Imam Hasan (AS) tells us the following salient points:

The Treaty agreed upon between Moawiya and Imam Hasan (AS) tells us the following salient points:

1. That Moawiya should rule strictly according to the Holy QurAan and the Sunna of the Prophet.
2. That Moawiya should not appoint or nominate anyone to the Khilafat after him but that the choice should be left to the Muslims.
3. That the people should be left in peace, wherever they are in the land of God.
4. That the persecution of the companions of Imam Ali(AS) should immediately be stopped; their lives and properties and families guaranteed safe conduct and peace.
5. That the cursing of Imam Ali (AS) from the pulpit should stop immediately.
6. That no harm should be done secretly or openly against Imam Hasan and his brother Imam Hussain or any of the Ahlubayt.(AS)

This agreement concluded, Imam Hasan (AS) went to Kufa, shortly followed by Moawiya who came their to take the allegiance of the people. In a speech delivered in front of Moawaiya, Imam Hasan (AS) explained the situation clearly.:

“O’People, Allah has guided you through our elders (Muhammad and Ali) and spared you from bloodshed through those who followed (referring to himself). Indeed this (the Khilafat) is nothing but a passing phase, these wordly possessions keep shifting and changing hands."

For inasmuch as Moawiya desired the sovereignty in this world, so Imam Hasan’s concern was not with worldly leadership for its own sake, but as a tool whereby he might guide the people towards God and His true commandments. After his abdication he retired to Madinah where he spent the remaining ten years of his life teaching the Qora'an and knowledge of true Deen to all seekers of truth that came to him.Imam Hasan (AS) had never relinquished the position of an Imam and guide as appointed by God.

History tells us that from day one Moawiya did not comply with any one of the terms of the treaty agreed upon between him and Imam Hasan (AS) He trampled the treaty under his feet saying to the people of Kufa,”do you think I have taken power to teach you about Islam. No, I have taken power for the sake of it and if any one of you tries to disagree with me shall pay a costly price of losing his head.(Tarikul Kholafa, Jalaluddin Soyuti)

Moawiya carried out his ambition of keeping the power in his family by nominating his son Yazid after him as the ruler of the Kingdom. This demanded that Imam Hasan(AS) should predecease him, an unlikely event considering their discrepancy in their ages. Hence Moawiya bribed Ju’da bint Ash’ath, to poison him in 50 Hijri. Imam died with the effect of poisoning on 28th of the month of Safar. He was 47 years old.

In his last will and testament Imam asked his brother Imam Hussain (AS) to take his body to the grave of their grand father the Prophet of Islam and then bury him by the side of the grave of his mother Fatima (SA) in Jannatul Baqii, for he knew that people who are against the family of the Prophet would not let him bury by the side of his grandfather. Imam knew of the animosity of the Banu Umayya with the Prophet and his family. He did not desire to have any dispute or fight over his burial. But unfortunately when the body of the Imam was taken towards the grave of the Holy Prophet in the mosque, the same enemy about whom Imam had warned, came out and prevented the mourners to reach the grave of the Prophet. When Imam Hussain (AS) realised that if he insists on taking the body of his brother nearer the grave of the Prophet there will be bloodshed, he refrained from it and took him away and buried him in Jannatul Baqii next to the grave of his mother.

Imam Hasan’s (AS) 3 sons, Qasim, Abdullah and Hasan-e-Muthanna, were in Kerbala and took part in the Jihad with their uncle Imam Hussain (AS). Qasim and Abdullah died of their wounds but Hasan-e-Muthanna survived. He was among the wounded and was taken out alive by the Banu Asad Tribesmen. They treated his wounds and once he was better he returned back to Madinah. It appears that he stayed with the Banu Asad for over a year and when the family of the Prophet were released from captivity and returned to Kerbala he joined the caravan and returned with them to Madinah after the Arabeen in the year 62 Hijri. He was about 17 years old at that time. Later, he married Imam Hussain ‘s (AS) daughter Fatima Sughra. It is from this marriage that the descendants oImam Hasan (AS) take their line in the family tree. Hasan-e-Muthanna’s son Abdullah had four sons, Muhammad Nafse Zakiyya, Ibrahim ,Sulaiman and Idris. Nafse Zakiyya rose against Mansur the 2nd Abbasid Caliph and received martyrdom, in the year 142 Hijri, 762 AD. Ibrahim fought Mansur in Baghdad and was martyred. This was in 143 Hijri 763 AD(See Hitti,History of the Arabs) Two other great grandsons of Imam Hasan, Sulaiman and Idris migrated to Iran and Tunisia respectively. Descendents of Imam Hasan from Idris flourished in North Africa and brought Islam in the Maghrib. From Sulaiman, who settled in Kirman, many of his descendents spread Islam in Persia and some of them later migrated to India. The writer of this book is also one of the descendents of Imam Hasan(AS) from the line through Sulaiman.

Imam Hasan’s (AS) life was one of hardship and trial. like the lives of his grandfather tProphet of Islam, his father Ali (AS), his mother Fatima (SA) and many members of the Ahlulbayt after him. Life is a test as Qoran tells us. For some,the difficulties of life make him arrogant or agnostic but not the people of the household of the Prophet. They endured all sorts of hardships with thanks to God all the time. He saw his mother brutally injured and died at an early age. He saw his father martyred in the mosque of Kufa. He saw the people who had been given the clear signs from his grandfather, abandon the” Deen” for wealth and power. He saw his own supporters turn against him. Yet his dying request to his brother was not to have any quarrel over his burial. His life is a sign and a reminder that for the people of the Household of the Prophet there will be adversity but they take all in complete submission to God and His commandments.

A famous saying of Imam Hasan is “ In regard to the world be as if you were going to live forever. With respect to the Hereafter, be as if you were going to die tomorrow.”

This is an invitation to action, care and attention and avoidance of negligence and indifference, whether it is in respect of the work of this world or the Hereafter. This further confirms the saying of the Holy Prophet who said, “ The Momin is a person who attends the affairs of this world as well as of the Hereafter in the most perfect way,”