Chapter 1

15th OF RAMADAN

In The Name of Allah

The fifteenth of Ramadan is the birthday of Imam Hassan Mojtaba, the second Imam, the eldest grandson of the Prophet and the eldest son of Ali and Fatima. ‘Mojtaba’, ‘Ameen’, and ‘Tagi’ run among his titles.

He was born in Madina on the night of Tuesday the fifteenth of Raman inthird year of Hijra. After the martyrdom of his father Ali he succeeded to the Imamat and caliphate in the fortieth year of Hijra. The Sunni Muslims name him AMEERUL MOMINEEN HASAN. Some among them consider him the fifth major caliph.Mawiya was the governor of Syria. The years had made his grip firmer and his hold stronger. In such a circumstance Imam Hasan had succeeded to the caliphate.

Mawiya has returned from the battle of Siffeen undefeated because ofthe assaults of Omar Aas. Deception and cheating had always been a pleasant sport to Mawiya. Sneaking and tricky businesses had not only been prolific to him but had even rescued him. With such experiences in his store he made up his mind to vent his evilness against Imam Hassan in order to shake the pillars of his Imamat. The Imam was aware of the games Mawiya played and planned.Therefor, he wrote this letter to Mawiya:

“Spies you are sending. Tricks you are playing. Mischief you are making.Apparently you are planning for a battle, I think. If so, I am prepared too.”

Kofa (in Iraq) was the capital of Imam Hasan’s government. He sent his own administrators to the towns and cities and prepared himself for the battle with Mawiya by collecting an army of his own soldiers. He deputed Moyaira Bin Noufel at kofa. A place close to kofa by the name of Nokhaila became his camp.He had entrusted Moyaira with the mission to acquaint the people with the approaching likelihood of a battle against Mawiya. After these and such arrangements he left Nokhaila for Dair Abdul Rehman. He stayed there for threedays till all the battalions gathered together. Then he gave charge to Obaidullahbin Abbas and Qais bin Sa’ad Ansari of an army of twelve thousand soldiers and reserved them at Dair Abdul Rehman for the battle against Mawiya in case of a Holy war.

Mawiya was very much committed in weakening the Imam’s front. He made promises only to go back on them later on and he also spent money from the public funds to buy people. He used every opportunity according to the occasionand drifted in any direction in line with the circumstance. The Government of Truth if once established would undermine his grounds, leaving him to topple down into the hands of justice. He was quite aware of this fact. He saw no wayto rescue himself from the approaching hazard expect by the way of lies, bribes,threats, tricks, terror, mischief, murder, and inshore all the harrows that can be harvested in this way. So he proceeded as planned, and worked so seriously tha the left no stone unturned. The government in Kofa was a dread to him and more so was Ali’s son Hasan.

In the past battle of Siffeen the endeavors of Mawiya and Omar Aas had given birth to a group called KHAWAREJ. To rankle malice against Ali was equal to attaining piety for a Khawarej. To belong to the Khawarej was to ambush against Ali; and if not him his sons. Malice and envy, when deep rooted,becomes a strong weapon. Swords may break on turn blunt but this weapon hardly ever does. As time elapses it gets sharper and its hit is more accurate. Thearmy of the Imam served an under ground for the people of this class. To detect them was not possible because their hypocrisy was so great that it was impossible to distinguish between them. Because the Imam was a son of Ali the enmity that rankled in their hearts now blended with revenge and the venues of possibility whipped their zeal. Such a fever that was running high among the KHAWAREJ could not remain a secret from Mawiya. Such a fertile field of enmity could only be harvested by Mawiya. He had only to take his sickle andenter into the field. He wrote to Omar Bin Hareeth and Shabeth bin Rabyee andseveral others offering his daughter along with a sum of 200,000 Dirhams to the one who would assassinate Imam Hasan.

One day as the Imam was performing his prayers, one of these men shot anarrow towards him. The arrow failed to prove fatal because the Imam was wearing a suit of mail underneath his clothes. The arrow did no harm but the incident did. Divisions occurred in the army and the disease of greed hit it. Agroup of people from Kofa looted his tent. They ambushed him on his way to SABBAT MADAYEN. They slashed his leg (above the knee) with a poisonous dagger. The hit brought him down from the back of his horse.

Such was the condition and so the circumstance when the Imam received a letter from the second commander of his army. The letter was this:

“Obaidullah Bin Abbas, the 1st commander, camped his battalion in the village of Habobia opposite to the camp of Mawiya’s army. Mawiya sent amessenger to him with an invitation and a commitment to pay him a thousand thousand Dirham-half in cash and the other half upon Mawiya’s arrival at Kofa.Obaidullah did not reject the temptation and sold himself to him. He deserted thearmy in the night and joined the army of Mawiya.”

This news from Qais Bin Sa’ad Ansari enlightened the Imam as to where he stood. This shows how weak the men were in the army of Imam Hasan. Whenthe commanders were such betrayers one can guess about the rest of the army.Plot after plot surrounded him. He had to fear even a friend who could well bean enemy in disguise. A little temptation was enough to make to make the whole regiment empty. In fact, even though having army, he was alone. In the recent battle of JAMAL and SIFFEEN many of those who were ardent in their faithand staunch in their path were martyred while fighting in support of Ali. Thistoo was an additional reason of the weakness of the Shia. All these elements which were rather hazardous were not hidden from the attention and the knowledge of Imam Hasan. On the other hand, the companions of the Imam were fed up of the battles. They insisted on the acceptance of the proposal for peace and persuaded the Imam towards it. Having no way out or an alternative the Imam saw himself in a great predicament, which compelled him to agree tothe proposed peace with Mawyia although against his will.

In this peace treaty the Imam arranged things in such a way as to himself be a supervisor of the proceeds of the whole machinery of the government of Syria.In other words he reserved say in the affairs to himself. These are some of the conditions:

“-Mawiya and his officers should not act cruelly to the people in the Islamicterritories. There should be no confinement on the free men. No one should bekilled because he is a Shia of Ali. The name of Ali should not be spoken in bad.The opinion of the people should be honored because it is an organ which, cannot be killed. The revenue should be transferred to the treasury of the Imam.Mawiya has no right to install a successor for himself.”

These conditions, if pondered a little, show us that religion stood as a pretext to govern the people any way they wished, using tyranny and wantonness as they willed. To refrain them from committing criminal activities it was necessary to take a covenant from them.

In those days Imam Hasan was the only personality in Islam. In several towns there were many who were supported by Imam in their livelihood. The families of the martyrs of the battles of JAMAL and SIFFEEN were supportedby Imam Hasan, but Mawiya soon had the pensions to them stopped. Imam Hasan was very much concerned that the economic pressure on them might persuade them to forego their faith and push them into the abyss of immorality.

Therefor he had inserted the condition that the revenue should be under his commitment.The other condition of much importance was that Mawiya had no right to appoint a successor for himself. It was quite evident that either Yazid, son ofMawiya, or any other one from this elite group if come into power would destroy Islam and its teaching because of the clandestine enmity entertained by them. No justice would survive nor would the Imamat prosper.

Mawiya soon took the affairs back into his own hands. Then he showed that neither Islam nor man could bind him. He ignored all the conditions of the peace. He did not honor any of them. No revenue went to the Imam. No free person was safe from being killed. Every endeavor was made towards destroying Islam. The Islamic finance was used for its own devastation. He did whatever he wished. It is said that when Mawiya came to Kofa he told the people:“

I have put much effort in trying to govern over you and for the prayers or for the fasting or…

”In doing so, he so obviously lifted the veil and exposed his hidden intention much cherished by him. He was not in the slightest bit interested in the serviceof Islam but in the destruction of it. In this respect one should admit the success gained by Imam Hasan. He disclosed the real identity of Mawiya. In the year when Mecca was conquered he had no way other than to pretend his acceptanceof Islam. But in fact he remained a staunch enemy of Islam. This was hidden from the people. But the terms of peace proposed by Imam Hasan focused upon the real and true entity hidden in the guise of Mawiya. Thus the Imam amended and corrected the political culture of the society by his actions and also those of his military. He also promoted the understanding of the nation. He contributed toa great extent to make evil distinct from good. His policy paved way for the conflict with Bani Ommiya. In other words he founded the basis for the immortal Ashoora, an eternal upraising to ever be remembered.

It is, therefore, truly said that the path which deviated immediately after the demise of the Prophet in its social direction and its Islamic teaching’s standard was corrected and returned to its original stand, because of two reasons andelements; One, Imam Hasan’s political wisdom and his sound policy and also its endurance of hardships Second, the upraising of Imam Hussain and his conflict.These two went hand in hand to regain the lost ground of Islam. The activities of the two Imams went a long way to educate the people and open their eyes,particularly to those who hid themselves behind the mask of Islam, such as Abusifyan and Mawiya and others of their like. Their motive to revenge their enmity with the prophet was exposed to all, even though they had declared themselves Muslims.

Viewing the facts and taking into serious consideration the bearings of those facts on the historical episodes and studying the links established by those episodes which relate to the subsequent events if we explore into the mechanismof the peace composed by Imam Hasan and evaluate it, we come out with this conclusion and that is this; it was the wisest policy and a sound social regulator with its roots going deep into the foundation of history, so as to grow green inevery season for succeeding generations to relax beneath its rich and wealthy shadows. It is out of the question to the question to even presume that Imam Hasan hesitated to undergo the armed conflict. The facts reveal that he was fully armed even during his prayers. So a battle or a war was not a problem to him.The treason in his army and the dishonesty of his generals and commanders,which gave vent to betrayal, was the problem. Many historical have detected thispoint. Therefore they have written books under the title of ‘The Uprising of Hasan’. Also, Imam Hasan could have been other than brave because of his uprising under Ali, his father. Imam Hasan was regarded as among the bravest of the Arabs. He had taken an active part in several battle and assaults. He waswell aware and well acquainted with the art of the sword, in which he had been well practiced and well experienced. In the battle of JAMAL and SIFFEEN Imam Hasan was one of the generals in the army of his father Ali. He is quoted to have said: “I do not know of a job better than a Holy war with Mawiya. Alas,had I a few friends I would have fought him day and night and never surrendered the affairs to him.”

The thing that appears evident and is obvious is the capacity and ability of the Imam in military affairs such as, its grouping, its art of planning, and the mastery of its command. He was well versed in this science. Abdul Rehman Bin Muljim Muradi who was himself a military captain, the murderer of Imam Ali,was be headed by Imam Hasan. He hit with only one stroke and his head was separated. Mawiya knew of the abilities of the Imam. Therefore he was very much afraid of him prior to the signing of the peace treaty. Latter after the peace when Farwa Bin Noufal al-Ashjayee made an assault on Mawiya, he begged Imam Hasan for help. Historians have mentioned this fact. We give here an extract of it:“

Farwa Bin Noufal al-Ashjayee made the assault. Mawiya in defense groupedan army and requested the Lord of faithful Imam Hasan to take the command.He argued in his request that it was a holy war and therefore it should be under the commands of Imam Hasan. The Imam replied: ‘I have given up the caliphate for the interests of the people in order to avoid the blood shed of Muslims. Nowfor your sake I will not rage a war with others. If the war were mine I would have turned it first on you.” (JAWAMAY AL- HIKAYAT 164/5)

A point of great magnitude can be deduced here. Imam Hasan preferred torage war against Mawiya rather than against Farwa who was a KHAREJI. Itshows that Imam Hasan viewed Mawiya more wicked than a KHAREJI.

Even though peace was concluded, Mawiya was yet afraid of the very existence of Imam Hasan. The presence of the Imam to him was set back and an obstacle in the way of his activities, which were those of cruelty and tyranny.According to historians, Mawiya could not commit the crimes, which hecommitted after the martyrdom of the Imam. The Imam’s life was still a toolthat prevented him from doing many hideous crimes. He continued freely in hiscrimes only after having Imam Hasan poisoned.

Mawiya wanted to get rid of the Imam. He hired JODA, the Imam’s wife, by giving her a huge sum of money and the poison, which would do the job. JODAwas the daughter of Ash’ash bin Qais who presented himself as a close friend of the Imam. In fact he was not such.

Mawiya’s promise to JODA was this- if she administered the poison to her husband, the Imam, she would be given another one hundred thousand Dirham and she would be married to his son Yazid. Temptation persuaded JODA and she committed the crime. The Imam was only forty seen years old when he met martyrdom. It was the fiftieth year of Hijra. The body of the Imam was buried Baqhi in Madina.

Now remains for us to describe the qualities of Imam Hasan. The Sunnihistorians and the Shia historians are at parity in their writings about Imam Hasan. They say that the Imam was the most pious, generous, charitable, andone of the greatest worshippers of his time. His piety, magnanimity, endurance,forgiveness, and kindness were an example of the time and a paragon praised byevery lip. Imam Hasan’s personality stood only next to that of his grandfather the Prophet. No other person attained that level.

About his worship it has been unanimously said that his body shivered with the fear of God when he stood to pray. He was all advertent and all attentive toGod while forgetful of the world he was in. he performed twenty five pilgrimages to Macca- all on foot and some even bare footed. His carriages were driven by his side but empty. Thrice he distributed all his belongings in charityto needy ones. He was kind even to animals. He was humble among poor ones.He was tolerant against his enemy and kind to him. One day a man from Syriaobjurgated him and behaved roughly with him. In reply Imam Hasan told him:“you seem to be a stranger to our town. If you need anything, tell and I will provide it for you.”

One more thing remains for us to mention here. Imam Hasan is accused bysome of entertaining several wives. Whatever is said in this respect is far from the truth and quite shameful with the dignity and the personality of the Imam.The root of this mischief starts thus:

The elements of the regimes, the Bani ommiya and the Bani Abbas, fabricated stories so that the tyrannies done by them to the members of the Prophet’s household could be over shadowed if not totally forgotten. They proceeded on a plan. The writers were hired. To imagine and fabricate a story and then to write it against the family of Imam Ali. Much money was lavishly spent in this respect. Thus an era of mal propaganda started. Hailed the tyranny- this time through pen. As the fancy soared, so they wrote. In the beginning of the Abassi caliphate the propaganda reached its climax. The reason is quite obvious. Inthose days upraises against the regime had started. All the upraising against the tyrant administration was by Imam Hasan’s offspring or origin. According the caliphs was not safe. Mansoor Dawanigi Abassi is among those caliphs who saw him exposed to such mutinies and in surgencies. Seeing himself unsafe he resorted to the assault of propaganda against Imam Hasan so as to defame his personality and slur that of his offspring. So it is from here that the stories of many wives started to circulate. Imam Hasan did not have many wives but only a few. And these were marriages to abolish the social distinctions, as he married slave girls. By this act he wanted to establish the dignity of woman in the society.

On the other hand, if we take into consideration the social, political and religious problems and those which were only due to his enemies, we can not dare to believe, as it does not appear cogent for a man confronted by all these anxieties to have indulged into marrying women one after another. And yet we are told of his piety and worship by his enemies and friend. These two thingscan not be combined. His age too did not have wider margin. He was only forty seven.Some of the first lies and slander about Imam Hasan, including, his having numerous wives were written by Abdullah Basri Madayani. Who died in 225 Hijra. He was a staunch enemy of Ali and an ardent Sunni. He is also regarded by all, including the Sunni as a weak and unpredictable historian.

THE END

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Chapter 1 - 15th OF RAMADAN