al-hasan ibn ali.pdf

Dr. Ali M. Sallabi oZakho Tell

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IN THE NAME OF

ALLAH THE ALL-COMPASSIONATE, ALL-MERCIFUL

At-HASAN IBN 'ALI IBN ABI TALIB

His LIFE AND TIMES

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"' ISLAMIC HISTORY SERIES PART II THE RIGHTLY GUIDED CALIPHS 5

AL-HASAN IBN 'ALI IBN ABI TA.LIB

His LIFE AND TIMES

Dr. Ali M. Sallabi Translated by

Nasiruddin al-Khattab Edited by

Huda Khattab

INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC PUBLISHING HOUSE

= CONTENTS

Pronunciation and transliteration chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Arabic honorific symbols used in this book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Hadith grade terms in this book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 About the word 'Lord' . ............ \. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 When jihad refers to fighting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 The Islamic viewpoint on slavery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Publisher's note. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Dedication. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Chapter One

Partl Al-I:Iasan ibn 'Ali (~)

from birth to the caliphate

His names, lineage, birth and family............ 45 1.1 His name and lineage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 1.2 His birth, naming, titles, and the Prophet's

way of naming newborns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 1.3 The Messenger of Allah (~) recites the call

to prayer in al-Hasan's ears. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 1.4 Tal:zneek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 1.5 Shaving his head . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 1.6 The animal sacrifice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 1.7 The circumcision................................. 50 1.8 His wet nurse: Umm al-Fac,il

6 A l - J j a s a n i b n ' A l i

1 . 9 H i s m a r r i a g e s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 3

1 . 1 0 H i s c h i l d r e n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 8

1 . 1 0 . 1 Z a y d i b n a l - I : I a s a n i b n ' A l i i b n A b i Talib(~)..... 5 9

1 . 1 0 . 2 A l - I : I a s a n i b n a l - I : I a s a n i b n ' A l i i b n A b i T a l i b . . . . . 6 0

1 . 1 1 H i s s i b l i n g s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 2

1 . 1 1 . l A l - I : I u s a y n i b n ' A l i i b n A b i T a l i b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 2

1 . 1 1 . 2 M u J : : i . a s s a n i b n ' A l i i b n A b i T a l i b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 4

1 . 1 1 . 3 U m m K u l t h o o m h i n t ' A l i i b n A b i T a l i b . . . . . . . . . . 6 4

1 . 1 1 . 4 Z a y n a b h i n t ' A l i i b n A b i T a l i b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 5

1 . 1 1 . 5 M u h a m m a d i b n a l - I : I a n a f i y a h . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 5

1 . 1 2 H i s p a t e r n a l u n c l e s a n d a u n t s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 6

1 . 1 2 . 1 T a l i b i b n A b i T a l i b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 6

1 . 1 2 . 2 ' A q e e l i b n A b i T a l i b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 7

1 . 1 2 . 3 J a ' f a r i b n A b i T a l i b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 7

1 . 1 2 . 4 U m m H a n i ' b i n t A b i T a l i b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 8

1 . 1 2 . 5 J u m a n a h b i n t A b i T a l i b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 8

1 . 1 3 H i s m a t e r n a l u n c l e s a n d a u n t s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 8

1 . 1 3 . 1 Z a y n a b , d a u g h t e r o f t h e M e s s e n g e r o f Allah(~)... 6 9

1 . 1 3 . 2 R u q a y y a h , d a u g h t e r o f t h e M e s s e n g e r o f A l l a h (~) . . 7 1

1 . 1 3 . 3 U m m K u l t h o o m ,

d a u g h t e r o f t h . e M e s s e n g e r o f A l l a h (~). . . . . . . . . . . . 7 2

C h a p t e r T w o

H i s m o t h e r , F a t i m a h a z - Z a h r a ' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 5

2 . 1 H e r d o w r y a n d t r o u s s e a u . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 5

2 . 2 H e r w e d d i n g . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 7

2 . 3 T h e w e d d i n g f e a s t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 8

2 . 4 T h e l i f e s t y l e o f ' A l i a n d F a t i m a h . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 8

2 . 5 H e r a s c e t i c i s m a n d p a t i e n c e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 0

2 . 6 T h e M e s s e n g e r o f A l l a h ' s l o v e

a n d p r o t e c t i v e j e a l o u s y f o r h e r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 2

2 . 7 H e r s i n c e r i t y o f s p e e c h . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 5

2 . 8 H e r l e a d e r s h i p i n t h i s w o r l d a n d t h e h e r e a f t e r . . . . . . . . . . 8 5

Contents 7

2.9 Abu Bakr af;'-$iddeeq, Fatimah and the Prophet's estate... 86 2.10 Her goodwill toward Abu Bakr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 2.11 Her death. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Chapter Three His status in the eyes of his grandfather, the beloved Prophet (~) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \95

3.1 The Messenger of Allah's love and compassion for al-l:lasan, and the time he spent with him . . . . . . . . . . 95

3.2 Guidelines on the emotional development of children. . . . 99 3.2. l Kissing and showing compassion

and kindness to children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 3.2.2 Joking and playing with children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 3.2.3 Giving children gifts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 3.2.4 Patting children's heads ...................... 101 3.2.5 Welcoming children ........................ 101 3.2.6 Checking on children and inquiring after them . . . . . 102

3.3 The resemblance of al-l:lasan ibn 'Ali to the Prophet(~) 103 3.4 Al-l:lasan and al-l:lusayn: Leaders of the youth of paradise.. 106 3.5 They are my two fragrant plants in this world. . . . . . . . 108 3.6 Al-I:Iasan's leadership in this world and the hereafter. . . . 109 3. 7 l seek refuge in the perfect words of Allah from

every devil and poisonous reptile, and from every envious evil eye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

3.8 Hadiths narrated by al-l:lasan from the Messenger of Allah (~) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

3.9 Al-l:lasan's description of the Messenger of Allah(~) . . . 118 3.10 The verse of purification and the hadith of the cloak . . . . 122

3.10.1 Flaws in Shiite arguments about the verse of purification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

3.11 The verse of mubahalah and the delegation of Christians from Najran . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

3.12 The upbringing of al-I:Iasan ....................... 138

8 A l - l f a s a n i b n ' A l i

3 . 1 2 . 1 S i n c e r i t y a n d k n o w i n g t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f u p b r i n g i n g . . 1 3 9

3 . 1 2 . 2 S e t t i n g a g o o d e x a m p l e f o r c h i l d r e n . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 3 9

3 . 1 2 . 3 K i n d n e s s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 4 0

3 . 1 2 . 4 T r e a t i n g c h i l d r e n o n a f a i r a n d e q u i t a b l e b a s i s . . . . . 1 4 0

3 . 1 3 T h e i m p a c t o f s o c i a l r e a l i t y o n a l - l : f a s a n ' s u p b r i n g i n g . . . 1 4 1

C h a p t e r F o u r

D u r i n g t h e t i m e o f t h e

R i g h t l y - G u i d e d C a l i p h s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 4 3

4 . 1 D u r i n g t h e c a l i p h a t e o f A b u B a k r a~-$iddeeq. . . . . . . . . . . 1 4 3

4 . 1 . 1 A b u B a k r ' s r e a c t i o n t o t h e P r o p h e t ' s d e a t h . . . . . . . . . 1 4 4

4 . 1 . 2 S a q e e f a h B a n i S a ' i d a h . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 4 5

4 . 1 . 3 S o m e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f A b u B a k r ' s r u l e . . . . . . . . . . . 1 4 9

4 . 1 . 4 ' A l i ' s o a t h o f a l l e g i a n c e t o A b u B a k r a~-$iddeeq.... 1 5 0

4 . 1 . 5 A b u B a k r s e n d s o u t t h e a r m y o f U s a m a h . . . . . . . . . . 1 5 3

4 . 1 . 6 T h e a p o s t a s y w a r s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 5 6

4 . 2 D u r i n g t h e c a l i p h a t e o f ' U m a r i b n a l - K h a t t a b . . . . . . . . . . 1 5 8

4 . 3 D u r i n g t h e c a l i p h a t e o f ' O t h m a n i b n ' A f f a n . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 6 0

4 . 3 . 1 D u r i n g t h e c o n q u e s t o f N o r t h A f r i c a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 6 1

4 . 3 . 2 ' A l i ' s a t t i t u d e c o n c e r n i n g

t h e t u r m o i l f a c e d b y ' U t h m a n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 6 2

4 . 4 D u r i n g t h e c a l i p h a t e o f h i s f a t h e r , ' A l i b i n A b i T a l i b . . . . . 1 6 6

4 . 4 . 1 C o m m a n d e r o f t h e F a i t h f u l

' A l i i b n A b i T a l i b s e t s o u t f o r K u f a . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 6 6

4 . 4 . 2 A l - l : f a s a n ' s a d v i c e t o h i s f a t h e r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 6 7

4 . 4 . 3 A l - l : f a s a n ' s i m p a c t

o n m o b i l i s i n g t h e p e o p l e o f K u f a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 6 9

4 . 4 . 4 A t t e m p t s a t r e c o n c i l i a t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 7 0

4 . 4 . 5 T h e B a t t l e o f t h e C a m e l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 7 0

4 . 4 . 6 T l l e B a t t l e o f $ i f f e e n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 7 2

4 . 4 . 7 A l - l : f a s a n ' s v i e w

c o n c e r n i n g t h e w a r s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 7 7

/

Contents 9

4.4.8 The martyrdom of Commander of the Faithful 'Ali ................ 179

4.4.9 Final advice of Commander of the Faithful 'Ali to his sons ..................... 180

4.4.10 Commander of the Faithful 'Ali prohibits mutilating his killer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

4 .4 .11 Al-l:f asan 's speech after his father was slain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

4.4.12 Mu'awiyah's reaction to the martyrdom of 'Ali ........................ 186

Chapter Five

Part2 Al-Basan' s caliphate and his reconciliation efforts

Oath of allegiance to al-I:Iasan ibn 'Ali(~) ...... 191 5.1 The falseness of the idea that al-l:fasan was appointed to

the caliphate by his father . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193 5.2 What the Twelver Shiites quote as evidence from the

Sunni books for limiting the number of imams. . . . . . . . . . 199 5.3 Duration of the caliphate of Commander of the Faithful

al-l:fasan and the view of ah! as-Sunnah concerning his caliphate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202 5.3.1 Abu Bakr ibn al-'Arabi. ......................... 203 5.3.2 Al-QaQ.i 'IyaQ.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203 5.3.3 Al-l:fafidh Ibn Katheer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204 5.3.4 IbnAbil-'Izz al-l:fanafi ........................ 204 5.3.5 Al-Mannawi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204 5.3.6 lbn l:fajar al-Haythami . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

5.4 Speeches that cannot be soundly attributed to al-l:fasan following the murder of his father. . . . . . . . . . . . 205 5.4.1 Al-I~fahani, author of al-Aghani. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207

1 0 A l - l f a s a n i b n ' A l i

5 . 4 . 2 N a h j a l - B a l a g h a h . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 0 9

C h a p t e r S i x

H i s c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s a n d s o c i a l l i f e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1 3

6 . 1 H i s m o s t i m p o r t a n t c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1 3

6 . 1 . 1 H i s k n o w l e d g e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1 3

6 . 1 . 2 H i s w o r s h i p . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 2 4

6 . 1 . 3 H i s a s c e t i c i s m a n d l a c k o f i n t e r e s t i n w o r l d l y g a i n . . . 2 2 7

6 . 1 . 4 H i s g e n e r o s i t y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 2 9

6 . 1 . 5 H i s f o r b e a r a n c e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 3 3

6 . 1 . 6 H i s h u m i l i t y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 3 5

6 . 1 . 7 H i s l e a d e r s h i p . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 3 6

6 . 2 H i s p h y s i c a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 3 8

C h a p t e r S e v e n

H i s b e h a v i o u r i n t h e s o c i e t y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 3 9

7 . 1 H i s r e f u t a t i o n o f t h e b e l i e f i n r a j ' a h . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 3 9

7 . 2 H i s m e e t i n g p e o p l e ' s n e e d s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 4 0

7 . 3 H i s m a r r i a g e t o t h e d a u g h t e r o f T a l l ) . a h i b n ' U b a y d u l l a h . . 2 4 2

7 . 4 H i s m a r r i a g e t o K h a w l a h b i n t M a n d h o o r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 4 3

7 . 5 H e d i d n o t s e e t h e M o t h e r s o f

t h e B e l i e v e r s w i t h o u t t h e i r v e i l s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 4 4

7 . 6 H i s g r e a t c a r e t o r e f r a i n f r o m a b u s i n g h i s c o n n e c t i o n

t o t h e Prophet(~) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 4 4

7 . 7 H e o f f e r e d t h e f u n e r a l p r a y e r f o r a l - A s h ' a t h i b n Q a y s . . . . 2 4 5

7 . 8 H o w h e t r e a t e d t h o s e w h o m i s t r e a t e d h i m . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 4 5

7 . 9 H i s e t i q u e t t e i n g a t h e r i n g s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 4 6

7 . 1 0 H i s g o o d a t t i t u d e w i t h t h e p e o p l e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 4 6

7 . 1 1 H i s p l a y i n g w i t h s t o n e s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 4 7

7 . 1 2 H i s a v o i d a n c e o f e x c e s s i v e s p e e c h . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 4 7

7 . 1 3 H i s h o n o u r i n g U s a m a h i b n Z a y d . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 4 8

7 . 1 4 H i s e x p l a n a t i o n t o t h e p o o r J e w . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 4 8

7 . 1 5 l b n ' A b b a s ' r e s p e c t f o r a l - I ; I a s a n a n d a l - I ; I u s a y n . . . . . . . 2 4 9

7 . 1 6 ' A b d u l l a h i b n a z - Z u b a y r ' s p r a i s e f o r a l - I ; I a s a n . . . . . . . . 2 5 0

Contents 11

7 .17 The relationship between al-l:fasan and al-l:fusayn . . . . . 251 7 .18 The one with the noblest parents,

grandparents, aunts and uncles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251 7.19 People's love for him and his brother al-l:fusayn,

and how they crowded around them at the Kaaba . . . . . . 252

Chapter Eight His words, speeches and exhortations. . . . . . . . . . . 253

8.1 His warning against spiritual diseases ..... '. . . . . . . . . . . . 253 8.2 The concept of contentment as understood by

al-l:fasan and Abu Dharr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255 8.3 Sublime character and attitude . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255 8.4 Avoiding conjecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258 8.5 Consultation and discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259 8.6 Important principles enjoined by al-l:fasan. . . . . . . . . . . . . 260 Chapter Nine

Prominent figures during his caliphate. . . . . . . . . . 263 9 .1 Qays ibn Sa' d ibn 'Ubadah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264 9.2 'Ubaydullah ibn 'Abbas ibn 'Abdul-Muttalib al-Hashimi:

Abu Muhammad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265 9.3 'Abdullah ibn Ja'far ibn Abi Talib al-Hashimi .......... 266

Chapter Ten From his peace deal with Mu'awiyah until his death ..................... 271

10.1 The most important stages of the peace deal. .......... 274 10.1.l The first stage .............................. 274 10.1.2 The second stage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276 10.1.3 The third stage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277 10.1.4 The fourth stage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278 10.1.5 The fifth stage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279 10.1.6 The sixth stage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281 10.1. 7 The seventh stage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285


1 0 . 1 . 8 T h e e i g h t h s t a g e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 9 1

1 0 . 2 T h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t c a u s e s a n d m o t i v e s f o r t h e p e a c e d e a l . . 2 9 4

1 0 . 2 . 1 S e e k i n g w h a t i s w i t h A l l a h a n d

d e s i r i n g r e c o n c i l i a t i o n i n t h e U m m a h . . . . . . . . . . . 2 9 4

1 0 . 2 . 2 T h i s s o n o f m i n e i s a s a y y i d , a n d p e r h a p s t h r o u g h h i m

A l l a h w i l l r e c o n c i l e t w o g r o u p s o f M u s l i m s . . . . . . 2 9 6

1 0 . 2 . 3 P r o t e c t i n g M u s l i m s f r o m b l o o d s h e d . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 9 6

1 0 . 2 . 4 H i s k e e n n e s s t o u n i t e t h e U m m a h . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 9 9

1 0 . 2 . 5 T h e m u r d e r o f C o m m a n d e r o f t h e F a i t h f u l 'Ali(~) 3 0 0

1 0 . 2 . 6 T h e c h a r a c t e r o f M u ' a w i y a h (~) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 0 1

1 0 . 2 . 7 T r o u b l e i n t h e I r a q i a r m y

a n d a m o n g t h e p e o p l e o f K u f a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 0 8

1 0 . 2 . 8 T h e s t r e n g t h o f M u ' a w i y a h ' s a r m y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 1 1

1 0 . 3 T h e c o n d i t i o n s o f t h e p e a c e t r e a t y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 1 2

1 0 . 3 . 1 A c t i n g i n a c c o r d a n c e w i t h t h e B o o k o f

A l l a h , t h e S u n n a h o f H i s P r o p h e t a n d

t h e w a y o f t h e R i g h t l y - G u i d e d C a l i p h s . . . . . . . . . . 3 1 2

1 0 . 3 . 2 F i n a n c i a l c o n s i d e r a t i o n s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 1 3

1 0 . 3 . 3 P r o t e c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 1 5

1 0 . 3 . 4 W h o s h o u l d s u c c e e d M u ' a w i y a h ? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 1 7

1 0 . 3 . 5 T h e i s s u e o f r e v i l i n g C o m m a n d e r o f t h e F a i t h f u l ' A l i . 3 1 8

1 0 . 3 . 6 M u ' a w i y a h ' s a t t i t u d e t o w a r d s ' U t h m a n ' s k i l l e r s . . . 3 2 3

1 0 . 4 O u t c o m e s o f t h e p e a c e d e a l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 2 4

1 0 . 4 . 1 U n i t i n g t h e U m m a h b e h i n d o n e l e a d e r . . . . . . . . . . . 3 2 4

1 0 . 4 . 2 R e s u m p t i o n o f c o n q u e s t s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 2 5

1 0 . 4 . 3 T h e s t a t e ' s f o c u s o n t h e K h a r i j i t e s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 2 6

1 0 . 4 . 4 E n d o f t h e e r a o f t h e R i g h t l y - G u i d e d C a l i p h a t e . . . . 3 2 7

1 0 . 5 D i d a l - J : I a s a n g i v e u p t h e c a l i p h a t e t o M u ' a w i y a h

f r o m a p o s i t i o n o f s t r e n g t h o r w e a k n e s s ? . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 3 0

1 0 . 5 . 1 T h e l e g i t i m a c y o f a l - l : I a s a n ' s p o s i t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . 3 3 0

1 0 . 5 . 2 A l - I : I a s a n ' s o w n a n a l y s i s o f h i s

p o s i t i o n a n d l e a d e r s h i p a b i l i t y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 3 1

Contents 13

10.5.3 On al-I:lasan's side were people known for their leadership skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331

10.5.4 Evaluation of al-I:lasan's forces by 'Amr ibn al-'A~ and Mu'awiyah ............. 332

10.5.5 Al-I:lasan's lack of interest in worldly power...... 335 10.6 Al-I:Iasan's life in Madinah after the peace deal. . . . . . . . 337

10.6.1 The relationship between al-I:Iasan and Mu'awiyah after the peace deal. . . . . . . . . . . . . 337

10.6.2 Mu'awiyah's sending gifts to al-I:Iasan, al-I:Iusayn and Ibn az-Zubayr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339

10.6.3 Did Mu'awiyah poison al-I:Iasan? .............. 342 10.7 Al-I:Iasan's dream and the approach of his death. . . . . . . 348

10.7.l The last days of al-I:Iasan's life ................. 348 10.7.2 Al-I:lasan's advice to al-I:lusayn ................ 349 10.7.3 Al-I:lasan's final acts of worship ................ 350 10.7.4 Al-I:lasan's final moments .................... 351 10.7.5 His burial in Baqee' Cemetery ................. 352 l 0. 7 .6 The year in which he died and

the age at which he died.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357 Notes ............................................. 359 Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389 Glossary oflslamic terms ............................. 415 Index ............................................. 421

i l>-T

~

..;..J

0

.!.J

c

c

c ~

~

PRONUNCIATION AND TRANSLITERATION CHART

short 'a', as in cat a longer 'a', as in cab (not as in cake) a

lb/ as in bell, rubber and tab b It/ as in tap, mustard and sit t

takes the sound of the preceding h ort

diacritical mark sometimes ending (when followed in h (when in pausal form): ah, ih or by another ooh; or atu(n), ati(n) or ata(n) Arabic

when uninterrupted word)

/th/ as in thing, maths and wealth th /j/ as in jam, ajar and age J

a 'harsher' sound than the English initial /hi, and may occur medially 1). and in word-final position as well

as in Bach (in German); may occur kh initially and medially as well

/di as in do, muddy and red d as in this,father and smooth dh


I r / a s i n r a w , a r i d a n d w a r ; m a y

J

I

a l s o b e a r o l l e d ' r ' , a s p r o n o u n c e d

I

r

i n S p a n i s h

J

/ z / a s i n z o o , . e a s y a n d g a z e

I

z

( . . ) " '

/ s / a s i n s o , m e s s y a n d g r a s s

s

A

a s i n s h i p , a s h e s a n d r u s h

s h

( . . ) " '

n o c l o s e e q u i v a l e n t i n E n g l i s h ,

r . . r '

I

b u t m a y b e a p p r o x i m a t e d b y

I

~

p r o n o u n c i n g i t a s / s w / o r / s / f a r t h e r

b a c k i n t h e m o u t h

n o c l o s e e q u i v a l e n t i n E n g l i s h , b u t

~

I m a y b e a p p r o x i m a t e d b y p r o n o u n c i n g I

< ; l

i t a s / d i f a r t h e r b a c k i n t h e m o u t h


. k


t

i t a s / t i f a r t h e r b a c k i n t h e m o u t h


J ;


d h

' t h e ' f a r t h e r b a c k i n t h e m o u t h

t

I n o c l o s e e q u i v a l e n t i n E n g l i s h : a g u t -

t u r a l s o u n d i n t h e b a c k o f t h e t h r o a t

n o c l o s e e q u i v a l e n t i n E n g l i s h ,

t

b u t m a y b e c l o s e l y a p p r o x i m a t e d

I b y p r o n o u n c i n g i t l i k e t h e F r e n c h / r / I

g h

i n ' r o u g e '

u

I I f / a s i n . f i l l , e f f o r t a n d m u f f

I

f

Pronunciation and transliteration chart 17

no close equivalent in English, but

"' may be approximated by pronouncing q

it as /kl farther back in the mouth !l /kl as in king, buckle and tack k

J /1/ as in lap, halo; in the word Allah, it becomes velarized as in ball i /ml as in men, simple and ram m ~ In! as in net, ant and can n

/hi as in hat; unlike /hi in English, in 4.-o-A Arabic /hi is pronounced in medial h

and word-final positions as well J as in wet and away w J long 'u', as in boot and too 00

'-.? as in yard and mayo y '-.? long 'e', as in eat, beef and see ee

glottal stop: may be closely approximated by pronouncing it like (omitted

't' in the Cockney English in initial pronunciation of butter: bu 'er, position)

or the stop sound in uh-oh!

1 8 A / - l f a s a n i b n ' A l i

D i p h t h o n g s

J : : : . ' J i

l o n g ' o ' , a s i n o w e , b o a t a n d g o a u , a w

' - ? . : : : . ' r . ? i

l o n g ' a ' , a s i n a i d , r a i n a n d s a y a y , a 1 , e 1

D i a c r i t i c a l m a r k s ( t a s h k e e l )

/

v e r y s h o r t ' a ' o r s c h w a

I

a

. . .

. . .

f a t l ; l a h

( u n s t r e s s e d v o w e l )

. . .

s h o r t e r v e r s i o n o f e e o r s c h w a

.

/

( u n s t r e s s e d v o w e l )

k a s r a h

, .

s h o r t e r v e r s i o n o f o o I

u

. . .

. . .

< ; l a m m a h

.

a d o u b l e d c o n s o n a n t i s s t r e s s e d i n t h e d o u b l e

. . .

. . .

w o r d , a n d t h e l e n g t h o f t h e s o u n d i s l e t t e r

s h a d d a h

I

a l s o d o u b l e d

. . .

j n o v o w e l s o u n d b e t w e e n c o n s o n a n t s

a b s e n c e

.

o r a t t h e e n d o f a w o r d o f v o w e l

s u k o o n

= ARABIC HONORIFIC SYMBOLS = USED IN THIS BOOK

(~): Subl:uinahu wa Ta 'ala - Glorified and Exalted is He

(~): Sal/a Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam - Blessings and peace be upon him

(~): 'Alayhi as-salam-Peace be upon him

(~): Rarjiya Allahu 'anhu - May Allah be pleased with him

(~): Rarjiya Allahu 'anha - May Allah be pleased with her

1 H A D I T H G R A D E

= T E R M S I N T H I S B O O K

S o u n d : ~abeeb

G o o d : b a s a n

W e a k : < ; l a ' e e f

O d d : g h a r e e b

A u t h e n t i c : i n c l u d e s s o u n d , g o o d , o r a n y g r a d e i n

b e t w e e n

A c c e p t a b l e : s a k a t ' a n h u ; t h e g r a d e r o f t h e h a d i t h d i d n o t

c o m m e n t o n i t , m e a n i n g t h a t h e f o u n d n o t h i n g

u n a c c e p t a b l e i n i t

= ABOUT THE WORD 1 LORD1

~e word lord in English has several related meanings. The original meaning is 'master' or 'ruler', and in this sense it is often used to refer to human beings: 'the lord of the mansion' or 'Lord So-and-So' (in the United Kingdom, for example). The word Lord with a capital L is used in the lexicon of Islam to refer to the One and Only God -Allah. In Islam, there is no ambiguity about the meaning of this word. While it is true that one may occasionally use the word lord (whether capitalized or not) to refer to a human being, in Islamic discourse the reference of this term is always clear from the context. Whereas for Christians, Hindus and other polytheists, the word Lord with a capital L may refer to Allah, to Jesus or to some imagined deity, for Muslims, there can be no plu-rality of meaning. Allah alone is the Lord, and the Lord is Allah-not Jesus, not Rama, not any other being.

The Editor

W H E N } I H A D

R E F E R S T O F I G H T I N G

u { l t h o u g h j i h a d i s o f t e n t r a n s l a t e d i n t o E n g l i s h a s ' h o l y w a r ' , i t

m u s t b e n o t e d t h a t w a r h a s n e v e r b e e n d e s c r i b e d a s ' h o l y ' i n a n y

o f I s l a m ' s p r i m a r y t e x t s o r e v e n e a r l y I s l a m i c l i t e r a t u r e . L i n g u i s -

t i c a l l y s p e a k i n g , j i h a d i s a n I s l a m i c t e r m t h a t a p p l i e s t o a b r o a d

s p e c t r u m o f a c t i v i t i e s , r a n g i n g f r o m d a i l y s t r i v i n g t o m e e t t h e

d a y ' s c h a l l e n g e s , t o t h e s t r i v i n g a g a i n s t o n e ' s d e s i r e s a n d s e l f ,

t o t h e s t r u g g l e t o p r o v i d e f o r o n e ' s f a m i l y . I t s b a s i c d e f i n i t i o n i s

' t h e a c t o f s t r i v i n g o r s t r u g g l i n g i n t h e w a y o f A l l a h ' . T h e r e f o r e ,

j i h a d i s n o t l i m i t e d t o w a r ; i t i n c l u d e s s t r u g g l i n g w i t h o n e ' s s o u l ,

s p e e c h , b o d y a n d w e a l t h s o t h a t t h e m e s s a g e o f A l l a h r e a c h e s a l l

h u m a n s w i l l i n g t o r e c e i v e i t .

I s l a m i c s c h o l a r s h a v e r e f e r r e d t o d i f f e r e n t t y p e s o f j i h a d , s u c h

a s j i h a d a g a i n s t t h e s e l f ( t o u n d e r s t a n d I s l a m , a c t u p o n i t , c a l l o t h -

e r s t o i t a n d b e p a t i e n t w i t h t h e d i f f i c u l t i e s o f m a k i n g t h i s c a l l ) ,

j i h a d a g a i n s t t h e D e v i l ( r e p e l l i n g S a t a n i c w h i s p e r s , d o u b t s a n d

l u s t s ) , j i h a d a g a i n s t t h e t o n g u e ( c o n t r o l l i n g i t , u s i n g i t t o e n j o i n

w h a t i s g o o d , f o r b i d w h a t i s w r o n g , s p r e a d t h e c o r r e c t t e a c h i n g s o f

I s l a m a n d a n s w e r f a l s e i d e o l o g i e s ) , j i h a d a g a i n s t a g g r e s s i o n w i t h

t h e p u r p o s e o f p r o t e c t i n g I s l a m a n d t h e l i v e s , h o n o u r a n d p r o p e r t y

o f M u s l i m s ) a n d o t h e r t y p e s o f j i h a d l i k e j i h a d a g a i n s t t h e h y p o -

c r i t e s , j i h a d a g a i n s t o p p r e s s o r s a n d j i h a d a g a i n s t m i s c h i e f m a k e r s .

J i h a d - i n t h e c o n t e x t o f f i g h t i n g - h a s s p e c i f i c r u l e s a n d c o n -

d i t i o n s t h a t n e e d t o b e m e t b e f o r e j i h a d i s i n i t i a t e d . T h e f i r s t r u l e i s

t h a t p e o p l e a r e n o t t o b e f o u g h t b e c a u s e o f w h a t t h e y b e l i e v e , o r

t o c o e r c e t h e m t o a c c e p t I s l a m . T h e s e c o n d r u l e i s t o ' f i g h t o n l y

t h o s e w h o f i g h t y o u ' a n d n e v e r i n i t i a t e u n p r o v o k e d a g g r e s s i o n

( Q u r ' a n 2 : 1 9 0 ) . T h a t m e a n s t h a t M u s l i m s a r e o n l y a l l o w e d t o f i g h t

When jihad refers to fighting 23

back, rather than initiating fighting; but 'fighting back' includes fighting against actual aggression as well as proactively address-ing real threats of aggression. In both cases, Muslims are instruct-ed to be prepared and ready to defend their nation before they ac-tually engage in military conflict. There are additional conditions, but the above-mentioned conditions are vital for putting jihad in its broader meaning in the proper context.

Another condition of the sort of jihad which involves fighting is that it should take place only under an Islamic authority that 'raises the banner' for such jihad. It is not following the Sunnah at all for any individual or self-appointed group of Muslims to wage war on behalf of a nation. Instead, Muslims should be united un-der the single authority of an imam or khaleefah (caliph), except in the case where an individual needs to defend his own family and property, or to help his neighbour to do so. This is proved by the example of the early Muslims as well as texts in the Qur'an and the Sunnah:

~When there comes to them [the hypocrites] a matter related to [public] safety or fear, they spread it about; if only they had re-ferred it to the Messenger and to such of them as are in authority, those among them who are able to think through the matter would have understood it.~ (Qur'an 4: 83)

I;ludhayfah ibn Yaman asked the Prophet (~): What if (the Muslims) have no single leader (they are divided into disputing groups)? The Prophet (~) answered: If they have no single leader or unified group, then leave all these disputing groups, even if you have to bite on a tree until your death. [part of a longer hadith recorded by Bukhari] There are other conditions for jihad. In general, the rules laid

out for war in Islam should be upheld unless there is some legiti-mate need or strategy when fighting occurs that would necessitate going against those rules. A Muslim should not kill himself or


h e r s e l f ( Q u r ' a n 4 : 2 9 ) n o r k i l l a n o t h e r M u s l i m , e x c e p t b y a c c i d e n t

( Q u r ' a n 4 : 9 2 ) . W o m e n , c h i l d r e n , t h e e l d e r l y a n d o t h e r n o n - c o m -

b a t a n t s s h o u l d n o t b e h a r m e d . L a n d s h o u l d n o t b e d e s t r o y e d , n o r

t r e e s c u t d o w n . C o r p s e s s h o u l d n o t b e m u t i l a t e d . I s l a m s h o u l d

n o t b e i m p o s e d u p o n n o n - b e l i e v e r s . R a t h e r , i f c o m b a t a n t n o n -

M u s l i m s c h o o s e o n t h e i r o w n t o e m b r a c e I s l a m , e v e n i f o n l y a s

a d e c e i t f u l t r i c k , i t s h o u l d b e a c c e p t e d b y t h e M u s l i m l e a d e r s h i p ,

a n d f i g h t i n g s h o u l d s t o p . P e a c e s h o u l d b e s o u g h t b e f o r e l i v e s a r e

l o s t . T r e a t i e s a n d a g r e e m e n t s s h o u l d b e u p h e l d . P r i s o n e r s s h o u l d

b e w e l l - t r e a t e d . A b o v e a l l , j u s t i c e m u s t b e d o n e .

~Fight i n t h e p a t h [ a c c o r d i n g t o t h e r u l e s s e t b y A l l a h ] o f A l l a h

o n l y t h o s e w h o f i g h t y o u , b u t d o n o t c o m m i t a g g r e s s i o n [ t r a n s -

g r e s s l i m i t s ] . A l l a h d o e s n o t l o v e a g g r e s s o r s . . . . A n d f i g h t t h e m

u n t i l p e r s e c u t i o n i s n o m o r e , a n d r e l i g i o n i s [ f r e e l y e m b r a c e d ] f o r

[ t h e i n d i v i d u a l ' s f a i t h i n ] A l l a h . B u t i f t h e y d e s i s t , t h e n l e t t h e r e b e

n o a g g r e s s i o n e x c e p t a g a i n s t transgressors.~ ( Q u r ' a n 2 : 1 9 0 , 1 9 3 )

~Allah d o e s n o t f o r b i d y o u f r o m b e i n g g o o d , k i n d , j u s t , a n d f a i r t o

t h o s e w h o h a v e n o t f o u g h t y o u b e c a u s e o f r e l i g i o n n o r d r i v e n y o u

f r o m y o u r h o m e l a n d . A l l a h l o v e s t h o s e w h o a r e j u s t . A l l a h f o r b i d s

y o u f r o m g i v i n g a l l e g i a n c e t o t h o s e w h o h a v e f o u g h t y o u b e c a u s e

o f r e l i g i o n a n d h a v e d r i v e n y o u f r o m y o u r h o m e l a n d , a n d t h o s e

w h o s u p p o r t e d y o u r e x p u l s i o n . . . ~ ( Q u r ' a n 6 0 : 8 - 9 )

I n a d d i t i o n , t h e M u s l i m n a t i o n i s e n c o u r a g e d t o m a i n t a i n

s t r o n g m i l i t a r y c a p a b i l i t i e s t o p r o m o t e j u s t i c e a n d t o d e t e r a c t s o f

w a r a n d a g g r e s s i o n .

~And m a k e r e a d y f o r t h e m [ t h e i r p o t e n t i a l a g g r e s s i o n ] a l l y o u

c a n o f p o w e r , i n c l u d i n g s t e e d s o f w a r , t o d e t e r t h e e n e m y o f A l l a h

a n d y o u r e n e m y , a n d o t h e r s b e s i d e s , w h o m y o u m a y n o t k n o w b u t

w h o m A l l a h knows.~ ( Q u r ' a n 8 : 6 0 )

T h e E d i t o r

THE ISLAMIC VIEWPOINT ON SLAVERY

~lavery existed before the coming of Prophet Muhammad(~). Islam did not abolish slavery, though it put limits on it and made freeing slaves a highly virtuous act.

In Islam, there is only one way a person may become enslaved and that is by being a non-Muslim among people who have been captured after raising arms and fighting against the Muslim na-tion. When such people have been conquered, the Muslim ruler has the option of enslaving them or releasing them (with or with-out ransom), and he makes this decision based upon the best inter-ests and safety of the state. The Prophet(~) strongly condemned any other means of enslaving a person. Thus, no person may be-come enslaved due to poverty, debt, kidnapping, committing a crime, voluntarily submitting to slavery, or any other means.

Islam encourages the freeing of slaves and has made the freeing of a slave a form of expiation for sins such as acciden-tal manslaughter, the breaking of a vow, or voiding a fast by en-gaging in sexual intercourse. The- freeing of slaves is also one of the categories upon which the zakah funds should be spent (Qur'an 9: 60). The Qur'an calls the freeing of a slave an act of righteousness that may be performed at any time:

~Righteous are those who believe in Allah, the Last Day, the an-gels, the scripture, and the prophets; and they give money, cheer-fully, to the relatives, the orphans, the needy, the wayfarer, the beggars, and to free the slaves.}t (Qur'an 2: 177)


I n r e g a r d s t o t h e t r e a t m e n t o f s l a v e s , t h e P r o p h e t M u h a m m a d

(~)said:

T h e y a r e y o u r b r o t h e r s w h o m A l l a h h a s p u t u n d e r y o u r

a u t h o r i t y , s o i f A l l a h h a s p u t a p e r s o n ' s b r o t h e r u n d e r h i s

a u t h o r i t y , l e t h i m f e e d h i m f r o m w h a t h e e a t s a n d c l o t h e

h i m f r o m w h a t h e w e a r s , a n d l e t h i m n o t o v e r b u r d e n h i m

w i t h w o r k , a n d i f h e d o e s o v e r b u r d e n h i m w i t h w o r k , t h e n

l e t h i m h e l p h i m . ( B u k h a r i )

W h o e v e r a c c u s e s h i s s l a v e w h e n h e i s i n n o c e n t o f w h a t h e

s a y s w i l l b e f l o g g e d o n t h e D a y o f R e s u r r e c t i o n . ( B u k h a r i )

W h o e v e r s l a p s h i s s l a v e o r b e a t s h i m , h i s e x p i a t i o n i s t o

m a n u m i t h i m . ( M u s l i m )

I f a m a n h a d a s l a v e w o m a n w h o m h e f e d - a n d f e d h e r

w e l l , a n d t a u g h t h e r - a n d t a u g h t h e r w e l l , t h e n h e s e t

h e r f r e e a n d m a r r i e d h e r - h e w i l l h a v e a d o u b l e r e w a r d .

( B u k h a r i a n d M u s l i m )

T h e m a l e o w n e r o f a f e m a l e s l a v e h a s t h e r i g h t t o h a v e s e x u a l

i n t e r c o u r s e w i t h h e r a s l o n g a s h e , o r t h e s l a v e ' s p r e v i o u s o w n e r ,

h a s n o t m a r r i e d h e r t o a n o t h e r p e r s o n . T h i s i s a r i g h t e x c l u s i v e t o

t h e s l a v e ' s o w n e r . N o o n e , i n c l u d i n g t h e o w n e r ' s s o n s , m a y t o u c h

t h e w o m a n u n l e s s t h e o w n e r m a r r i e s h e r t o h i m . I f t h e s l a v e w o m -

a n b e a r s h e r o w n e r a c h i l d , t h e n h e r o w n e r m a y n e v e r s e l l h e r a n d

s h e a u t o m a t i c a l l y b e c o m e s a f r e e w o m a n u p o n h i s d e a t h , i f h e h a s

n o t r e l e a s e d h e r b e f o r e t h a t .

A s c a n b e s e e n f r o m t h i s e v i d e n c e , s l a v e r y i n I s l a m i s f a r d i f -

f e r e n t f r o m t h e i n s t i t u t i o n o f s l a v e r y a s k n o w n i n m a n y n o n - M u s -

l i m c o u n t r i e s .

T h e E d i t o r

= PUBLISHER'S NOTE

c.l'{ll praise and thanks belong to Allah alone, the One, the Al-mighty and All-Merciful. Blessings and peace be upon Prophet Muhammad, the last of His messengers and prophets, and upon his family, his Companions and all those who follow in his foot-steps until the end of time.

Al-I:Iasan (~)was the oldest child of the Prophet's beloved daughter Fatimah and her husband 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with them). In his early years, he had the privilege of being raised and educated in the Prophet's household. He played an important role in early Islamic society, advising and support-ing his father and then succeeding him as Caliph for a short time before voluntarily relinquishing the position for the sake of Mus-lim unity.

Dr. 'Ali Sallabi has studied numerous sources and has con-densed a great deal of information into a comprehensive biogra-phy of al-I:Iasan.

The Prophet(~) said of al-I:Iasan, "Whoever loves me should love him." We hope that the reader will gain an insight into this prominent figure and this important era in Islamic history.

May Allah accept the efforts of all those who contributed to the production of this book, and may it be acceptable to Him, ameen.

Muhammad Abdul Mohsin Al-Tuwaijri Managing Director International Islamic Publishing House Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

I I D E D I C A T I O N

8 d e d i c a t e t h i s b o o k t o e v e r y M u s l i m w h o i s k e e n t o s e e t h e r e -

l i g i o n o f A l l a h p r e v a i l , t o s u p p o r t i t , a n d t o i n v i t e o t h e r s t o i t .

I b e s e e c h m y L o r d t h r o u g h H i s b e a u t i f u l n a m e s a n d s u b l i m e

a t t r i b u t e s t o a c c e p t t h i s w o r k , c o m p i l e d s i n c e r e l y f o r H i s s a k e

a l o n e . T h i s i s i n a c c o r d a n c e w i t h w h a t H e h a s s a i d :

~ . . . S o w h o e v e r h o p e s f o r t h e m e e t i n g w i t h h i s L o r d , l e t h i m w o r k

r i g h t e o u s n e s s a n d a s s o c i a t e n o n e a s a p a r t n e r i n t h e w o r s h i p o f h i s

Lord.~ ( Q u r ' a n 1 8 : 1 1 0 )

= INTRODUCTION

v{ll praise is for Allah (Subfuinahu wa Ta 'did - Glorified and Exalted is He). We praise Him and seek His help; we also seek refuge with Allah from the evil of our own selves and from our evil deeds. No one can misguide the one whom Allah leads to the straight path. Similarly, no one can guide the one whom He allows to go astray. I bear witness that there is no true god except Allah alone, with no partner or associate. I also bear witness that Mu-hammad (.~al/a Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam - blessings and peace be upon him) is His slave and messenger.

~O you who believe! Fear Allah as He should be feared. [Obey Him, be thankful to Him and] remember Him always, and die not except in a state oflslam. lt (Qur 'an 3: 102)'

~O humankind, be dutiful to your Lord, Who created you from a single person, and from him He created his wife, and from them both He created many men and women; fear Allah through Whom you demand [your mutual rights], and [do not cut the relations of] the wombs. Surely, Allah is ever an All-Watcher over you. It

(Qur 'an 4: 1) ~O you who believe! Keep your duty to Allah and fear Him, and speak the truth. He will direct you to do righteous deeds and will forgive you your sins. Whosoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has indeed achieved a great achievement.it (Qur'an 33: 70-71)

0 our Lord! For You is all the praise, as befits the majesty of Your countenance and the greatness of Your sovereignty. For You is praise until You are pleased, for You is praise when You are pleased, and for You is praise after You are pleased.

3 0 A l - J j a s a n i b n ' A l i

T h i s b o o k c o n t i n u e s t h e s t u d y o f t h e e r a o f p r o p h e t h o o d a n d

t h e R i g h t l y - G u i d e d C a l i p h a t e . A n u m b e r o f b o o k s i n t h i s a n d o t h -

e r h i s t o r i c a l s e r i e s h a v e a l r e a d y b e e n p u b l i s h e d , i n c l u d i n g :

- a s - S e e r a t a n - N a b a w i y a h : ' A r d W a q a ' i ' w a T a f : z l e e l A / : z d a t h

[ T h e P r o p h e t s b i o g r a p h y : A n a l y s i s o f e v e n t s a n d d e v e l o p -

m e n t s }

- A b u B a k r a s - S i d d e e q : H i s L i f e a n d T i m e s

- ' U m a r i b n a l - K h a t t a b : H i s L i f e a n d T i m e s

- T a y s e e r a l - K a r e e m a l - M a n n a n f e e S e e r a t A m e e r a / -

M u ' m i n e e n ' U t h m a n i b n ' A f f a n [ B i o g r a p h y o f ' U t h m a n i b n

' A f f a n ]

- ' A l i i b n A b i T a l i b

I h a v e t i t l e d t h i s b o o k : a l - l f a s a n i b n ' A l i i b n A b i T a l i b : H i s

L i f e a n d T i m e s .

T h i s b o o k d i s c u s s e s t h e l i f e o f C o m m a n d e r o f t h e F a i t h f u l a l -

I : I a s a n ( r a { i i y a A l l a h u ' a n h u - m a y A l l a h b e p l e a s e d w i t h h i m ) ,

f r o m h i s b i r t h t o h i s m a r t y r d o m . I t b e g i n s w i t h h i s n a m e , l i n e a g e ,

k u n y a h ( a n h o n o r a r y n a m e u s u a l l y c o m p o s e d o f ' A b u ' [ f a t h e r o f ]

o r ' U m m ' [ m o t h e r o f ] a n d t h e n a m e o f t h e f i r s t s o n o r f i r s t c h i l d ) ,

a n d t i t l e s . I t d e s c r i b e s t h e P r o p h e t (~) n a m i n g h i m a n d r e c i t i n g

t h e c a l l t o p r a y e r i n h i s e a r s , t h e s h a v i n g o f h i s h e a d , t h e a n i m a l

s a c r i f i c e a f t e r h i s b i r t h , h i s w e t n u r s e U m m a l - F a < ; l l ( r a { i i y a A l l a h u

' a n h a - m a y A l l a h b e p l e a s e d w i t h h e r ) , h i s m a r r i a g e s , a n d h i s

w i v e s . R e p o r t s w h i c h c l a i m t h a t a l - I : I a s a n m a r r i e d a n d d i v o r c e d a

g r e a t d e a l h a v e b e e n a n a l y s e d . T h e b o o k a l s o p r o f i l e s h i s c h i l d r e n ,

h i s s i b l i n g s , a n d h i s a u n t s a n d u n c l e s .

T h e l i f e o f h i s m o t h e r , F a t i m a h ( . ) , h a s a l s o b e e n d i s c u s s e d

i n d e t a i l , e s p e c i a l l y h e r w e d d i n g , h e r w a y o f l i f e , t h e P r o p h e t ' s

l o v e f o r h e r , a n d h e r l e a d e r s h i p i n t h i s w o r l d a n d t h e h e r e a f t e r . I t

a l s o d i s c u s s e s h e r r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h A b u B a k r a~-Siddeeq (~)

a n d h e r d e a t h .

Introduction 31

The book explains the status of al-I:Iasan in the eyes of his grandfather, the Prophet (~). It describes the Prophet's love and compassion for him and the lessons to be learned from the Prophet's guidance with regard to interacting with children, such as kissing them, being kind and compassionate towards them, playing and joking with them, giving them gifts, greeting them warmly and asking about them.

The book quotes specific hadiths (recorded statements and ac-tions of Prophet Muhammad [~]) that speak of the resemblance between al-I:Iasan ibn 'Ali 0~) and the Prophet (~) and that inform us that al-I:Iasan and al-I:Iusayn will be the leaders of the youth in paradise. The Prophet(~) openly declared that al-I:Iasan was the leader through whom Allah would bring about reconcilia-tion between two great groups of Muslims.

I have also quoted the hadiths that al-I:Iasan ibn 'Ali 0~) nar-rated from his grandfather, the Messenger of Allah(~). There is a description of the Messenger of Allah (~) as narrated by al-I:Iasan, as well as reports describing his virtues, such as the verse of purification, the hadith of the cloak, and others.

I have discussed the verse of purification and the points over which the Sunnis and the Shiites differ. I have explained the cor-rect interpretation of this verse in accordance with the methodol-ogy of the scholars of the best generations and those who followed their way.

I have also quoted the verse of mubiihalah (a method of re-solving religious disputes in which both parties come together to pray and invoke the curse of Allah on the side that is lying), which referred to the delegation of the Christians ofNajran, and I have explained what that has to do with al-I:Iasan.

I have also examined how his family and his social environ-ment affected his upbringing.


I h a v e d e v o t e d a n e n t i r e s e c t i o n t o t h e l i f e o f a l - I : I a s a n d u r i n g

t h e t i m e o f t h e R i g h t l y - G u i d e d C a l i p h s . I h a v e a l s o d e s c r i b e d h o w

a l - I : I a s a n f u l l y u n d e r s t o o d t h e w a y o f t h e R i g h t l y - G u i d e d C a l i p h s

i n t e r m s o f r u n n i n g t h e a f f a i r s o f s t a t e , a n d t h e w a r m r e l a t i o n s h i p

t h a t h e h a d w i t h t h e m . I h a v e d e t a i l e d t h e B a t t l e s o f t h e C a m e l a n d

S i f f e e n , a n d a l - I : I a s a n ' s s t a n c e i n b o t h o f t h e m .

I h a v e d i s c u s s e d t h e m a r t y r d o m o f C o m m a n d e r o f t h e F a i t h f u l

' A l i < > a n d h i s f i n a l i n s t r u c t i o n s t o a l - I : I a s a n a n d a l - I : I u s a y n ,

w h i c h f o r b a d e m u t i l a t i n g h i s k i l l e r . I h a v e m e n t i o n e d t h e s p e e c h

g i v e n b y a l - I : I a s a n f o l l o w i n g t h e m a r t y r d o m o f h i s f a t h e r . A l s o

d i s c u s s e d i s t h e w a y M u ' a w i y a h r e c e i v e d t h e n e w s o f ' A l i ' s m u r -

d e r , a l o n g w i t h t h e o a t h o f a l l e g i a n c e g i v e n t o a l - I : I a s a n a n d t h e

c o n d i t i o n s t h a t h e s t i p u l a t e d t h e r e i n . I h a v e a l s o m e n t i o n e d t h e

l e n g t h o f t h e c a l i p h a t e o f C o m m a n d e r o f t h e F a i t h f u l a l - I : I a s a n

a n d w h a t a h ! a s - S u n n a h w a l - j a m a ' a h ( t h e p e o p l e o f t h e S u n n a h

a n d t h e c o m m u n i t y ) b e l i e v e c o n c e r n i n g i t .

I h a v e p r o v e n t h a t h i s c a l i p h a t e w a s i n d e e d R i g h t l y - G u i d e d ,

b e c a u s e t h e p e r i o d o f h i s r u l e c o m p l e t e d t h e p e r i o d o f t h e R i g h t -

l y - G u i d e d C a l i p h a t e t h a t t h e P r o p h e t < > h a d s a i d w o u l d l a s t f o r

t h i r t y y e a r s , a f t e r w h i c h i t w o u l d b e c o m e a d y n a s t i c m o n a r c h y .

I m a m a t - T i r m i d h i n a r r a t e d w i t h a c h a i n g o i n g b a c k t o t h e f r e e d

s l a v e o f t h e M e s s e n g e r o f A l l a h < > t h a t h e s a i d :

T h e c a l i p h a t e i n m y U m m a h ( t h e n a t i o n o f M u s l i m s ) w i l l

l a s t f o r t h i r t y y e a r s ; t h e r e a f t e r , i t w i l l b e c o m e a k i n g s h i p .

( R e c o r d e d b y a t - T i r m i d h i w i t h a s o u n d c h a i n o f n a r r a t o r s )

I b n K a t h e e r ( m a y A l l a h h a v e m e r c y o n h i m ) c o m m e n t e d o n

t h e p r e v i o u s h a d i t h :

T h e t h i r t y - y e a r p e r i o d w a s o n l y c o m p l e t e d w i t h t h e c a l i -

p h a t e o f a l - I : I a s a n i b n 'Ali(~,). H e g a v e u p t h e c a l i p h a t e t o

M u ' a w i y a h i n R a b e e ' I , 4 1 A H , a n d t h a t w a s t h e c o m p l e t i o n

o f t h i r t y y e a r s a f t e r t h e d e a t h o f t h e M e s s e n g e r o f A l l a h ( . ) ,

Introduction 33

for he had died in Rabee' I, 11 AH. This is one of the signs of his prophethood, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him.2

Thus, al-ijasan was the fifth Rightly-Guided Caliph.3 This was also narrated in the hadith of Safeenah:

The caliphate will last for thirty years; after that, it will become a kingship. (Recorded by AQ.mad with a sound chain of narrators) The caliphate in the footsteps of prophethood will be thir-ty years; then Allah will give (His) power and authority to whomever He wills. (Abu Dawood) During the thirty years after the Prophet's death, there were

no rulers other than the four caliphs and then al-ijasan for a brief period. A number of scholars commented on the Prophet's words The caliphate in my Ummah will last for thirty years that the few months during which al-ijasan ruled, following the death of his father, are included in 'the caliphate in the footsteps of prophethood'.

Al-Qa9i 'Iya9 (may Allah have mercy on him) said: During the thirty years, there were no rulers other than the four Rightly-Guided Caliphs and the few months during which alle-giance was sworn to al-ijasan ibn 'Ali (.). The hadith about the caliphate lasting for thirty years refers to the caliphate in the footsteps of prophethood, as stated in some reports: The caliphate in the footsteps of prophethood after me will be thirty years, then it will become a kingship. (Muslim) IbnAbil-'Izz al-ijanafi wrote: The caliphate of Abu Bakr lasted for two years and three months, the caliphate of 'Umar lasted for ten and a half years, the caliphate of 'Uthman lasted for twelve years, the caliphate


o f ' A l i l a s t e d f o r f o u r y e a r s a n d n i n e m o n t h s , a n d t h e c a l i p h a t e

o f a l - I : I a s a n l a s t e d f o r s i x m o n t h s .

4

I b n K a t h e e r s a i d :

T h e e v i d e n c e t h a t h e w a s o n e o f t h e R i g h t l y - G u i d e d C a l i p h s i s

t h e h a d i t h t h a t w e n a r r a t e d i n D a i e i ' i i a n - N u b u w w a h

5

v i a S a -

f e e n a h , t h e f r e e d s l a v e o f t h e M e s s e n g e r o f Allah(~), a c c o r d -

i n g t o w h i c h h e s a i d : T h e c a l i p h a t e a f t e r m e w i l l b e f o r t h i r t y

y e a r s . T h e t h i r t y y e a r s w e r e o n l y c o m p l e t e d b y t h e c a l i p h a t e

o f a l - I : I a s a n i b n ' A l i . ( R e c o r d e d b y I b n K a t h e e r w i t h a s o u n d

c h a i n o f n a r r a t o r s )

I b n I : I a j a r a l - H a y t h a m i ( m a y A l l a h h a v e m e r c y o n h i m ) s a i d :

H e i s t h e l a s t o f t h e R i g h t l y - G u i d e d C a l i p h s a c c o r d i n g t o t h e

s t a t e m e n t o f h i s grandfather(~). H e b e c a m e t h e c a l i p h a f t e r

t h e m u r d e r o f h i s f a t h e r , w i t h t h e o a t h o f a l l e g i a n c e o f t h e p e o -

p l e o f K u f a . H e r e m a i n e d t h e c a l i p h f o r s i x m o n t h s a n d s e v -

e r a l d a y s . H e w a s a l e g i t i m a t e c a l i p h a n d a j u s t r u l e r w h o t r u l y

f u l f i l l e d w h a t h i s g r a n d f a t h e r , t h e t r u t h f u l o n e (~), h a d s a i d :

T h e c a l i p h a t e a f t e r m e w i l l b e f o r t h i r t y y e a r s . ( R e c o r d e d b y

a l - H a y t h a m i w i t h a s o u n d c h a i n o f n a r r a t o r s ) T h o s e s i x m o n t h s

c o m p l e t e d t h e t h i r t y y e a r s .

6

T h e a f o r e m e n t i o n e d w e r e s o m e o f t h e c o m m e n t s o f t h e s c h o l -

a r s c o n f i r m i n g t h a t a l - I : I a s a n (~) w a s o n e o f t h e R i g h t l y - G u i d -

e d C a l i p h s . A h l a s - S u n n a h b e l i e v e t h a t t h e c a l i p h a t e o f a l - I : I a s a n

w a s l e g i t i m a t e a n d t h a t i t w a s t h e f i n a l p a r t o f t h e c a l i p h a t e o f

p r o p h e t h o o d t h a t t h e P r o p h e t (~) h a d f o r e t o l d w o u l d l a s t f o r

t h i r t y y e a r s .

7

F o l l o w i n g t h a t , I h a v e g o n e o n t o e x p l a i n t h a t m a n y s p e e c h e s

a t t r i b u t e d t o a l - I : I a s a n a r e n o t s o u n d . I h a v e q u o t e d t h e c o m m e n t s

o f c e r t a i n s c h o l a r s r e g a r d i n g s u c h b o o k s a s a l - A g h d n i b y A b u l -

F a r a j al-I~fahani, w h i c h i s c o n s i d e r e d t o b e o n e o f t h e b o o k s t h a t

h a v e d i s t o r t e d t h e h i s t o r y o f e a r l y I s l a m . T h i s b o o k i s s i m p l y a l i t -

Introduction 35

erary work containing entertaining and promiscuous tales; it is not a book of knowledge, history or Islamic jurisprudence. It is very famous among those who study literature and history.

I have quoted what the scholars have said about al-I~fahani and how they did not trust him; on the contrary, they regarded him as weak and they distrusted the reports he transmitted. I have also proven, on the basis of evidence and academic research, that this book is not at all valid as a source of knowledge or research into literature or history. This book has played a major role in the dis-tortion of our history; hence, we should beware of it.

Another book that has played a role in distorting the history of the Companions is Nahj al-Balaghah. Both the chains of nar-rations and the content of this book are subject to criticism. It was compiled, without any chain, three and a half centuries after Commander of the Faithful 'Ali(~) was martyred. The Shiites attribute Nahj al-Balaghah to ash-Shareef ar-Ra


a l - A g h a n i o r N a h j a l - B a l a g h a h , e s p e c i a l l y w h e n u n d e r t a k i n g s e -

r i o u s h i s t o r i c a l r e s e a r c h .

I h a v e s t u d i e d t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t a t t r i b u t e s o f a l - I : I a s a n a n d h i s

s o c i a l l i f e . I h a v e s h o w n h o w h i s c h a r a c t e r c o m p r i s e d t h e q u a l i -

t i e s o f a t r u e l e a d e r .

I h a v e e x p l a i n e d t h e c o n c e p t o f l e a d e r s h i p t h r o u g h t h e b i o g -

r a p h y o f a l - I : I a s a n . L e a d e r s h i p i s n o t a t t a i n e d b y f o r c e a n d b l o o d -

s h e d o r b y w a s t i n g m o n e y a n d t r a n s g r e s s i n g s a c r e d l i m i t s . R a t h -

e r , l e a d e r s h i p m e a n s p r o t e c t i n g t h o s e t h i n g s a n d r e m o v i n g h a t r e d

a n d g r u d g e s . H e r o s e t o t h e p i n n a c l e o f l e a d e r s h i p b y s t r i k i n g a

p e a c e d e a l a n d p r e v e n t i n g M u s l i m b l o o d f r o m b e i n g s h e d .

I h a v e a l s o e x a m i n e d h o w a l - I : I a s a n U~) i n t e r a c t e d w i t h

m e m b e r s o f t h e s o c i e t y , r e f u t e d c o r r u p t b e l i e f s , p a i d a t t e n t i o n t o

p e o p l e ' s n e e d s , a n d a v o i d e d s u p e r f l u o u s a n d u n n e c e s s a r y s p e e c h .

I h a v e q u o t e d t h e l e a d e r s o f I s l a m i c s o c i e t y w h o p r a i s e d h i m ;

m o r e o v e r , I h a v e c o m p i l e d a n d e x p l a i n e d h i s s p e e c h e s a n d e x -

h o r t a t i o n s s o t h a t w e m a y l e a r n a n d b e n e f i t f r o m t h e m i n o u r o w n

m o d e m l i v e s .

I h a v e d e v o t e d a s e c t i o n t o t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t f i g u r e s a r o u n d

h i m , i n c l u d i n g :

Q a y s i b n S a ' d i b n ' U b a d a h a l - K h a z r a j i , w h o w a s t h e f i r s t t o

s w e a r a l l e g i a n c e t o a l - I : I a s a n . H e w a s o n e o f t h e m o s t a s t u t e

p e o p l e o f h i s t i m e a n d o n e o f t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t l e a d e r s o f

a l - I : I a s a n ' s a r m y .

' U b a y d u l l a h i b n ' A b b a s i b n ' A b d u l - M u t t a l i b , o n e o f t h e

c o m m a n d e r s o f h i s a r m y a n d o n e o f h i s f a t h e r ' s g o v e r n o r s .

I n s o m e h i s t o r i c a l b o o k s , h e h a s b e e n s u b j e c t e d t o d i s t o r -

t i o n , f a b r i c a t i o n a n d l i e s . H e n c e , I d e c i d e d t o d e s c r i b e h i s

t r u e n a t u r e a n d a t t i t u d e .

' A b d u l l a h i b n J a ' f a r i b n A b i T a l i b , o n e o f h i s s e n i o r c o n -

s u l t a n t s . A l - I : I a s a n c o n s u l t e d h i m c o n c e r n i n g t h e p e a c e

Introduction 37

deal with Mu' awiyah, and 'Abdullah encouraged him to go ahead with it.

I decided to include the biographies of these important person-alities mainly because such a study will enable us to understand some of the main features and the spirit of that era.

I have also examined al-I:Iasan's peace deal, which I regard as a great reconciliatory venture. I have listed the most important stages that this peace deal went through, along with the events at each stage. I pondered over the reasons arid motives for this deal, such as al-I:Iasan's hope for Allah's reward, his eagerness to prevent Muslim blood from being shed, and his desire to unite the Ummah, as well as his keenness to fulfil the prophecy of the Messenger of Allah(~).

I have explained the words of al-I:Iasan that led to the peace deal. These words indicate his deep understanding of the noble aims of the Sharia (Islamic law derived from the Qur'an and the Sunnah). I have discussed the terms and conditions of the deal that was drawn up between al-I:Iasan and Mu'awiyah, along with its outcome.

I have proven, on the basis of historical evidence, that al-I:Iasan yielded the caliphate to Mu'awiyah from a position of strength - not from weakness, as some historians claim. The superiority of al-I;lasan ibn 'Ali (~)is apparent from his conduct and atti-tude throughout his life. His most important characteristic in this regard is his vision of the reconciliatory venture and his unique ability to implement it, whereas many people harbour ideas and theories about reform or reconciliation but are unable to practi-cally implement them.

In this book, I have also discussed certain historical lies, such as the claim made by some historians that the Umayyad state at the time of Mu'awiyah made it a widespread practice to slan-


d e r C o m m a n d e r o f t h e F a i t h f u l 'Ali(~) o n t h e p u l p i t s . I h a v e

p r o v e n , w i t h e v i d e n c e a n d s o u n d r e p o r t s , t h a t t h i s i s f a l s e . T h i s

w a s m e n t i o n e d b y c e r t a i n h i s t o r i a n s w i t h o u t a n y c r i t i c a l a n a l y s i s ;

c o n s e q u e n t l y , a u d i e n c e s i n l a t e r g e n e r a t i o n s a s s u m e d t h a t i t w a s

n o t s u b j e c t t o d i s c u s s i o n . I n f a c t , t h i s c l a i m l a c k s a n y s o u n d t r a n s -

m i s s i o n ; i t s c h a i n s a r e f a u l t y , a n d i t s t e x t s c o n t a i n o b j e c t i o n a b l e

m a t t e r s . T h e s e r i o u s n e s s o f t h i s c l a i m i s w e l l - k n o w n t o s e r i o u s

r e s e a r c h e r s , b u t h i s t o r y p r o v e s t h a t M u ' a w i y a h r e s p e c t e d C o m -

m a n d e r o f t h e F a i t h f u l 'Ali(~) a n d h i s f a m i l y m e m b e r s .

A s f o r t h e a c c u s a t i o n i n s o m e h i s t o r y b o o k s t h a t M u ' a w i y a h

a n d h i s s o n p o i s o n e d a l - I : I a s a n , I h a v e p r o v e n t h a t t h i s c a n n o t b e

c o n f i r m e d o n t h e b a s i s o f e i t h e r a c h a i n o r a t e x t .

I h a v e t h e n d i s c u s s e d t h e l i f e o f a l - I : I a s a n a f t e r h e s e t t l e d i n M a -

d i n a h . I h a v e d e s c r i b e d a l - I : I a s a n ' s r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h M u ' a w i y a h

a f t e r t h e p e a c e d e a l , a l o n g w i t h t h e f i n a l d a y s o f h i s l i f e a n d h i s

i n s t r u c t i o n s t o a l - I : I u s a y n (~).I h a v e t h e n w r i t t e n a b o u t h i s m a r -

t y r d o m a n d h i s b u r i a l i n B a q e e ' C e m e t e r y ( l o c a t e d n e x t t o t h e

P r o p h e t ' s M o s q u e i n M a d i n a h , w h e r e m a n y o f t h e P r o p h e t ' s c o m -

p a n i o n s a n d f a m i l y m e m b e r s a r e b u r i e d ) .

T h e b i o g r a p h y o f a l - I : I a s a n i b n 'Ali(~) h i g h l i g h t s t h e i m p o r -

t a n c e o f a l e a d e r s t r i v i n g t o w a r d s a l o n g - t e r m v i s i o n f o r t h e f u t u r e ,

s e e k i n g t h e h e l p o f Allah(~). A l - J : I a s a n p o s s e s s e d a v i s i o n o f r e c -

o n c i l i a t i o n a s w e l l a s t h e a b i l i t y t o m a k e i t h a p p e n . H e w a s c l e a r

a b o u t i t s s t a g e s , c a u s e s , c o n d i t i o n s a n d o u t c o m e s . H e w a s a w a r e

o f t h e o b s t a c l e s a n d k n e w h o w t o d e a l w i t h t h e m . T h u s , h e l e f t u s

w i t h c l e a r g u i d e l i n e s o n h o w t o h a n d l e d i s p u t e s a f t e r w e i g h i n g

t h e p r o s a n d c o n s i n t h e l i g h t o f t h e S h a r i a , a n d h o w t o n e g o t i a t e

a n d o v e r c o m e t h e w h i m s a n d d e s i r e s o f t h e h e a r t , s e e k i n g A l l a h ' s

u l t i m a t e r e w a r d .

R u l i n g f a m i l i e s , a c t i v e p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s , a n d I s l a m i c m o v e -

m e n t s a n d o r g a n i s a t i o n s t h r o u g h o u t t h e M u s l i m w o r l d n e e d t o

u n d e r s t a n d a l - I : I a s a n ' s m e t h o d o f b r i d g i n g g a p s , u n i t i n g p e o p l e

Introduction 39

and avoiding bloodshed. Al-I:Iasan was a Rightly-Guided Caliph, whose example the Messenger of Allah (~) enjoined us to fol-low when he said:

You must adhere to my Sunnah [way] and the ways of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs who come after me. (Recorded by Abu Dawood) It is strange that al-I:Iasan does not have a strong presence in

the memory of the Ummah, and it is surprising that his great rec-onciliation venture has had little impact on our culture.

One of the major ways to revive the spirit of Islam is by ena-bling people to tum towards the past in order to serve their present and to look to the future. History, as is well known, is the memory of the nation as well as the repository of its experience and knowl-edge. It serves as its reason - both inwardly and outwardly, as the storehouse of its values and legacy, and as the foundation of its character going far back in time.

The depth of the Prophet's biography has not been fully ex-plored, and his successors - the Rightly-Guided Caliphs - have a rich and glorious history. His Ummah has a history that is superior to that of all the other nations, peoples and states.

We must learn from this venerable history and try to under-stand how civilizations have developed. From the stories of the Qur'an, along with the teachings of the Prophet(~) and our his-tory, we must derive a comprehensive vision for the revival of our Ummah in our current circumstances. This revival must be achieved so that the Ummah can play the necessary role in guid-ing the people of its generations towards the eternal message of Islam with which our Prophet Muhammad (~) was sent. If we do not correct our own affairs, we will have no one to blame but ourselves.


I h a v e t r i e d a s m u c h a s p o s s i b l e t o d i s c u s s t h e c h a r a c t e r o f

C o m m a n d e r o f t h e F a i t h f u l a l - I : I a s a n (~) f r o m v a r i o u s a n g l e s .

H i s l i f e i s a b r i g h t c h a p t e r i n t h e h i s t o r y b o o k o f t h e U m m a h . H e

i s a l e a d e r w h o m p e o p l e s h o u l d f o l l o w , i n t e r m s o f r e l i g i o u s c o m -

m i t m e n t , w o r d s a n d d e e d s . H i s b i o g r a p h y i s o n e o f t h e s t r o n g e s t

s o u r c e s o f f a i t h .

F o r t h i s r e a s o n , I h a v e w o r k e d h a r d t o s t u d y a n d d e t a i l t h e l i f e

a n d t i m e s o f a l - I : I a s a n t o t h e b e s t o f m y a b i l i t y , w i t h o u t c l a i m i n g

t o b e i n f a l l i b l e a n d w i t h o u t d e n y i n g a n y e r r o r s . I s e e k n o t h i n g b u t

t h e n o b l e c o u n t e n a n c e o f A l l a h (~) a n d H i s r e w a r d . I a s k e d H i m

t o h e l p m e a c h i e v e t h e c o m p i l a t i o n o f t h i s b o o k a n d t o b e n e f i t

f r o m i t ; i n d e e d , t h e b e s t n a m e s a r e f o r H i m , a n d H e i s t h e O n e w h o

h e a r s o u r s u p p l i c a t i o n .

I c o m p l e t e d t h e h i s t o r i c a l s e r i e s o f t h e R i g h t l y - G u i d e d C a l i p h s

o n 2 1 S a f a r , 1 4 2 5 A H / 2 0 0 4 C E a t 9 : 4 5 p . m . I p r a i s e A l l a h a n d b e -

s e e c h H i m t o b l e s s a n d a c c e p t t h i s w o r k , a n d t o g r a n t u s t h e h o n -

o u r o f b e i n g w i t h t h e p r o p h e t s , t h e t r u t h f u l , t h e m a r t y r s a n d t h e

r i g h t e o u s . A l l a h h a s s a i d :

~Whatever o f m e r c y A l l a h m a y g r a n t t o h u m a n k i n d , n o n e c a n

w i t h h o l d i t ; a n d w h a t e v e r H e m a y w i t h h o l d , n o n e c a n g r a n t i t

t h e r e a f t e r . H e i s t h e A l l - M i g h t y , t h e All-Wise.~ ( Q u r ' a n 3 5 : 2 )

W i t h t h i s b o o k , I . e n d t h e s e r i e s o n t h e e r a o f t h e R i g h t l y - G u i d -

e d C a l i p h s , a n d I d o n o t m a k e a n y c l a i m o f p e r f e c t i o n t h e r e i n .

A l l p r a i s e i s f o r A l l a h f o r a l l t h a t H e h a s b l e s s e d m e w i t h , f i r s t

a n d l a s t . I a s k H i m , m a y H e b e g l o r i f i e d b y H i s b e a u t i f u l n a m e s

a n d s u b l i m e a t t r i b u t e s , t o m a k e t h i s h i s t o r i c a l s e r i e s s i n c e r e l y f o r

H i s s a k e a l o n e , t o m a k e i t b e n e f i c i a l t o H i s s e r v a n t s , t o r e w a r d m e

f o r e v e r y l e t t e r t h a t I h a v e w r i t t e n , a n d t o i n c l u d e i t o n t h e s c a l e

o f m y g o o d d e e d s . I a s k H i m t o r e w a r d m y b r o t h e r s w h o h e l p e d

m e i n e v e r y w a y t h a t t h e y c o u l d t o c o m p l e t e t h i s h u m b l e e f f o r t . I

Introduction 41

hope that the readers will not forget this humble servant in their supplication: tf ... My Lord, inspire and bestow upon me the power and ability that I may be grateful for Your favours which You have bestowed on me and on my parents, and that I may do righteous good deeds that will please You, and admit me by Your mercy among Your righteous servants.~ (Qur'an 27: 19)

May Allah send blessings and peace upon Prophet Muhammad (~), his family and his Companions.

Glory and praise be to You, Allah. I bear witness that there is no God except You. I seek Your forgiveness and I repent to You. The end of all our supplications is: All praise is for Allah, Lord of the worlds.

From the one who needs the forgiveness, mercy and good pleasure of his Lord,

Dr. Ali Muhammad Sallabi

D e a r r e a d e r ,

T h e a u t h o r w o u l d b e p l e a s e d t o r e c e i v e y o u r c o m m e n t s

o n t h i s b o o k a n d o t h e r s v i a t h e p u b l i s h e r . M o r e o v e r ,

h e r e q u e s t s h i s r e a d e r s t o p r a y s i n c e r e l y f o r h i m i n h i s

a b s e n c e , a n d t o s u p p l i c a t e t h a t h e c o n t i n u e s t o s e r v e t h e

h i s t o r y o f o u r U m m a h .

PARTl Al-I:Iasan ibn 'Ali

His names, lineage, birth and family

1.1 His name and lineage cg{is full name is Abu Muhammad al-I:Iasan ibn 'Ali ibn Abi Talib ibn 'Abdul-Muttalib ibn Hashim ibn 'Abd Manaf al-Hashi-mi al-Qarashi,1 al-Madani ash-Shaheed.2 He is the grandson of the Messenger of Allah (~), who considered him to be his fragrant plant in this world and one of the leaders of the youth of para-dise. He is the son of Fatimah (.,), who is the daughter of the Messenger of Allah(~). His father is Commander of the Faith-ful 'Ali(~). He is the grandson of the Mother of the Believers, Khadeejah (.,),and he was the fifth Rightly-Guided Caliph.

1.2 His birth, naming, titles, and the Prophet's way of naming newborns

He was born in Ramadan 3 AH, according to the correct view. It has also been said that he was born in Sha'ban, or some time af-terwards.

Al-Layth ibn Sa'd said: Fatimah, daughter of the Messenger of Allah(~), gave birth to al-I:Iasan ibn 'Ali on the third day of Ramadan, and she gave birth to al-I:Iusayn in the first part of Sha'ban 4 AH.3

4 6 A l - l f a s a n i b n ' A l i f r o m b i r t h t o t h e c a l i p h a t e

A l - B a r q i A Q . m a d i b n ' A b d u l l a h i b n ' A b d u r - R a l ) . e e m s a i d , " A l -

I : I a s a n w a s b o r n i n t h e m i d d l e o f R a m a d a n , 3 A H . "

4

l b n S a ' d s a i d

s o m e t h i n g s i m i l a r i n a f - T a b a q a t .

5

' A l i i b n A b i T a l i b s a i d :

W h e n a l - I : I a s a n w a s b o r n , I n a m e d h i m I : I a r b ( w a r ) .

T h e P r o p h e t (~) c a m e a n d s a i d : S h o w m e m y s o n ; w h a t

h a v e y o u n a m e d h i m ?

W e r e p l i e d : I : I a r b .

H e s a i d : N o , h e i s a l - I : I a s a n .

W h e n a l - I : I u s a y n w a s b o r n , I n a m e d h i m I : I a r b .

T h e P r o p h e t (~) c a m e a n d s a i d : S h o w m e m y s o n ; w h a t

h a v e y o u n a m e d h i m ?

W e r e p l i e d : I : I a r b .

H e s a i d : R a t h e r , h e i s a l - I : I u s a y n .

W h e n t h e t h i r d w a s b o r n , I n a m e d h i m I : I a r b , b u t t h e P r o p h e t

s a i d : R a t h e r , h e i s M u l ) . a s s a n .

T h e n h e s a i d : I h a v e n a m e d t h e m a f t e r t h e f a s h i o n ( p a t t e r n

o f t h e n a m e s ) o f t h e s o n s o f H a r o o n : S h a b a r , S h u b a y r a n d

M u s h a b b i r . ( R e c o r d e d b y A l ) . m a d w i t h a s o u n d c h a i n )

T h e M e s s e n g e r o f A l l a h (~) r e j o i c e d a t t h e a r r i v a l o f t h e n e w -

b o r n , a n d p e o p l e w e r e q u i c k t o c o n g r a t u l a t e t h e p a r e n t s o f h i s

b l e s s e d g r a n d s o n . T h e r i g h t e o u s f o r e b e a r s h a s t e n e d t o g i v e g l a d

t i d i n g s t o t h e f a m i l y o f t h e n e w b o r n . K i n d w o r d s o f c o n g r a t u l a -

t i o n s w e r e r e c o r d e d i n a r e p o r t f r o m a l - I : I a s a n al-Ba~ri:

M a y A l l a h b l e s s w h a t H e h a s g i v e n t o y o u , a n d m a y y o u t h a n k

t h e G i v e r ; m a y y o u c o m e t o e n j o y h i s k i n d t r e a t m e n t , a n d m a y

h e l i v e t o m a t u r i t y .

W e m a y n o t e t h a t t h e M e s s e n g e r o f A l l a h (~) n a m e d a l -

I : I : a s a n a n d a l - I : I u s a y n i n a w a y t h a t w a s c o m p l e t e l y d i f f e r e n t f r o m

t h e p r e - I s l a m i c n o r m , w h i c h w a s t o c h o o s e n a m e s t h a t r e f e r r e d t o

His names, lineage, birth and family 4 7

fighting and bloodshed. Instead, the Prophet (~) chose the most honourable and noblest of names for them.6

Al-I:Iasan was described as a sayyid (master or leader). This name was given to him by his grandfather, the noble Messenger of Allah (~), as per a sound hadith:

This son of mine is a sayyid, and perhaps through him Allah will reconcile two groups of Muslims. (Bukhari) From this hadith, we learn an important value: keenness to

choose the best and most beautiful names for our children. This advice is addressed to all parents in order to inspire them to choose names that sound good and that have positive meanings, both lin-guistically and in terms of the Sharia. A name should be easy to pronounce and pleasant to hear. It should convey a sublime mean-ing and true description. It should be free of everything that Is-lam regards as prohibited or disliked; names that have negative or questionable meanings should be avoided.

1.3 The Messenger of Allah(~) recites the call to prayer in al-I:Iasan's ears

When al-I:Iasan was born, the Messenger of Allah (~) recited the call to prayer in his ears, as narrated from Abu Rafi'. 7 According to ad-Dahliiwi, the reasons and wisdom behind this are as follows:

1. The call to prayer is one of the symbols oflslam and a proc-lamation of the Islamic faith.

2. It is essential to ensure that this call to prayer is exclusively for the newborn, by reciting it directly into his or her ear.

3. One of the characteristics of the call to prayer is that Satan, who seeks to harm a child from the very beginning, flees from it.

4 8 A / - l f a s a n i b n ' A l i f r o m b i r t h t o t h e c a l i p h a t e

T h u s w e l e a r n f r o m t h e a c t i o n s o f t h e P r o p h e t < > t h a t i t i s

r e c o m m e n d e d t o r e c i t e t h e f i r s t c a l l t o p r a y e r i n t h e r i g h t e a r o f t h e

n e w b o r n , a n d t h e n t h e s e c o n d c a l l ( t h e c a l l t o b e g i n t h e p r a y e r ) i n

t h e b a b y ' s l e f t e a r .

1 . 4 T a l ; n e e k

T a l ; n e e k r e f e r s t o a p i o u s p e r s o n r u b b i n g a s o f t e n e d d a t e ( o r a n y -

t h i n g s w e e t ) i n t h e m o u t h o f a n e w b o r n .

I t w a s n a r r a t e d f r o m ' A ' i s h a h < > t h a t b a b i e s w o u l d b e

b r o u g h t t o t h e P r o p h e t < > s o t h a t h e c o u l d b l e s s t h e m a n d

d o t a l ; m e e k f o r t h e m . ( M u s l i m ) .

I t i s m o s t l i k e l y t h a t h e b l e s s e d a l - I : I a s a n a n d p e r f o r m e d t a l : m e e k

f o r h i m . A n - N a w a w i ( m a y A l l a h h a v e m e r c y o n h i m ) s a i d , c o m -

m e n t i n g o n ' A ' i s h a h ' s w o r d s :

T h e b a s i c m e a n i n g o f b a r a k a h ( b l e s s i n g ) i s t h e a t t a i n m e n t

a n d a b u n d a n c e o f g o o d . W i t h r e g a r d t o h e r w o r d s a n d d o i n g

t a l . m e e k f o r t h e m , s c h o l a r s o f t h e A r a b i c l a n g u a g e h a v e s a i d

t h a t t a l . m e e k r e f e r s t o c h e w i n g d a t e s o r s o m e t h i n g s i m i l a r , t h e n

r u b b i n g s o m e o f i t o n t h e i n f a n t ' s p a l a t e .

8

T a l . m e e k c o m e s a f t e r t h e c a l l t o p r a y e r i f p o s s i b l e , a n d i t i s b e t -

t e r i f i t i s p e r f o r m e d b y a r i g h t e o u s m a n . T h e P r o p h e t < > u s e d

d a t e s f o r t a b n e e k , b u t i f t h e y a r e n o t a v a i l a b l e , s o m e t h i n g s w e e t

s h o u l d b e u s e d .

1 . 5 S h a v i n g h i s h e a d

I t w a s n a r r a t e d f r o m J a ' f a r i b n M u h a m m a d f r o m h i s f a t h e r t h a t

F a t i m a h < > s h a v e d t h e h e a d s o f a l - I : I a s a n a n d a l - I : I u s a y n o n t h e

s e v e n t h d a y a f t e r t h e i r b i r t h , a n d t h e n s h e w e i g h e d t h e i r h a i r a n d

g a v e a n e q u i v a l e n t a m o u n t i n s i l v e r a s c h a r i t y .

9

T h e h a d i t h s a b o u t

t h i s m a t t e r a r e s o u n d w h e n a l l t h e i r c h a i n s a r e t a k e n t o g e t h e r .

1 0

His names, lineage, birth and family 49

Shaykh ad-Dahlawi (may Allah have mercy on him) commented on this hadith:

The reason for giving silver in charity is that the transition of the child from the uterus to the outside world is a blessing for which thanks must be given. The reason why silver is specified is that gold is more expensive; no one can afford it except the rich. Anything else that could be weighed against the weight of a child's hair would be of an insignificant value. 11

1.6 The animal sacrifice It was narrated from Ibn 'Abbas(~) that the Messenger of Allah (~) sacrificed an animal for the birth of al-I:Iasan and al-I:Iusayn, offering one ram for each. (Abu Dawood) According to another report, he offered two rams for each.

(Recorded by an-Nasa'i with a sound chain) It was narrated from Abu Rafi' that when al-I:Iasan ibn 'Ali (~)was born, his mother wanted to do the animal sacrifice for him by offering two rams, but the Messenger of Allah (~) said: Do not sacrifice an animal for him; in-stead, shave his head and give in charity the weight o

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