"O Mu'awiya! Desist from falsehood and further revolt and pay allegiance to me like the masses have done, as you are well aware that I am entitled to caliphate much more than you in the sight of Almighty God, His angels and those having a rational mind. So, fear God and abandon revolt. Do not shed the blood of Muslims."

The passage we read out to you is part of an admonition to the rebellious governor of Syria, Mu'awiya ibn Abu Sufyan, from the Prophet's rightful successor, Imam Hasan (PBUH). This wonderful piece of advice went unheeded, otherwise Islamic history would have been spared of much of the sedition and bloodshed that has occurred over the past millennium and four centuries. Imam Hasan (PBUH) needs no introduction. He was the son of such immaculate parents as Hazrat Fatema Zahra and Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (peace upon them). His name means the Most Excellent, and along with his younger brother, Imam Husain (PBUH), he was hailed by the Prophet "Leaders of the Youths of Paradise". Imam Hasan (PBUH), along with his parents and brother, has the honour of being free of even the slightest blemish or impurity as is evident by revelation of verse 33 of Surah Ahzaab to the Prophet which reads:

"God has decreed the keeping away of all uncleanness from you Ahl al-Bayt and keep you thoroughly purified."

The Prophet had also taken this same blessed group to the memorable field of Mubahela for debate with the Christians of Najran as testified by verse 61 of Surah Aal-e Imraan which made Islam triumphant in a memorable debate on the nature of Prophet Jesus (PBUH). This event occurred in 9 AH, a year after the peaceful surrender of Mecca to Muslims and the magnanimity shown by the Prophet to the then hardcore infidel, Mu'awiyah, and his equally evil parents, Abu Sufyan and Hend, who were called Tulaqa or freed slaves ever since. To be more precise, Imam Hasan (PBUH) was cautioning Mu'awiya, who now pretended to be Muslim, to desist from blasphemy and bloodshed. Alas, the heathen-born Mu'awiyah who was never a Muslim at heart, refused to listen to this gem of advice from Imam Hasan (PBUH) and after seizing the political power of the Islamic realm turned the caliphate into the Godless Omayyad oligarchy presided over by tyrannical blasphemers.

It would be sad to recount how the caliphate was usurped by Mu'awiya; how the Syrians were duped to fight against the Prophet's rightful successors; how Egypt was seized by the accursed Omayyads; how the Hejaz and the holy cities of Mecca and Medina were silenced through threats; how Fars or Iran fell into the hands of the diabolical Ziyad; and how the Iraqis were bribed to betray Imam Hasan (AS).

Nevertheless, Imam Hasan (PBUH) was determined to defend Islam and Muslims, and he did it in a novel way in view of the sensitivity of the times and the depth of the conspiracy by so-called Muslims against the mission of Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny). Following the martyrdom of Imam Ali (AS) on 21st Ramadhan 40 AH, Imam Hasan (AS) showed his political astuteness by mobilizing a force of 40,000 and marching to meet the rebels. However, when he found that the satanic stratagem of Mu'awiya, whose wanton killing and pillaging of Muslims, coupled with pretensions for peace, had weakened the faith of the Iraqis and made them lose the stomach to fight deviation, he decided to relinquish the caliphate, but on certain conditions, in order to expose falsehood and hypocrisy in its true colours. In addition to the hypocrites within his own ranks who at least twice attempted to assassinate him, and the treason of his military commander, Obaidollah ibn Abbas, who defected to Mu'awiya and demoralized the 12,000 army sent by the Imam against the Syrians, Imam Hasan (PBUH) was also aware of the fact that Emperor Constantine IV of Byzantine or the Eastern Roman Empire was closely watching events in the Islamic world. The Christian power was looking for an opportunity to seize Bayt al-Moqaddas and Palestine by taking advantage of the intended civil war of Mu'awiya.

This is further proof of the political foresight of Imam Hasan (AS). His God-given spiritual powers that no political usurper could seize nor any traitor could harm, deemed it prudent to give up temporal rule in order to save Islam and Muslims from both Omayyad hypocrisy and European hegemony. If Mu'awiya, who was a pagan at heart and a reluctant convert to Islam as late as 8 AH (less than three years before the Prophet passed away), the probable fall of Palestine and Jerusalem to the Byzantines would have forced the people of Syria, and even of Egypt (both of whom were new converts to Islam), to return to Christianity and place their countries again under Roman rule.

In view of these facts, the decision of Imam Hasan (AS) to relinquish the caliphate or political rule was thus similar to that of his father, Imam Ali (AS), who on the passing away of the Prophet had refused to resort to the sword for reclamation of his usurped political authority, since in such a case the neo-Muslim Arabs of Mecca, Medina, and the rest of the Arabian Peninsula, would have reverted to idol-worship. Moreover, like his father he had neither attachment to worldly rule as power-hungry and unprincipled politicians have, nor could he be heedless of the people’s needs and sufferings as a result of unnecessary spilling of blood in an atmosphere where beliefs were still confounded because of the sedition wrought at Saqifa Bani Sa’da less than thirty years ago no sooner had his grandfather, the Prophet, left the mortal world.

Thus on 26th Rabi al-Awwal 41 AH, after over six months as caliph or political ruler, he took the politically prudent step of concluding the treaty with Mu'awiya that was as decisive as the Prophet’s signing of the Treaty of Hudaybiya with the Meccan infidels, which God has hailed as “Fath al-Mobeen” or Manifest Victory in the opening verse of Surah Fath of the Holy Qur’an. It is worth recalling that at Hudaybiya in 7 AH, while the 4-year old Imam Hasan (AS) was endeared by Muslims as “Rayhanat ar-Rasoul” or Basil of the Prophet, the 27-year old Mu'awiya was still a pagan and an open enemy of Islam.

Imam Hasan (AS) retired to his hometown Medina, and after seizing the caliphate Mu'wiyah violated all clauses of the treaty. The Iraqis who had forced Imam Hasan (AS) to make such an undesirable truce with the rebel, found themselves deceived, but now it was tool late to rectify things. In this way, Imam Hasan (AS) taught posterity valuable lessons. But alas, Mu'awiyah who was always afraid of Imam Hasan (AS) had the Prophet's grandson martyred through a fatal dose of poison. On this day in 50 AH, the Second Infallible Imam was not only martyred, but a volley of arrows was showered at his bier by the Omayyad governor Marwan ibn Hakam. Some of the arrows pierced the lifeless body of Imam Hasan (AS), and if not for the patience and prudence of Imam Husain (AS) unnecessary bloodshed would have occurred. Over ten years later in 61 AH, it was left to Imam Husain (AS) to salvage the efforts of his elder brother Imam Hasan (AS) as well as those of his father Imam Ali (AS) and grandfather Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) to offer the Greatest Ever Sacrifice in order to save Islam and all humanitarian values.