1. Birth & Early Life
Imam Hasan al-Mujtaba —upon whom be peace— was the second Imam. He and his brother Husayn were the two sons of Amir al-mu’minin ‘AlÄ« and Lady FÄtimah, the daughter of the Prophet. He was born in the year 3 A.H. in Medina. The Prophet came to ‘Ali’s home, congratulated the new parents and named the child, on AllÄh’s order, as “Hasan”.
He shared in the life of the Prophet for over seven years, growing up during that time under his loving care. The Prophet used to carry him over his shoulder and say: “O Allah! I love him, so You also love him.” Many other sayings of the Prophet have been recorded by historians —both Shi’a and Sunni— about Hasan and Husayn:
- “Whoever loves Hasan and Husayn, he also loves me; whoever hates these two, he also hates me.”
- “Hasan and Husayn are the chiefs of the youths of Paradise.”
- “These two children of mine are Imams (leaders) no matter whether they rise up (against a tyrant) or make peace.”
Hasan and Husayn, in spite of their young age, were blessed with such a high level of spiritual purity that the Prophet would ask them to witness some of the treaties and documents issued by him. WÄqidi narrates that when the Prophet wrote a treaty for the tribe of Thaqif, KhÄlid bin Sa’Ä«d wrote the treaty whereas Hasan and Husayn have been named as witnesses to that treaty. Similarly, when the Prophet did mubÄhala with the Christians of Najran, Hasan and Husayn were among those whom he asked to accompany him.
The verse of purity, as mentioned in earlier lessons, also included Hasan and Husayn.
Many times the Prophet had said, “Hasan and Husayn are my children.” Because of these same words ‘AlÄ« would say to his other children, “You are my children, and Hasan and Husayn are the children of the Prophet.”