Hasan ibn Ali

In the year AH 10 (631/32 CE) a Christian envoy from Najran (now in northern Yemen) came to Muhammad to argue which of the two parties erred in its doctrine concerning Isa (Jesus). After likening Jesus' miraculous birth to Adam's creation,[lower-alpha 3]—who was born to neither a mother nor a father—and when the Christians did not accept the Islamic doctrine about Jesus, Muhammad was instructed to call them to Mubahalah where each party should ask God to destroy the false party and their families.[19][22][23] "If anyone dispute with you in this matter (concerning Jesus) after the knowledge which has come to you, say: Come let us call our sons and your sons, our women and your women, ourselves and yourselves, then let us swear an oath and place the curse of God on those who lie."[lower-alpha 4][19][24][23] Except for al-Tabari, who did not name the participants, Sunni historians mention Muhammad, Fatimah, Al-Hasan and Al-Husayn as having participated in the Mubahalah, and some agree with the Shi'ite tradition that ‘Ali was among them. Accordingly, in the Shi'ite perspective, in the verse of Mubahalah, the phrase "our sons" would refer to Al-Hasan and Al-Husayn, "our women" refers to Fatimah, and "ourselves" refers to ‘Ali.[19][24][23]

It is said that one day, the ‘Abbasid Caliph Harun al-Rashid questioned the seventh Twelver Shi‘ite Imam, Musa al-Kadhim, asking why he had permitted people to call him "Son of the Apostle of Allah", while he and his forefathers were Muhammad's daughter's children, and that "the progeny belongs to the male (‘Ali) and not to the female (Fatimah)".[25] In response al-Kadhim recited the verses Quran, 6:84 and Quran, 6:85 and then asked "Who is Jesus' father, O Commander of the faithful?". "Jesus had no father", said Harun. Al-Kadhim argued that God, in these verses, had ascribed Jesus to descendants of the Prophets, through Mary, saying "similarly, we have been ascribed to the descendants of the Prophet through our mother Fatimah".[25] It is related that Harun asked Musa to give him more evidence. Al-Kadhim thus recited the verse of Mubahalah, and argued "None claims that the Prophet made someone enter under the cloak when he challenged the Christians to a contest of prayer to God (the Mubahalah), except ‘Ali, Fatimah, Al-Hasan, and Al-Husayn. So in the verse, 'Our sons' refers to Al-Hasan and Al-Husayn."[25]

According to Donaldson[10] there was not a significant difference between the idea of Imamate, or divine right, exemplified by each Imam designating his successor, and other ideas of succession at first.[10] ‘Ali had apparently failed to nominate a successor before he died; however, on several occasions, he reportedly expressed his idea that "only the Prophet's Bayt were entitled to rule the Community", and Hasan, whom he had appointed his inheritor, must have been the obvious choice, as he would eventually be chosen by people to be the next caliph.[19][27]

Sunnis, on the other hand, reject Imamate on the basis of their interpretation of verse 33:40 of the Qur'an[lower-alpha 5] which says that Muhammad, as the Khatam an-Nabiyyin (Arabic: خـاتـم الـنّـبـيّـيـن‎, "Seal of the Prophets"), "is not the father of any of your men"; and that is why God let Muhammad's sons die in infancy.[lower-alpha 6] This is why Muhammad did not nominate a successor, as he wanted to leave the succession to be resolved "by the Muslim Community on the basis of the Qur’anic principle of consultation (Shura)".[28][29] The question Madelung proposes here is why the family members of Muhammad should not inherit aspects of Muhammad's character, apart from prophethood, such as Hukm (Arabic: حُـكـم‎, Rule), Hikmah (Arabic: حِـكـمـة‎, Wisdom), and Imamah (Arabic: إمـامـة‎, Leadership). Since the Sunni concept of the "true caliphate" itself defines it as a "succession of the Prophet in every respect except his prophethood", Madelung further asks, "If God really wanted to indicate that he should not be succeeded by any of his family, why did He not let his grandsons and other kin die like his sons?"[28]

As soon as the news of Hasan's selection reached Muawiyah, who had been fighting ‘Ali for the caliphate, he condemned the selection, and declared his decision not to recognise him. Letters exchanged between Al-Hasan and Mu‘awiyah before their troops faced each other were to no avail.[27][31] However, these letters, which are recorded in Madelung and Jafri's books,[11][32] provided useful arguments concerning the rights of caliphate which would lead to the origin of the Shi‘ah (Arabic: شـيـعـة‎, Party of ‘Ali and the Household of Muhammad). In one of his long letters to Muawiyah in which he summoned him to pledge allegiance to him, Hasan made use of the argument of his father, Ali, which the latter had advanced against Abu Bakr after the death of Muhammad. Ali had said: "If Quraysh could claim the leadership over the Ansar on the grounds that the Prophet belonged to Quraysh, then the members of his family, who were the nearest to him in every respect, were better qualified for the leadership of the community."[11][19]

Muawiyah's response to this argument is also interesting. For Muawiyah, while recognising the excellence of Muhammad's family, further asserted that he would willingly follow Al-Hasan's request were it not for his own superior experience in governing: "…You are asking me to settle the matter peacefully and surrender, but the situation concerning you and me today is like the one between you [your family] and Abu Bakr after the death of the Prophet … I have a longer period of reign [probably referring to his governorship], and I am more experienced, better in policies, and older in age than you … If you enter into obedience to me now, you will accede to the caliphate after me."[11][19]

The Battle of Siffin, in which followers of Caliph ‘Ali, including Al-Hasan, fought the party of Mu‘awiyah.

In his book, The Origins and Early Development of Shi‘a Islam, Jafri comes to the conclusion that the majority of the Muslims, who became known as Sunnis afterwards, "placed the religious leadership in the totality of the community (Ahl al-Sunnah wal Jamaah), represented by the Ulama, as the custodian of religion and the exponent of the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Muhammad, while accepting state authority as binding… A minority of the Muslims, on the other hand, could not find satisfaction for their religious aspirations except in the charismatic leadership from among the people of the house of the Prophet, the Ahl al-Bayt, as the sole exponents of the Qur’an and the Prophetic Sunnah, although this minority too had to accept the state's authority. This group was called the Shi‘ah."[11]

There was more correspondence with no result, so, as negotiations had stalled, Mu‘awiyah summoned all the commanders of his forces in Ash-Sham, the region that stretches from Syria and southern Anatolia in the north, to Palestine and Transjordan in the south,[33] and began preparations for war. Soon, he marched his army of sixty thousand men through Mesopotamia to Maskin, on the Tigris boundary of Mosul, towards the Sawad. Meanwhile, he attempted to negotiate with Al-Hasan, sending the young heir letters asking him to give up his claim.[34][35] According to Jafri, Muawiyah hoped to either force Hasan to come to terms; or attack the Iraqi forces before they had time to strengthen their location. However, Jafri says, Muawiyah believed that, even if Hasan was defeated and killed, he was still a threat, for another member of the clan of Hashim could simply claim to be his successor. Should he abdicate in favor of Mu‘awiyah, however, such claims would have no weight and Mu‘awiya's position would be guaranteed. According to Jafri, he was correct, for ten years later, after the death of Al-Hasan, when the Iraqis turned to his younger brother, Al-Husayn, to support an uprising, Al-Husayn instructed them to wait as long as Mu‘awiyah was alive due to Al-Hasan's peace treaty with him.[11]

As the news of Muawiyah's army reached Hasan, he ordered his local governors to mobilize, then addressed the people of Kufah: "God had prescribed the Jihad for his creation and called it a loathsome duty."[lower-alpha 8] There was no response at first, as some tribal chiefs, paid by Muawiyah, were reluctant to move. Hasan's companions scolded them, asking whether they wouldn't answer to the son of the Prophet's daughter. Turning to Hasan, they assured him of their obedience, and immediately left for the war camp. Al-Hasan admired them and later joined them at An-Nukhayla, where people were coming together in large groups.[10][36]

Hasan appointed ‘Ubayd Allah ibn al-Abbas as the commander of his vanguard of twelve thousand men to move to Maskin. There he was told to hold Mu‘awiyah until Al-Hasan arrived with the main army. He was advised not to fight unless attacked, and that he should consult with Qays ibn Sa'd, who was appointed as second in command if he were killed.[11][37][27][38]

While Al-Hasan's vanguard was waiting for his arrival at Maskin, Hasan himself was facing a serious problem at Sabat near Al-Mada'in, where he gave a sermon after morning prayer in which he declared that he prayed to God to be the most sincere of His creation to His creation; that he bore no resentment nor hatred against any Muslim, nor did he want evil and harm to anyone; and that "whatever they hated in community was better than what they loved in schism."[10][37] He was, he continued, looking after their best interest, better than they themselves; and instructed them not to disobey "whatever orders he gave them."[11]

Some of the troops, taking this as a sign that Al-Hasan was preparing to give up battle, rebelled against him, and looted his tent, seizing even the prayer rug from underneath him. Hasan shouted for his horse and rode off surrounded by his partisans who kept back those who were trying to reach him. While they were passing by Sabat, however, al-Jarrah ibn Sinan, a Kharijite, managed to ambush Hasan and wounded him in the thigh with a dagger, while he was shouting: "God is the Greatest! You have become a Kafir (Arabic: كـافـر‎, Infidel) like your father before you." Abd Allah ibn al-Hisl jumped upon him, and as others joined in, al-Jarrah was overpowered, and he died. Hasan was taken to Al-Mada'in where he was cared for by his governor, Sa'd ibn Mas'ud al-Thaqafi[10][36] The news of this attack, having been spread by Mu‘awiyah, further demoralised the already discouraged army of Al-Hasan, and led to extensive desertion from his troops.[11]

When Ubayd Allah and the Kufan vanguard arrived at al-Maskin, they found that Muawiyah had already arrived. Muawiyah sent an envoy to tell them that he had received letters from Hasan asking for an armistice and asked the Kufans not to attack until the negotiations were complete. Muawiyyah's claim was probably untrue, but he had good reason to think that he could make Hasan give in.[11][39] The Kufans, however, insulted Muawiyah's envoy. Then, Muawiya sent the envoy to visit Ubayd Allah in private, and to swear to him that Hasan had requested a truce from Muawiyah, and offered Ubayd Allah 1,000,000 dirhams, half to be paid at once, the other half in Kufa, provided he switched sides. Ubayd Allah accepted and deserted at night to Muawiyah's camp. Muawiyah was extremely pleased and fulfilled his promise to him.[18][19][39]

The next morning, the Kufans waited for Ubayd Allah to emerge and lead the morning prayer. Then Qays ibn Sa'd took charge and, in his sermon, severely denounced Ubayd Allah, his father and his brother. The people shouted: "Praise be to God that He has removed him from us; stand up with us against our enemy."[10] Believing that the desertion of ‘Ubayd Allah had broken the spirit of his enemy, Mu‘awiyah sent Busr with an armed force to force their surrender. Qays, however, attacked and drove him back. The next day Busr attacked with a larger force but was repulsed again. Muawiyah then sent a letter to Qays offering bribes but Qays replied that he "would never meet him except with a lance between them."[11] As the news of the riot against Hasan and of his having been wounded arrived, however, both sides abstained from fighting to wait for further news.[10]

Muawiyah, who had already started negotiations with Al-Hasan, now sent high-level envoys, while committing himself in a witnessed letter to appoint Hasan his successor and give him whatever he wished. Hasan accepted the offer in principle and sent ‘Amr ibn Salima al-Hamdani al-Arhabl and his own brother-in-law Muhammad ibn al-Ash'ath al-Kindi back to Mu'awiyah as his negotiators, along with Muawiyah's envoys. Mu'awiyah then wrote a letter saying that he was making peace with Hasan, who would become caliph after him. He swore that he would not seek to harm him, and that he would give him 1,000,000 dirhams from the treasury (Bayt al-mal) annually, along with the land tax of Fasa and Darabjird, which Hasan was to send his own tax agents to collect. The letter was witnessed by the four envoys and dated in August 661.[19][40]

When Hasan read the letter, he commented: "He is trying to appeal to my greed for a matter which, if I desired it, I would not surrender to him."[20] Then he sent Abd Allah ibn al-Harith, whose mother, Hind, was Muawiyah's sister, to Muawiyah, instructing him: "Go to your uncle and tell him: If you grant safety to the people I shall pledge allegiance to you." Afterward, Muawiyah gave him a blank paper with his seal at the bottom, inviting Hasan to write on it whatever he desired.[11][40]

According to Jafri, historians like Ya'qubi and Al-Masudi do not mention the terms of the peace treaty at all. Other historians, such as Dinawari, Ibn Abd al-Barr and Ibn al-Athir record different accounts of the conditions, and the timing of the black sheet sent by Mu'awiyah to Hasan was confusing in Tabari's account.[11] The most comprehensive account, which explains the different ambiguous accounts of other sources, according to Jafri, is given by Ahmad ibn A'tham, which must have taken it from al-Mada'ini.[11] Madelung's view is close to that of Jafri when he stipulates that Hasan surrendered the reign over the Muslims to Mu'awiyah on the basis that "he act according to the Book of God, the Sunnah of His Prophet and the conduct of the righteous caliphs. Mu'awiyah should not be entitled to appoint his successor but that there should be an electoral council (Shura); the people would be safe, wherever they were, with respect to their person, their property and their offspring; Mu'awiyah would not seek any wrong against Hasan secretly or openly, and would not intimidate any of his companions."[19][38] The letter was testified by Abd Allah ibn al-Harith, and Amr ibn Salima and transmitted by them to Mu'awiyah for him to take recognition of its contents and to confirm his acceptance. Hasan thus surrendered his control of Iraq in Rabi II 41/August 661 after a reign of seven months.[20][10]