In the Name of Allah the Most High
Salam
Aap ko Imam Hasan (as) wiladat mubarak ho
Imam Hasan
'The Myth of his Divorces'
S. Saeed Akhtar Rizvi
Al-Serat, Vol 4 (1978), No 3
Imam Hasan has been the victim of a most malicious propaganda for the last
1,250 years. He is portrayed as "fond of ease and quiet" by his admirers (Ameer
Ali in "Spirit of Islam") and "the great divorcer" by his detractors (Willi
Frischaurer in "The Aga Khans").
Before looking at individual reports, it is important to find out when this
allegation was put forward, by whom and why.
After a thorough study of these reports, I have found that the first man known
to accuse Imam Hasan of "marrying and divorcing" was the 2nd Abbasid Khalifa,
Mansur, who because of his dynastic policies was bent upon belittling Amir
al-Mu'minin `Ali and his descendants.
It will help the readers to know how Abbasids came to power.
As Ameer `Ali writes in "Spirit of Islam" (p.302), "the tragical fate of Husain
and his children sent a thrill of horror through Islam; and the revulsion of
feeling which it caused proved eventually the salvation of Faith ... It made
the bulk of Moslems think of what the Master had done, and of the injuries
which the children of his enemies were inflicting on Islam."
By the beginning of the 2nd century of Hijra, "Persia, Irak and Hijaz, which
had suffered most from the atrocities of the Bani-Omeyya, were honeycombed by
secret organisations for the over-throw of the hated family. The Bani-Abbas
were the most active in the movement to subvert the Omeyyad rule, at
first,.perhaps, from a sincere desire to restore to the Fatimids their just
rights, but afterwards in their own interests." (Ibid, p.307.)
When Bani Hashim were planning to overthrow the Umayyad dynasty, they first
secretly called a meeting of all members of the clan. They decided that, if
they succeeded, they would make Muhammad, Nafs al-Zikiyya (Pure Soul) Khalifa.
Muhammad was son of Abdallah son of Hasan Muthanna son of Imam Hasan. Among
those who made the bia'a were Abu'l-Abbas (Saffah) and Mansur.
Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq remained aloof from all these activities and told Abdallah
(father of Nafs al-Zakiyya) that his son would not succeed; that Mansur would
sit on the throne instead. Abdullah did not like this frankness and accused
Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq of envy!
Anyhow the slogan of Rida aal-Muhammad (to please the Descendants of the
Prophet) proved a success and people gathered behind the agents of Bani Hashim,
thinking that they wanted to remove Bani Umayya and install a descendant of the
Prophet as Khalifa. Bani Umayya were overthrown in 132 A.H.
But when the time came to install a Khalifa from Aal-Muhammad, the Abbasids
forgot all their pledges and their bay'a to Muhammad Nafs al-Zakiyya. They put
Abu'l-Abbas Saffah on the throne.
Abu'l-'Abbas died after four years, and his brother Mansur came to power.
Muhammad Nafs al-Zakiyya did not forget that Mansur was under obligation to
accept him as Khalifa; neither could Mansur forget it. The solution, according
to Muhammad Nafs al-Zakiyya, was to rise against Mansur. The solution,
according to Mansur, was to annihilate all the descendants of Imam Hasan.
"The same fierce jealousy with which the Bani-Omeyya had pursued or persecuted
the Bani-Fatima, characterised the conduct of Bani-Abbas towards the
descendants of Muhammad. They had no claim to the Caliphate themselves; they
made the affection of the people for the children of Fatima the means for their
own elevation, and when they had attained the desired end they rewarded the
Fatimids with bitter persecution." (Ibid, p.304.)
Mansur came to Medina in 144 A.H. and in one sweeping operation arrested all
the family of Imam Hasan and took them to Baghdad. It is not the place to
enumerate the torture - physical and mental - meted out to the descendants of
Imam Hasan.
Now Mansur wanted to absolve himself from the legal,and moral obligations of
that oath of allegiance. It was not only the question of his own conscience; he
had to assure the public also that he was the constitutional and rightful
Khalifa.
For this purpose, he gave a public address after that mass arrest, in which he
shamelessly said:
"By God, we left the descendants of Abu Talib and the Khilafat; we did not
interfere at all. `Ali ibn Abi Talib became Khalifa. After him Hasan ibn `Ali
became Khalifa. By God, he did not deserve it. He was offered money, which he
accepted; Mu'awiya sent him a message that he would make him his successor. So,
Hasan abdicated the Khilafat and left the government and power. He left
everything to Mu'awiya, and turned his attention, to women, marrying one woman
today, divorcing another one tomorrow. He remained like this till he died in
his bed."
(AI-Mas'udi; in Muruj al-Dhahab, Vol.3, p.226)
The main theme of this address was that Muhammad Nafs al-Zakiyya had no claim
of Khilafat because his great-grand-father, Imam Hasan, has relinquished this
power.
Accordingly, he wrote a letter to Muhammad who was still at large and was
gathering an army to fight against Mansur:
"The Khilatat of your ancestor (Ali) reached to Hasan; he sold it to Mu'awiya
in consideration of money and cloth Now, if you had any right in the Khilafat,
you had already sold it and received its price."
But Mansur knew that this line of argument solved only the immediate problem of
the bay'a of Muhammad Nafs al-Zakiyya. It could not prevent one of the
descendants of Imam Husain from claim to the Khilafat for himself. Therefore,
he left no stone unturned to prove that the Fatimids were not entitled to the
inheritance of the Holy Prophet at all; and that Bani' Abbas were the rightful
heirs of the Holy Prophet.
In Arabia, prior to Islam, inheritance "was governed by the rule of agnacy." It
means that only those persons who were connected with the deceased 'through
males' were recognised as entitled to take a share in his inheritance (they are
called 'agnatic relatives'), and neither women nor persons connected to the
deceased through them had any right of succession, (they are called 'uterine
relatives').
"Thus it was that whilst adopted sons and even slaves had rights, the children
of daughters and sisters had no place in the customary rules which regulated
succession."
(Ameer `Ali in 'Mohammedan Law', Vol.2, p.75)
Islam put an end to such affront to human nature, and in the Qur'an there are
specific provisions for the succession of daughters, mothers and sisters.
But Mansur, in rank defiance of the Qur'an, revived the old custom of agnacy.
Ameer `Ali writes:
"When the Abbasids succeeded in overthrowing the Omeyyads, they found it
necessary to legitimatise their title to the Caliphate, for the eyes of the
Moslem world were still turned to the descendants of the Prophet as the
rightful heirs to his temporal and spiritual heritage and in effecting this
they found their chief support in the doctrine of agnacy. They claimed that as
descendants of the Prophet's uncle, Abbas, they were his 'agnates' and as such
had a better title than the descendants of his daughter Fatima. And this was
the keystone of the fabric built up by the ablest monarch of the House of
Abbas, Mansur, the real founder of the Sunni Church."
(Ibid, p.76)
And as a result, the Sunni Law still retains largely the customary rule of
pre-Islamic Arabs. Ameer `Ali says:
"The rule of agnacy has thus remained, chiefly from dynastic reasons, a part of
Sunni system. In early times it was strongly enforced as under the old Romans.
If a person died without leaving any 'agnatic' relations but a daughter's or
sister's child, his property did not go to the latter but escheated to the
Caliph (i.e. was taken over by the Caliph). In 896 A.D. the Caliph Mutazid
Billah abolished this cruel rule, and laid down that in the absence of sharers
and agnates (Asabah) the "uterine relations" should succeed. And this has
remained the law ever since."
(Ibid)
But even after this half-hearted amendment, the uterine relations are placed in
the last category, and it is only in the absence of sharers, agnates and (even)
the emancipated that they receive any share in the inheritance.
(Ibid, p.68)
Thus this "ablest" monarch of the House of 'Abbas contrived to silence Muhammad
Nafs al-Zakiyya by alleging that Imam Hasan had sold his right of Khilafat; and
then by an ingenious reversion to pre-Islamic custom, disinherited all
descendants of Fatima for ever! But, as Ameer `Ali has pointed out, descendants
of Fatima were also descendants of `Ali who, as the son of Abu Talib, was
'agnate relative' of the Holy Prophet (connected to him by male relation)!"
This is not the place to explain why Imam Hasan entered into treaty with
Mu'awiya; nor do I want to comment upon the claim made by Muhammad Nafs
al-Zakiyya that he was entitled to Khilafat "because he was a descendant of
Fatima."
The Imamate is based not on inheritance, but on "Appointment by Allah" through
the Holy Prophet or the preceding Imam. Muhammad Nafs al-Zakiyya based his
claim on falsity, and Mansur tried to answer him with a bigger falsity.
But in this conflict, the real sufferer proved to be Imam Hasan whose sacred
name was made the object of the false propaganda that he married a woman today
and divorced another tomorrow.
Bani Umayya had established a full-fledged department to fabricate "ahadith" to
smear the names of AhI al-bayt. But they were not as successful in their
endeavours as Mansur was.
His rule of inheritance by agnates is still followed by the Sunni schools of
Law; and his propaganda against Imam Hasan has even found its way into some
Shi'a books.
Let us now look at these reports:
Some have reported 70 wives. Others have increased the number to 90. Still
others have said 250 wives! The highest number is 300!
The first report of 70 wives is given by Abu'l-Hasan `Ali ibn Abdullah Al-Basri
Al-Mada'ini, who died in 225 A.H. This man was a partisan of Bani Umayya - he
was a freed slave of Sumra ibn Habib, an Umayyad.
Ubn Adi has said of him: He is not strong in Hadith. (Mizan al-I 'tidal, Vol.2,
p.232, Lisan al-Mizan, Vol.4, p.253)
This Madaini does not say from where he got this number of 70.
The second report of 90 wives appears in Nur al-Absar of Shablanji who died in
1298 AH.
Reports of 250 and 300 wives are found in Quwwat al-Qulub (Vol. 2, p.246) of
Abu Talib Makki who died in 380 A.H. He writes:
"Hasan ibn `Ali married 250 wives; and it is said that 300 wives. `Ali was very
much annoyed and grieved by it, because when Hasan divorced a woman, `Ali felt
embarrassment before her family. `Ali used to say that 'Hasan is habitual
divorcer; you people should not give your daughters to him." Then a man from
the tribe of Hamdan said:
'O amir al-Mu'minin, by God, we will give him our daughters; and he may retain
whomsoever he wishes and may divorce whomsoever he dislikes.' Hearing it, `Ali
was very much pleased and recited the following poem:
"If I would be in-charge of any gate of Paradise I would tell the tribe of
Hamdan, 'Enter into Paradise with peace."
"Imam Hasan had likeness of the Prophet in facial features as well as in
manners and character. The Holy Prophet told him, 'O Hasan, you are like me in
features and character and manners.' Also he said, 'Hasan is from me and Husain
is from `Ali.'
"Hasan, often married 4 wives in one sitting and then divorced 4 wives in one
sitting."
Now this man Abu Talib had become mad at the time of writing this book Quwwat
al-Qulub. He went to Baghdad and people came to see him. When they heard his
senseless talk, all went away, and avoided him. One of his savings of that time
is that "None is more harmful for the people than their Creator." The scolars
have frankly said that he has written many things in that book which have no
foundation at all.
These were the original reporters. All those who came after them have blindly
copied from their books.
The fact is that it was impossible for Imam Hasan to marry so many wives even
if he wanted to. All the narrations imply that he started this alleged pursuit
of pleasure during the Khilafat of his father in Kufa. `Ali came to Kufa in 37
Hijra. Imam Hasan had at least three wives in Kufa.
Khawal Fazariya, who was the mother of Hasan Muthanna (the grandfather of
Muhammad Nafs al-Zakiyya). She survived Imam Hasan. This marriage had taken
place in Medina.
Umm Ishaq bint Talha. She was the mother of Husain Athram, Talha and Fatima.
This marriage also had taken place in Medina. She survived Imam Hasan; and was
later married to Imam Husain.
Ju'da bint Ash-ath. This marriage took place in Kufa and she also survived Imam
Hasan. (She poisoned him on instigation of Mu'aviya.)
Islam allows a man to marry up to four women at any given time. As Imam Hasan
already had three wives, who were with him up to the last day of his life, he
could marry only one more woman at any time.
Bearing in mind this limitation, one can only regard the statement of Quwwat
al-Qulub with amusement: "Often he (Imam Hasan) married 4 wives in one sitting
and then divorced them in one sitting." How could he marry 4 wives in one
sitting when he already had 3 wives?
Now suppose that he married a fourth wife, and then divorced her. As long as
that divorced wife was in 'idda (period of probation, normally 3 months) she
was counted legally his wife, and Imam Hasan could not marry another wife
before expiry of her 'idda.
Let us, now, suppose that he married a woman. As divorce cannot be given in a
month in which co-habitation has taken place, the earliest that that wife could
be divorced was in next month; her 'idda continued for 3 months. Thus, four
months passed before Imam Hasan could be free to marry another wife. One wife
in four months gives us a maximum of 3 wives in a year. Supposing that Imam
Hasan had no other work except marrying and divorcing, as Mansur said, and if
we count from 37 A.H. up to his martyrdom at the beginning of 51 A.H. to get a
period of 14 years, this will give us a maximum number of 42 possible
marriages.
And the minimum alleged by these scholars is 70 wives!
After this clarification, there is no need for further comment upon these
reports. Yet it is worthwhile to examine these reports a little more in order
to show how absolutely unreliable they are.
Abu Talib Makki says: "`Ali used to say that Hasan is a habitual divorcer; do
not give him your daughters." The question is, why `Ali told people in public
not to give Hasan their daughters? Had he, first, told Hasan not to divorce so
much? If so, did Hasan disobey him? Nobody says that Hasan was, God forbid, a
disobedient son. Even Abu Talib Makki admits that Hasan was like the Holy
Prophet in facial features and in manners and character. Can a disobedient son
be universally accepted as having the character and manner of the Holy Prophet?
Or did `Ali forbid people in public without first trying to restrain Hasan from
this alleged behaviour?
Can `Ali be expected to do such a childish thing, degrading his heir-apparent
in public, without first advising him accordingly? As both alternatives lead to
absurdity, the only conclusion remains that this report was forged by someone
who wanted to discredit both `Ali and Hasan by one fabrication.
The most amusing is the report of aforementioned Abu'l-Hasan al-Mada'ini who
says: "When Hasan died, all his former wives came out in a group in his funeral
procession, with open heads and bare feet, and they were shouting "We are the
wives of Hasan!"
Who has ever heard of such a procession in Islamic society? What was the sense
in shouting 'we are the wives of Hasan'? And how did their husbands of that
time allow them to form that comic procession?
It will be interesting to see the gradual development of this propaganda.
First comes Mansur, in 144 A.H., declaring that Imam Hasan was 'marrying one
woman today, divorcing another tomorrow.'
Then comes al-Mada'ini (died 225 A.H.) who gives a specific number of 70 and
produces the procession of those divorced wives at the funeral.
Then al-Kafi (compiled in 326 A.H.) gives two `Ahadith' that Imam Hasan
divorced very much.
Then comes Abu Talib Makki (380 A.H.) who thought that 70 was not consistent
with 'marrying a woman one day and divorcing another tomorrow'; so he increased
the number to 250; still his mathematics was not satisfied, so he quoted an
unknown source and finally said '300'.
Lastly comes the French historian, H. Lammens, who writes in 'Shorter
Encyclopaedia of Islam':
"He (Imam Hasan) spent the best part of his youth in making and unmaking
marriages; about a hundred are enumerated. (Remember that Mansur had alleged
this to happen after the treaty with Mu'awiya in the last ten years of Imam
Hasan's life But this 'historian' antidates it to his youth! And so far as
enumeration is concerned, only 14 are enumerated, not 100 as he alleges.) These
easy morals earned him the title mitlak 'the divorcer' and involved `Ali in
severe enmities." (Now, on what authority this 'historian' has made this
fantastic assertion? No evidence can be produced to support this allegation.)
In another place he writes: that Imam Hasan proved that he was very
extravagant. He built separate houses for all those wives; each had her retinue
of servants and attendants. Even during the Khilafat of `Ali when there was
hardship and strict financial control, he used to spend money in the same way.
Did Rev. H. Lammens produce even a fabricated Hadith or report to show that
Imam Hasan had built separate houses for all those (100!) wives with all the
paraphernalia which he so willingly enumerates? The answer is 'NO'. It is just
the product of his fertile imagination. It is these people who take upon
themselves the task of producing 'authentic' history of Islam for the receptive
minds of Westerners!
--
AKBAR ALI KHAN
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