He shall enjoy for a short period and after that...

He shall enjoy for a short period and after that, his joy shall be curtailed and he must be called to account.[^2] Among the salient features of the Shi‘ah’s society at this stage is the unity and solidarity among them, which resulted from the status of the Shi‘ah leaders. Until Imam al-Husayn’s ( ‘a ) martyrdom, we cannot see of any split among the Shi‘ah.

Imams al-Hasan and al-Husayn ( ‘a ) had a certain status in the sight of Muslims which none of the pure Imams ( ‘a ) after them ever attained. They were the well-established progeny of the Prophet (S).

During the Battle of Siffin, when he saw that Imam al-Hasan ( ‘a ) was enthusistically rushing toward the battlefront, the Commander of the Faithful ( ‘a ) said: “Hold back this young man on my behalf, lest he causes my ruin, because I am unwilling to send these two (al-Hasan and al-Husayn) toward death, lest the descending line of the Prophet (S) is cut away by their death.”[^3] Imams al-Hasan and al-Husayn ( ‘a ) also occupied a position of respect among the of the Prophet (S).

This fact was demonstrated in the people’s pledge of allegiance to Imam al-Hasan ( ‘a ) in which the of the Prophet (S) accepted his caliphate and none protested. As such, during Imam al-Hasan’s ( ‘a ) caliphate we cannot see any problem (in terms of his legitimacy being challenged) except from Sham. When the Imam ( ‘a ) concluded a peace treaty and wanted to leave Kufah to return to Medina, the people wept profusely. In Medina also, his position is clear from a Qurayshi’s report to Mu‘awiyah.

In his report to Mu‘awiyah, a Qurayshi man thus wrote: O Commander of the Faithful! Hasan performs his dawn prayer in the mosque and he remains in the state of prostration till the sun rises. Then, he inclines to one of the mosque’s pillars and anyone who is in the mosque can benefit from his services and talks to him until the rising of the sun {at noon}.

He performs a two- rak‘ah prayer, stands up, goes out, asks about the condition of the wives of the Prophet (S), and then returns to his house.[^4] Imam al-Husayn ( ‘a ), like his distinguished brother, occupied a highly respectable position such that even ‘Abd Allah ibn Zubayr, a staunch enemy of the ( ‘a ), could not deny the station of Imam Husayn ( ‘a ). While the Imam ( ‘a ) was still in Mecca, the people were not paying attention to Zubayr halting the progress of his campaign.

Thus, he wanted the Imam ( ‘a ) to leave Mecca as soon as possible.