Blessed Birthday of Imam Hasan Mojtaba (AS)

Today is the 15th of the fasting month of Ramadhan, a day on which the All-Merciful Lord granted an excellent grandson to His Last and Greatest Messenger, Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny).

The newborn was such an excellent baby and was destined to grow up into an excellent man, that the Prophet on the commandment of God, brought to him by the Archangel Gabriel, gave his grandson the name “Hasan”, which in Arabic means the Most Excellent. The proud parents of the radiant baby were the Prophet’s Immaculate Daughter, Hazrat Fatem Zahra and her Infallible Husband, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (peace upon them. Stay with us for a special feature on this auspicious occasion, but listen to an excellent aphorism from Imam Hasan Mojtaba (AS), which is certainly food for thought.

"Think, because thinking is the life of the heart of a man who sees, and is the key to doors of wisdom."

The Arabic word “Tafakkur” and its derivatives, which mean thinking, contemplation, thinking, pondering, and reflecting, has been emphasized by the Almighty in the holy Qur’an in several of its ayahs, in order to firm up our faith, enable us to realize the realities of creation, help us sift truth from falsehood, open our minds to discover the bezels of wisdom, and enlighten our hearts to find the facts of salvation.

As we said this aphorism from Imam Hasan Mojtaba (AS), who, along with his father, Imam Ali, brother Imam Husain, nephew and son-in-law Imam Zain al-Abedin, grandson, that is, daughter’s son Imam Mohammad Baqer, and the latter’s Seven Infallible Offspring, is often referred to as “Qur’an an-Nateq” or the Speaking Qur’an. This is further proof of God’s infinite mercy in making the progeny of the Prophet hailed in the Holy Qur’an as “Mercy unto the creation”, as the Gateway of Salvation for mankind. 

The auspicious 15^th of the fasting month of Ramadhan, the birthday of this blessed figure in Medina in 3 AH, provides us an opportunity to dwell on his unrivalled excellence.

At his birth, the Prophet of Islam became grandfather for the first time, and by the command of God Almighty named him “Hasan” which as we said earlier, means the Most Excellent.

What an excellent Imam he proved is borne out of his wise move in unmasking hypocrisy through a masterstroke of a peace treaty with the most sinister heathen of his time, who was masquerading as a Muslim in order to deceive Muslims so as to subject the Ummah to the un-Islamic rule of the Godless Omayyads.

Imam Hasan al-Mujtaba (AS), who along with his younger brother, Imam Husain (AS), has been hailed by the Prophet as “Leaders of the Youth of Paradise”, spared no efforts in guiding the seekers of truth.

Imam Hasan (AS), along with his brother, Imam Husain (AS), grew up in the lap of the Prophet. By Divine Commandment both the brothers, along with their parents, accompanied the Prophet to the crucial Mobahela with the Christians of Najran for the unique challenge of proving the truth and invoking of God’s Wrath on the liars, as mentioned in ayah 61 of Surah Nisa’ in the holy Qur’an. The holy Qur’an also confirms in ayah 33 of Surah Ahzab the pristine purity of this select group, whom God Almighty calls the Ahl al-Bayt. On numerous occasions, the Prophet explained to his companions and the rest of the Muslims the prime position of his two grandsons. Imam Hasan was almost 8 years when his father departed from the mortal world, and in the next three m months, he witnessed the tragic martyrdom of his beloved mother. For the next twenty-five years, Imam Hasan (AS), endured the usurpation of the political right of leadership of his father, the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali (AS).

In 36 AH, when the caliphate came begging at the doorstep of his father, and the Commander of the Faithful reluctantly agreed to take charge of political affairs of the Ummah, Imam Hasan (AS), along with his brother, Imam Husain (AS), spared no efforts to help manage the works entrusted to them for the betterment of the Ummah. For the next four-and-a-half years, the model government of social justice functioned smoothly despite the wars imposed by the hypocrites and the renegades on the Commander of the Faithful.

In 40 AH, on the martyrdom of his father, the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali (AS), Imam Hasan (AS) took charge of the caliphate or temporal rule of the Islamic realm, at a crucial period in Islamic history. Those were the days, when Mu’awiya ibn Abu Sufyan, the rebellious governor of the large province of Sham – made up of present day Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Occupied Palestine – was trying to undermine the rule of the Ahl al-Bayt, by threatening and killing Muslims and bribing those who were weak of faith. Mu’awiya, who was a hardcore heathen at heart, outwardly professed Islam in order to deceive Muslims, who were now hopelessly divided and failed to discern truth from falsehood, because of the adverse propaganda.

Imam Hasan (AS), as the divinely-designated 2^nd Infallible Heir of the Prophet, sensed the danger to the Muslim community. At first he made utmost efforts to mobilize the faithful to confront Mu’awiya and defeat his conspiracies on the battlefield. However, when he saw the weakness faith of the Iraqis, the gross ignorance of the Syrians, the intransigence of the Hijazis, and the hesitancy of the Yemenis – the four main Muslim elements of those days – he decided that in such precarious situation, armed confrontation to the devilishness and sedition of Mu’awiya was not the solution, especially when the Christian Byzantine Emperor was waiting for civil war amongst Muslims, in order to launch an attack to seize Palestine and Bayt al-Moqaddas.

Like his grandfather, Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), who decades earlier at Hudaibiyya had agreed to truce with Mecca’s pagan Arabs, amongst whom Mu’awiya was also present as an open enemy of Islam, Imam Hasan (AS) agreed to enter into truce and relinquish the caliphate, but on certain terms and conditions. An elated Mu’awiyya eagerly seized the caliphate and then to the horror of the Iraqis and others who had wrongly thought that peace would now prevail, he proceeded to violate every clause of the treaty with the Prophet’s Heir, thereby exposing himself in his true heathen colours. It was now too late for those ignorant elements, which had unwittingly pressured Imam Hasan (AS) to surrender the political rule, and now found themselves the target of the tyranny of the Omayyads.  

Imam Hasan (AS), whose God-given right of Imamate was beyond the grasp of any usurper, retired to Medina to continue his guiding role, without the trapping of officialdom. He continued his guiding role through sermons and admonishments, making the Muslim realize the gravity of their blunder in being deceived by the false promises of Mu’awiya. The Imam had no regrets, because whether the people acknowledged or not, his position was designated by God Almighty.

Once when a certain mystic named Hasan al-Basri wrote to Imam Hasan (AS), asking him about the Divine decree, the Grandson of the Messenger of Allah (SAWA) answered him in these words:

"Mind you, he who does not believe that all sudden incidents that happen, be they good or bad, are known earlier by Allah, is an infidel. He who blames sins on Allah, is unchaste. Allah is not obeyed against His will. He is not sinned against by force. He does not leave aside His servants in His Kingdom. He is the Owner of what He gives to them. He is the Powerful over whatever He puts at the disposal of them. Nay, He orders them with no coercion, and prohibits them as a warning. If they opt to obey Him, none would stand in their way, and if they choose to sin, He may prevent them from doing it. But if He does not, He is not to blame, because it is not He Who forces them to do it, or compels them into committing it against their will. But He does them a favor by opening their eyes, teaching, warning, ordering and prohibiting them. He does not force them to do what He orders, so as to be like the angels, not does He pressure them to keep away from what He forbids. Allah"s is certainly the conclusive argument. If Allah willed, He would have guided you to the right path..."

Another instance of the Imam’s excellent characteristics was the encounter in Medina with a man from Syria, who was imbued with hatred and spite against the family of the Prophet, because of the deceit of Mu’awiya bin Abu-Sufyan. On seeing Imam Hasan (AS) he emitted a series of curses!

The Imam did not interrupt him. When the Syrian had finished, the Imam approached him with a tender smile, and said:

"O old man! I think you are a stranger here. Maybe you mistook me for someone else? If you propitiate us, we will satisfy you. If you ask us, we will give you what you need. If you ask our advice, we will guide you. If you ask us to give you a ride, we will take you with us. If you are hungry, we will satisfy you. If you are naked, we will clothe you. If you are in need, we will make you rich. If you are a refugee, we will give you lodgings. If you have a request, we will grant it. If you join your luggage to ours, and be our guest until the time of your travel, it will be more useful to you, because we have a spacious place, a good social position, and a vast amount of money."

On hearing these words, the Syrian broke into tears, and said: “I bear witness that you are the viceroy of Allah on the earth. Allah knows best whom to entrust with His message. You and your father were the most hateful creatures of Allah to me. But now you and your father are the most beloved from among all the creatures of Allah to me."

Then the Imam took the Syrian to his house as his guest till the time of his departure. The man had completely changed his opinion and position toward Ahl al-Bayt (AS).

This was Imam Hasan (AS) whose birthday we celebrate today, and one of whose famous aphorisms is:

“It is love which brings closer those who are remote by ancestry, and it is (the absence of) love which causes dissociation between those who are related by ancestry.”

AS/SS