Imam Hassan Ibn Ali Biography

Imam Hassan was born in Arabia in 624 and died in Medina in 670.
His full name was Hassan ibn Al ibn Abi Talib.
He was the oldest son of Fatimah,
who was the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad.
He is one of Shia Islam’s five holiest people.
Muhammad covered them with his cloak and said,
“These are the People of the House.”
Many people who lived at the same time as he thought that
he should be the next leader after Muhammad, after his father ‘Ali.

It is widely accepted that Hassan Mujtaba was the 2nd Imam.
One of two children born to Amir al-mu”minin Ali & Fatimah
(daughter of the Prophet Muhammad) and their mother Amir al-mu’minin Ali.
“Hassan and Hussein are my children,” the Prophet Muhammad had
said numerous times before. To his other children, he’d say,
“You’re my children, while Imam Hassan and Hussein are the Prophet’s offspring.”

In other words, For seven years, Imam Hassan lived with Muhammad,
and after Muhammad’s death in 632 he remained politically inactive until
the conclusion of Uthman ibn Affan’s reign
(the caliph was the titular leader of the Islamic community).
Hassan had nothing to do with the murder of Uthman in 656,
which he witnessed from a distance. When Ali, Hasan’s father, became caliph,
he was dispatched to the key Iraqi city of Kufah to guarantee
the support of Ali’s leadership
and to receive military reinforcements in the ensuing civil war.
Ali’s position began to deteriorate steadily following
his participation in the Battle of Siffin. Although he was victorious,
this battle did not mark the end of his military career.
Many of Ali’s followers pledged their allegiance to Hassan after his murder in 661,
and Hassan himself emphasized his ties with the Prophet Muhammad.

Imam Hassan Ibn Ali

A strong force under Hasan’s command met Muawiyah, governor of Syria,
and the man who had led the insurrection against Ali’s caliphate
when he refused to recognize Hasan as caliph and
began to prepare for war. Hasan, a non-military guy,
was beset by army defections since he had so little money.
In 661, he abdicated the caliphate to Muawiyah after opening peace negotiations,
despite the strong opposition from some of his loyalists.
For his services, Hasan bin Ali was given a substantial
stipend and was allowed to remain in Medina peacefully.

Hasan died in 670.
According to a great number of first-century sources, he died as a result
of being poisoned by Jadah bint al-Ashish,
one of his wives,
in conjunction with Muawiyah.