Hasan al-Askari
Hasan ibn Ali ibn Muhammad (Arabic: الحَسَن بْن عَلِيّ بْن مُحَمَّدُ, romanized: al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad; c. 846 – 874), better known as Hasan al-Askari (Arabic: الحَسَن ٱلْعَسْكَرِيّ, romanized: al-Ḥasan al-ʿAskarī), was a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He is regarded as the eleventh of the Twelve Imams, succeeding his father, Ali al-Hadi. Hasan Al-Askari was born in Medina in 844 and brought with his father to the garrison town of Samarra in 848, where the Abbasid caliphs held them under close surveillance until their deaths, even though neither were politically active. After the death of al-Hadi in 868, the majority of his following acknowledged his son, al-Askari, as their next Imam. Al-Askari's contact with the Shia population was restricted by the caliphs and instead he communicated with his followers through a network of representatives. He died in Samarra in 873–874 at the age of about twenty-eight and was buried in the family home next to his father, which later developed into al-Askari shrine, a major center for Shia pilgrimage. Shia sources commonly hold the Abbasids responsible for the death of al-Askari and his father. A well-known early Shia commentary of the Quran is attributed to al-Askari.
Hasan al-Askari
ٱلْحَسَن ٱلْعَسْكَرِيّEleventh Imam of Twelver Shi'ism
ٱلْحَسَن ٱلْعَسْكَرِيّ
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#1__descriptionDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#2__subtextDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#0__titleDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#0__subtitleDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
Works[edit]
A well-known early Shia commentary of the Quran is attributed to al-Askari,[62] which is believed to be authentic by some Shia authorities, notably, al-Mufid.[63] In the context of Shia responsibilities in the absence of Imams, a hadith ascribed to al-Askari is given by Mavani. The hadith states that, "It is obligatory for the populace to follow the jurist who refrains from committing wrong, mentions his faith, opposes carnal desire, and obeys Allah’s command."[64] Haider quotes a hadith, attributed to al-Askari, about the specific characteristics that distinguish a Shia from the wider mass of Muslims: "There are five signs of a believer: fifty-one cycles of prayer [every day], the pilgrimage to Husayn's tomb forty days after the anniversary of his death, the wearing of a ring on the right hand, the placing of the forehead on the earth in prostration, and the audible recitation of the basmala (lit. 'in the name of God') [during daily prayers]."[65] In the context of intercession (shafa'a), al-Askari is reported to have said that only a small fraction of God's mercy (rahma) has been dispersed among His creation in this world. All of God's mercy will be diffused on the Day of Judgement by means of which true Muslims will successfully intercede on behalf of their communities.[66]
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#2__titleDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
Al-Askari died without leaving an obvious heir, which created widespread confusion and fragmented the Shia community into several sects, all of which disappeared within a few decades except the Twelver Shia. The Twelvers hold that al-Askari had a son, commonly known as Muhammad al-Mahdi (lit. 'the rightly guided'), who was kept hidden from the public out of the fear of Abbasid persecution. Al-Mahdi succeeded to the imamate after the death of his father and entered a state of occultation. His life is said to be miraculously prolonged until the day he manifests himself again by God's permission to fill the earth with justice. Though in occultation, the Imam still remains responsible in Twelver belief for the spiritual guidance of humankind and the Shia accounts of his occasional encounters with the pious are numerous and popular.
Designation as the Imam[edit]
After the death of al-Hadi in 868, the majority of his followers acknowledged his son, Hasan al-Askari, as their next Imam. Shia sources report that al-Hadi designated Hasan as the next Imam a few months before his death.[17][5] After al-Hadi, his another son, Ja'far, unsuccessfully claimed the imamate for himself.[17] Madelung adds that some had expected another son of al-Hadi, Abu Ja'far Moḥammad, to be the next Imam but he predeceased his father in Samarra.[10]
Titles[edit]
Hasan ibn Ali is known by the titles al-Samet (lit. 'the quiet'), al-Hadi (lit. 'the guide'), and al-Zaki (lit. 'the pure'),[1] though his most common title is al-Askari (lit. 'military')، on the account of his almost life-long detention in Samarra,[2] a garrison town not far from Baghdad which was the capital of the Abbasids at the time.[3][4] As a great-grandson of Ali al-Rida, the eighth of the Twelve Imams, Hasan was also known by his contemporaries as Ibn al-Rida (lit. 'son of al-Rida').[5][6]
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#3__titleDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#3__subtextDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
Birth and early life[edit]
Most Shia sources state that Hasan ibn Ali was born in Rabi' al-Awwal 230 AH (November 844),[5] though other given dates range from 845 to 847.[1][2][7] The Shia currently celebrate 8 Rabi' al-Thani as his birthday.[8] Hasan was born in Medina,[5][2][1] though Donaldson has cast doubt on this, as he is uncertain between Medina and Samarra.[9] His father was the tenth Shia Imam, Ali al-Hadi, and his mother was a freed slave (umm walad), whose name is variously given as Hudayth, Susan, or Salil in different sources.[5] At the age of about two,[2] Hasan was brought to Samarra with his father in 233 or 234 AH (847–849),[5][10] where the latter was held under close surveillance by the Abbasid caliphs until his death in 254 (868), some twenty years later.[11]
When Hasan was about twenty-two,[2] an agent of his father is said to have providentially bought a Byzantine concubine, named Narjis (Narcissus),[12] who was given to Hasan in marriage,[13] and later bore him his only son.[2][14] Other sources give her name variously as Sayqal, Sawsan, and Rayhana.[15] The detailed accounts of Majlesi and Tusi describe Narjis as a captured granddaughter of the Byzantine emperor and a pious woman who was told in a dream about her future union with Hasan,[16][15] though these accounts have been described as hagiographic.[13] Some other accounts describe Narjis as Nubian.[13]
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#4__titleDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#4__descriptionDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#5__titleDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#5__subtextDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#6__titleDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#6__subtextDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#1__titleDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
8 Rabi' al-Thani 232 AH
(c. 844 CE)
8 Rabi al-Awwal 260 AH
(c. 1 January 874 (aged 27))
Poisoned[a]
Shia Islam
Narjis (disputed)
- Muhammad al-Mahdi
- Sayyid Ali Akbar al-Askari (disputed) (Naqshbandi Belief; Shia reject his existence)
- Ali al-Hadi
- Hudayth (or Susan or Salil)