History Books

Mu'awiya sent letters to Al-Hasan to pave the way to make peace with Him. In these letters the fate of the Succession to authority was clearly limited. For exampl, Mu'awiya asked Al-Hasan to hand over the authority for his lifetime. Thus he said: "the authority will be for you after me."1 "you are the worthiest of all people of it.

In this way the text has been mentioned in the Peace Treaty.

In such a way the people understood the reconciliation, namely, they understood it as taking the authority by force throughout the lifetime of Mu'awiya who was about thirty years older than Al-Hasan.

It was expected that Mu'awiya would die befor Al-Hasan. In this way the truth would return to its proper place. Noteworthy Al-Hasan was still at the beginning of his middle age or at the end of his youth. However, the evil pans had certain considerations that did not depend on the criteria. the plain item cnercerning the worthiness of Al-Hasan of the succession to authority after Mu'awiya was the most prominent of all items of the Peace Treaty. The people knew that for ten years. However, the hostile propagation covered it. Besides the historians distorted it. Thus some of them said: "Mu'awiya had no right to appoint anyoune (to the succession to authority)." The other were so kind that they formed it according to their own ideas when they said: "The succession to authority after Mu'awiya would be a Muslim consulatative committee." As for the truthful historians, they have narrated it (the Peace Treaty) as it is. The professional historians have forgotten that distorting the fact in the text does not avail them in changing the reality during the practical stage. That is because it was impossible for the Muslims, whether throught the consultative commitee or the like, to ignore the grandson of the the Apostle of Allah, may Allah bless Him and his family. Of course, that would have happened if Al-Hasan had remained alive on the day when Mu'wiya died and the Muslims had been free to elect the successor or to exchange views freely. Accordingly, the authentic narration and the distorted one, rather the three claimed froms of the one narration would have been practically limited if Al-Hasan had remained alive.

Therefore to evade the historical honesty was for nothing but for the cooperation with the ruling authority to pave the way to pledge allegiance to Yazid.

The skillful historian had abolished the textual nomination of al-Hassan and changed it into the consultative commitee. He had adopted the best way of fabrication and distortion. However, he forgot that he added nothing to the aims which he wished for his friend (ie, Mu'awiya) who abolished them both. That is bexause the consultative committee which the historian meant does not concern the election of the successor to authority, rather it concerns the affairs which the caliph or the head of the Muslims manages. Such was the first legislation of the consultative committee on the day when Allah, the Glorified, said: "And take counsel with them in the affair." For this reason Allah praised the Muslims when He said: "And their rule is to take counsel among themselves."

The verse is clear in negating leadership whcih the people made or rather it does not impose it on the people.

This historian and the other historians used their imaginations when they thought that the matter of election depended on the Book (ie, the Koran). For this reason A'isha, the Prophet's wife, summoned the people to the consultative committee she did not attribute it to Allah, the Great and Almighty.

Rather she attributed it to Umar, b. al-Khattab. Besides if she had found a way to ascribed it to Allah, she would have followed it, for that would have supported her proof very much. So when she entered Basra, she said: "I think that you should look for those who had killed Uthman to kill them as they had killed Him.2

At last many definite contexts do not accept this text (ie, the subject of the study) but the autthentic narration which we have mentioned in the second item in the form of the Peace Treaty. That is because:

1. The letter of Mu'awiya to Al-Hasan, peace be on Him, have indicated that as e have said before.

2. It is appropriate for the conditions which Al-Hasan Himself had made as we have mentioned in the Blank Page.

3. It is the most famous report, for it have been narrated many times.

4. The second item with the clear text was very famous throughout the lifetime of Al-Hasan, peace be on Him, to the extent that it became the proof in many sermons and speeches.

For example, Sulayman b. Sirt refered to it in what he had mentioned to Al-Hasan after the Peace Treaty. Jariya b. Qaddama had mentioned it to Mu'awiya to denote that it was a well known decree concerning the right of Al-Hasan to the authority after him. al-Ahnaf b. Qays had mentioned it as an axiomatic thing when he delivered a speech to refute the pledge of allegiance to Yaazid. At that time, through this speech, he addressed Mu'awiya Himself before a large gathering.

He (i.e., al-Ahnaf b. Qays) said: "you have known that you had not conquered Iraq by forece, nor had you overcome it. However, you have made pledge with Al-Hasan b. Ali before Allah to hand over the authority to Him after you. So if you fulfill (your pledges), then you are appropriate for fulfillment. If you break (your pledges), then you will do wrong to (Al-Hasan). By Allah, behind Al-Hasan there are quick horses, strong arms, and sharp swords. Indeed if you approach Him in in a single span of perfidy, you will find behind Him a span of the outstretched arms of victory. you known that the Iraqis have not loved you since they hated you."3 There are many examples similar to this one.

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1. Ibn Abu al-Haddid, Sharh Nahj al-Balagha, vol. 4, p. 13.

2. Farid Wajdi, Da'irat Ma'arif al-Qarn al-Ishrin, vol.4, p.535.

3. You find all this sermon and the references concerning it in chapter 20 when we will mention the way that faciliated the pledge of allegiance to Yazid.

Adopted from the book: "Sulh al-Hasan (a.s.)" by: "Sheykh Radi al-Yasin"