The Biography of al-Hasan ibn Ali

425 Pages·6.025 MB·English

by  as-Sallaabee

Dr. Ali M. Sallabi
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oZakho
Oahu~o
Sm. J. aro .•.r.t.,v..-.;.; .;>;U lN••i•n eveh ·
Tell
/
IN THE NAME OF
ALLAH
THE ALL-COMPASSIONATE, ALL-MERCIFUL
At-HASAN
IBN 'ALI IBN ABI TALIB
His
LIFE AND TIMES
\
"'
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
Partl
Al-I:Iasan ibn 'Ali
(~)
from birth to the caliphate
Chapter One
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 51
6 Al-Jjasan ibn 'Ali
1.9 His marriages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
1.10 His children.................................... 58
1.10.1 Zayd ibn al-I:Iasan ibn 'Ali ibnAbi Talib(~)..... 59
1.10.2 Al-I:Iasan ibn al-I:Iasan ibn 'Ali ibn Abi Talib. . . . . 60
1.11 His siblings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
1.11. l Al-I:Iusayn ibn 'Ali ibn Abi Talib. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
1.11.2 MuJ::i.assan ibn 'Ali ibn Abi Talib . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
1.11.3 Umm Kulthoom hint 'Ali ibn Abi Talib . . . . . . . . . . 64
1.11.4 Zaynab hint 'Ali ibnAbiTalib................. 65
1.11.5 Muhammad ibn al-I:Ianafiyah. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
1.12 His paternal uncles and aunts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
1.12.1 Talib ibnAbi Talib.......................... 66
1.12.2 'Aqeel ibnAbi Talib......................... 67
1.12.3 Ja'far ibn Abi Talib. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
1.12.4 UmmHani'bintAbi Talib .................... 68
1.12.5 Jumanah bintAbi Talib....................... 68
1.13 His maternal uncles and aunts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
1.13.1 Zaynab, daughter of the Messenger of Allah(~)... 69
1.13 .2 Ruqayyah, daughter of the Messenger of Allah (~) . . 71
1.13.3 Umm Kulthoom,
daughter of th.e Messenger of Allah (~). . . . . . . . ....7 2
Chapter Two
His mother, Fatimah az-Zahra' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
2.1 Her dowry and trousseau. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
2.2 Her wedding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
2.3 The wedding feast. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
2.4 The lifestyle of' Ali and Fatimah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
2.5 Her asceticism and patience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
2.6 The Messenger of Allah's love
and protective jealousy for her . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
2. 7 Her sincerity of speech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
2.8 Her leadership in this world and the hereafter . . . . . . . . . . 85
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 Al-lfa san ibn 'Ali
3 .12.1 Sincerity and knowing the importance ofupbringing. . 139
3.12.2 Setting a good example for children... . . . . . . . . . . 139
3.12.3 Kindness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
3.12.4 Treating children on a fair and equitable basis. . . . . 140
3 .13 The impact of social reality on al-l:fasan 's upbringing. . . 141
Chapter Four
During the time of the
Rightly-Guided Caliphs .......................... 143
4.1 During the caliphate ofA bu Bakr a~-$iddeeq. . . . . . . . . . . 143
4.1.1 Abu Bakr's reaction to the Prophet's death ......... 144
4.1.2 Saqeefah Bani Sa'idah ........................ 145
4.1.3 Some characteristics ofA bu Bakr's rule ........... 149
4.1.4 'Ali's oath of allegiance to Abu Bakr a~-$iddeeq.... 150
4.1.5 Abu Bakr sends out the army ofUsamah .......... 153
4.1.6 The apostasy wars ............................ 156
4.2 During the caliphate of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab . . . . . . . . . . 158
4.3 During the caliphate of 'Othman ibn 'Affan. . . . . . . . . . . . 160
4.3.1 During the conquest ofNorthAfrica. ............. 161
4.3.2 'Ali's attitude concerning
the turmoil faced by 'Uthman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
4.4 During the caliphate of his father, 'Ali binAbi Talib ..... 166
4.4.1 Commander of the Faithful
'Ali ibnAbi Talib sets out for Kufa ............. 166
4.4.2 Al-l:fasan's advice to his father. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
4.4.3 Al-l:fasan's impact
on mobilising the people of Kufa. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
4.4.4 Attempts at reconciliation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
4.4.5 The Battle of the Camel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
4.4.6 Tlle Battle of $iffeen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
4.4.7 Al-l:fasan's view
concerning the wars ........................... 177
/
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
Part2
Al-Basan' s caliphate and
his reconciliation efforts
Chapter Five
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
10 Al-lfa san ibn 'Ali
5.4.2 Nahj al-Balaghah ............................ 209
Chapter Six
His characteristics and social life. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
6.1 His most important characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
6.1.1 His knowledge .............................. 213
6.1.2 His worship. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
6.1.3 His asceticism and lack of interest in worldly gain. . . 227
6.1.4 His generosity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
6.1.5 His forbearance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
6.1.6 His humility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
6.1. 7 His leadership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
6.2 His physical characteristics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Chapter Seven
His behaviour in the society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
7 .1 His refutation of the belief in raj 'ah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
7.2 His meeting people's needs ......................... 240
7.3 His marriage to the daughter ofTall).ah ibn 'Ubaydullah .. 242
7.4 His marriage to Khawlah bint Mandhoor .............. 243
7 .5 He did not see the Mothers of
the Believers without their veils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
7.6 His great care to refrain from abusing his connection
to the Prophet(~) ................................ 244
7. 7 He offered the funeral prayer for al-Ash'ath ibn Qays. . . . 245
7 .8 How he treated those who mistreated him . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
7.9 His etiquette in gatherings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
7 .10 His good attitude with the people . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
7 .11 His playing with stones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 7
7 .12 His avoidance of excessive speech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 7
7.13 His honouring Usamah ibn Zayd ................... 248
7.14 His explanation to the poor Jew .................... 248
7.15 lbn 'Abbas' respect for al-I;Iasan and al-I;Iusayn ....... 249
7.16 'Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr's praise for al-I;Iasan ........ 250
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