WikiHaj

Imam al-Hasan al-Mujtaba (a)

Revision as of 11:32, 7 September 2025 by Engineer (talk | contribs) (Created page with "Imam Ḥasan al-Mujtabā (ʿa) was the son of Amīr al-Muʾminīn ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (ʿa), the second Imam of the Shīʿa and the fifth caliph of the Muslims. He is described as the one who most resembled the Messenger of God (ṣ), a devout worshipper and ascetic, and it is reported that several times in his life he gave away all or half of his wealth in charity. After the martyrdom of Amīr al-Muʾminīn, he assumed the caliphate by the people’s allegiance, but...")
(diff) ← Older revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)

Imam Ḥasan al-Mujtabā (ʿa) was the son of Amīr al-Muʾminīn ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (ʿa), the second Imam of the Shīʿa and the fifth caliph of the Muslims. He is described as the one who most resembled the Messenger of God (ṣ), a devout worshipper and ascetic, and it is reported that several times in his life he gave away all or half of his wealth in charity. After the martyrdom of Amīr al-Muʾminīn, he assumed the caliphate by the people’s allegiance, but in 41 AH, due to divisions in his army, he was compelled to accept peace with Muʿāwiya b. Abī Sufyān, who claimed the caliphate and had advanced with a large army from Syria toward Iraq.

He is reported to have gone on ḥajj several times on foot. After his martyrdom, his body was buried in the cemetery of al-Baqīʿ, beside Fāṭima bt. Asad. Later, Imām ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn (ʿa) and Imām al-Bāqir (ʿa) were also buried there, and a magnificent dome was eventually built over their graves.

Birth and Childhood

Imam Ḥasan was born in the middle of the month of Ramaḍān[1] of the third year AH[2] in Madīna. Most sources describe him as the closest in appearance to the Messenger of God (ṣ). According to a report, the Prophet (ṣ) described Ḥasan (ʿa) as the most similar to him in character, disposition, and physical appearance.[3] He lived seven years during the lifetime of the Prophet (ṣ).[4] Among his epithets are Sibṭ al-Nabī, Sayyid, Zakī, Mujtabā, Taqī, Walī, and Ṭayyib.[5]

Imam Ḥasan after the Prophet (ṣ)

He witnessed the events of the caliphates of the first three rulers. Some reports mention his and his brother Imām Ḥusayn’s (ʿa) participation in conquests such as North Africa and Ṭabaristān,[6] though historical evidence indicates otherwise.[7] During the siege of ʿUthmān, by his father’s instruction, Ḥasan (ʿa) maintained contact with him.[8] Another event was his escorting of Abū Dharr al-Ghifārī with his father at the time of the latter’s exile.[9]

Imam Ḥasan during the Caliphate of Amīr al-Muʾminīn

Ḥasan (ʿa) spent thirty years alongside his father ʿAlī (ʿa). On the eve of the Battle of Jamal, he was dispatched by ʿAlī (ʿa) as his envoy to Kūfa to mobilize the people.[10] He also took part in the Battle of Ṣiffīn, and during the Battle against the Khawārij, he delivered sermons in support of his father and was present on the battlefield.[11]

ʿAlī (ʿa) had established charitable endowments in and around Madīna, of which Ḥasan (ʿa) became the trustee after him, followed later by his brother Ḥusayn (ʿa).[12] These endowments were then administered by Banū Ḥasan and Banū Ḥusayn.[13]

Imamate and Caliphate of Imam Ḥasan (ʿa)

After being struck, ʿAlī (ʿa) appointed his son Ḥasan (ʿa) as Imam,[14] and he assumed authority for about six months. The allegiance to him took place on the 21st of Ramaḍān, 40 AH, following his father’s martyrdom.[15]

Muʿāwiya, the governor of Syria who claimed the caliphate, upon hearing of this allegiance, openly declared rebellion and refused to recognize Ḥasan (ʿa).[16] The first step of Ḥasan (ʿa) was to mobilize an army against him.[17] Muʿāwiya advanced with sixty thousand troops against Ḥasan (ʿa).[18] He spread rumors that Ḥasan (ʿa) intended peace,[19] while at the same time bribing commanders in Ḥasan’s army.[20] Amid these rumors, his camp was plundered and he was wounded at “Maẓlim Sābāṭ.”[21] In such circumstances, he was compelled to conclude peace, explaining that the people’s inclination to peace, their aversion to war, and especially the preservation of the Shīʿa from slaughter, necessitated his decision.[22]

He handed over the caliphate to Muʿāwiya with conditions: that Muʿāwiya would not appoint a successor,[23] that the next caliph would be chosen by the council of Muslims,[24] that the Muslims and Shīʿa would be secure, and that no plot would be made against the Ahl al-Bayt.[25]

Virtues and Merits

Ḥasan (ʿa) was considered the most devout, ascetic, and virtuous of his time.[26] He was famous for his generosity, patience, and selflessness.[27][28][29] Hence he became known as “Karīm Ahl al-Bayt.” It is reported that two or three times he gave away half, or even all, of his wealth in charity.[30][31]

Ḥajj

Both Shīʿī and Sunnī sources mention his frequent pilgrimages on foot.[32] He is said to have performed 25 pilgrimages in this way.[33] When asked, he explained that he did so to express greater humility before God’s House.[34]

Wives of Imam Ḥasan (ʿa)

The names of his wives mentioned in historical sources include: Umm al-Ḥaqq bt. Ṭalḥa b. ʿUbayd Allāh; Ḥafṣa bt. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Abī Bakr; Hind bt. Suhayl b. ʿAmr[35]; and Jaʿda bt. al-Ashʿath b. Qays.[36] Shaykh al-Mufīd[37] also mentions Umm Bashīr bt. ʿUqba b. ʿAmr b. Thaʿlaba and Khawla bt. Manẓūr al-Fazāriyya. Some early sources list up to ten wives,[38] while others mention eleven.[39] Exaggerated reports of numerous marriages exist, but many such names are untraceable in reliable sources.[40]

Children of Imam Ḥasan (ʿa)

He is said to have had fifteen children,[41] though some report only four sons and two daughters.[42] His lineage continued through his sons Ḥasan and Zayd. All his children joined Imām Ḥusayn (ʿa) on the Day of ʿĀshūrāʾ.[43]

The Ḥasanid branch of the ʿAlids became major rivals of the ʿAbbāsid dynasty. Among them, Muḥammad[44] and Ibrāhīm,[45] sons of ʿAbd Allāh b. Ḥasan,[46] as well as Ḥusayn b. ʿAlī b. Ḥasan (the “Martyr of Fakhkh,” 169 AH),[47] rose against the ʿAbbāsids.

In the latter half of the 4th/10th century, the Ḥasanid Sharīfs established an emirate in Mecca that lasted until the domination of the Āl Saʿūd over the Ḥijāz.

Martyrdom of Imam Ḥasan (ʿa)

According to the most common report, Ḥasan (ʿa) was poisoned and martyred on 28 Ṣafar, 50 AH.[48] Other accounts give 47 AH[49] or 49 AH,[50] and some mention 7 Ṣafar.[51] The prevalent tradition holds that his wife Jaʿda, instigated by Muʿāwiya, poisoned him.[52]

Shrine of Imam Ḥasan (ʿa)

According to his will (udfinūnī ʿinda abī), his family intended to bury him near the grave of the Prophet (ṣ), but the Banū Umayya under Marwān b. al-Ḥakam, the governor of Madīna,[53] supported by some of the Prophet’s wives,[54] prevented this. The Banū Hāshim prepared to confront them, but Imām Ḥusayn (ʿa), adhering to his brother’s will, restrained them. Thus, Ḥasan (ʿa) was buried in al-Baqīʿ.[55]

He was laid to rest beside his grandmother Fāṭima bt. Asad and his uncle al-ʿAbbās b. ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib. Later, a dome was erected over their graves as well as those of Imām ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn (ʿa) and Imām al-Bāqir (ʿa), and it was described as the tallest structure in Madīna.[56][57] In 495 AH, Majd al-Mulk al-Burāwastānī, vizier of the Saljūq ruler Barkiyāruq, sent an architect and funds to build a dome and mausoleum over their graves, which was rebuilt by a group of Iranians in 1234 AH.[58] The building was destroyed by the Wahhābīs in 1221 AH,[59] then reconstructed by the Ottoman Sulṭān ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd II, only to be demolished again in 1344 AH by the Wahhābīs.[60]

  1. ↑ . Tārīkh Madīnat Dimashq, vol. 13, p. 167; al-Irshād, vol. 2, p. 5.
  2. ↑ . Tarjama al-Imām al-Ḥasan min al-Ṭabaqāt al-Kubrā, p. 98; Ansāb al-Ashrāf, vol. 3, p. 219; Iʿlām al-Warā, vol. 1, p. 402.
  3. ↑ . al-Ṭabaqāt al-Kubrā, al-Khāmisah, vol. 1, p. 245; al-Istīʿāb, vol. 1, p. 384.
  4. ↑ . Manāqib Āl Abī Ṭālib, vol. 3, p. 175.
  5. ↑ . Kashf al-Ghumma, vol. 2, p. 141; Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 43, p. 255.
  6. ↑ . al-Kāmil fī al-Tārīkh, vol. 3, p. 6.
  7. ↑ . Cf. al-Ḥayāt al-Siyāsiyya li-l-Imām al-Ḥasan, pp. 114–130.
  8. ↑ . Murūj al-Dhahab, vol. 2, p. 344; al-Imāma wa-l-Siyāsa, vol. 1, p. 44; Tārīkh al-Ṭabarī, vol. 4, pp. 388–389.
  9. ↑ . Ansāb al-Ashrāf, vol. 5, p. 543; Tārīkh al-Yaʿqūbī, vol. 2, p. 172.
  10. ↑ . al-Jamal, pp. 132, 175.
  11. ↑ . Ḥayāt al-Imām al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī, vol. 1, pp. 481–486.
  12. ↑ . Tahdhīb al-Aḥkām, vol. 9, pp. 145–148.
  13. ↑ . ʿIlal al-Sharāʾiʿ, vol. 1, p. 230; al-Irshād, vol. 2, p. 21; Kashf al-Ghumma, vol. 2, p. 199.
  14. ↑ . Kashf al-Ghumma, vol. 2, pp. 153–154; Musnad al-Imām al-Mujtabā (ʿa), p. 36.
  15. ↑ . al-Irshād, vol. 2, p. 9.
  16. ↑ . Tārīkh al-Yaʿqūbī, vol. 2, p. 214; Sharḥ Nahj al-Balāgha, Ibn Abī al-Ḥadīd, vol. 16, p. 31.
  17. ↑ . al-Mustadrak ʿalā al-Ṣaḥīḥayn, vol. 3, pp. 174–176.
  18. ↑ . al-Futūḥ, vol. 4, p. 286; Maqātil al-Ṭālibiyyīn, pp. 34–35.
  19. ↑ . Tārīkh al-Yaʿqūbī, vol. 2, p. 214.
  20. ↑ . Ansāb al-Ashrāf, vol. 3, p. 38.
  21. ↑ . Ansāb al-Ashrāf, vol. 3, p. 35; al-Irshād, vol. 2, p. 12.
  22. ↑ . Akhbār al-Ṭiwāl, p. 220.
  23. ↑ . al-Istīʿāb, vol. 1, pp. 385–387.
  24. ↑ . al-Istīʿāb, vol. 1, pp. 386–387.
  25. ↑ . al-Futūḥ, vol. 4, pp. 290–291.
  26. ↑ . al-Amālī, al-Ṣadūq, p. 244; ʿUddat al-Dāʿī, p. 139.
  27. ↑ . Kashf al-Ghumma, vol. 2, pp. 180–182; Nuzhat al-Nāẓir, pp. 148–150.
  28. ↑ . al-Kāmil, al-Mubarrad, vol. 2, p. 462.
  29. ↑ . Cf. Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 43, pp. 344–355; Manāqib Āl Abī Ṭālib, vol. 3, p. 188.
  30. ↑ . Ansāb al-Ashrāf, vol. 3, p. 9; al-Wāfī bi-l-Wafayāt, vol. 12, p. 68.
  31. ↑ . Sharḥ al-Akhbār, vol. 3, p. 113; Manāqib Āl Abī Ṭālib, vol. 3, p. 180.
  32. ↑ . Ansāb al-Ashrāf, vol. 3, p. 9; al-Wāfī bi-l-Wafayāt, vol. 12, p. 67; ʿUddat al-Dāʿī, p. 139.
  33. ↑ . Shadharāt al-Dhahab, vol. 1, p. 242.
  34. ↑ . al-Aʾimma al-Ithnā ʿAshar, p. 64.
  35. ↑ . Ansāb al-Ashrāf, vol. 3, pp. 20–22.
  36. ↑ . Ṣulḥ al-Imām Ḥasan (ʿa), Āl Yāsīn, p. 38.
  37. ↑ . al-Irshād, vol. 2, p. 20.
  38. ↑ . al-Ṭabaqāt al-Kubrā, vol. 5, pp. 244–245.
  39. ↑ . Sharḥ Nahj al-Balāgha, Ibn Abī al-Ḥadīd, vol. 16, p. 21.
  40. ↑ . Ansāb al-Ashrāf, vol. 3, p. 25; Qūt al-Qulūb, vol. 2, p. 471.
  41. ↑ . Tadhkirat al-Khawāṣṣ, p. 194; al-Irshād, vol. 2, p. 20.
  42. ↑ . al-Ṭabaqāt al-Kubrā, vol. 5, pp. 244–245.
  43. ↑ . al-Majdī fī Ansāb al-Ṭālibiyyīn, p. 19; Musnad al-Imām al-Shahīd (ʿa), vol. 2, p. 107.
  44. ↑ . Tārīkh al-Ṭabarī, vol. 7, p. 552.
  45. ↑ . al-Ṭabaqāt al-Kubrā, vol. 5, pp. 439–441.
  46. ↑ . al-Fakhrī, p. 164.
  47. ↑ . Tārīkh al-Ṭabarī, vol. 8, pp. 192–205.
  48. ↑ . Kashf al-Ghumma, vol. 2, p. 205; Tarjama al-Imām al-Ḥasan (ʿa) min al-Ṭabaqāt al-Kubrā, p. 91.
  49. ↑ . al-Badʾ wa-l-Tārīkh, vol. 5, p. 74.
  50. ↑ . Tārīkh al-Yaʿqūbī, vol. 2, p. 225; Tārīkh Madīnat Dimashq, vol. 7, p. 122.
  51. ↑ . al-Durūs al-Sharʿiyya, vol. 2, p. 7.
  52. ↑ . al-Bidāya wa-l-Nihāya, vol. 8, p. 43; Tārīkh Ibn Khaldūn, vol. 2, p. 649.
  53. ↑ . al-Wāfī bi-l-Wafayāt, vol. 12, pp. 68–69.
  54. ↑ . Tadhkirat al-Khawāṣṣ, p. 193.
  55. ↑ . Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 44, p. 134.
  56. ↑ . Riḥlat Ibn Jubayr, p. 155; Madīna-shināsī, p. 326.
  57. ↑ . al-ʿIqd al-Thamīn, vol. 3, p. 396.
  58. ↑ . Tuḥfat al-Aḥbāb wa-Bulghat al-Ṭullāb, pp. 271–272.
  59. ↑ . Wafayāt al-Aʿyān, vol. 7, p. 27.
  60. ↑ . al-Tuḥfa al-Laṭīfa fī Tārīkh al-Madīna al-Sharīfa, vol. 1, p. 46; Mawsūʿat Mirʾāt al-Ḥaramayn, vol. 2, p. 426.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikihaj.com/index.php?title=Imam_al-Hasan_al-Mujtaba_(a)&oldid=3646"