JUSTIFICATIONS OF THE TREATY <p/>WITH MU'AWIYAH AND ITS TERMS - Imam Hasan Bin Ali [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

JUSTIFICATIONS OF THE TREATY

WITH MU'AWIYAH AND ITS TERMS

All through our studies on the life of Imam Hasan
(a.s.), whether during the lifetime of his father or
during his own reign, we witnessed his strength of
character, his steely determination, and swift action to
sort out problems and reach sound, logical solutions.
This was something which was matchless. We witnessed all
this and lived it, in the light of historical documents
which cannot be doubted. We witnessed it in his stirring
of the zeal of the people of Kufah to defend Islam in the
battle of al-Jamal.

We saw him urging the people to fight against Mu'awiyah
in the battle of Siffin. We saw him addressing the camp
of his father after the arbitration. When he assumed the
office of Imamate, we saw him, as he had been during his
father's reign, possessed of determination, resolution,
cleverness and skill. He took urgent measures to solidify
the foundation of his state. He persisted in challenging
the Umayyad falsehoods, and putting down the seditions of
Syria, to stabilize the Islamic state.

He faced all the attempts of Mu'awiyah to corner him,
before the start of the war, with a lofty, sublime
spirit, the spirit which knew nothing but the right and
would never lower his head before the forces of
falsehood. The prevailing conditions at the time,
however, kept him at bay, something which has rarely
taken place throughout history.

The army led by Imam Hasan (a.s.) became the prey of
disorder. Spies, agents and the bearers of disrupting
news found their way into it. Imam Hasan (a.s.) was on
the brink of being forced to surrender to his enemy! The
ummah, which he was planning a bright and successful
future for, and leading its march into history, diverted
its course to the advantage of his foe! That was the
result of the rumors and luring promises.

These factors caused the tip of balance of power to tilt
on behalf of the Umayyad interests.

Following are the most important of the painful events
which were inflicted on Imam Hasan (a.s.) as a result of
his stand in the face of the incursion of the treacherous
Umayyads:

1. His top leader at the front line, Ubaidullah bin
al-Abbas, betrayed him and joined Mu'awiyah. He induced
two-thirds of the force, which was given the mission of
stopping the advancing army, into breaking away with him.
The camp of Imam Hasan (a.s.) was thrown into disorder
and confusion at the most critical juncture of its
maneuvers. Ubaidullah bin al-Abbas was bribed by
Mu'awiyah.

2. The military forces led by Imam Hasan (a.s.) were
torn between slogans, desires, interests and
ideologies.(32) There were some who were only seeking
spoils of war! There were those who held grudges against
the Umayyad house, but who, at the same time, concealed
their hatred of the Imamate of Imam Hasan (a.s.) and his
household...! In the army a great number of people who
were sympathizers with the Umayyad party in Syria,
cherished the rewards Mu'awiyah had promised them. To
make matters worse, boredom began to creep into the camp
of the Imam, particularly after the army had fought the
three wars of Imam Ali (a.s.), namely: Jamal, Nahrawan,
and Siffin. Their memories were still alive in their
minds.

Next to these people, there was a group who were loyal to
Ahlul-Bait (a.s.). They were a small number in comparison
to the increasing number of the rag-tag, and the
intensity of the hostile schemers.

3. Mu'awiyah showered large sums of money on the
chieftans and the men who held sway in the Iraqi
community, in unparalleled generosity. They were left
listless and irresolute. They gave up their earlier plans
of going hand in hand with the Imam to fight
Mu'awiyah.(33)

Money was a doubled-edged sword. In addition to its sharp
effect in changing the balance of power to the interest
of Mu'awiyah, it left its most surprising imprints in the
hearts of the Iraqis. They flooded Mu'awiyah with their
letters declaring their loyalty and obedience to him.
They promised to hand Imam Hasan (a.s.) over to him as a
prisoner when the fire of war blazed and zero-hour
came!(34)

Imam Hasan (a.s.) referred to this treachery when he
said:

"By Allah, if I had fought Mu'awiyah, they
would have taken hold of my neck and handed me peacefully
over to him. By Allah, making peace with him with
nobility, is more lovable to me than being killed by him
as a captive, or set free, which would be a stain for the
tribe of Hashim."(35)

4. The grandson of the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.) saw
to it that no drop of blood should be shed, especially
the blood of the faithful.

Following are some of the statements of the Imam which
display his noble intentions:

"I feared lest the Muslims should be uprooted
from the surface of earth. I wanted the faith to have men
who call to it."

"...I only wanted, by my treaty with
Mu'awiyah, to spare you death."

5. The army of his enemy was strong, highly
disciplined because of their compliance with the orders
of Mu'awiyah, and the non-existence of subversion among
its ranks. But in Iraq, disunity prevailed. The various
contradictory slogans, views, desires, and interests tore
the army of Imam Hasan (a.s.) to shreads and weakened its
ability to fight.

6. Imam Hasan (a.s.) enjoyed a first-rate spiritual
power--as we have seen elsewhere--as he was purified from
uncleanness, which is stated by the Qur'an. He is one
pillar of the blessed family of the Messenger of Allah
(s.a.w.), to which fact the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.) himself
had testified. He would not think of deception and
treachery.

This soul, attached to Allah, the Most High, and inspired
by Him and His noble shar'iah, made Imam Hasan (a.s.),
wherever he was, to keep away from entering into a war in
which blood would be unnecessarily shed, and men killed
without result. In addition to that, the factors in
Islam's view, were not in the least available, as we have
witnessed by the character of his unprincipled followers.

This is quite different from Mu'awiyah who would never
care how many men were killed, and how much blood was
shed, as long as he remained the ruler of the Muslims, to
whom the income of taxes were brought. He was the ruler
who basked in mundane luxury and fleeting pleasures in
the palace of al-Khadara'.

7 When Imam Hasan saw that Mu'awiyah succeeded in
attracting the people towards him, he wanted to disclose
the true colors of Mu'awiyah. It could only be done if
Mu'awiyah monopolized power and took the affairs of the
ummah into his own hands. The ummah would see the nature
of his rule, and discover the wide gulf between it and
the ideal image of the rule of the Commander of the
Faithful, Imam Ali bin Abi Talib (a.s.).

Those who obeyed Mu'awiyah would bear the responsibility
for that historical tragedy in which the ummah lost the
leadership of Ahlul-Bait (a.s.) and their pioneering
Imamate, not only during their blessed existence, but
also after their deaths. The negative impact of that
continued smashing the ummah, generation after
generation, till the system of Islam, which was expected
to prevail and rule, was reduced to a mere historical
heritage buried in the books.

8. Historians report that Imam Hasan (a.s.) was the
target of three aborted assassination attempts.(36) The
first attempt occurred when a man shot him with an arrow,
while he was of fearing his prayer. He did not harm the
Imam (a.s.).

The second attempt on the life of Imam Hasan (a.s.) took
place when a man jabbed him with a dagger while he was in
prayer. Again the Imam (a.s.) was unhurt.

In the third assassination attempt he narrowly escaped
death. A mob attacked him, plundering his tent and taking
his prayer-rug from under his feet! During the attack
al-Jarrah bin Sinan al-Asadi stabbed him with a rapier in
his thigh and gravely wounded him.(37) The blade reached
the bone.(38)

After that attempt, the Imam was bed-ridden and remained
as a guest at the house of Sa'd bin Mas'ood al-Thaqafi,
his governor on al-Mada'in.

9. Mu'awiyah made good use of the weapon of
propaganda, by causing confusion in the minds of the
Iraqis. His spies and supporters appeared from time to
time in order to spread vicious rumors. The rabble would
be influenced by them, and would behave as they dictated.
Here are some examples:

A. They claimed that Imam Hasan (a.s.) corresponded
with Mu'awiyah in order to make peace.

B. They rumored that Qais bin Sa' d had defected to
Mu'awiyah.

C. The most effective of their rumors was floated when
the Umayyad delegation had come in search of peace. When
the Imam (a.s.) refused to make peace with Mu'awiyah, the
negotiating delegation went out, and claimed that Imam
Hasan (a.s.) had finally agreed to end the hostilities
and spare the blood of the Muslims!

The mobs were angered beyond limits and attacked his
tent. They condemned the alledged peace, but at the same
time they were too indolent to fight.

10. The call to peace by Mu'awiyah had already made
its way into the camp of Imam Hasan (a.s.), and was
already accepted by them, when the Imam (a.s.) finally
agreed to it. That call had an echo in the defeated souls
in the camp of the Imam (a.s.). The followers of
Mu'awiyah welcomed it first and preached it. It slid into
the camp of the Imam Hasan (a.s.) and the Imam accepted
it as a fait accompli.

11. Imam Hasan (a.s.) found the ummah, around him or
Mu'awiyah, oblivious to its deviated life, and silent,
not wanting to support the right and fight the infidels.
Imam Hasan (a.s.) wanted to unmask the callers to
sedition, their promises and covenants, their yearning to
seize power, whatever the means, and their abusing of the
ummah and Islam's teachings.

By clarifying all these sides, Imam Hasan (a.s.) paved
the ground actually for the revolution of the Lord of
Martyrs, Imam Hussein bin Ali (a.s.).

These are, our dear readers, the most important
justifications and causes which prompted Imam Hasan
(a.s.) to sign the document of treaty with the
treacherous Mu'awiyah.

Would any other ruler or leader, if faced with what Imam
Hasan (a.s.) faced, take another course of action?

War, after all, would have been an impossible option. No
sane man would have adopted it. Then how could a great
man like Imam Hasan bin Ali (a.s.), do it?

Some people would be of the opinion that it was better
for Imam Hasan (a.s.), if he had sacrificed all for the
sake of his right. If, however, Imam Hasan (a.s.) had
fought, he would have surely been killed, along with all
of his family. The Umayyads would have succeeded in
extinguishing the light of Islam for good. No one could
then tell the right from the falsehood. The ummah, would
never have realized, as it did afterwards, how deviated
were its rulers, and what bondage they were led to.

Imam Hasan's (a.s.) concern for Islam made him sign
the document to play his role, afterwards, in explaining
the Shari'ah, its laws and dimensions to the ummah of
Muhammad (s.a.w.), during his remaining years, as we Will
see in this phase of his life.

We deem it suitable to cite the most important items of
the document signed by Imam Hasan (a.s.) and Mu'awiyah:
(39)

1. Mu'awiyah bin Abu-Sufyan takes the affairs of the
ummah into his hands, on condition that he abides by the
Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (s.a.w.).

2. Imam Hasan (a.s.) assumes the leadership of the
ummah after the death of Mu'awiyah. If Imam Hasan (a.s.)
was already dead, Imam Hussein (a.s.) takes his place.

3. People are to enjoy freedom and security, be they
Arabs or non-Arabs, Syrians or Iraqis, and they should
not be harassed for their previous positions towards the
Umayyad rule.

These are the items of importance of the treaty which
were accepted by the two parties. As it is clear for the
reader, it is of great benefit to the ummah and its noble
Message. These terms were the most that Imam Hasan (a.s.)
could achieve for the ummah and its mission. Were there
any better substitute that could be achieved, he would
not have hesitated to take advantage of them.

A number of Muslims objected to the treaty. Imam Hasan
(a.s.) explained to them why he had taken this step. He
said to Bashir al-Hamadani:

"I am, by no means, humiliating the faithful,
but honoring them. By my making peace, I only wanted to
spare you death, when I saw my followers lingering and
refraining from going to war."

Al-Hamadani was the first one who was too coward to
fight. To Malik bin Dhumrah, who talked to him about the
document, he said:

"I feared, lest the Muslims should be uprooted
from the surface of earth. I wanted the faith to have men
who call to it."

He said to Abu-Sa'eed:

"Abu-Sa'eed! The reason why I made peace with
Mu'awiyah is the same one which made the Messenger of
Allah (s.a.w.) make peace with the tribe of Banu Dhumrah
and Banu-Ashja', and the people of Mecca when he returned
from al-Hudaibiyyah.(40)

Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (a.s.) refers to the
significance of the treaty, and its positive effects for
the benefit of Islam and Muslims, in these words:

"By Allah, what Hasan bin Ali (a.s.) did was
better for this ummah than what the sun had shone
on."(41)

It is because the wise leader, through studies of the
status quo, takes a position towards some events, that he
sees with his insight and mind what others, his
contemporaries, fail to see, until after some time. That
is exactly what happened to Imam Hasan (a.s.).