Will you give information about the deal Hz. Hasan and Hz. Muawiya made between them about the caliphate?

Dear Brother / Sister,

Hz. Hasan is the first one of the two great people of the chain of Ahl al-Bayt and the ancestor of sayyids. Hz. Hasan's full name is Abu Muhammad al-Hasan b. Ali b. Abi Talib al-Qurayshi al-Hashimi. He was born in the third year of the Migration in Madinah. Hz. Ali wanted to name his son Harb but the Prophet (pbuh) himself gave him name “Hasan”, which was not known before and which was not used in the Era of Jahiliyyah. The name Abu Muhammad was also given to him by the Prophet. On the seventh day after his birth, the Prophet (pbuh) had an animal (aqiqah) sacrificed for him and asked Hz. Fatima to give as much silver as the weight of his hair to the poor as sadaqah.

It is written in the resources that Hz. Hasan resembled his grandfather very much. It is even stated that Hz. Abubakr addressed him by saying, " O the boy who looks like the Prophet but who does not like Ali!" and that his father Hz. Ali smiled when he heard it.

Hz. Hasan and his brother Hz. Husayn worked in order to protect Hz. Uthman from the rebels and carried water to his house. Before this incident, they took part in the expedition to Khorasan under the command of Sad b. As.

Hz. Hasan went to Kufa with Ammar b. Yasir in order to persuade Talha b. Ubaydullah, Zubayr b. Avvam and the people of Kufa, who opposed to the caliphate of Hz. Ali. He was together with his Father in the Incident of Jamal and the Battle of Siffin. When Hz. Ali was asked about whether to pay allegiance to Hz. Hasan after him, he said, "I neither order nor prohibit it."

After Hz. Ali was martyred, the people of Kufa paid allegiance to Hz. Hasan. Hz. Hasan did not like the racist attitudes of the Umayyads due to the following reason: "As for Hasan and Husayn’s struggle against the Umayyads, it was a war between religion and nationalism. That is, the Umayyads founded the Islamic state on Arab nationalism and put the bonds of nationalism before those of Islam, causing harm in two respects." (Mektubat, p. 58) On the other hand, Muawiya took action in order to make the people of Kufa support him. Military preparations started and armies were prepared by both parties. When both armies started to move toward Madinah and a possibility of war occurred, correspondence started to settle the issue through peace.

When Hz. Hasan, who never showed consent to shedding blood, informed his supporters about his view, the Kharijites reacted, accused him of unbelief and attacked him. Then, they plotted to assassinate him and wounded him.

Hz. Hasan, who did not want the mischief and civil war to spread more, made a deal with Muawiya and renounced his right of the caliphate.

Spiritual rule instead of material rule

Hz. Hasan prevented blood from being shed by renouncing his right of the caliphate. However, he attained a spiritual rule instead of it. The lowdown of the issue is explained as follows in Risale-i Nur Collection:

"Hasan and Husayn and their family and descendants were destined to hold spiritual rule. It is extremely difficult to bring together worldly rule and spiritual rule. Therefore, divine determining made them feel disgust at the world; it showed them its ugly face so that they should cease to feel any attachment to it in their hearts."

"They lost a temporary, superficial rule, but were appointed to a splendid, permanent spiritual rule. They became the authorities of the spiritual poles among the saints instead of commonplace governors." (Mektubat p. 58, 59)

When Hz. Hasan renounced his right of the caliphate, he made a deal with Muawiya. According to this deal, nobody would be arrested with the purpose of revenge, security would be ensured for everybody regardless of their nationality, the crimes that had been committed would be forgiven, nobody would be appointed as the caliph after the death of Muawiya and the new caliph would be chosen by the participation of the Muslims.

After this deal with Muawiya, Hz. Hasan returned to Kufa. With this act, he confirmed a hadith of the Prophet (pbuh), prevented blood from being shed among Muslims and caused peace to be ensured. Once, the Prophet (pbuh) addressed the Companions from the pulpit as follows:  

"There is no doubt that this son of mine is a chief, and Allah may make peace between two groups of Muslims through him."

As a matter of fact, two big armies of Islam confronted forty years later. Hz. Hasan preferred to make peace with Muawiya, confirming the miracle of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh). (Mektubat p. 98)

Then, he moved to Madinah with his family and led a life away from politics. He was poisoned by his wife Jada binti Ashas bin Qays there and died after that.

Hz. Hasan is regarded as the fifth Rightly-Guided Caliph by Ahl as-Sunnah scholars because the period mentioned in the following hadith of the Prophet (pbuh) included the caliphate of Hz. Hasan "The caliphate will last thirty years after me."

The Messenger of Allah loved Hz. Hasan, who was one of his two grandsons, who continued his progeny. He showed this with his words and acts. Badiuzzaman Said Nursi explains this love of the Prophet (pbuh) as follows: "Indeed, the Messenger (UWBP) used to take Hasan (May God be pleased with him) tenderly into his arms and kiss his head  for the sake of the luminous, blessed, Mahdi-like  descendants  who  would  spring  from  him,  such  as  Shah  Geylani,  the Ghawth al-A‘zam,  who would be the inheritors of prophethood and would uphold the sacred Shari‘a of Muhammad." He explains the Prophet’s kissing Hz. Hasan's head as follows: "He saw with the eye of prophethood the sacred services they would perform in the future, and applauded them.  He kissed Hasan’s head as a sign of approval and encouragement." (Lem'alar p. 26). The people who come from the descendants of Hz. Hasan are called "sharif"

In addition, the Prophet (pbuh) purified the people of Cloak (Hz. Ali, Hz. Fatima, Hz. Hasan and Husayn). The Messenger of Allah covered them with his cloak and prayed as follows: "And Allah only wishes to remove all abomination from you, ye members of the Family, and to make you pure and spotless." (al-Ahzab, 33) Thus, he saw, with his prophetic foresight, the mischief and blood-shedding that would occur among the Muslims thirty to forty years later and attracted attention to the innocence of the people of the Cloak, who would live in that period. With this act, he "... congratulated Hasan and proclaimed the honor he would acquire by removing through reconciliation serious discord, and his supreme value for the Islamic community, and declared that Fatima’s descendants would be pure and honored." (Lem'alar p. 97)

Note: We ask you to refer to the resources for detailed information related to the events that took place in the history of Islam.

Questions on Islam