The Political Perspective of Imam Hasan al-Mujtaba (AS)
By: Seyyed Ali Shahbaz
"Hasan and Husain are Imams (Divinely-Designated Leaders), whether they sit (make peace) or rise (with the sword against deviation).”
The above statement from no less a personality than the Almighty’s Last and Greatest Messenger to all mankind with the universal message of Islam, is proof of the unrivalled merits of his two grandsons, whom he also hailed as "Leaders of the Youth of Paradise”.
These merits of the two brothers, who salvaged Islam in two different ways within a period of twenty years in accordance with the political conditions of their times against two avowed enemies of the mission of Prophet Muhammad (SAWA), having contrasting approaches to deceive and destroy Muslims, are mentioned in all books of hadith and history of both the Sunni and Shi’a Muslims.
If in 41 AH, Imam Hasan (AS) had to resort to the masterstroke of truce (peace) to unmask the hypocrisy of the Omayyad rebel Mu’awiyya ibn Abu Sufyan by relinquishing the caliphate or political rule that was worthless when compared to his spiritual authority as the Divinely-designated Leader of all mankind, his younger brother Imam Husain (AS) in his own capacity as God’s Representative on Earth had to court martyrdom on the battlefield in 61 AH, along with his sons, brothers, nephews, cousins, and loyal companions to expose Yazid ibn Mu’awiyya as a heathen with not even the remotest connection to Islam.
In other words, in the same manner that Imam Husain (AS) had given his full support to his elder brother’s decision to kick the caliphate away in order to uncover Mu’awiyya as a crafty criminal undermining Islam by masquerading as a Muslim, Imam Hasan (AS), if he had been alive to see the accursed Yazid seizing the reins of caliphate, he would have adopted his younger brother’s tactics to rise against the Godless despot and court martyrdom on the battlefield in order to save Islam and the teachings of his grandfather, Prophet Muhammad (SAWA).
To be more precise, the mission of a Divinely-designated Leader is to preserve the genuine teachings of Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) in the face of apostasy, hypocrisy, distortion, and deviation, by means of political prudence and as per the changing circumstances, as was demonstrated by the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS).
In 11 AH when his right of political leadership so clearly specified by Prophet Muhammad on 18th Zilhijja 10 AH at Ghadeer-Khom, was usurped by a group of neo Muslims, Imam Ali (AS), the person who had single-handedly won many a crucial battle, didn’t unsheathe his sword but allowed the self-styled caliphs to continue their rule of the Islamic state, for fear that an armed encounter would make the majority of the Arabs revert to paganism, and in addition would indicate that he was thirsty for power at all costs.
Yet, a quarter century later when the caliphate came begging at his doorstep and Imam Ali (AS) reluctantly assumed political power, he didn’t sit quiet against the oath-breakers, seditionists, and renegades, and had to crush their rebellions on the battlefields of Jamal, Siffeen, and Nahrwan, for the sake of preserving Muslim unity and the genuine teachings of Prophet Muhammad (SAWA), even if it meant he would be martyred.
Thus, as the Divinely-designated heirs to their Immaculate Father, both Imam Hasan (AS) and Imam Husain (AS) for the sake of Islam, adopted prudent policies, irrespective of the loss of the caliphate for the elder brother, or the loss of life for the younger brother.
Since today, the 7th of Safar, according to a narration, is the anniversary of the martyrdom of Imam Hasan al-Mujtaba (AS) in 50 AH, it will not be out of context to focus briefly on his political perspectives, which brilliantly outlined:
"Politics means observing the rights of God and the rights of the living, and the rights of the dead. The rights of God mean that you should obey His orders, and avoid what He forbids. The rights of the living mean that you should observe your duty to your brethren and not tarry in serving your people. You should be faithful to the one in (legitimate) authority among you as long as he is faithful to the people. You should speak up in his face should he deviate from the right path. The rights of the dead mean that you should remember their good deeds and overlook their bad ones. They have a Lord, Who shall ask them about whatever they did.”
Following the martyrdom of Imam Ali (AS) on 21st Ramadhan 40 AH, Imam Hasan (AS) was acknowledged by the masses as the caliph of a realm that stretched from North Africa to the borders of China in Central Asia, and which is now made up of at least 20 countries. It was a vast realm whose western parts were being gradually seized by the bloody thirst for political power of Mu’awiyya and his comrade-in-crimes against Islam, Amr bin Aas.
Imam Hasan (AS) showed his political astuteness by mobilizing a force of 40,000 and marching to meet the enemy. However, when he found that the satanic stratagem of Mu’awiyya, whose wanton killing and pillaging of Muslims, coupled with pretensions for peace, had weakened the faith of the Iraqis and made them lose the stomach to fight deviation, he decided to relinquish the caliphate, but on certain conditions, in order to expose falsehood in its true colours.
In addition to the hypocrites within his own ranks who at least twice attempted to assassinate him, and the treason of his military commander Obaidollah ibn Abbas who deserted and demoralized the 12,000 army sent by the Imam against the Syrians and crossed over to the side of Mu’awiyya on being bribed, he was also aware of the fact that Emperor Constantine IV of Byzantine or the Eastern Roman Empire was closely watching events in the Islamic world. The Christian power was looking for an opportunity to seize Bayt al-Moqaddas (Jerusalem) by taking advantage of the intended civil war of Mu’awiyya in Iraq.
This is further proof of the political foresight of Imam Hasan (AS). His God-given spiritual powers that no political usurper could seize nor any traitor could harm, deemed it prudent to give up political power in order to save Islam and Muslims from both Umayyad hypocrisy and European hegemony.
If Mu’awiyya, who was a pagan at heart and a reluctant convert to Islam as
late as 8 AH at the peaceful surrender of Mecca to Muslims (some two years before the Prophet passed away), the fall of Palestine to the Byzantines would have forced the people of Syria, and even of Egypt (both of whom were new converts to Islam), to return to Christianity and place their countries again under Roman rule.
Moreover, like his father he had neither attachment to worldly rule as power-hungry and unprincipled politicians have, nor could he be heedless of the people’s needs and sufferings as a result of unnecessary spilling of blood in an atmosphere where beliefs were still confounded because of the sedition wrought at Saqifa Bani Sa’da no sooner had his grandfather left the world.
Thus on 26th Rabi al-Awwal 41 AH, after six months as caliph, he took the politically prudent step of concluding the treaty with Mu’awiyya that was as decisive as the Prophet’s signing of the Treaty of Hudaybiya with the Meccan infidels, which God has hailed as "Fath al-Mobeen” (Manifest Victory) in the Holy Qur’an (48:1).
Among the stipulations of the treaty was that Mu’awiyya should rule according to the Book of God and the Sunnah of the Prophet; he should stop his pagan practice of insulting the name of Imam Ali (AS); he should not shed Muslim blood in pursuit of his political ambitions; he has no right to nominate any successor; the caliphate should return to Imam Hasan (AS) after him; and the revenues of the district of Darabgard near Shiraz, are assigned for the upkeep of the families of those who attained martyrdom in the battles imposed upon Imam Ali (AS).
In his greed for the caliphate the avaricious Mu’awiyya agreed to the terms of the treaty, but soon, to the horror of the deceived Iraqis, he breached each and every of its clauses. He told them that from now on it is the swords of the Syrians and their necks if they were to oppose Omayyad policies. The ingrates had learned it the hard way not to trust the occupiers and the enemies of the Ahl al-Bayt.
For his part, Imam Hasan (AS) relinquished the caliphate and retired to Medina to carry on the mission of his grandfather, while the usurper Mu’awiyya broke all commitments to the clauses of the treaty.
He transgressed the rights of God through sins in public; violated the rights of the dead Muslims whose image he tried to tarnish by reviling their blessed memory including that of Imam Ali (AS); suppressed the rights of the living by killing and tyrannically exploiting them; had Imam Hasan (AS) fatally poisoned; and towards the end of his long rule imposed his libertine son, Yazid, as heir – amost abominable crime in the history that was defeated at Karbala by Imam Husain (AS) who sacrificed his life to salvage Islam in 61 AH.
"Hasan and Husain are Imams (Divinely-Designated Leaders), whether they sit (make peace) or rise (with the sword against deviation).”
The above statement from no less a personality than the Almighty’s Last and Greatest Messenger to all mankind with the universal message of Islam, is proof of the unrivalled merits of his two grandsons, whom he also hailed as "Leaders of the Youth of Paradise”.
These merits of the two brothers, who salvaged Islam in two different ways within a period of twenty years in accordance with the political conditions of their times against two avowed enemies of the mission of Prophet Muhammad (SAWA), having contrasting approaches to deceive and destroy Muslims, are mentioned in all books of hadith and history of both the Sunni and Shi’a Muslims.
If in 41 AH, Imam Hasan (AS) had to resort to the masterstroke of truce (peace) to unmask the hypocrisy of the Omayyad rebel Mu’awiyya ibn Abu Sufyan by relinquishing the caliphate or political rule that was worthless when compared to his spiritual authority as the Divinely-designated Leader of all mankind, his younger brother Imam Husain (AS) in his own capacity as God’s Representative on Earth had to court martyrdom on the battlefield in 61 AH, along with his sons, brothers, nephews, cousins, and loyal companions to expose Yazid ibn Mu’awiyya as a heathen with not even the remotest connection to Islam.
In other words, in the same manner that Imam Husain (AS) had given his full support to his elder brother’s decision to kick the caliphate away in order to uncover Mu’awiyya as a crafty criminal undermining Islam by masquerading as a Muslim, Imam Hasan (AS), if he had been alive to see the accursed Yazid seizing the reins of caliphate, he would have adopted his younger brother’s tactics to rise against the Godless despot and court martyrdom on the battlefield in order to save Islam and the teachings of his grandfather, Prophet Muhammad (SAWA).
To be more precise, the mission of a Divinely-designated Leader is to preserve the genuine teachings of Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) in the face of apostasy, hypocrisy, distortion, and deviation, by means of political prudence and as per the changing circumstances, as was demonstrated by the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS).
In 11 AH when his right of political leadership so clearly specified by Prophet Muhammad on 18th Zilhijja 10 AH at Ghadeer-Khom, was usurped by a group of neo Muslims, Imam Ali (AS), the person who had single-handedly won many a crucial battle, didn’t unsheathe his sword but allowed the self-styled caliphs to continue their rule of the Islamic state, for fear that an armed encounter would make the majority of the Arabs revert to paganism, and in addition would indicate that he was thirsty for power at all costs.
Yet, a quarter century later when the caliphate came begging at his doorstep and Imam Ali (AS) reluctantly assumed political power, he didn’t sit quiet against the oath-breakers, seditionists, and renegades, and had to crush their rebellions on the battlefields of Jamal, Siffeen, and Nahrwan, for the sake of preserving Muslim unity and the genuine teachings of Prophet Muhammad (SAWA), even if it meant he would be martyred.
Thus, as the Divinely-designated heirs to their Immaculate Father, both Imam Hasan (AS) and Imam Husain (AS) for the sake of Islam, adopted prudent policies, irrespective of the loss of the caliphate for the elder brother, or the loss of life for the younger brother.
Since today, the 7th of Safar, according to a narration, is the anniversary of the martyrdom of Imam Hasan al-Mujtaba (AS) in 50 AH, it will not be out of context to focus briefly on his political perspectives, which brilliantly outlined:
"Politics means observing the rights of God and the rights of the living, and the rights of the dead. The rights of God mean that you should obey His orders, and avoid what He forbids. The rights of the living mean that you should observe your duty to your brethren and not tarry in serving your people. You should be faithful to the one in (legitimate) authority among you as long as he is faithful to the people. You should speak up in his face should he deviate from the right path. The rights of the dead mean that you should remember their good deeds and overlook their bad ones. They have a Lord, Who shall ask them about whatever they did.”
Following the martyrdom of Imam Ali (AS) on 21st Ramadhan 40 AH, Imam Hasan (AS) was acknowledged by the masses as the caliph of a realm that stretched from North Africa to the borders of China in Central Asia, and which is now made up of at least 20 countries. It was a vast realm whose western parts were being gradually seized by the bloody thirst for political power of Mu’awiyya and his comrade-in-crimes against Islam, Amr bin Aas.
Imam Hasan (AS) showed his political astuteness by mobilizing a force of 40,000 and marching to meet the enemy. However, when he found that the satanic stratagem of Mu’awiyya, whose wanton killing and pillaging of Muslims, coupled with pretensions for peace, had weakened the faith of the Iraqis and made them lose the stomach to fight deviation, he decided to relinquish the caliphate, but on certain conditions, in order to expose falsehood in its true colours.
In addition to the hypocrites within his own ranks who at least twice attempted to assassinate him, and the treason of his military commander Obaidollah ibn Abbas who deserted and demoralized the 12,000 army sent by the Imam against the Syrians and crossed over to the side of Mu’awiyya on being bribed, he was also aware of the fact that Emperor Constantine IV of Byzantine or the Eastern Roman Empire was closely watching events in the Islamic world. The Christian power was looking for an opportunity to seize Bayt al-Moqaddas (Jerusalem) by taking advantage of the intended civil war of Mu’awiyya in Iraq.
This is further proof of the political foresight of Imam Hasan (AS). His God-given spiritual powers that no political usurper could seize nor any traitor could harm, deemed it prudent to give up political power in order to save Islam and Muslims from both Umayyad hypocrisy and European hegemony.
If Mu’awiyya, who was a pagan at heart and a reluctant convert to Islam as
late as 8 AH at the peaceful surrender of Mecca to Muslims (some two years before the Prophet passed away), the fall of Palestine to the Byzantines would have forced the people of Syria, and even of Egypt (both of whom were new converts to Islam), to return to Christianity and place their countries again under Roman rule.
Moreover, like his father he had neither attachment to worldly rule as power-hungry and unprincipled politicians have, nor could he be heedless of the people’s needs and sufferings as a result of unnecessary spilling of blood in an atmosphere where beliefs were still confounded because of the sedition wrought at Saqifa Bani Sa’da no sooner had his grandfather left the world.
Thus on 26th Rabi al-Awwal 41 AH, after six months as caliph, he took the politically prudent step of concluding the treaty with Mu’awiyya that was as decisive as the Prophet’s signing of the Treaty of Hudaybiya with the Meccan infidels, which God has hailed as "Fath al-Mobeen” (Manifest Victory) in the Holy Qur’an (48:1).
It is worth recalling here that at Hudaybiya in 7 AH, while the 4-year old Imam Hasan (AS) was endeared by Muslims as "Rayhanat ar-Rasoul” (Basil of the Prophet), the 27-year old Mu’awiyya was still a pagan and an open enemy of Islam, along with his equally accursed parents, Abu Sufyan and Hind (who had tried to chew the ripped-off liver of the Prophet’s uncle, Hamza, after having martyred him at the Battle of Ohad).
In his greed for the caliphate the avaricious Mu’awiyya agreed to the terms of the treaty, but soon, to the horror of the deceived Iraqis, he breached each and every of its clauses. He told them that from now on it is the swords of the Syrians and their necks if they were to oppose Omayyad policies. The ingrates had learned it the hard way not to trust the occupiers and the enemies of the Ahl al-Bayt.
For his part, Imam Hasan (AS) relinquished the caliphate and retired to Medina to carry on the mission of his grandfather, while the usurper Mu’awiyya broke all commitments to the clauses of the treaty.
He transgressed the rights of God through sins in public; violated the rights of the dead Muslims whose image he tried to tarnish by reviling their blessed memory including that of Imam Ali (AS); suppressed the rights of the living by killing and tyrannically exploiting them; had Imam Hasan (AS) fatally poisoned; and towards the end of his long rule imposed his libertine son, Yazid, as heir – amost abominable crime in the history that was defeated at Karbala by Imam Husain (AS) who sacrificed his life to salvage Islam in 61 AH.