\/span> F\u0101timah, daughter of the Prophet.<\/span><\/strong>
\nBirth:<\/strong><\/span> 15 Ramadh\u0101n, 3 years after hijrah in Medina.<\/strong><\/span>
\nDeath:<\/strong><\/span> 28 Safar 50 years after hijrah in Medina.<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

1. Birth & Early Life<\/strong><\/span>
\nImam Hasan al-Mujtaba \u2014upon whom be peace\u2014 was the second Imam. He and his brother Husayn were the two sons of Amir al-mu\u2019minin \u2018Al\u012b and Lady F\u0101timah, the daughter of the Prophet. He was born in the year 3 A.H. in Medina . The Prophet came to \u2018Ali\u2019s home, congratulated the new parents and named the child, on All\u0101h\u2019s order, as \u201cHasan\u201d.
\nHe shared in the life of the Prophet for over seven years, growing up during that time under his loving care. The Prophet used to carry him over his shoulder and say: \u201cO Allah! I love him, so You also love him.\u201d Many other sayings of the Prophet have been recorded by historians \u2014both Shi\u2019a and Sunni\u2014 about Hasan and Husayn:
\n\uf0b7 \u201cWhoever loves Hasan and Husayn, he also loves me; whoever hates these two, he also hates me.\u201d
\n\uf0b7 \u201cHasan and Husayn are the chiefs of the youths of Paradise .\u201d
\n\uf0b7 \u201cThese two children of mine are Imams (leaders) no matter whether they rise up (against a tyrant) or make peace.\u201d
\nHasan and Husayn, in spite of their young age, were blessed with such a high level of spiritual purity that the Prophet would ask them to witness some of the treaties and documents issued by him. W\u0101qidi narrates that when the Prophet wrote a treaty for the tribe of Thaqif, Kh\u0101lid bin Sa\u2019\u012bd wrote the treaty whereas Hasan and Husayn have been named as witnesses to that treaty. Similarly, when the Prophet did mub\u0101hala with the Christians of Najran, Hasan and Husayn were among those whom he asked to accompany him.
\nThe verse of purity, as mentioned in earlier lessons, also included Hasan and Husayn.
\nMany times the Prophet had said, \u201cHasan and Husayn are my children.\u201d Because of these same words \u2018Al\u012b would say to his other children, \u201cYou are my children, and Hasan and Husayn are the children of the Prophet.\u201d<\/h4>\n

2. With \u2018Ali Amiru \u2019l-Mu\u2019min\u012bn<\/strong><\/span>
\nAfter the death of the Prophet which was no more than three, or according to some, six months earlier than the death of lady F\u0101timah, Hasan was placed directly under the care of his noble father.
\nHe was part of all the struggles and trials that his father went through during the rule of the first three caliphs. For example, when Abu Dharr al-Ghif\u0101ri, the famous companion of the Prophet, was to be sent into exile on orders of the third caliph, people had been forbidden from bidding him farewell. The only persons who dared to come to the city\u2019s gate to bid farewell were \u2018Ali, Hasan and Husayn (may peace be upon them all). This was also a way of protesting against the unjust decision of the third caliph against Abu Dharr.
\nIn 36 A.H., Imam Hasan accompanied his father to Basra , where the Battle of Jamal took place. Before reaching Basra , Hasan was deputized by his father to go to Kufa, with \u2018Amm\u0101r bin Y\u0101sir, to raise additional forces for the Imam\u2019s army. With his articulate and moving sermons, he exposed the falsehood of opponents at Basra , gathered a considerable number of people and joined his father in the Battle of Jamal.
\nIn the Battle of Siffin also, Hasan was alongside his noble father till the very end. Mu\u2019\u0101wiyah sent \u2018Ubaydull\u0101h bin \u2018Umar to try and incite Hasan by saying: \u201cStop supporting your father, and we will make you the caliph because the Quraysh do not like your father who is responsible for killing many of their elders but they are prepared to accept you as their leader.\u201d Imam Hasan replied: \u201cThe Quraysh wanted to destroy Islam, whereas my father killed their elders for Allah and for Islam. This is the basis of why they hate my father!\u201d
\nWhen the outcome of the arbitration in Siffin became obvious, Imam Hasan made a speech and said: \u201cThese two persons were chosen so that they may put the Qur\u2019\u0101n before their personal whims but they acted in the wrong manner; therefore, they do not deserve to be considered as arbiters…\u201d<\/h4>\n

3. The Imamate of Hasan bin \u2018Ali<\/span><\/strong>
\nAfter the death of his father, through Divine command and according to the will of his father, Hasan became Imam.
\nAt dawn on the night of \u2018Ali\u2019s death, Imam Hasan addressed the people in which he said: \u201c…There has died tonight a man who was the first among the early (Muslims) in good actions. Nor did any later (Muslim) attain his level in good actions. He used to fight alongside the Apostle of God, may Allah bless him and his family, and protect him with his own life. The Apostle of God used to send him forward with his standard while Gabriel supported him on his right and Michael supported him on his left. He would not return until God brought victory through his hands…
\n\u201cHe has left behind him no gold and silver except seven hundred dirhams of his stipend, with which he was intending to buy a servant for his family.\u201d Then tears overcame him and he wept and the people wept with him. Then he continued: \u201cI am the (grand)son of the one who brought the good news. I am the (grand)son of the warner. I am the (grand)son of the man who, with God\u2019s permission, summoned the people to God. I am the (grand)son of the light which shone out to the world. I am of the House, from whom God has kept away abomination and whom God has purified thoroughly. I am of the House for whom God had required love in his Book…\u201d Then he sat down.
\n\u2018Abdull\u0101h ibn al-\u2019Abb\u0101s arose in front of him and said, \u201cPeople, this is the son of your Prophet, the testamentary trustee (wasi) of your Imam. So pledge allegiance to him.\u201d The people answered him saying: \u201cNo one is more loved by us nor has anyone more right to succession.\u201d Then they rushed forward to pledge allegiance to Imam Hasan as the successor of Amiru \u2019l-mu\u2019minin. He also occupied the outward function of caliphate for about six months, during which time he administered the affairs of the Muslims.
\nDuring that time Mu\u2018\u0101wiyah, a bitter enemy of \u2018Al\u012b and his family, and had fought for years with the ambition of capturing the caliphate, first on the pretext of avenging the death of the third caliph and finally with an open claim to the caliphate, he sent spies into Iraq, the seat of Imam Hasan\u2019s caliphate, to incite rebellion and opposition.
\nAfter the spies of Mu\u2018\u0101wiyah were captured and punished, Imam Hasan wrote him \u201c…It is surprising that after the Prophet\u2019s death, the Quraysh fought for the caliphate and considered themselves as superior to other Arabs because they were from the tribe of the Prophet. The Arabs accepted their argument.
\n\u201cBut then the Quraysh [based on same line of thought] refused to accept our superiority and shunned us aside although we were more closely related to the Prophet than they. We adopted forbearance so that the enemies and hypocrites do not destroy Islam.
\n\u201cAnd today we are amazed by your claim to the caliphate even though you do not deserve it in the least; neither you have any religious superiority nor any good record in the past. You are a product of the group that fought against the Prophet and the son of the worst enemy of the Prophet among the Quraysh…\u201d The Imam ended the letter with an advice for Mu\u2019awiyah to accept the decision of the Muslim community and pledge allegiance to him.
\nMu\u2019awiyah replied: \u201c…You and my situation is similar to your family and Abu Bakr\u2019s situation. Abu Bakr occupied the caliphate on the pretext of having more experience than your father. Similarly, I find myself to be more experienced than you…\u201d
\nMu\u2019awiyah not only refused to recognize Imam Hasan, he also marched with his army into Iraq . War ensued during which Mu\u2019\u0101wiyah gradually subverted the generals and commanders of Imam Hasan\u2019s army with large sums of money and deceiving promises until the army rebelled against Imam Hasan. One should realize that not all the people in the Imam\u2019s army were Shi\u2018as; they belonged to various groups: the Khaw\u0101rij came because they also opposed Mu\u2019awiyah; the opportunists who came for material gain if Imam Hasan succeeded; those who just followed their tribal leaders and owed loyalty to them and not the Imam.
\nThe Imam was, finally, forced to make peace and to yield the caliphate to Mu\u2019\u0101wiyah provided:
\n1. The caliphate would again return to Imam Hasan after Mu\u2018\u0101wiyah\u2019s death.
\n2. The Imam\u2019s household and partisans would be protected in every way.
\n3. The practice of cursing Imam \u2018Ali (peace be upon him) in Friday prayers will be discontinued.
\n4. Imam Hasan would not address Mu\u2018\u0101wiyah as \u201cam\u012bru \u2018l-mu\u2019minin \u2014 leader of the believers.\u201d
\n5. Mu\u2018\u0101wiyah will rule on the basis of the Qur\u2019\u0101n and the sunnah.
\n6. Mu\u2018\u0101wiyah would distribute one million dirhams from the revenue of Dara among the children who became orphans during the battles of Jamal and Siffin.
\nIn this way Mu\u2018\u0101wiyah captured the caliphate and entered Iraq . In a public speech he officially made null and void all the peace conditions, and in every way possible placed the severest pressure upon the members of the Ahlul Bayt of the Prophet and the Shi\u2018as. During all the ten years of his imamate, Imam Hasan lived in conditions of extreme hardship and under persecution, with no security even in his own house.<\/h4>\n

4. His Noble Character<\/strong><\/span>
\nIn human perfection Imam Hasan was reminiscent of his father and a perfect example of his noble grandfather. In fact, as long as the Prophet was alive, he and his brother were always in the company of the Prophet who even sometimes would carry them on his shoulders. Both Sunni and Shi\u2019ite sources have transmitted this saying of the Holy Prophet concerning Hasan and Husayn: \u201cThese two children of mine are Imams whether they stand up or sit down\u201d (allusion to whether they occupy the external function of caliphate or not). Also there are many traditions of the Holy Prophet and \u2018Al\u012b concerning the fact that Imam Hasan would gain the function of imamate after his noble father.
\nImam Hasan was well-known for spiritual wayfaring; he had also gone for pilgrimage 25 times by walking all the way from Medina to Mecca .
\nThe Imam was also known for his generosity. On hearing a man praying by the Ka\u2019bah to All\u0101h for relieving him of a 10,000 dirham debt, the Imam went home, returned with that money and gave it to that person. Three times in his life, the Imam divided his entire property and possessions and gave away onehalf in charity.<\/h4>\n

5. His Death<\/strong><\/span>
\nIn the year 50 A.H. Imam Hasan bin \u2018Ali (may peace be upon them) was poisoned and martyred by one of his own wives who, as has been accounted by historians, had been motivated by Mu\u2019\u0101wiyah. The latter did not want the caliphate to return back to \u2018Ali\u2019s family; he wanted to remove all the obstacles from the way of his own son, Yazid to inherit the kingdom. The Umayyids, against all the high principles of Islam and humanity, forcefully and violently barred the Banu Hashim from burying Imam Hasan next to his grandfather\u2019s grave. He was finally buried in Jannatu \u2018l-Baqi\u2019.
\nImam Hasan\u2019s patience and forbearance is even acknowledge by his enemies. Marwan bin Hakam, Mu\u2019awiyah\u2019s governor in Medina who always persecuted the Imam, participated in the latter\u2019s funeral. Imam Husayn said, \u201cWhile my brother was alive, you tried your best to oppose him and fight against him; and now you are showing up in his funeral!\u201d Marwan said, \u201cWhatever I did, I did to a person whose forbearance was stronger than this mountain\u201d while pointing towards a mountain outside Medina .<\/h4>\n

shiastudies.com\/en<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Imam Hasan al-Mujtaba —upon whom be peace— was the second Imam. He and his brother Husayn were the two sons of Amir al-mu’minin ‘Al\u012b and Lady F\u0101timah, the daughter of the Prophet. He was born in the year 3 A.H. in Medina . The Prophet came to ‘Ali’s home, congratulated the new parents and named the child, on All\u0101h’s order, as “Hasan”.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10069,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7453,7758],"tags":[19256,10822],"class_list":["post-3592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bank-of-subjects-of-articles","category-prophet","tag-imam-hasan-a-s-the-second-holy-imam","tag-shaistudies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3592","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3592"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3592\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10069"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}