Islam > Scholars > al-Hasan ibn Ali, Dhun-Nurayn
Biography of al-Hasan ibn Ali, Dhun-Nurayn as related by al-Dhahabi in Siyar A’lam al-Nubala. He died in 49 H.
Updated on 14 September 2026 at 8:10 PM
📖 44 min read47 - al-Hasan ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib, ibn Abd al-Muttalib * (peace be upon him)
ibn Hashim ibn Abd Manaf: the Imam, the lord, the flower
of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, and his grandson, the lord of the youths of the people of Paradise, Abu Muhammad al-Qurashi, al-Hashimi, al-Madani, the Martyr.
His birth: in Sha'ban, of the year three of the Hijrah.
It is said: in mid-Ramadan.
And his grandfather slaughtered a ram for him.
He retained hadiths from his grandfather, and from his father and his mother.
Those who narrated from him: his son al-Hasan ibn al-Hasan, and Suwayd ibn Ghafla, and Abu al-Hura' al-Sa'di, and al-Sha'bi, and Hubayrah ibn Yarim, and Asbagh ibn Nubata, and al-Musayyib ibn Najabah.
And he resembled his grandfather, the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.
The one who said it was Abu Juhayfah.
Ahmad: Ghundar narrated to us, Shu'bah narrated to us: I heard Burayd ibn Abi Maryam narrate from Abu al-Hura':
I said to al-Hasan: what do you remember from the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him?
He said: I remember that I took a date of the dates of charity and put it in my mouth; the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, drew it out of it with his saliva and put it among the dates.
It was said: O Messenger of Allah! And what was this date to you for this child?
He said: we, the family of Muhammad, charity is not lawful for us.
He said: and he used to say: leave what puts you in doubt for what does not put you in doubt, for truth is tranquility, and falsehood is doubt.
And he taught us this supplication: "O Allah, guide me among those You have guided:", and the hadith.
Ibn Sa'd: 'Ubaydallah informed us, Isra'il informed us, from Abu Ishaq, from Burayd ibn Abi Maryam, from Abu al-Hura', from al-Hasan, who said:
the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, taught me words that I say in the qunut: "O Allah, guide me among those You have guided".
Isra'il: from Abu Ishaq, from Hani, from Ali, who said:
when al-Hasan was born, the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, came and said: show me my son: what have you named him?
I said: Harb.
He said: rather it is al-Hasan: and he mentioned the hadith.
Yahya ibn 'Isa al-Taymi: al-A'mash narrated to us, from Salim ibn Abi al-Ja'd:
Ali said: I was a man who loved war; when al-Hasan was born, I thought of naming him Harb.
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, named him al-Hasan.
When al-Husayn was born, I thought of naming him Harb, and he named him al-Husayn, and said: I have named these two sons of mine after the two sons of Harun: Shabbir and Shabir.
Abdallah ibn Muhammad ibn 'Aqil: from Muhammad ibn Ali, from his father:
that he named his eldest son Hamzah, and al-Husayn after his uncle Ja'far.
The Prophet, peace be upon him, called them and said: I have changed the name of these two sons of mine.
So he named them al-Hasan and al-Husayn.
Ibn 'Uyaynah: from 'Amr, from Ikrimah, who said:
when Fatimah gave birth to al-Hasan, she came to the Prophet, peace be upon him, and he named him al-Hasan.
When the latter was born, he named him al-Husayn and said: this one is more beautiful than that one.
So he derived it from his name.
al-Zubayr ibn Bakkar relates that he, I mean al-Hasan, was born in mid-Ramadan, of the year three; and Sha'ban is the sounder.
The two Sufyans: from 'Asim ibn 'Ubaydallah, from 'Ubaydallah ibn Abi Rafi', from his father:
that the Prophet, peace be upon him, pronounced the adhan in the ear of al-Hasan at his birth.
Ayyub: from Ikrimah, from Ibn Abbas:
that the Prophet, peace be upon him, slaughtered for al-Hasan and al-Husayn a ram each.
Sharik: from Ibn 'Aqil, from Ali ibn al-Husayn, from Abu Rafi', who said:
when Fatimah gave birth to al-Hasan, she said: O Messenger of Allah! Shall I not slaughter with blood for my son?
He said: no, but shave his head and give as charity the weight of his hair in silver to the poor. She did it.
Ja'far al-Sadiq: from his father, who said:
Fatimah weighed the hair of al-Hasan, of al-Husayn and of Umm Kulthum, and gave as charity their weight in silver.
Abu 'Asim narrated to us, from 'Umar ibn Sa'id, from Ibn Abi Mulaykah, from 'Uqbah ibn al-Harith, who said:
Abu Bakr prayed the 'asr with us, then rose, and Ali was walking; he saw al-Hasan playing with the boys; Abu Bakr took him, carried him on his neck and said:
"May my father be the ransom of the one who resembles the Prophet ... he does not resemble Ali"
And Ali was smiling.
Ali ibn 'Abis: Yazid ibn Abi Ziyad narrated to us, from al-Bahi, who said:
Ibn al-Zubayr entered upon us and said: I saw al-Hasan come to the Prophet, peace be upon him, while he was prostrating, climb upon his back, and come to him while he was bowing, and he would spread him between his two legs until he came out on the other side.
And al-Zuhri said: Anas said: the most resembling of them to the Prophet, peace be upon him, was al-Hasan ibn Ali.
Isra'il: from Abu Ishaq, from Hani, from Ali, who said: al-Hasan
is the most resembling of the people to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, from the chest to the head, and al-Husayn is the most resembling to him in what was below that.
'Asim ibn Kulayb: from his father, from Ibn Abbas:
that he used to compare al-Hasan to the Prophet, peace be upon him.
Usamah said: the Prophet, peace be upon him, would take us, al-Hasan and me, and say: O Allah, I love them both: love them then.
And in the Ja'diyyat of Fudayl ibn Marzuq: from 'Adi ibn Thabit, from al-Bara':
the Prophet, peace be upon him, said about al-Hasan: O Allah, I love him: love him then, and love the one who loves him.
Al-Tirmidhi authenticated it.
Ahmad: Ibn 'Uyaynah narrated to us, from 'Ubaydallah ibn Abi Yazid, from Nafi' ibn Jubayr, from Abu Hurayrah:
that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said about al-Hasan: O Allah, I love him: love him then, and love the one who loves him.
And Nu'aym al-Mujmir narrated it, from Abu Hurayrah, and added: he said: I never saw al-Hasan without my eye shedding tears.
And Ibn Sirin narrated it from him likewise, and there are for this numerous hadiths: it is very numerous (mutawatir).
Abu Bakrah said: I saw the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, on the pulpit, al-Hasan beside him, and he said: this son of mine is a master; perhaps Allah will reconcile by him two factions of the Muslims.
Yazid ibn Abi Ziyad: from Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Nu'm, from Abu Sa'id, raised to the Prophet: al-Hasan and al-Husayn are the two lords of the youths of the people of Paradise.
Al-Tirmidhi authenticated it.
And al-Tirmidhi enhanced it with the hadith of Usamah ibn Zayd, who said:
the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, went out one night, wrapped in something.
I said: what is this?
He uncovered: behold al-Hasan and al-Husayn upon his two knees, and he said: these are my two sons and the two sons of my daughter: O Allah, I love them both: love them then, and love the one who loves them.
It was isolated to Abdallah ibn Abi Bakr ibn Zayd ibn al-Muhajir al-Madani alone, from Muslim ibn Abi Sahl al-Nabbal, from al-Hasan ibn Usamah, from his father.
And he narrated it from none other than Musa ibn Ya'qub al-Zam'i, from Abdallah.
This is of what is criticized of enhancement at al-Tirmidhi.
And he also enhanced from Yusuf ibn Ibrahim, from Anas:
the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, was asked: which of the people of your house is most beloved to you?
He said: al-Hasan and al-Husayn.
And he would smell them and press them against him.
Maysarah ibn Habib: from al-Minhal ibn 'Amr, from Zirr, from Hudhayfa:
he heard the Prophet, peace be upon him, say: behold an angel who had never descended before this night: he asked the permission of his Lord to greet me and to give me the good news that Fatimah is the mistress of the women of the people of Paradise, and that al-Hasan and al-Husayn are the two lords of the youths of the people of Paradise.
Al-Tirmidhi enhanced it.
And he authenticated for al-Bara' that the Prophet, peace be upon him, saw al-Hasan and al-Husayn and said: O Allah, I love them both: love them then.
Qabus ibn Abi Dhibyan said: from his father, from Ibn Abbas:
that the Prophet, peace be upon him, spread apart between the two thighs of al-Hasan and kissed his zoubayba.
Now this Imam was a master, of handsome appearance, beautiful, intelligent, grave, generous, praised, good, religious, modest, great in his affair.
And he was much married, much divorced: he married about seventy women, and rarely would four wives leave him.
From Ja'far al-Sadiq: Ali said: O people of al-Kufah! Do not marry al-Hasan, for he is much divorced.
A man said: by Allah, I will surely marry him to one: what he approves, he keeps, and what he disapproves, he divorces.
Ibn Sirin said: al-Hasan married a woman and sent her a hundred maidservants, each with a thousand dirhams.
And he would give a single man a hundred thousand.
It is said: he performed the pilgrimage fifteen times, much of it on foot, from al-Madinah to Mecca, and his two swift mounts were led along with him.
al-Hakim, in his Mustadrak: by the way of 'Amr ibn Murrah, from Abdallah ibn al-Harith, from Zuhayr ibn al-Aqmar al-Bakri, who said:
al-Hasan ibn Ali rose to address them, and a man of the Azd Shanu'ah rose and said:
I bear witness that I saw the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, place him in his lap, saying: whoever loves me, let him love him, and let the present convey to the absent.
And in the Jami' of al-Tirmidhi: by the way of Ali ibn al-Hasan ibn Ali, from his father, from his grandfather:
that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, took al-Hasan and al-Husayn and said: whoever loves these two, and their father, and their mother, will be with me at my degree on the Day of Resurrection.
Its chain is weak, and the text is objectionable (mounkar).
The Musnad: Ghundar narrated to us, Shu'bah narrated to us, from 'Amr ibn Murrah, from Abdallah ibn al-Harith, from Zuhayr ibn al-Aqmar, who said:
while al-Hasan was addressing the people after Ali had been killed, a man of the Azd rose, of fair and ruddy skin, tall; he said:
I saw the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, place him in his lap, saying: whoever loves me, let him love him, and let the present convey to the absent.
And were it not for the greatness of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, I would not have informed you.
Ali ibn Salih and Abu Bakr ibn 'Ayyash: from 'Asim, from Zirr, from Abdallah:
the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: these are my two sons: whoever loves them loves me.
A group: from Shahr ibn Hawshab, from Umm Salamah:
that the Prophet, peace be upon him, covered al-Hasan, al-Husayn and Fatimah with a garment, then said: O Allah, these are the people of my house and my chosen ones: O Allah, remove from them impurity and purify them with a thorough purification.
Isra'il: from Ibn Abi al-Safar, from al-Sha'bi, from Hudhayfa:
the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: O Hudhayfa, Jibril came to me and announced to me that al-Hasan and al-Husayn are the two lords of the youths of the people of Paradise.
And it is narrated likewise from Qays ibn Abi Hazm, and from Zirr, from Hudhayfa.
Ismail ibn 'Ayyash: Abdallah ibn 'Uthman ibn Khuthaym narrated to us, from Sa'id ibn Rashid, from Ya'la ibn Murrah, who said:
al-Hasan and al-Husayn came running to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him; one of the two arrived before the other; he placed his hand on his neck, then pressed him to his shoulder, then kissed this one, then kissed that one, and said: I love them both: love them then.
Then he said: O people, the child is covetousness, cowardice, ignorance.
Ma'mar: from Ibn Khuthaym, from Muhammad ibn al-Aswad ibn Khalaf, from his father: that
the Prophet, peace be upon him, took al-Hasan, kissed him, then turned to them and said: the child is covetousness, cowardice.
Kamil Abu al-Ala': from Abu Salih, from Abu Hurayrah, who said:
we were with the Prophet, peace be upon him, at the 'isha prayer; when he prostrated, al-Hasan and al-Husayn climbed upon his back; when he raised his head, he lifted them gently, then when he prostrated, they returned to it.
When he had prayed, I said: shall I not take them to their mother?
He said: a light came, and they did not cease to be within its brightness until they entered upon their mother.
Abu Ahmad al-Zubayri narrated it, and Asbat ibn Muhammad, from him.
Zayd ibn al-Hubab: from Husayn ibn Waqid: Abdallah ibn Buraydah narrated to me, from his father, who said:
the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, was delivering a sermon, and al-Hasan and al-Husayn came, in two red shirts, tottering and rising up; he came down, took them and set them before him, then said: Allah has spoken truly: {your wealth and your children are but a trial} (Surah at-Taghabun, verse 15): I saw these two and had no patience.
Then he resumed his sermon.
Abu Shihab: Masmuh, from al-Thawri, from Abu al-Zubayr, from Jabir, who said:
I entered upon the Prophet, peace be upon him, walking on all fours, and on his back al-Hasan and al-Husayn, and he said: what an excellent camel is your camel, and what excellent riders you are.
Masmuh: mu.
Jarir ibn Hazim: Muhammad ibn Abdallah ibn Abi Ya'qub narrated to us, from Abdallah ibn Shaddad, from his father, who said:
the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, came out to us carrying al-Hasan or al-Husayn; he came forward, set him down, then pronounced the takbir in the prayer and made a prostration which he lengthened; I raised my head, and behold the child upon his back; I returned to my prostration.
When he had finished his prayer, they said: O Messenger of Allah, you lengthened it!
He said: my son was climbing on me, and I disliked to hasten him until he had satisfied his need.
I say: where is the jurist who forbids himself this action?
From Salamah ibn Wahram, from Ikrimah, from Ibn Abbas, who said:
the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, came out carrying al-Hasan on his shoulder; a man said: O boy! What an excellent mount you ride.
The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: and what an excellent rider he is.
Abu Ya'la narrated it in his Musnad.
Ahmad, in his Musnad: Talid ibn Sulayman narrated to us, Abu al-Jahhaf narrated to us, Abu Hazim narrated to us, from Abu Hurayrah, who said:
the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, looked
at Ali, his two sons and Fatimah, and said: I am at war with whoever makes war on you, at peace with whoever makes peace with you.
al-Tayalisi, in his Musnad: 'Amr ibn Thabit narrated to us, from Abu Fakhtah:
Ali said: the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, visited us and spent the night with us, al-Hasan and al-Husayn sleeping; al-Hasan asked for a drink, the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, went to a waterskin and gave him to drink.
al-Husayn rose to drink, he prevented him and began with al-Hasan.
Fatimah said: O Messenger of Allah! As if he were the one of the two you love most.
He said: no, but this one asked to drink first.
Then he said: I, you and these two, on the Day of Resurrection, in one place.
And I think he said: and Ali.
Baqiyyah: from Bahir, from Khalid ibn Ma'dan, from al-Miqdam ibn Ma'dikarib, who said:
the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: al-Hasan is of me, and al-Husayn of Ali.
Three narrated it from him, and its chain is strong.
Ibn 'Awn: from 'Umayr ibn Ishaq, who said:
I was with al-Hasan; Abu Hurayrah met us and said: show me: that I may kiss of you where I saw the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, kiss.
He said, with his shirt, and he kissed his chest.
A group narrated it from him.
Hariz ibn 'Uthman: from Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi 'Awf al-Jurashi, from Mu'awiyah, who said:
I saw the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, suck his tongue or his lips: he means al-Hasan; and surely a tongue or two lips which the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, sucked will never be punished.
Ahmad narrated it.
Yahya ibn Ma'in: Yahya ibn Sa'id al-Umawi narrated to us, from al-A'mash, from Abu Sufyan, from Jabir:
from the Prophet, peace be upon him, that he said about al-Hasan: this son of mine is a master: Allah will reconcile by him two factions of the Muslims.
And likewise, from the hadith of al-Hasan, from Abu Bakrah.
Those who narrated it from him: Yunus, Mansur ibn Zadhan, Isra'il Abu Musa, Hisham ibn al-Hasan, Ash'ath ibn Suwwar, Mubarak ibn Fadalah and others.
al-Waqidi: Musa ibn Muhammad al-Taymi narrated to me, from his father:
that Umar, when he compiled the diwan, attached al-Hasan and al-Husayn to the share of their father, for their kinship to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, and fixed five thousand dirhams for each.
Abu al-Malih al-Raqqi: Hashim al-Ju'fi narrated to us, who said:
Yazid ibn Mu'awiyah insulted al-Hasan ibn Ali, and his father said to him: you insulted al-Hasan?
He said: yes.
He said: perhaps you think your mother is like his mother, or your grandfather like his grandfather; as for your father and his father, they chose Allah as arbiter, and He judged your father against his father.
Zuhayr ibn Mu'awiyah: 'Ubaydallah ibn al-Walid narrated to us, Abdallah ibn 'Ubayd ibn 'Umayr narrated to us:
Ibn Abbas said: I never regretted anything that escaped me in my youth except not having performed the pilgrimage on foot; and al-Hasan ibn Ali performed twenty-five pilgrimages on foot, and the two swift mounts were led along with him, and he divided his wealth with Allah three times, to the point that he would give the boot and keep the sandal.
Muhammad ibn Sa'd narrated a similar version: Ali ibn Muhammad narrated to us, Khallad ibn 'Ubayd narrated to us, from Ibn Jud'an; but he said: fifteen times.
al-Mughirah ibn Miqsam narrated, from Umm Musa:
that al-Hasan ibn Ali, when he lay down on his bed, recited Surah al-Kahf.
Sa'id ibn Abd al-Aziz said: al-Hasan ibn Ali heard a man beside him asking Allah to give him ten thousand dirhams; he went away, and sent them to him.
Raja': from al-Hasan:
that he was swift in coming to the aid of Uthman, abundant in defending him, and he remained in the caliphate seven months after his father.
Isra'il: from Abu Ishaq, from Harithah, from Ali:
that he delivered a sermon and said: al-Hasan has amassed wealth and wishes to divide it among you. The people
came, and al-Hasan rose and said: I amassed it only for the poor.
Half of the people rose.
al-Qasim ibn al-Fadl al-Huddani: Abu Harun narrated to us, who said:
we set out as pilgrims, entered al-Madinah, entered upon al-Hasan, told him of our journey and our state; when we went out, he sent to each of us four hundred.
We returned and informed him of our ease, and he said: do not return my benefaction to me; were I in another state, it would be easy for you. Know that I equip your horses: Allah vies in pride with His angels concerning His servants on the day of 'Arafah.
al-Mada'ini said: al-Hasan married ninety women.
al-Waqidi: Ibn Abi Sabrah narrated to us, from Dawud ibn al-Husayn, from Ikrimah, from Ibn Abbas, who said:
we set out for the Camel, six hundred; we reached al-Rabadhah; al-Hasan rose and wept, and Ali said: speak, and leave the moaning plaint of the maiden.
He said: I had suggested to you to stay, and I suggest it now: the Arabs have a whirlpool; were the dregs of their dreams to return to it, they would strike at you with camel girths until they dragged you out, even if you were in a lizard's hole.
He said: do you see me, heedless of you, waiting as the hyena waits for the carcass?
Isra'il: from Abu Ishaq, from Hubayrah ibn Yarim, who said:
It was said to Ali: behold al-Hasan in the mosque narrating hadiths to the people; he said: a mill of camels that has not learned to grind.
Shu'bah: from Abu Ishaq, from Ma'dikarib: that Ali passed by people
gathered around a man and said: who is this?
They said: al-Hasan.
He said: a mill of camels that is not used to grinding: every people has its best men, and the best of ours is al-Hasan.
Ja'far ibn Muhammad: from his father: Ali said: O people of al-Kufah! Do not marry al-Hasan, for he is a man much divorced: I feared that he would make our tribes inherit enmity.
From Suwayd ibn Ghafla, who said: the woman of Khath'am was married to al-Hasan; when Ali was killed and al-Hasan received the pledge of allegiance, he entered upon her, and she said: may the caliphate give you life.
He said: you have shown malicious joy at the death of Ali: you are thrice divorced.
She said: by Allah, I did not intend that.
Then he sent her twenty thousand, and she said:
"A meager provision for a beloved who departs ..."
Sharik: from 'Asim, from Abu Razin, who said:
al-Hasan ibn Ali addressed us on the day of Friday and recited Surah Ibrahim on the pulpit until he finished it.
Mansur ibn Zadhan: from Ibn Sirin, who said:
al-Hasan ibn Ali did not invite anyone to food, saying: it is too little for one to invite someone to it.
al-Mubarrad said: it was said to al-Hasan ibn Ali:
Abu Dharr said: poverty is more beloved to me than wealth, and illness more beloved than health.
He said: may Allah have mercy on Abu Dharr; as for me, I say: he who relies on the fair choice of Allah for him wishes for nothing.
And this is the limit of resting content with what the decree brings to pass.
From al-Harmazi: al-Hasan ibn Ali delivered a sermon at al-Kufah and said:
forbearance is an adornment, and gravity is manly virtue; haste is folly, and folly is weakness; keeping company with base people is ugly, and mixing with sinners is suspect.
Zuhayr: from Abu Ishaq, from 'Amr ibn al-Asamm:
I said to al-Hasan: the partisans claim that Ali will be resurrected before the Day of Resurrection.
He said: they lie, by Allah; these are not partisans: had we known he would be resurrected, we would not have married his widows nor divided his property.
Jarir ibn Hazim said: Ali was killed, the people of al-Kufah pledged allegiance to al-Hasan and loved him more strongly than the love of his father.
And al-Kalbi said: al-Hasan received the pledge of allegiance and governed seven months and eleven days, then handed the affair over to Mu'awiyah.
And 'Awana ibn al-Hakam said: al-Hasan marched and encamped at al-Mada'in; he established Qays ibn Sa'd over the vanguard, which was of twelve thousand; the cry fell: Qays has been killed.
The people sacked the camp of al-Hasan, a man of the Kharijites leaped upon him and pierced him with the dagger; the people fell upon him and killed him.
So al-Hasan wrote to Mu'awiyah about the peace.
Ibn Sa'd: Muhammad ibn 'Ubayd narrated to us, from Mujalid, from al-Sha'bi, and from Yunus ibn Abi Ishaq, from his father:
that the people of Iraq, when they had pledged allegiance to al-Hasan, said to him: march against these who have disobeyed Allah and His Messenger and committed the enormities. He marched toward the people
of Syria, and Mu'awiyah advanced until he encamped at the bridge of Manbij; and al-Hasan was at al-Mada'in when a herald called out in his army: behold, Qays ibn Sa'd has been killed.
The people fell upon the chamber of al-Hasan and sacked it until they stripped his carpet, took his cloak, and a man of the Banu Assad pierced him in the back with a dagger poisoned in its shaft; he moved off and encamped at the white palace of Chosroes, and said: upon you be the curse of Allah, people of a town: I have known there is no good in you: you killed my father yesterday, and today you do this to me.
Then he corresponded with Mu'awiyah about the peace, on condition that he grant him three conditions: that he hand over to him the treasury house, acquit its debts and promises, and that he and his family take charge of it; that Ali not be insulted while he hears; and that the kharaj of Fassa and Darabjird be carried to him every year at al-Madinah. Mu'awiyah answered him and gave him what he asked.
And it is said: rather, Abdallah ibn al-Harith ibn Nawfal went to Mu'awiyah and obtained for him what he asked; al-Hasan wrote to him to come.
So he came from the bridge of Manbij to Miskan in five days; al-Hasan handed the affair over to him and pledged him allegiance until they arrived at al-Kufah.
And Mu'awiyah acquitted for al-Hasan the treasury house, which contained that day seven thousand thousand dirhams; al-Hasan took charge of them, equipped himself, he and the people of his house, for al-Madinah, and Mu'awiyah abstained from insulting Ali while al-Hasan heard.
And Mu'awiyah paid al-Hasan every year one hundred thousand dirhams.
And al-Hasan lived after that ten years.
And Abdallah ibn Bakr informed us, Hatim ibn Abi Saghira narrated to us, from 'Amr ibn Dinar:
that Mu'awiyah knew that al-Hasan was the most reluctant of the people toward the fitna; when Ali died, he sent to al-Hasan and settled in secret what was between them; Mu'awiyah gave him a covenant: if an event befell him and al-Hasan were alive, he would surely name him and surely direct the affair to him.
When al-Hasan had assured himself of him, Ibn Ja'far said: by Allah, I was sitting beside al-Hasan when I rose,
he pulled me by my garment and said: no, sit!
I sat, and he said: I saw a dream and I wish you to follow me on it.
I said: what is it?
He said: I saw that I was heading toward al-Madinah, that I alighted there, and that I left Mu'awiyah facing this event: the fitna has grown long, the bloods have flowed, the kinships and the roads have been cut, the sexes have been forbidden.
Ibn Ja'far said: may Allah reward you with good for the community of Muhammad: I am with you.
He said: call me al-Husayn!
He came to him, and he said: O my brother! I saw this and that.
He said: I seek refuge for you with Allah from declaring Ali a liar and Mu'awiyah truthful.
al-Hasan said: by Allah, I never intended an affair but that you contradicted me in it; by Allah, I thought of throwing you into a house and locking it upon you until I had settled my affair.
When al-Husayn saw his anger, he said: you are the greatest of the sons of Ali, you are his successor, and our order follows your order.
al-Hasan rose and said: O people! I was the most reluctant of the people toward the first of this affair, and I am the one who settled its end: until he said:
Allah has established you, O Mu'awiyah, over this event, for a good He knows in you, or for an evil He knows in you: {and I know not: perhaps it is a trial for you and an enjoyment for a time} (Surah al-Anbiya, verse 111). Then he came down.
Sharik: from 'Asim, from Abu Razin, who said:
al-Hasan ibn Ali addressed us on the day of Friday and recited Ibrahim on the pulpit until he finished it.
Abu Ja'far al-Baqir said: al-Hasan and al-Husayn did not see the mothers of the believers.
Ibn Abbas said: seeing them is lawful for the two of them.
I say: the lawful is certain.
Ibn 'Awn: from Muhammad:
al-Hasan said: food is too fine for us to swear upon.
And Qurrah said: I ate in the house of Ibn Sirin; when I opened my two hands, he said: al-Hasan ibn Ali
said: food is too little for one to swear upon.
Ja'far ibn Muhammad narrated, from his father:
that al-Hasan and al-Husayn accepted the gifts of Mu'awiyah.
Abu Na'im: Mussafir al-Jassas narrated to us, from Ruzayq ibn Suwwar, who said:
words passed between al-Hasan and Marwan; Marwan treated him harshly, and al-Hasan was silent; Marwan passed his right hand over his beard.
al-Hasan said: woe to you! Do you not know that the right is for the face, and the left for the private parts? Fie on you!
Marwan fell silent.
And from Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Taymi: that Umar attached al-Hasan and al-Husayn to the share of their father with the people of Badr, for their kinship to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.
Ibn Sa'd: Ali ibn Muhammad informed us, from Hammad ibn Salamah, from 'Ammar ibn Abi 'Ammar, from Ibn Abbas, who said:
al-Hasan and al-Husayn quarreled beside the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, and he kept saying: go, O al-Hasan, take, O al-Hasan.
Aisha said: do you favor the greater one?
He said: Jibril says: take, O al-Husayn.
Shayban: from Abu Ishaq, from Harithah ibn Mudarrib:
he heard al-Hasan say: by Allah, I will not pledge you allegiance except on what I say to you.
They said: what is it?
He said: you make peace with whom I make peace, and you fight whom I fought.
Ali ibn Muhammad al-Mada'ini said: from Khallad ibn 'Ubaydah, from Ali ibn
Jud'an, who said: al-Hasan ibn Ali performed fifteen pilgrimages on foot, and the two swift mounts were led along with him, and he spent of his wealth twice, and divided his wealth with Allah three times.
al-Waqidi: Hatim ibn Ismail narrated to us; from Ja'far ibn Muhammad, from his father:
Ali said: al-Hasan did not cease marrying and divorcing until I feared he would make our tribes inherit enmity: O people of al-Kufah! Do not marry him, for he is much divorced.
A man of Hamdan said: by Allah, I will surely marry him to one: what he approves, he keeps, and what he disapproves, he divorces.
al-Mada'ini said: al-Hasan married ninety women.
Sharik: from 'Asim, from Abu Razin, who said:
al-Hasan ibn Ali addressed us, dressed in black garments and a black turban.
Zuhayr ibn Mu'awiyah: Mukhawwal narrated to us, from Abu Sa'id:
that Abu Rafi' came to al-Hasan ibn Ali while he prayed with bowed head, he untied it and sent him away.
al-Hasan said: what pushed you to that?
He said: I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, say: a man does not pray with bowed head.
And Ibn Jurayj narrated a similar version, from 'Imran ibn Musa: Sa'id al-Maqburi informed me that Abu Rafi' passed by al-Hasan with his two braids planted in his nape; he untied them, and he turned about
in anger.
He said: go to your prayer and do not be angry, for I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, say: this is the place of the demon.
He means: the seat of the demon.
Hatim ibn Ismail: from Ja'far ibn Muhammad, from his father:
that al-Hasan and al-Husayn wore the ring on the left.
al-Thawri: from Abd al-Aziz ibn Rufay', from Qays, freedman of Khabbab: I saw al-Hasan dye with black.
Hajjaj ibn Nusayr: Yaman ibn al-Mughirah narrated to us, Muslim ibn Abi Maryam narrated to me, who said: I saw al-Hasan ibn Ali dye with black.
Abu al-Rabi' al-Samman: from 'Ubaydallah ibn Abi Yazid, who said:
I saw al-Hasan ibn Ali dye with black.
Mujalid: from al-Sha'bi, and from Yunus ibn Abi Ishaq, from his father, and from others than they, they said:
the people of Iraq pledged allegiance to al-Hasan and said to him: march against these.
So he marched toward the people of Syria, and Qays ibn Sa'd was at his vanguard with twelve thousand.
And another said: he encamped at al-Mada'in, and Mu'awiyah advanced, when a herald called out in the army of al-Hasan: Qays has been killed.
The people fell upon the chamber of al-Hasan and sacked it, until they sacked his maidservants, stripped his cloak, and Ibn Uqaychir pierced him with a dagger poisoned in its shaft; he moved off, encamped at the palace of Chosroes, and said: upon you be the curse, for there is no good in you.
Ibn Abi Shaybah: Zayd ibn al-Hubab narrated to us, from Husayn ibn Waqid, Abdallah ibn Buraydah narrated to me:
that al-Hasan entered upon Mu'awiyah, who said: I shall surely grant you a gift with which I granted no one.
So he granted him four hundred thousand, or four hundred thousand thousand, and he accepted it.
And in the Mujtana of Ibn Durayd: al-Hasan rose after the death of his father and said: by Allah, what has turned us away from the people of Syria is neither doubt nor regret; we did not fight them except with security and patience, but security has become intermingled with enmity, and patience with impatience; and you, in your delegation at Siffin: your religion before your world; you rose at morning, and your world before your religion. Know that we are for you as we were, and you are no longer for us as you were. Know that you have risen between two slain men: one slain at Siffin over whom you weep, and one slain at al-Nahrawan whose vengeance you seek; as for the rest, he is forsaking, and as for the weeper, he is revolting.
Know that Mu'awiyah has called us to an affair in which there is neither honor nor generosity: if you desire death, we return it to him, and if you desire life, we accept it.
He said: the people called to him from every side: prudence, prudence.
When they had left him alone, he signed the peace.
Yazid: al-'Awwam ibn Hawshab informed us, from Hilal ibn Yasaf: I heard al-Hasan
address the people and say: O people of al-Kufah! Fear Allah regarding us, for we are your emirs and your guests, and we are the people of the house regarding whom Allah said: {Allah only desires to remove from you impurity, O people of the house} (Surah al-Ahzab, verse 33).
He said: I never saw a weeper more numerous than that day.
Abu 'Awana: from Husayn ibn Abd al-Rahman, from Abu Jumaylah Maysarah ibn Ya'qub:
that al-Hasan, while he prayed, a man leaped upon him and pierced him with the dagger.
Husayn said: my uncle lived through this, and they claim the blow struck his hip, and he was ill with it a month; he sat on the pulpit and said: fear Allah regarding us, for we are your emirs and your guests regarding whom Allah said.
He said: I saw in the mosque none but those moaning in tears.
Abdallah ibn Muhammad narrated to us, Sufyan narrated to us, from Abu Musa:
he heard al-Hasan say: al-Hasan ibn Ali faced Mu'awiyah with battalions like mountains.
'Amr ibn al-'As said: I see battalions that will not turn away before killing their likes.
Mu'awiyah said to him, and he was, by Allah, the better of the two men: O 'Amr, if these killed those and those these, who would come to me for the affairs of the Muslims, who for their women, who for their wealth?!
So he sent to them two men of Quraysh: Abd al-Rahman ibn Samurah and Abdallah ibn 'Amir ibn Kurayz, and said: go to this man, present to him, say to him, entreat him.
They came to him, and al-Hasan ibn Ali said to them: we, the Banu Abd al-Muttalib, have received of this wealth, and this community has made its bloods run.
They said: we present to you this and that, we entreat you and ask you.
He said: and who stands for me in this?
They said: we
stand for you in this.
He asked them nothing but that they said: we stand for you in this, and he made peace with him.
al-Hasan said: I heard Abu Bakrah say:
I saw the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, say: this son of mine is a master: and he mentioned the hadith.
Ibn Abi 'Adi: from Ibn 'Awn, from Anas ibn Sirin, who said:
al-Hasan ibn Ali said: between Jabars and Jabalqa there is no man whose grandfather is a prophet, save me and my brother; I saw that I reconciled the community: know that we have pledged allegiance to Mu'awiyah, and I know not: perhaps it is a trial for you and an enjoyment for a time.
Ma'mar said: Jabalqa and Jabars: the East and the West.
Hushaym: from Mujalid, from al-Sha'bi:
that al-Hasan delivered a sermon and said: the wisest of the wise is piety, and the maddest of the mad is debauchery; know that these affairs in which I differ from Mu'awiyah, I have left to Mu'awiyah the will to set right the Muslims and to spare their bloods.
Hawdhah: from 'Awf, from Muhammad, who said:
when Mu'awiyah arrived at al-Kufah and the people gathered over him, 'Amr ibn al-'As said to him: al-Hasan is exalted in the souls, for his kinship to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, and he is young of age and timid: command him then to address the people: he will weary and fall from the souls of the people.
He refused; they did not cease pressing him until he commanded it; he mounted the pulpit before Mu'awiyah: he praised Allah and thanked Him, then said: if you sought between Jabalqa
and Jabars a man whose grandfather is a prophet other than me and my brother, you would not find him; we have given Mu'awiyah our allegiance and we saw that sparing the bloods is better: {and I know not: perhaps it is a trial for you and an enjoyment for a time}.
And he pointed at Mu'awiyah with his hand, and Mu'awiyah grew angry, delivered after him a wearying and obscene sermon, then came down.
And he said: what did you intend by your word: a trial for you and an enjoyment?
He said: I intended by it what Allah intended by it.
al-Qasim ibn al-Fadl al-Huddani: from Yusuf ibn Mazin, who said:
a man presented himself to al-Hasan and said: O you who blackened the faces of the believers!
He said: do not incriminate me, for the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, saw a man after a man leaping upon his pulpit, and Allah, the Most High, sent down: {We sent it down in the night of al-Qadr}.
He said: a thousand months: they will possess it after me: he means: the Banu Umayyah.
Abu Salamah al-Tubudhaki heard it from him, and it has a rupture.
And from Fudayl ibn Marzuq; he said:
Malik ibn Damrah came to al-Hasan and said: peace upon you, O you who fouled the faces of the believers.
He said: do not say that: and he mentioned a word by which he excused himself, may Allah be pleased with him.
And another said to him: O you who humiliated the believers!
He said: no, but I disliked to kill you for power.
'Asim ibn Bahdalah: from Abu Razin, who said:
al-Hasan ibn Ali addressed us, dressed in black garments and a black turban.
Muhammad ibn Rabi'ah al-Kalbi: from Mustaqim ibn Abd al-Malik, who said:
I saw al-Hasan and al-Husayn young, and they did not dye; and I saw them riding mules with embroidered saddles.
Ja'far ibn Muhammad: from his father:
that al-Hasan and al-Husayn wore the ring on their left, and in the ring the remembrance of Allah.
And from Qays, freedman of Khabbab, who said: I saw al-Hasan dye with black.
Shu'bah: from Abu Ishaq, from al-'Ayyzar: that al-Hasan used to dye with black.
And from 'Ubaydallah ibn Abi Yazid: I saw al-Hasan dye with black.
Ibn 'Ulayyah: from Ibn 'Awn, from 'Umayr ibn Ishaq, who said:
we entered upon al-Hasan ibn Ali to ask him for healing, and he said to my companion: O so-and-so! Question me.
Then he rose from us, entered into a skirt, then came out, and said: by Allah, I rejected a piece of my liver, I turned it back with a piece of wood; and I was made to drink the poison several times, and I was never made to drink like this one.
The next day, I came to him while he was dragging himself; al-Husayn came and said: O my brother! Inform me: who made you drink?
He said: why? To kill him?
He said: yes.
He said: I will inform you of nothing: if my companion is the one I think, Allah is stronger in punishment; otherwise, by Allah, no innocent shall be killed by me.
Abd al-Rahman ibn Jubayr ibn Nufayr, from his father:
I said to al-Hasan: they say: you desire the caliphate.
He said: the skulls of the Arabs were in my hand: they made peace with whom I made peace and fought whom I fought; I left it to Allah; then should I take it up again with the wretches of the Hijaz?
al-Tayalisi narrated it in his Musnad, from Shu'bah, from Yazid ibn Khumayr; and he says once: from Abd al-Rahman ibn Numayr, from his father.
Ibn Abi Hatim said, in the 'Ilal: this is the most authentic.
Qatadah said: al-Hasan said to al-Husayn: I was made to drink the poison more than once, and I was never made to drink like this one: I reject my liver.
He said: who did it?
He refused to inform him.
al-Waqidi said: Abdallah ibn Ja'far narrated to us, from Abdallah ibn al-Hasan, who said:
al-Hasan was a great husband, rare was she who had her share beside him, and rare she who married him without loving him and melting into him.
It is said: he was made to drink, then escaped; then made to drink and escaped; then came the last one, and death seized him; the physician said: behold a man whose poison has cut his entrails.
And I heard some say: Mu'awiyah had worked subtly upon some of his maidservants to make him drink a poison.
Abu 'Awana: from Mughirah, from Umm Musa: that Ja'dah bint al-Ash'ath ibn
Qays made al-Hasan drink the poison; he fell ill, and a basin was set under him and another was lifted from under him, for about forty days.
Ibn 'Uyaynah: from Raqabah ibn Masqalah:
when al-Hasan ibn Ali was in the agonies of death, he said: carry my bed out to the flat roof.
It was carried out, and he said: O Allah, I place my soul in trust with You, for it is the dearest of souls to me.
al-Waqidi: Abdallah ibn Nafi' narrated to us, from his father, from Ibn Umar, who said:
I was present at the death of al-Hasan and said to al-Husayn: fear Allah, do not raise a fitna, do not let the bloods flow: bury your brother beside his mother, for he made bequest to you of it.
Abu 'Awana: from Husayn, from Abu Hazim, who said:
when al-Hasan was in the agonies of death, he said to al-Husayn: bury me beside my father: he means the Prophet, peace be upon him: unless you fear the bloods, then bury me in the graveyards of the Muslims.
When he had died, al-Husayn armed himself, gathered his freedmen; Abu Hurayrah said to him: I adjure you by Allah and by the bequest of your brother: the people will not leave you without there being between you bloods.
So he buried him at al-Baqi', and Abu Hurayrah said: do you see: if the son of Musa had been brought to be buried with his father and he had been prevented from it, would they not have wronged them?
They said: yes.
He said: now behold the son of the prophet of Allah, peace be upon him, who has been brought to be buried with his father.
And from a man, who said:
Abu Hurayrah said once, on the day al-Hasan was buried: may Allah kill Marwan.
He said: by Allah, I would not have left the son of Abu Turab bury with the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, while Uthman was buried at al-Baqi'.
al-Waqidi: 'Ubaydallah ibn Mirdas narrated to us, from his father, from al-Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah, who said:
al-Hasan kept counseling al-Husayn: O my brother! Guard yourself from letting blood flow, for the people are quick to fitna.
When he died, al-Madinah trembled with cries, and one
met none but weepers.
And Marwan wrote to Mu'awiyah the news, and that they want to bury him with the Prophet, peace be upon him, and that they will never attain that while I live.
So al-Husayn came to the grave of the Prophet, peace be upon him, and said: dig.
He was prevented from it: Sa'id ibn al-'As, the emir of al-Madinah, interposed and drew aside, and Marwan cried out facing the Banu Umayyah, and they donned the weapons.
al-Husayn said to him: O son of the blue hennas: what have you with this! Are you not yourself?
He said: do not address that while I live.
al-Husayn cried out the alliance of al-Fudul; Hashim, Taym, Zuhrah and Assad gathered in arms, and Marwan tied a banner, and there was
And Abdallah ibn Ja'far pressed al-Husayn, saying: O cousin! Have you not heard the bequest of your brother? I remind you of Allah regarding it.
al-Hasan ibn Muhammad said: I heard my father say:
I saw myself that day wanting to strike off the head of Marwan: nothing separated me from it but that I saw him come
Then he went to his brother, reminded him of the bequest of al-Hasan, and he obeyed me.
Juwayriyah ibn Asma' said: when the coffin of al-Hasan was brought out, Marwan carried his bed, and al-Husayn said: he carries his bed! He
He said: I was doing that toward one who equaled the mountains in forbearance.
And it is narrated that Aisha said: there will never be for them a fourth; and he is the best of my house: the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, gave him to me.
Its chain is dark.
al-Thawri: from Salim ibn Abi Hafsah; he heard Abu Hazim say: I witness the day al-Hasan died, and I saw al-Husayn say to Abu Hurayrah, at his nape:
advance; were it not that it is a sunnah, I would not have done it: he means: in the prayer.
Abu Hurayrah said: I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, say: whoever loves them has loved me, and whoever hates them has hated me.
Ibn Ishaq: Mussawwar al-Sa'di narrated to me, who said:
I saw Abu Hurayrah standing in the mosque of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, the day al-Hasan died: he wept and called
Ja'far al-Sadiq said: al-Hasan lived forty-seven years.
I say: he who transmitted from Ja'far that he was fifty-eight erred by an evident error.
al-Waqidi, Sa'id ibn 'Affir and Khalifah say: he died in the year forty-nine.
And al-Mada'ini, al-Ghalabi, al-Zubayr, Ibn al-Kalbi and others say: he died in the year fifty.
Some added: in Rabi' al-Awwal.
And al-Bukhari said: in the year fifty-one.
And Abu Na'im al-Mala'i erred in saying: in the year fifty-eight.
And Ibn Abd al-Barr transmitted: when they asked Aisha to bury al-Hasan in the chamber, she said: yes, and by grace.
Marwan prevented them from it, they donned the weapons, and he was buried beside his mother at al-Baqi', at her side.
And from the Isti'ab of Abu Umar, he said:
al-Hasan marched toward Mu'awiyah, and Mu'awiyah marched toward him, and he knew that neither of the two factions would overcome the other until the greater part of it perished, and he
answered him, and he almost flew with joy, except that he said: as for ten souls, no.
al-Hasan returned upon them with him, and wrote: I have sworn that when I prevail over Qays ibn Sa'd, I shall strike off his tongue and his hand.
He said: I will not pledge you allegiance.
So Mu'awiyah sent him a white sheet and said: write on it what you wish, and I hold to it.
So they agreed on that.
And al-Hasan made it conditional with him that the affair be his after him, and Mu'awiyah held to all of that.
'Amr said: their crest has come loose, and their thorns are broken.
He said: do you not know that forty thousand pledged allegiance upon Ali on death? By Allah, they will not kill before their equal in number be killed among us.
Abu Umar said: he handed the affair over to Mu'awiyah in mid-Jumada al-Ula, of the year forty-one.
He said: and he died, according to what is said, in the year forty-nine.
It is said: in Rabi' al-Awwal, of the year fifty.
It is said: in the year fifty-one.
He said: and we have received, by ways: that al-Hasan, when he was in the agonies of death, said to al-Husayn:
O my brother! Your father, when the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, had died, coveted this affair: Allah turned him away from it
toward it: and I think the people will do nothing but prevent you from it: if they do it, bury me at al-Baqi'.
When he died, Aisha said: yes, and by grace.
This reached Marwan, who said: he lied, and may you lie; by Allah, he will never be buried there: Uthman was prevented from burying in the graveyard
So al-Husayn and those with him donned the weapons, and Marwan also girt himself in iron; then Abu Hurayrah rose to extinguish the fitna.
May Allah shelter us from the fitnas, and may He be pleased with all the Companions: be then pleased with them, O my partisan, and you shall prosper, and do not enter between them:
And we ask Allah to forgive us and to make us firm by the firm word: amin.
The sons of al-Hasan are: al-Hasan, Zayd, Talhah, al-Qasim, Abu Bakr and Abdallah: they were killed at Karbala with their uncle.
And none of them left descendants except the two first men: al-Hasan and Zayd.
al-Hasan has five sons who left descendants, and Zayd one son who is al-Hasan ibn Zayd: he has descendants only through him, and he held the emirate of al-Madinah
This Companion also has a full Sira page: Al-Hasan Ibn Ali.
Depending on the sources and the transliteration styles, the name is also written: al-Hasan ibn Ali, Hasan ibn Ali, al-Hasan the grandson of the Prophet, Abu Muhammad al-Hasan, Dhun-Nurayn, Imam Hasan. All these spellings refer to the same person, as related by the hafiz al-Dhahabi.