Afterwards he gave his copy of the Holy Qur’an and his...

Afterwards he gave his copy of the Holy Qur’an and his armament to him and said that these had been given to him by the Holy Prophet (saws) who had directed that he should hand over these to him, declaring him (Imam Hasan (as)) as his heir. [^4] As against this, some historical records show that when Imam ‘Ali (as) was asked as to whom he was nominating the caliph, he had declined to name anyone and had left it to the choice of Muslims.

We feel that such narrations are far from the truth and have been concocted by those who were bent upon declaring allegiance or consultation (' shura ') as the basis for caliphate, because the views of Hazrat ‘Ali (as), as reflected in Nahjul Balaghah and other historical books, are quite different.

He considered only the Ahlul Bayt (as) and members of the household of the Holy Prophet (saws) as fit for caliphate and in the presence of Imam Hasan (as), he would normally have appointed him as the caliph. Again, if the conditions prevailing at the time are taken into account, the caliphate and the government of Hazrat ‘Ali (as) was facing a crisis situation.

Nearly all historical narrations record that at the time Hazrat ‘Ali (as) was preparing for a decisive battle against Muawiya and forty thousand soldiers had vowed to fight along with him till death. In that situation, for sure he was likely to appoint as his heir and next in command a person who would truly guide a large army and uproot the rebellious group in an appropriate manner. Not doing so would have endangered the center of Islamic caliphate!

[^5] Not only is it that no objection against the caliphate of Imam Hasan Al-Mujtaba (as) was raised by the Muslims of the time, but rather the whole Muslim history records that Muslims up to the current period regard him as their Imam and caliph. Despite so many other differences among them. 'Ahlul Sunnat wal Jama'at' consider him as the orthodox caliph and claim that the Islamic caliphate ended for ever after Imam Hasan (as) and the monarchical system commenced.

They further quote that his grand father, the Holy Prophet (saws), had earlier prophesied the same in the following words: "The caliphate will last thirty years after me. After that, it will be monarchy." [^6] According to the historians, the thirty years were completed when Imam Hasan (as) agreed for peace with Muawiya and handed over the outwardly power to him.