Hasan's Personality

Hasan was known by names such as Mujtaba (The Chosen One), Taqi (The Pious One), Zeki (The Intelligent One) and Sibt (Grandson). He was a mild, generous, sedate man who abstained from politics and disorder. There are various opinions as how long he served as caliph; according to some writers, he held the caliphate for four months and three days, according to others this period lasted for six months and three days. Since the treaty with Muawiyah was made on 25 Rabi' al-awwal 41 (July 29, 661), the latter claim is probably more accurate. Hasan reported thirteen hadiths (sayings of the Prophet) directly from Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), his mother and his father. Abu'l- Hawra, Sa'di, Sha'bi, Hubayra ibn Yarim, Asbagh ibn Nubata and Musayyab ibn Nacaba conveyed hadith accounts from Hasan that he told his sons Hasan and Suwayd ibn Ghafala.

It is reported that Hasan, also known by the name Mitlaq (The Divorcer) made as many as 100 marriages; and according to Ibn Sahrasub, he had as many as 250 or 300 concubines. However, Baqir al-Quraishi, who carried out careful research into his life, contradicted these accounts, stating that he had only made thirteen marriages.

How many children Hasan fathered is a matter open to debate; it has been related at different times that the number of children, including sons and daughters, was twelve, fifteen, sixteen, nineteen, twenty or twenty-two. In the sources, the names of his children were reported as the following: Zayd, Hasan, Qasim, Abu Bakr, Abdullah, Amr, Abdurrahman, Hussain, Muhammad, Jacob, Ishmael and Talha. Historians agree that his descendents continued with his sons Hasan al-Muthanna and Zayd. The people who descended from Hasan were given the title "sharif". In history there are many dynasties founded from this family, such as the Idrisis, Rassis, Sadis and the present Filalis (Morocco) and Hashimites (Jordan).

The sources convey various examples of Prophet Muhammad's indulgence to his grandchildren and state that he loved his two grandchildren, whom he called the "masters of heaven" and for whom he prayed to Allah "My Lord, I love them, may You love them, too". Prophet Muhammad did not hesitate to fulfill their requests, put them on his shoulders and carry them or to play games with them; they even climbed over him while he was praying. He would not stand up until the prayer was over. One of these accounts is as follows: One day Prophet Muhammad was at the pulpit, and when he saw that Hasan and Hussein entered the Masjid and fell down; he stopped speaking and embraced them close to his heart, saying: "How true it is when the Almighty says that your goods and children are means for testing"; (et-Teghabun 64/15) I could not help myself when I saw them." He then continued with his sermon. (Ibn Maja, "Libas", 20; Tirmizi, "Manaqib", 30; Nasai, "Jum'a", 30, "Jidayn", 27;).

For some Sunni scholars, Hasan is accepted as the fifth and last of the four caliphs, ruling from the time of his father's death until he handed the caliphate over to Muawiyah ibn Abu Sufyan. According to Shiite belief, Hasan is considered to be the second imam, assigned by Ali himself and the fourth of fourteen "masum-i pak" (clean and pure) and the Shiites attribute many miracles to him However, some Shiite communities oppose him and criticize him as he made a treaty with Muawiyah. Today, in countries where Shiites live, like Iran and Iraq, religious ceremonies are held for the death of Prophet Muhammad and Hasan on 29 Safar, but these ceremonies are not as splendid as the condolence ceremony held during the first eleven days of the month of Muharram for Hussein.

Hasan, as the grandson of Prophet Muhammad has been the subject matter of a great deal of literature; he is note-worthy as the elder son of Ali and Fatima and as a person who waived his right to the caliphate in order not to shed the blood of Muslims. It is observed that apart from Islamic historical sources and biographical works about him, there are also other separate works. In various parts of hadith works of both Bukhari and Muslim, there are many hadiths from Prophet Muhammad about Hasan and Hussein (Buhari, "Feza'ilu Ashabi an-Nabi", 18, 22; Muslim, "Feza'ilu ash-Shahaba", 32, 56, 58-61, 67). In both works, there is one section for Hasan and one section for Hussein, with Prophet Muhammad's words about them being included. In Tirmizi, there are sections called "Manaqibu al-Hasan" and "Manaqibu Ahl Bayti an-Nabi", and more than twenty hadiths were included in these sections.