We read in Tarikh ibn Asakir...

We read in Tarikh ibn Asakir, Dhikr Hasan:(9) قال يا مالك لا تقل ذلك أني لما رأيت الناس تركوا ذلك إلا أهله خشيت أن تجتثوا عن وجه الأرض فاردت أن يكون للدين في الأرض ناعي “After Hasan made peace with Mu’awiya, Malik ibn Dhumr said: ‘You have blackened the face of the believers’ to which he [Hasan] replied: ‘Don’t say this! I feared that the Muslims would be exterminated from the earth.

My desire is that some people will remain on the earth who will mention Islam to the people” (10) Ibn Kathir records the following clear cut words of Imam Hasan (as): “Naeem bin Hamad has narrated that Ibn Fazeel has narrated from Sari bin Ismaeel narrated to us from Shaybi that Sufiyan bin al-Lail narrated to me that when Hasan bin Ali [ra] came Madina from Kufa, I said to him: ‘O the one who disgraced the believers’. He replied: ‘Dont say this!

I heard Holy Prophet [s] saying that day and nights will not cease to end until Muawiyah becomes king, thus I knew that Allah’s ‘will’ had to take place, therefore I did not like bloodshed of Muslims taking place between me and him” (11) Imam of Ahle Sunnah Ibn Habban in al-Thuqat,(12) cites how ruthless and low Mu’awiya was prepared to stoop to seize power: فاحتال معاوية في الحسن بن علىوتلطف له وخوفه هراقه دماء المسلمين وهتك حرمهم وذهاب أموالهم إن لم يسلم الأمرلمعاوية فاختار الحسن ما عند الله على ما في الدنيا وسلم الأمر إلى معاوية Mu’awyia tricked Hassan bin Ali and issued a threat of shedding Muslim’s blood, sexually abusing them, and destroying their properties if he didn’t give up Caliphate in favour of him [Mu’awyia].

Hassan therefore chose what was with Allah over what is in the world and handed over Caliphate to Mu’awiya. Salafi scholar Hasan bin Farhan al-Maliki in his book ‘Qeraah fi Kutub al-Aqaed’ (13) attests to the hidden benefit that came from the peace treaty: صلح الحسن أفضل من تعرضه ومن معه من بقية أهل البيت ومحبيهم لمذبحة ينتهي فيها ذكر أهل البيت !!

فصلح الحسن أتاح لهؤلاء المحبين الاختلاط بالناس ونقل أحاديث علي وفقهه وعلمه “The peace treaty made by Hasan was better than his slaughter as well as that of the remaining Ahlulbayt members and their adherents, that would have brought about an end to remembrance of the Ahlulbayt!!

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