Imam Hassan (a): Justifications of the Treaty and its Terms

Imam Hassan [a] faced all the attempts of Mu’awiyah to corner him, before the start of the war, with a lofty, sublime spirit; the spirit which knew nothing but the truth and would never lower his head before the forces of falsehood.

The prevailing conditions at the time, however, kept him at bay, something which has rarely taken place throughout history. The army led by Imam Hassan [a] became the prey of disorder. Spies, agents and the bearers of disrupting news found their way into it. Imam Hassan [a] was on the brink of being forced to surrender to his enemy! The Ummah, which he was planning a bright and successful future for and leading its march into history, diverted its course to the advantage of his foe! That was the result of the rumours and luring promises.

All through our studies on the life of Imam Hassan [a], whether during the
lifetime of his father or during his own reign, we witnessed his strength of
character, his steely determination, and swift action to sort out problems and
reach sound, logical solutions. This was something which was matchless. We
witnessed all this and lived it, in the light of historical documents which
cannot be doubted. We witnessed it in his stirring of the zeal of the people of
Kufa to defend Islam in the battle of al-Jamal.

We saw him urging the people to fight against Mu’awiyah in the battle of Siffin.
We saw him addressing the camp of his father after the arbitration. When he
assumed the office of Imamate, we saw him, as he had been during his father’s
reign, possessed of determination, resolution, cleverness and skill. He took
urgent measures to solidify the foundation of his state. He persisted in
challenging the Umayyad falsehoods and putting down the seditions of Syria to
stabilize the Islamic state.

He faced all the attempts of Mu’awiyah to corner him, before the start of the
war, with a lofty, sublime spirit; the spirit which knew nothing but the truth
and would never lower his head before the forces of falsehood. The prevailing
conditions at the time, however, kept him at bay, something which has rarely
taken place throughout history.

The army led by Imam Hassan [a] became the prey of disorder. Spies, agents and
the bearers of disrupting news found their way into it. Imam Hassan [a] was on
the brink of being forced to surrender to his enemy! The Ummah, which he was
planning a bright and successful future for and leading its march into history,
diverted its course to the advantage of his foe! That was the result of the
rumours and luring promises.

These factors caused the tip of balance of power to tilt on behalf of the
Umayyad interests.

Following are the most important of the painful events which were inflicted on
Imam Hassan [a] as a result of his stand in the face of the incursion or the
treacherous Umayyads:

1. His top leader at the front line, Ubaidullah bin al-Abbas, betrayed him and
   joined Mu’awiyah. He induced two-thirds of the force, which was given the
   mission of stopping the advancing army, into breaking away with him. The camp of
   Imam Hassan [a] was thrown into disorder and confusion at the most critical
   juncture of its manoeuvres. Ubaidullah bin al-Abbas was bribed by Mu’awiyah.
2. The military forces led by Imam Hassan [a] were torn between slogans, desires,
   interests and ideologies. [1] There were some who were only seeking spoils of
   war! There were those who held grudges against the Umayyad house, but who at the
   same time, concealed their hatred of the Imamate of Imam Hasan [a] and his
   household…! In the army a great number of people who were sympathisers of the
   Umayyad party in Syria, cherished the rewards Mu’awiyah had promised them. To
   make matters worse, boredom began to creep into the camp of the Imam,
   particularly after the army had fought the three wars of Imam Ali [a], namely:
   Jamal, Nahrawan, and Siffin. Their memories were still alive in their minds.

Next to these people, there was a group who were loyal to Ahlul Bayt [a]. They
were a small number in comparison to the increasing number of the rag-tags, and
the intensity of the hostile schemers.

3. Mu’awiyah showered large sums of money on the chieftains and the men who held
   sway in the Iraqi community, in unparalleled ‘generosity’. They were left
   listless and irresolute. They gave up their earlier plans of going hand in hand
   with the Imam to fight Mu’awiyah.[2]

Money was a doubled-edged sword. In addition to its sharp effect in changing the
balance of power to the interest of Mu’awiyah, it left its most surprising
imprints in the hearts of the Iraqis. They flooded Mu’awiyah with their letters
declaring their loyalty and obedience to him. They promised to hand Imam Hassan
[a] over to him as a prisoner when the fire of war blazed and zero-hour came![3]

Imam Hassan [a] referred to this treachery when he said:

“By Allah, if I had fought Mu’awiyah, they would have taken hold of my neck and
handed me peacefully over to him. By Allah, making peace with him with nobility,
is more loveable to me than being killed by him as a captive, or set free, which
would be a stain for the tribe of Hashim.”[4]

4. The grandson of the Messenger of Allah [s] saw to it that no drop of blood
   should be shed, especially the blood of the faithful.

Following are some of the statements of the Imam which display his noble
intentions:

“I feared lest the Muslims should be uprooted from the surface of the earth. I
wanted the faith to have men who call to it.”

“…I only wanted, by my treaty with Mu’awiyah, to spare you death.”

5. The army of his enemy was strong, highly disciplined because of their
   compliance with the orders of Mu’awiyah, and the non-existence of subversion
   among its ranks. But in Iraq, disunity prevailed. The various contradictory
   slogans, views, desires, and interests tore the army of Imam Hassan [a] to shreds
   and weakened its ability to fight.
6. Imam Hasan [a] enjoyed a first-rate spiritual power – as we have seen
   elsewhere – as he was purified from uncleanness, which is stated by the Qur’an.
   He is one pillar of the blessed family of the Messenger of Allah [s], to which
   fact the Holy Prophet [s] himself had testified. He would nor think of deception
   and treachery.

This soul, attached to Allah, the Most High, and inspired by Him and His noble
shar’iah, made Imam Hassan [a], wherever he was, to keep away from entering into
a war in which blood would be unnecessarily shed, and men killed without result.
In addition to that, the factors in Islam’s view, were not in the least
available, as we have witnessed by the character of his unprincipled followers.

This is quite different from Mu’awiyah who would never care how many men were
killed, and how much blood was shed, as long as he remained the ruler of the
Muslims, to whom the income of taxes were brought. He was the ruler who basked
in mundane luxury and fleeting pleasures in the palace of alKhadara’.

7. When Imam Hassan saw that Mu’awiyah succeeded in attracting the people towards
   him, he wanted to disclose the true colours of Mu’awiyah. It could only be done
   if Mu’awiyah monopolized power and took the affairs of the Ummah into his own
   hands. The Ummah would see the nature of his rule, and discover the wide gulf
   between it and the ideal image of the rule of the Commander of the Faithful,
   Imam Ali bin Abi Talib [a].

Those who obeyed Mu’awiyah would bear the responsibility for that historical
tragedy in which the Ummah lost the leadership of Ahlul Bayt [a] and their
pioneering Imamate; not only during their blessed existence, but also after
their deaths. The negative impact of that continued smashing the Ummah –
generation after generation – till the system of Islam which was expected to
prevail and rule was reduced to a mere historical heritage buried in the books.

8. Historians report that Imam Hassan [a] was the target of three aborted
   assassination attempts.[5] The first attempt occurred when a man shot him with
   an arrow, while he was offering his prayer. He did not harm the Imam [a].

The second attempt on the life of Imam Hassan [a] took place when a man jabbed
him with a dagger while he was in prayer. Again the Imam [a] was unhurt.

In the third assassination attempt he narrowly escaped death. A mob attacked
him, plundering his tent and taking his prayer-rug from under his feet! During
the attack al-Jarrah bin Sinan al-Asadi stabbed him with a rapier in his thigh
and gravely wounded him.[6] The blade reached the bone.[7]

After that attempt, the Imam was bed-ridden and remained as a guest at the house
of Sa’d bin Masood al-Thaqafi, his governer in al-Mada’in.

9. Mu’awiyah made good use of the weapon of propaganda, by causing confusion in
   the minds of the Iraqis. His spies and supporters appeared from time to time in
   order to spread vicious rumours. The rabble would be influenced by them, and
   would behave as they dictated. Here are some examples:
10. They claimed that Imam Hassan [a] corresponded with Mu’awiyah in order to make
    peace.
11. They rumoured that Qais bin Sa’d had defected to Mu’awiyah.

iii. The most effective of their rumours was floated when the Umayyad delegation
had come in search of peace. When the Imam [a] refused to make peace with
Mu’awiyah, the negotiating delegation went out and claimed that Imam Hassan [a] had finally agreed to end the hostilities and spare the blood of the Muslims!

The mobs were angered beyond limits and attacked his tent. They condemned the
alleged peace, but at the same time they were too indolent to fight.

1. The call to peace by Mu’awiyah had already made its way into the camp of Imam
   Hassan [a], and was already accepted by them, when the Imam [a] finally agreed to
   it. That call had an echo in the defeated souls in the camp of the Imam [a]. The
   followers of Mu’awiyah welcomed it first and preached it. It slid into the camp
   of the Imam Hassan [a] and the Imam accepted it as a fait accompli.
2. Imam Hasan [a] found the Ummah, around him or Mu’awiyah, oblivious to its
   deviated life and silent; not wanting to support the right and fight the
   infidels. Imam Hassan [a] wanted to unmask the callers to sedition, their
   promises and covenants, their yearning to seize power through whatever the
   means, and their abuse of the Ummah and Islam’s teachings.

By clarifying all these sides, Imam Hasan [a] paved the ground actually for the
revolution of the Lord of Martyrs, Imam Husayn bin Ali [a].

These are, our dear readers, the most important justifications and causes which
prompted Imam Hassan [a] to sign the document of treaty with the treacherous
Mu’awiyah.

Would any other ruler or leader, if faced with what Imam Hasan [a] faced, take
another course of action?

War, after all, would have been an impossible option. No sane man would have
adopted it. Then how could a great man like Imam Hassan bin Ali [a], do it?

Some people would be of the opinion that it was better for Imam Hassan [a], if he
had sacrificed all for the sake of his right. If, however, Imam Hassan [a] had
fought, he would have surely been killed, along with all of his family. The
Umayyads would have succeeded in extinguishing the light of Islam for good. No
one could then tell the right from the falsehood. The ummah, would never have
realized, as it did afterwards, how deviated were its rulers, and what bondage
they were led to.

Imam Hassan’s [a] concern for Islam made him sign the document to play his role,
afterwards, in explaining the Shari’ah, its laws and dimensions to the ummah of
Muhammad [s], during his remaining years, as we will see in this phase of his
life.

We deem it suitable to cite the most important items of the document signed by
Imam Hassan [a] and Mu’awiyah:[8]

1. Mu’awiyah bin Abu-Sufyan takes the affairs of the ummah into his hands, on
   condition that he abides by the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger
   [s].
2. Imam Hasan [a] assumes the leadership of the ummah after the death of
   Mu’awiyah. If Imam Hasan [a] was already dead, Imam Husayn [a] takes his place.
3. People are to enjoy freedom and security, be they Arabs or non-Arabs, Syrians
   or Iraqis, and they should not be harassed for their previous positions towards
   the Umayyad rule.

These are the items of importance of the treaty which were accepted by the two
parties. As it is clear for the reader, it is of great benefit to the ummah and
its noble Message. These terms were the most that Imam Hassan [a] could achieve
for the ummah and its mission. If any better could be achieved, he would not
have hesitated to take advantage of them.

A number of Muslims objected to the treaty. Imam Hassan [a] explained to them why
he had taken this step. He said to Bashir al-Hamadani:
“I am, by no means, humiliating the faithful, but honouring them. By my making
peace, I only wanted to spare you death, when I saw my followers lingering and
refraining from going to war.”

Al-Hamadani was the first one who was too cowardly to fight.

To Malik bin Dhumrah, who talked to him about the document, he said:

“I feared, lest the Muslims should be uprooted from the surface of earth. I
wanted the faith to have men who call to it.”

He said to Abu-Sa’eed:

“Abu-Sa’eed! The reason why I made peace with Mu’awiyah is the same one which
made the Messenger of Allah [s] make peace with the tribe of Banu Dhumrah and
Banu-Ashja’, and the people of Mecca when he returned from al-Hudaibiyyah.”[9]

Imam Muhammad al-Baqir [a] refers to the significance of the treaty, and its
positive effects for the benefit of Islam and Muslims, in these words:

“By Allah, what Hasan bin Ali [a] did was better for this Ummah than what the
sun had shone on.”[10]

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References

[1] Shaikh al-Mufid, Al-Irshad (The Guidance), p.208, and al-Fusool al-Muhimmah,
p.146

[2] Muhammad Jawad Fadhlullah, Sulh al-Imam Hasan, p.76.

[3] Al-Irshad, Life of Imam Hasan [a], p.209, and the following pages.

[4] Tawfeeq Abu Alam, Ahlul Bayt, p.335.

[5] Hayat al-Imam Hasan [a], 3rd ed., vol, 2. pp.103-105.

[6] Bin Abi al-Hadeed, in his commentaries on Nahj al-Balaghah, says that it is “ma’wal”
(pickaxe) and not “maghwal” (rapier), see vol.16. p. 41.

[7] Al-Irshad, Life of Imam Hasan [a], p.209.

[8] For details see: Al-Fusool al-Muhimmah by Ibn al-Sabbagh, and Ahlul Bayt by
Abu Alam.

[9] Statements of Imam Hasan [a] are quoted from Hayat al-Imam Hasan, vol. 2.
“Protestors at the Peace Treaty”, p. 281.

[10] Rawdhat al-Kafi (Orchards of al-Kafi), vol. 8, p. 330.

Selected excerpt from “ImamHasan bin Ali” by Al Balagh Foundation