Imam al-Hasan's Abdication

by Tavis Adibudeen
(This essay will appear in the forthcoming book The Rope of Allah)

Arguably one of the most profound displays of unity was the abdication of the caliphate by Imam Hasan to Mu'awiyah b. Abi Sufyan.  In the year 40 A.H. the forth khalifah, 'Ali b. Abi Talib was fatally struck by the poison dagger of Abdur-Rahman b. Muljum.  He died and reportedly left the people to choose the khalifah after him, although it was well known that his son was the best after him.

In the year 40 (May 17, 660-May 6, 661), allegiance was rendered to al-Hasan b. `Ali for the Caliphate. The first to render allegiance to him is said to have been Qays b. Sa`d who said to him, ''Hold out your hand, and I will pledge allegiance to you on condition [that you follow] the Book of God, Almighty and Great, and the example (sunnah) of His Prophet, and fight the violators.'' Al-Hasan answered him, "... on condition [that I follow] the Book of God and the example of His Prophet, for that includes every stipulation." So Qays rendered allegiance to him and was silent, and the people (also) pledged their allegiance to him."¹

Imam Hasan was prepared to continue the fight against Mu'awiyah that his father 'Ali had begun, but when he set out with his army, they turned their backs and looted their own camp, including the belongings of Imam Hasan.

"He sent Qays b. Sa`d (forward) in charge of his vanguard with twelve thousand men. Mu`awiyah also advanced with the Syrians and camped at Maskin. While al-Hasan was at al-Mada'in someone in the army announced, "Qays b. Sa`d has surely been killed, so flee!" So they fled, having plundered the pavilion of al-Hasan, even fighting him for a carpet that was under him."²

At this point, al-Hasan was faced with a predicament.  Without a reliable army and without the support of even the people who had so recently pledged allegiance to him, Imam Hasan was forced to consider the unity of the Ummah above his own powerful position.  In doing so he was able to preserve the traditions and teachings of Islam, to prevent any more memorizers of Qur'an and prophetic ahadith from being killed, and to turn attention away from the rallying cries and political slogans of Mu'awiyah towards the balanced and pure teachings of jurists (fuqaha) of the time period (among whom was Imam Hasan himself).

With all of this in mind, Imam Hasan began exchanging letters with Mu'awiyah in hopes that a peace treaty would be achieved.  Imam Hasan was willing to hand over the leadership to Mu'awiyah in exchange for the safe passage of the family of the Prophet [s] to Madinah and that his followers (shi'a) would be given security from Mu'awiyah's army.

On the 15th of Jumada al-Awwal 41 A.H. a peace treaty was signed between Mu'awiyah b. Abi Sufyan and al-Hasan b. 'Ali.  Imam Hasan outlined the following stipulations for the treaty:

"That the cursing of the commander of the faithful (Ali b. Abi Talib) should be abandoned and the practice of using the personal prayer (qunut) in the formal prayer (salat) (as prayer) against him should be set aside;  that his followers should be given security and that none of them should be exposed to any evil; that each of them who had certain rights should attain those rights."³

Peace was made between Mu'awiyah and al-Hasan at Maskin, Iraq.  After the treaty was finalized, al-Hasan went out to the people and spoke:

"O people of Iraq, I am glad to be rid of you for three reasons: your killing of my father, your stabbing of me, and your plundering of my possessions."⁴

He then left for Kufah, entered the masjid, and spoke to the people there saying:

"O people of al-Kufah, be God-fearing toward your neighbors and guests and toward the members of the family of your Prophet, from whom God removed sinfulness and whom He purified completely (Qur'an 33:33)." And the people began to weep.⁵

Mu'awiyah accepted the terms of this treaty until he reached al-Nukhayla.  He then addressed the people:

"By God, I have no fought against you to make you pray, nor to fast, nor to make pilgrimage, nor to pay zakat.  Indeed you do that (already).  I fought so that I might have power over you and God has given that to me when you were reluctant to (obey) Him.  Indeed I have been requested by al-Hasan (to give him) things and I have given things to him.  All of them are now under my foot.  And from now on I will not fulfill anything."⁶

In this way, Mu'awiyah broke the treaty to which he had agreed and thought that by doing so, he had been victorious of Imam Hasan and his followers. 

When Mu'awiyah arrived in Kufa, al-Hasan was still present among the people.  Al-Tabari records:

When they assembled at al-Kufah, `Amr b. al-`AS had been talking with Mu`awiyah, and urged him to bid al-Hasan rise and address the people. But Mu`awiyah disliked that and asked, "Don't you want me to address the people?" `Amr replied, "I intend to show the people his incompetence," and he kept it up until Mu`awiyah gave in to him and went out and addressed the people. Then he ordered someone to call upon al-Hasan b. `Ali, "Rise, O Hasan, and speak to the people." So (al-Hasan) began a spontaneous impromptu speech with the shahadah and then continued, "O people, God has guided you with the first of us, and spared your blood with the last of us. This regime has a certain duration, and the world is subject to change. God, Almighty and Great, said to His Prophet, "If I knew, perhaps it is a temptation for you and a delight for a while.'" When he said that, Mu`awiyah told him to sit down, and remained furious with `Amr saying, "This was your idea!""⁷

Imam Hasan proceeded away from Kufa accompanied by al-Husayn b. 'Ali and several of their family members and followers.  Upon his arrival in Madinah, al-Hasan was given a warm welcome by the people.  They benefited tremendously from his presence, his knowledge of the Qur'an and sunnah, his wise sayings, and his religious rulings (fatawa).  Through this act of abdication, Imam Hasan was able to preserve the pure teachings of Islam.  Being away from the spotlight of leadership and trials of running a government, he was able to focus more time on teaching and guiding people to the path of truth.  Ibn al-Sabbagh relates:

"The people gathered around him (al-Hasan).  He answered the questioners perfectly and refuted the proofs of the disputers."⁸

There are several lessons that we can derive from the abdication of Imam Hasan:

1. Islam's success is not dependent on having a just temporal ruler.  Regardless of how the rightly guided and pious are treated by the ruling class, the people will still naturally  gravitate towards them and derive benefit from their oceans of knowledge.

2. The unity of the Muslim nation (ummah) is far more important than the securing of power, even if the one who relinquishes power is the one most deserving of it.

3. The fruits of our efforts and sacrifice are not always immediately apparent, but perseverance and steadfastness in truth will eventually reap for us the benefits of our endeavors.

Imam al-Hasan b. Ali lived out the remainder of his life away from the political spotlight, but certainly not away from the spotlight of the devoted servants of Allah.  His sacrifice for the unity of the Ummah is one that should not be forgotten.  Peace prevailed over warmongering; justice prevailed over tyranny; wisdom prevailed over ignorance; guidance prevailed over error; and truth prevailed over falsehood. 

Notes:

1. Ta'rikh al-Rusul wa al-Muluk by Abu Ja'far Muhammad b. Jarir al-Tabari (d. 310 A.H.), "Events of the Year 40" pg. 1

2. Ibid., pg. 3

3. Kitab al-Irshad by Abu 'Abdullah Muhammad al-Harithi al-Baghdadi al-Shaykh al-Mufid

4. Ta'rikh al-Rusul wa al-Muluk by Abu Ja'far Muhammad b. Jarir al-Tabari (d. 310 A.H.), "Events of the Year 40" pg. 9

5. Ibid  pg. 11

6. Kitab al-Irshad by Abu 'Abdullah Muhammad al-Harithi al-Baghdadi al-Shaykh al-Mufid

7. Ta'rikh al-Rusul wa al-Muluk by Abu Ja'far Muhammad b. Jarir al-Tabari (d. 310 A.H.), "Events of the Year 40" pg. 9

8. Al-Fusul al-Muhimma by Ibn Sabbagh., pg. 159