The second Imam · al-Mujtaba, “the Chosen”

Imam Hasan al-Mujtaba (AS)

Elder grandson of the Prophet (s) and the second Imam. He is remembered for the peace treaty he accepted with Mu‘awiya, his generosity and his gentleness. He is buried in al-Baqi, Medina.

الإمام الحسن المجتبى

Born: 15 Ramadan 3 AH (625 CE), Medina
Parents: Imam Ali (AS) and Fatima al-Zahra (AS)
Imamate: 40–50 AH (661–670 CE)
Died: 50 AH (670 CE), Medina. The exact date is reported differently.
Resting place: Jannat al-Baqi, Medina

Life

Family and childhood

Hasan (AS) was the first child of Imam Ali (AS) and Fatima al-Zahra (AS), born in Medina in Ramadan 3 AH. The Prophet (s) named him and showed him and his brother Hussain (AS) great love in public. Many reports of this love are recorded in both Shia and Sunni collections. [WikiShia]

Shia Muslims count him among the Ahl al-Kisa, the five people of the Prophet’s household gathered under his cloak. They also believe he was among those the Prophet (s) brought to the Mubahala. [WikiShia]

With his father in Kufa

During the caliphate of Imam Ali (AS) he moved with his father to Kufa. He took part in the Battles of the Camel and Siffin alongside his father. [WikiShia] [WikiShia]

A short caliphate

After his father’s martyrdom in 40 AH, the people of Kufa gave him their allegiance. Mu‘awiya, ruling from Syria, refused to recognise him and marched on Iraq. The army of Imam Hasan (AS) was weakened by defections, and at Sabat near al-Mada’in some of his own followers attacked and wounded him. [WikiShia] [WikiShia]

The peace treaty

In 41 AH Imam Hasan (AS) handed political rule to Mu‘awiya under a treaty. He remained the Imam of the Shia and the head of the Banu Hashim until his death. [WikiShia] [WikiShia]

Sources disagree about the exact terms. Commonly reported conditions are that Mu‘awiya would rule by the Book of God and the Sunna of the Prophet (s), would not name a successor, and would guarantee the safety of the people, including the followers of Ali (AS). Some reports add that rule would return to Imam Hasan (AS) after Mu‘awiya, or mention a payment. Some researchers consider these additions proposals that the Imam rejected. [WikiShia]

He explained the treaty in his own words as a choice made to protect the community and spare bloodshed. See the first saying below.

Teacher and benefactor in Medina

Back in Medina, he would pray the dawn prayer in the Prophet’s mosque and stay in remembrance until sunrise. People then gathered to learn from him, and he kept the same practice in the evening, as Ibn Sa‘d, al-Baladhuri and Ibn ‘Asakir report. [WikiShia]

He was known for generosity to the poor, for his gentleness even with those who insulted him, and for walking to Mecca for Hajj many times. About 250 narrations are reported from him or through him. [WikiShia] [WikiShia]

Death and burial

He died in Medina in 50 AH after being poisoned. Shia and many other sources name his wife Ja‘da bint al-Ash‘ath as the poisoner, acting at Mu‘awiya’s instigation. His family was prevented from burying him beside the Prophet (s), and he was buried in al-Baqi. [WikiShia] [WikiShia]

The date is reported differently. 28 Safar and 7 Safar are both widely observed. [WikiShia]

Teachings

Explanations and reflections are our own writing. They point to the sourced sayings below, which are the only words we quote.

Giving up power to protect lives

Explanation · editorial

Imam Hasan (AS) does not say he gave up his claim because it was weak. He says the right was his and that he left it for the good of the community and to spare bloodshed. Holding a right firmly while deciding not to fight for it is at the heart of how Shia scholars read the treaty.

Illustrated by: Explaining the treaty to the people

Reflection · editorial

When have you been in the right but chosen not to press it, for the sake of others? What made it the right choice?

Humility before God

Explanation · editorial

Ibn Shahrashub describes how Imam Hasan (AS) trembled when he made wudu, and how at the mosque door he called himself God’s guest and a wrongdoer, asking God to overlook his faults out of generosity.

Illustrated by: At the door of the mosque

Reflection · editorial

Many visitors pause at the doors of the shrines before entering. His words offer one way to arrive: as a guest, honest about one’s faults, trusting in God’s generosity.

Peace without pretence

Explanation · editorial

After the treaty, Mu‘awiya claimed that Imam Hasan (AS) had judged him fit for the caliphate. In al-Ihtijaj, the Imam is reported to have denied this outright. He restated the claim of the Prophet’s household and left judgement to God. Making peace, on this account, did not mean pretending the injustice had not happened.

Illustrated by: Answering Mu‘awiya’s claim

Reflection · editorial

Can you accept a settlement while still telling the truth about what happened? What does that ask of you?

Sayings

Each saying gives the Arabic with its reference. The English beneath is a plain summary written by us, not a translation. Where a published translation is available online, we link to it.

Explaining the treaty to the people

أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنَّكُمْ لَوْ طَلَبْتُمْ مَا بَيْنَ جَابُلْقَا وَجَابِرْسَا رَجُلًا جَدُّهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ مَا وَجَدْتُمْ غَيْرِي وَغَيْرَ أَخِي، وَإِنَّ مُعَاوِيَةَ نَازَعَنِي حَقّاً هُوَ لِي فَتَرَكْتُهُ لِصَلَاحِ الْأُمَّةِ وَحَقْنِ دِمَائِهَا.

Reference: Ibn Shahrashub, al-Manaqib (1379 AH ed.), vol. 4, p. 34 [Ibn Shahrāshūb] [WikiShia]

Arabic as quoted in the cited reference work.

In brief · our summary, not a translation

He points out that nowhere in the world is there anyone whose grandfather is the Messenger of God (s) apart from himself and his brother. He explains that Mu‘awiya contested a right that belonged to him, and that he gave it up for the good of the community and to prevent bloodshed.

At the door of the mosque

إِلَهِي ضَيْفُكَ بِبَابِكَ، يَا مُحْسِنُ قَدْ أَتَاكَ الْمُسِيءُ، فَتَجَاوَزْ عَنْ قَبِيحِ مَا عِنْدِي بِجَمِيلِ مَا عِنْدَكَ يَا كَرِيمُ

Reference: Ibn Shahrashub, al-Manaqib (1379 AH ed.), vol. 4, p. 14 [Ibn Shahrāshūb] [WikiShia]

Arabic as quoted in the cited reference work.

In brief · our summary, not a translation

Standing at the door of the mosque, he describes himself as a guest at God’s door and a wrongdoer coming before the Doer of Good, and asks God, the Generous, to overlook his faults out of His own beauty and kindness.

About this attribution

The narrator first describes the Imam’s state (“when he made wudu his joints trembled…”). Only the prayer quoted here is the Imam’s own words.

Answering Mu‘awiya’s claim

إن معاوية بن صخر زعم أني رأيته للخلافة أهلا، ولم أر نفسي لها أهلا، فكذب معاوية، وأيم الله لأنا أولى الناس بالناس في كتاب الله وعلى لسان رسول الله، غير أنا لم نزل أهل البيت مخيفين مظلومين مضطهدين منذ قبض رسول الله، فالله بيننا وبين من ظلمنا حقنا.

Reference: al-Tabrisi, al-Ihtijaj (1403 AH ed.), vol. 2, p. 288 [al-Ṭabrisī] [WikiShia]

Arabic as quoted in the cited reference work.

In brief · our summary, not a translation

He rejects Mu‘awiya’s claim that he had judged Mu‘awiya fit to rule and himself unfit. He states that the Ahl al-Bayt are the most entitled to lead by the Book of God and the teaching of His Messenger (s), yet have lived wronged and in fear since the Prophet’s (s) death, and he leaves the judgement to God.

Visit and pray

Jannat al-Baqi, Medina: shrine guide

We do not yet carry a ziyarat specific to Imam Hasan (AS). The ziyarat of the Imams of al-Baqi is planned for a later batch.

References

Written by A humble human

Sources referred to

WikiShia, “Imam al-Hasan b. Ali al-Mujtaba (a)”, en.wikishia.net, revision 211270 (10 September 2026). Accessed 14 October 2026.
WikiShia (Arabic), “الإمام الحسن المجتبى عليه السلام”, ar.wikishia.net, revision 385398 (7 January 2025). Accessed 15 October 2026.
Ibn Shahrāshūb, Manāqib Āl Abī Ṭālib (Qum: ʿAllāma, 1379 AH), vol. 4.
al-Ṭabrisī (Aḥmad b. ʿAlī), al-Iḥtijāj ʿalā ahl al-lajāj (Mashhad: al-Murtaḍā, 1403 AH), vol. 2.
WikiShia, “Imam al-Hasan b. Ali al-Mujtaba (a)”, en.wikishia.net, revision 211270, as consulted. For these details the article cites al-Mufīd, al-Irshād, vol. 2: pp. 8–9 (allegiance in Kufa), p. 11 (Muʿawiya’s march; the attack on his tent), p. 15 (date of death), pp. 17–19 (burial at al-Baqiʿ after being blocked from the Prophet’s grave). We have not consulted al-Irshād directly.

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