Sa'eed R.

Purcell

The
Forgotten
Khaleefah
arRaashidah

This son of mine is a Sayyid

and I hope that Allaah will help
him bring about reconciliation
between two Muslim groups.

History of the Islamic

State I
January 5, 2015

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Certainly all thanks and praise is due to Allaah. We praise and thank Him,
seek His help and assistance, seek His forgiveness, and turn in repentance to
Him. We take refuge with Allaah from the evil of our own souls and the sinful
consequences and nature of our actions. Whomever it is that Allaah guides,
no one can mislead them after that; whomever it is that He leaves astray, no
one can guide them after that. I bear witness that nothing deserves to be
worshipped except for Allaah, He is One without partners; and that
Muhammad (Allaahs blessings and peace be upon him) is His
slave/worshipper and messenger.

My goal in choosing this topic was to focus on, what I think is, one of
the most over-looked periods of our history; and one of the most over-looked
personalities in our history as well. In particular, I am interested in the six
month period of rule of al-Hasan bin Alee bin Abee Taalib (may Allaah be
pleased with him and his father). As I hope to show, this period was the
culmination of an important time; the time of the Kulafaa ar-Raashidoon (the
Rightly Guided Caliphs). In discussing this topic I will need to establish who
was al-Hasan bin Alee, what did he do, and why it was significant. At the
end, it is my intent to demonstrate some of the outstanding qualities of this
individual and his actions during this crucial time in the history of the Islamic
state; and with Allaah lay all hope of success.

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Firstly, I must speak to who was al-Hasan. As is well-known, he was the

son of Alee bin Abee Talib; the fourth Khaleefah, cousin and son-in-law of the
Messenger of Allaah (His blessings and peace be upon him). His mother was
the daughter of the Chosen One (Allaahs blessings and peace be upon him),
Faatimah bint Muhammad (may Allaah be pleased with her). To quote the
words of an-Nawawee, the grandson of the Messenger of Allah (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him), and his beloved (lit. his fragrant flower).
(Zarabozo, 2008) This is based on the reported words of the Prophet (Allaahs
blessings and peace be upon him) in reference to al-Hasan and al-Husayn;
They are my sweet flowers (lit. my two fragrant flowers) in this world.
(Bukhari, 2005) In addition the Prophet further testified about al-Hasan; This
son of mine is a Sayyid (i.e. chief) and I hope that Allah will help him bring
about reconciliation between two Muslim groups. (Sunnah.Com, 2015) This
particular hadeeth will become especially relevant later on, In Shaa Allaah.
The final text Id like to share in order to help paint the picture of who were
talking about is the following Ayah from the Book of Allaah:

(Which means), Allaah intends only to remove from you the impurity [of sin],
O people of the [Prophet's] household, and to purify you with [extensive]

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purification. (Saheeh International, 1997) 'Aa'ishah reported that Allaah's

Apostle ( )went out one morning wearing a striped cloak of the black
camel's hair that there came al-Hasan bin 'Alee. He wrapped him under it,
then came al-Husayn and he wrapped him under it along with the other one.
Then came Faatimah and he took her under it, then came 'Alee and he also
took him under it and then recited this Ayah. (Sunnah.Com, 2015) As a final
note, and the focus of my paper, al-Hasan bin Alee was also the fifth
Khaleefah (and the last of Khulafaa ar-Raashidoon, as well discuss later In
Shaa Allaah).
Now as to what al-Hasan (may Allaah be pleased with him and his
father) did; my focus in this will be the period of his Khilaafah exclusively.
The first matter of importance is the conditions under which he accepted the
post. Among the contents of the speech he gave upon his acceptance the
following has been narrated: Act according to what I say; fight with whom I
fight and make peace with whom I enter into peace. (Najeebabadi, 2000)
From this it becomes clear that he already had in mind to end the crisis from
the very beginning. His focus was solely this, not making any unnecessary
changes. He left most of the governors and other appointees in their
respective places. Some may propose that he looked towards peace because
he was weak, but this couldnt be farther from the truth. Al-Hasan himself is
recorded as having said: The Chiefs of the Arabs were with me, at war with
whomever I was at war with, and at peace with whomever I was at peace
with. I abandoned that desiring the Face of Allaah, and to prevent spilling the

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blood of the Ummah of Muhammad (Allaahs blessings and peace be upon

him). Now later, shall I take it by force with the help of the herds of goats of
the people of al-Hijaaz? (As-Suyuti, 1995) So not only does this answer the
accusation of negotiating peace from a position of weakness, but it also
answers those who claim that amongst the conditions of the treaty was a
condition for the Khilaafah to return to him at Muaawiyahs death. He clearly
had no interest in that, and retired to al-Madeenah after the conclusion of the
transfer of power to devote himself to worship. Now, as to the conditions of
the peace treaty, they were six: acting according to the Book of Allaah, the
Sunnah of His Messenger (Allaahs blessings and peace be upon him), and
the way of the Rightly Guided Caliphs; financial considerations (his stipend,
and overlooking the wealth that he and his family had acquired in the past);
protection (a general amnesty for what preceded on both sides); who should
succeed Muaawiyah (to be decided by consultation among the
Muslims.); the issue of reviling Commander of the Faithful Alee (may Allaah
be pleased with him) (it seems this was a non-issue given what is reliably
recorded about Muaawiyah and his relationship with the Ahl al-Bayt); and
Muaawiyahs attitude towards Uthmaans killers (the general amnesty and
the fact that most of the killers had already died in the preceding battles
made revenge a moot point). (Sallaabee, 10.3 The conditions of the peace
treaty, 2014) With the culmination of this historic event the prophecy was
fulfilled. Allaahs Messenger had said: This son of mine is a Sayyid (i.e.

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chief) and I hope that Allah will help him bring about reconciliation between
two Muslim groups. With Allaah lies all hope of success!
Having discussed what he did, now its time to discuss why it was so
important. Al-Hasans peace deal with Muaawiyah (may Allaah be pleased
with both of them) is one of the most significant events in the history of the
Muslim Ummah. A number of factors contributed to its great importance,
including:
a) It was foretold by the Prophet (Allaahs blessings and peace be
upon him) and hence was one of the signs of his prophethood.
b) One of the outcomes of this peace deal is that it spared the
Muslims blood and united them behind one leader after years of
division.
c) Al-Hasan was the first caliph to give up his post and resign
voluntarily, without any pressure, from a position of strength not
weakness, only for the sake of reconciling between the Muslims.
d) Al-Hasan was the last of the caliphs of the Prophets era.
(Sallaabee, From his peace deal with Mu'aawiyah until his death,
2014)
I would like to share one other observation regarding this momentous
occurrence, and that is the observations of of Ibn Hajr al-Asqalaanee (may
Allaah show him mercy) of the lessons learned from a detailed narration of
the peace deal. He said:

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a) This story is one of the signs of prophethood, since the Prophet

(Allaahs blessings and peace be upon him) had foretold these events.
b) It shows a virtue of al-Hasan bin Alee (may Allaah be pleased with him
and his father). He gave up power not because his followers were few
or because of humiliation or weakness. Rather, it was because of his
desire to seek reward from Allaah, and because he wanted to prevent
bloodshed. Thus, he paid attention to what was in the best interests of
the faith and the Ummah.
c) It is a refutation of the Kharijites who regarded both sides Alee and
his followers and Muaawiyah and his followers as disbelievers. The
Prophet (Allaahs blessings and peace be upon him) had testified that
both groups were Muslims.
d) It demonstrates the virtue of reconciling people, especially when it
spares the blood of Muslims.
e) It is indicative of Muaawiyahs kindness towards the people, his
compassion towards the Muslims and his deep insight and
farsightedness in running the peoples affairs, for he was thinking of
the consequences.
f) It indicates that it is permissible for someone to become the caliph
even though there is a better candidate than him. Al-Hasan and
Muaawiyah both became caliphs while Sad bin Abee Waqqaas and
Saeed bin Zayd (may Allaah be pleased with both of them), both of
whom had been present at Badr, were still alive.
g) It shows that it is permissible for a caliph to resign if he feels it is in the
best interests of the Muslims. It is also permissible to give up religious

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and worldly positions in return for money after fulfilling certain

conditions. (Sallaabee, 10.1.6 The sixth stage, 2014)
These two detailed explanations do a far better job than I ever could in
explaining the significance of al-Hasans actions.

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In conclusion; al-Hasan bin Alee (may Allaah be pleased with him and
his father) was one of the great Sahaabees. He was the son of the
daughter of Allaahs Messengers (His blessings and peace be upon him).
Most importantly, he was the culmination of the Rightly Guided Caliphs,
who were upon the Prophetic methodology. The Prophet himself said: The
caliphate in the footsteps of prophethood will be thirty years; then Allaah
will give (His) power and authority to whomever He wills. [Aboo
Daawood] (Sallaabee, Introduction, 2014) He rose above the political
turmoil of his time and turned his back on worldly gains, seeking the Face
of Allaah, and sought reconciliation and the re-unification of the Ummah.
As has preceded, this was one of the most significant events in the
history of the Muslim Ummah. By it the blood of the Muslims was spared,
and an era of relative stability was afforded. If for no other reason that
this; al-Hasan bin Alee is worthy of being mentioned along with the other
four Khulafaa ar-Raashiddon Allaah, the Exalted, knows best.

Glory be to You, O Allaah, and to You is praise (due). I bear witness that
nothing deserves to be worshipped except You. I seek Your forgiveness,
and turn in repentance to You. AMEEN!
All thanks and praise is due to the Creator, Sustainer, and Sovereign
Owner of all the worlds.

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