Biographies of Leaders of Islam

The Eeleventh Imam Hasan Al-'askari (as)

NAME AND PARENTAGE

His name is AL-HASAN, ABU MUHAMMAD. Being a resident of 'ASKARI, a suburb of SAMARRA', he is titled AL-'ASKARI. His father was IMAM ALI AN-NAQI (AS) and his mother was SALIL KHATUN, an ideal woman impiety, worship, chastity and generosity. He was born in Medina on the tenth of RABI' AL-AKHIR, 232, A.H. (December 4, 846 A.D.)

UPBRINGING AND INSTRUCTION

He lived under the care of his respected father up to the age of 11. Then his father had to leave for SAMARRA' and he was to accompany him and thus share the hardships of the journey with the family. At SAMARRA', he passed his time with his father either in imprisonment or in partial freedom. He had, however, the chance to benefit from his father's teaching and instruction.

IMAMATE

His father died in 254 A.H. (868 A.D.) when he himself was twenty-two. Four months before his death, the father declared his son to be his successor and executor of his will, asking his followers to bear witness to the fact. Thus the responsibilities of Imamate were vested upon him which he fulfilled even in the face of great difficulties and hostile environment.

BEHAVIOR OF CONTEMPORARY KINGS

As stated above, it is peculiar to IMAM HASAN AL-'ASKARI (AS) that he partook in all misfortunes and hardships suffered by his father, whether imprisonment or confinement. In the early days of his Imamate, AL-MU'TAZZ AL-ABBASI was the caliph. When the latter was deposed, he was succeeded by AL-MUHTADI. After his brief reign of only eleven months and one weak, AL-MU'TAMAD came to the throne. During their regimes, IMAM HASAN AL-'ASKARI (AS) did not enjoy peace at all. Although the ABBASIDE dynasty was involved in constant complications and disorders, each and every king thought it necessary to keep the Imam imprisoned.

One of the holy Prophet's traditions ran that the Prophet would be succeeded by twelve princes, the last of whom would be the MAHDI, QA'IN ALLI MUHAMMAD. The ABBASIDES knew well that the true successors of the Prophet were these very Imams. AL-HASAN (AS) being the eleventh of this serried, his son would surely be the 12th or the last. They, therefore, tried to put an end to his life in such a way which would ensure that there would be nobody to succeed him. Therefore the simple confinement inflicted on IMAM ALI AN-NAQI (AS) was considered inadequate for IMAM HASAN AL-'ASKARI (AS),

so he was imprisoned, away from his family. No doubt the revolutionary intervals between two regimes gave him brief periods of freedom. Yet as soon as the new king came to the throne, he followed his predecessor's policy and imprisoned the Imam again. The Imam's brief life, therefore, was mostly spent inside dungeon cells.

The hardship of imprisonment reached its extremity during the reign of AL-MU'TAMAD, although the latter knew the rank and righteousness of the Imam as did all other preceding rulers. Once during a devastating drought, a Christian hermit was able to demonstrate that he could being rain whenever he prayed to God. This led many Muslims to convert to Christianity. In order to save Islam from this calamity, IMAM HASAN AL-'ASKARI (AS) was brought out of jail. He noticed how that Christian hermit raised his hands in prayers, and how as soon as he did so rain started pouring down. Approaching him, the Imam opened the Christian's hand and took away from it a piece of bone the hermit was holding. Turning to the crowd, the Imam explained that it was that piece of bone,

not the Christian that caused the rain to pour. He told them that that piece of bone belonged to the corpse of one of the Prophets of God, and he proved his point upon raising it himself in his hand, an upon doing so, lo, rain started pouring down again, as if the skies were weeping for the prophet. The Imam thus removed the common doubts from the hearts of the people and kept them firmly on Islam. AL-MU'TAMAD was so impressed that he felt too ashamed to send the Imam back to prison; so, he put him under house arrest instead. Complete freedom, however, was not granted.

APPOINTMENT OF DEPUTIES

Under all circumstances, the Imams carried out their duties of guiding the people. IMAM HASAN AL-'ASKARI (AS) was subjected to numerous restrictions, so much so that those who sought to learn the teachings of AHL AL-BAYT (AS) and their SHI'AH point of view could not reach him. In order to solve this problem, the Imam appointed certain confidants as his deputies in view of their knowledge of jurisprudence. These persons satisfied the curiosity of inquirers as much as they could. But if they could not solve certain theological problems, they would keep them pending the acquisition of their solutions from the imam whenever they got the opportunity to see him. Of course the visit to the imam by a few individuals could be allowed by the government but certainly not by groups who wished to see the Imam on a regular basis.

The KHUMS (1/5 of total savings) which was being paid to the Imams by the believers who cherished these Imams and regarded them as representatives of the Divine Law was spent by these sacred saints on religious matters, and to sustain the Prophet's descendants. This KHUMS was now secretly collected by these deputies who spent it according to the directives of the Imam. They accordingly were in constant danger of being identified as such by the government's secret intelligence service. In order to divert this danger, UTHMAN IBN SA'ID and his son ABU JA'FAR MUHAMMAD, two prominent deputies of the Imam in the capital Baghdad, ran a big shop trading in oils. This provided them with free contact with the concerned people. It was thus that even under the very thumb of the tyrant regime that those devotees managed to run the system of the Divine Law unsuspected.

CHARACTER AND VIRTUES

IMAM HASAN AL'ASKARI (AS) was one of that illustrious series of the immaculate Infallibles each member of whom displayed the moral excellence of human perfection. He was peerless in knowledge, forbearance, forgiveness, generosity, sacrifice and piety. Whenever AL-MU'TAMAD asked anybody about his captive IMAM HASAN AL'ASKARI (AS), he was told that the Imam fasted during the day and worshipped during the night, and that his tongue uttered no word but remembrance of his maker. During the brief periods of freedom and stay at home, people approached him hoping to avail from his benevolence, and they went back well rewarded. Once when the ABBASIDE caliph asked AHMED IBN ABDALLAH IBN KHAQAN, his Minister for Charities (AWQAF), about the descendants of Imam Ali (as), he reported: "I do not know anybody among them who is more distinguished than HASAN AL-ASKARI.

None can surpass him in dignity, knowledge, piety and abstinence, nor can anybody match him in the point of nobleness, majestic grandeur, modesty and honesty".

When his father IMAM ALI AN-NAQI (AS) died and the family was busy arranging his burial, some servants stole certain articles, thinking that none would notice it. When the burial was over, he called the servants and said: "I ask you about some items; if you tell me the truth, I shall pardon you; but if you speak falsely, I shall get all those items from your possession and punish you fully". Then he asked each for the items he had stolen. When they confessed their guilt, he got the articles back from them and spared them the penalty.

AS CENTER OF LEARNING

IMAM HASAN AL-'ASKARI (AS) had a brief span of life, only twenty-eight years, but even in this short period, which was ruffled by a chain of troubles and tribulations, several high ranking scholars benefited from his ocean of knowledge. He also stemmed the flood of atheism and disbelief which ensued from the philosophers of that age, winning conspicuous success over them. One of those was ISHAQ AL-KINDI. He was writing a book on what he called "self-contradictions" in the holy QUR'AN. When the news reached the Imam, he waited for an opportunity to refute and rebut him. By chance, some of ISHAQ'S students came to him. The imam asked them: "Is there anyone among you who can stop ISHAQ from wasting his time in this useless effort fighting the holy QUR'AN?" The students said: "Sir, we are his students; how can we object to his teaching?" The Imam urged that they could at least convey to their teacher what he had to tell them. They replied that they would be ready to cooperate as much as they could in that respect.

The Imam then recited a few verses from the holy QUR'AN which the philosopher thought as contradictory of one another. He then explained to them thus: "Your teacher thinks that some of the words in these verses have only one meaning. But according to the Arabic tongue, these words have other meanings too which, when taken into consideration, indicate no contradiction in the overall meaning. Thus, your teacher is not justified for basing his objections and claim of contradictions on the premises of the 'wrong meaning' he himself selects for such verses". He then put up some examples of such words before them so clearly that the students conceived the whole discussion and the precedents of more than one meaning.

When these students visited ISHAQ AL-KNIDI, and after routine talk, reproduced the disputed points, he was surprised. He was a fair-minded scholar and he listened to his students' explanations. Then he said: "What you have argued is above your capacity; tell me truly who has taught you these points?" The students said that it was their own reflection, but when he insisted that they could never have conceived those points, they admitted that it was explained to them by ABU MUHAMMAD IMAM AL-'ASKARI (AS). The instructor said: "Yes, this level of knowledge is the heritage of that House, and only that House". Then he asked the students to set fire to all such works of his. This and so many other religious services were performed silently by the Prophet's descendants. The ABBASIDE dynasty, which unfairly claimed to be "the defender of the faith", was deeply drunk with lustful merriment. Had it ever come to its senses, it would not have thought that those sincere and saintly souls were a "danger" to its power. Therefore, it gave orders to put some more restrictions on them. IMAM HASAN AL-'ASKARI (AS), that mountain of dignity, bore all this with determined fortitude.

IMAM HASAN AL-'ASKARI (AS) was a reliable authority for traditionalists who have recorded several traditions in their collections on his own authority. One tradition about drinking runs thus: "The wine drinker is like an idolater". It has been recorded by IBN AL-JAWZI in his book TAHRIM AL-KAMR (prohibition of wine drinking) with continuous chain of references tracing its narrators. ABU NA'IM FADL IBN WAKI states that the tradition is true as it has been narrated by the Prophet's descendants and some of his companions such as IBN ABBAS, ABU HURAYRA, ANAS, ABDALLAH IBN 'AWF AL-ASLAMI and others.

SAM'ANI in his KITAB AL-ANSAB states that "ABU MUHAMMAD AHMED IBN IBRAHIM IBN HASHIM AL-'ALAWI AL-BALATHIRI heard many traditions in Mecca from the Imam of AHL AL-BAYT (AS) IMAM HASAN AL-'ASKARI (AS) and recorded them". The names of some of his prominent students who, availing of his discourses, speeches and addresses, became authors of some books, are given here:

1- ABU HASHIM DAWUD IBN AL-QASIM AL-JA'FARI, one of the deputies of the imam, was a scholar of advanced age. He acquired learning from IMAM AR-RIDA (AS), his son IMAM MUHAMMAD AT-TAQI (AS), his son IMAM ALI AN-NAQI (AS) and his son IMAM HASAN AL-'ASKARI (AS).

2- DAWUD IBN ABU ZAID AL-NAYSHABURI. He often visited IMAM ALI AN-NAQI (AS) and IMAM HASAN AL-'ASKARI (AS).]

3- ABU TAHIR MUHAMMAD IBN ALI IBN BILAL.

4- ABU AL-ABBAS ABDALLAH IBN JA'FAR AL-HUMAIRI AL-QUMMI. He was a scholar of a high caliber. He authored many books including QURB AL-ASNAD which is a major source of AL-KAFI, etc.

5- MUHAMMAD IBN AHMED IBN JA'FAR AL-QUMMI was the Imam's chief deputy.

6- JA'FAR IBN SUHAIL SAIQAL was one of the most distinguished deputies.

7- MUHAMMAD IBN AL-HASAN AS-SAFFAR AL-QUMMI. He was high ranking scholar, author of several books including BASA'IR AD-DARAJAT, a famous book. He sent written inquiries to the Imam and received their answers from him.

8- ABU JA'FAR HAMANI AL-BARMAKI; he obtained written answers to his questions in jurisprudence from the Imam and compiled a book.

9- IBRAHIM IBN ABU HAFS ABU ISHAQ AL-KATIB is a companion of the Imam and author of a book.

10- IBRAHIM IBN MEHR-YAR. He has a book to his credit.

11- AHMED IBN IBRAHIM IBN ISAM'IL IBN DAWUD IBN HAMDAN AL-KATIB AL-NADIM. He was an authority on literature and lexicography, author of many books, and a confidant of the Imam.

12- AHMED IBN ISHAQ AL-ASH'ARI, ABU ALI AL-QUMMI was an acknowledged scholar and author of several books including HILAL AS-SAWM, etc. These are but a few names; the details of all the students and companions' would require a whole volume. ABU ALI AL-HASAN IBN KHALID IBN MUHAMMAD prepared a commentary of the holy QUR'AN which should be considered the work of the Imam himself. The Imam used to dictate its contents and ABU ALI went on writing down his dictation. Scholars indicate that the book consisted of 1,920 pages.

Unfortunately, these storehouses of knowledge are not available. A book recently published under the title TAFSIR AL-HASAN AL-'ASKARI is a separate work which was traced and rendered to the 4th century A.H. SHAIKH AS-SADUQ MUHAMMAD IBN ALI IBN BABAWAIH AL-QUMMI says it was actually dictated by the Imam. But the SHAIKH'S sources from which he copied are obscure. The biographers are not, however, sure in ascribing it to the Imam and we are inclined to think that it is not the Imam's dictation. A considerable collection of his wise sayings, discourses and speeches, and a lengthy letter to ISHAQ IBN ISMA'IL AL-ASH'ARI have been preserved in the book TUHAF AL-'UQUL' AN 'AL AR-RASUL, an excellent source of knowledge for the seekers of enlightenment.

These are the details of the Imam's scholarly attainments, a wonderful performance when one reflects on the fact that he died at the young age of twenty-eight, having served as Imam for only six years, a period constantly disturbed by the troubles already stated above.

DEATH

A busy man who is engaged in the service of religion and scholarship usually does not have time for politics or subversive activities. But the Imam's spiritual supremacy and his increasing popularity made him intolerable to his contemporary monarchs. AL-MU'TAMAD, the ABBASIDE ruler, administered his poisoning and the Imam martyred on the 8th of RABI' AL-AWWAL, 260 A.H. (January 1, 874 A.D.) and was buried in SAMARRA' by his father's side. His mausoleum in spite of hostile circumstances has been a sacred shrine for his admirers ever since.