He is the grandson of Rasûlullah and the fifth of the Khalîfa of Islâm. He is the second of the twelve imâms, the third of the Ahl al-Bayt and the master of the young of Jannah. He is the eldest son of Hadrat Alî; Fâtima-tuz-Zahrâ, the daughter of Hadrat Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâm, is his mother. He was called Abû Muhammad, and his nickname was Mujtabâ. He was born in the middle of the month of Ramadân in the year 3 (AD 625) in Medîna and passed away in the year 49 (AD 669) in Medîna.

Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâm recited the adhân and the iqâmat into his ear and named him “Hasan”. On the seventh day, He slaughtered two rams as aqîqa. He was circumcised; his hair was cut and that hair’s weight in silver was given as sadaqa (alms).

He had hilm (lenience), ridâ (accepting what Allah sends), patience and karam (generosity). He was white and beautiful-faced; he was one of the seven people whose face closely resembled Rasûlullah’s. No one resembled our Master Rasûlullah more than him. His chest and upward looked so much like Rasûlullah.

One day, after performing the late afternoon namâz, Hadrat Abû Bakr went to Hadrat Hasan, who was playing on the road. He put him on his shoulders. When he said, turning to Hadrat Alî, “Rather than Alî, he looks exactly like our Master, the Prophet,” Hadrat Alî smiled.

Hadrat Hasan was raised and grew up under the discipline of Hadrat Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâm, who was created as a mercy to the universe. This is a great honour and felicity that very few people were blessed with. He received an excellent education and discipline.

Hadrat Hasan and his brother Hadrat Husayn were wrestling in the presence of Rasûlullah. Rasûl ‘alaihis-salâm encouraged Hadrat Hasan. When Hadrat Fâtima-tuz-Zahrâ said to her father, “O Rasûlallah! Hadrat Hasan is older; you always take his side. However, isn’t it more suitable to help the younger?” He answered, “O Fâtima! Jabrâîl ‘alaihis-salâm is helping Husayn.”

Our Prophet (sall-Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) took Hadrat Hasan, Hadrat Husayn, Fâtima and Alî (radiy-Allahu ‘anhum) under His coat and recited the 33^rd âyat al-karîma of Sûrah al-Ahzâb, “O my Ahl al-Bayt! Allahu ta’âlâ wants to remove rijs, that is, all faults and smears from you and wills to cleanse you with complete purity.” Then, He said, “O my Allah! Those are my Ahl al-bayt.”

Hadrat Hasan was one of the children who obeyed Rasûlullah before reaching puberty. He became an orphan at the age of eight when in the year 11 (AD 632) first his grandfather Hadrat Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâm, then his mother Hadrat Fâtima-tuz-Zahrâ passed away. After that, he grew up under the care of his father, Hadrat Alî (radiy-Allahu ‘anh).

With his brother Hadrat Husayn, he joined the expedition Saîd ibn Âs made to Khorasân from Kûfa at 30 (AD 651) during the time of Hadrat ‘Uthmân. The brothers were appointed by their father Hadrat Alî as guards to protect Hadrat ‘Uthmân against the rebels that surrounded the Khalîfa’s house and to carry water to his house.

When he received a gift, he would give back more than he was given. He gave a lot of sadaqa. He couldn’t help but give sadaqa. He and Hadrat Husayn would always bargain when they bought something, trying to buy it for cheaper. When they were asked, “You give away thousands of dirhams for sadaqa in a day. So why do you tire yourselves bargaining for long when you are buying?” they said, “What we give, we give for the contentment of Allah. No matter how much we give, it is still not enough. However, being deceived when buying and selling means a deficiency in mind and property.”

One day, Hadrat Hasan and Husayn were passing through the desert. They saw an old man performing abdast (wudu). He wasn’t performing the abdast right, not abiding by its conditions. Since he was elderly, they didn’t want to say, “Abdast like that is not sahih (right).” They went to him and said:

- Blessed sir! We each say that we perform abdast better than the other. Let us both perform abdast. Could you tell us which one of us is right?

First Hadrat Hasan, then Hadrat Husayn performed abdast beautifully. Their abdasts were exactly the same. The old man watched carefully then said:

- My sons! There is no difference between the abdasts you performed. As it turns out, I hadn’t known how to perform abdast. I just learned it from you.

Hadrat Hasan became the Khalîfa after his father Hadrat Alî was martyred at the year 40 (AD 661) toward the end of the month of Ramadân in Kûfa. More than forty thousand people pledged loyalty to him. The people of Egypt and Damascus pledged loyalty to Hadrat Mu’âwiya. On the seventh month of his caliphate, when the armies of the two sides were ready for battle at the place called Anbar next to Baghdâd, he left the caliphate to Hadrat Mu’âwiya willingly because he didn’t want Muslim blood to be spilled, and he didn’t think it was right to fight Hadrat Mu’âwiya.

Though some people were opposed to Hadrat Hasan reaching an agreement with Hadrat Mu’âwiya, he didn’t change his mind and went to Kûfa from Madâin. He had Hadrat Mu’âwiya, who came to Kûfa personally, confirm the agreement in Jamâd’al-awwal in 41 (September 661), and he pledged loyalty to Hadrat Mu’âwiya.

In the Islâmic history, the year 41 is called “âmu’l-jamâa/the year of unity” because of their agreement. Thus, Rasûlullah’s words, which He said pointing to Hadrat Hasan when he was a child, “This son of mine is Sayyid. I hope that Allahu ta’âlâ will make him the reason for peace between two sides,” became true. This was a miracle of Rasûl ‘alaihis-salâm.

By withdrawing from the caliphate, Hadrat Hasan prevented bloodshed between Muslims and brought forth people living in peace and tranquility. Hadrat Mu’âwiya sent four hundred thousand silver coins to him as a gift. Later, Hadrat Hasan came to Medîna and lived there until his demise.

Hadrat Hasan married a lot and divorced a lot. While they were in Kûfa, his father Hadrat Alî said, “Don’t give your daughters to Hasan. For, he will divorce them.” But the people of Kûfa, wishing for their daughters to be honoured by marrying Rasûlullah’s grandson, said, “We will give him any girl he wants. He can either keep them or divorce them.” Every woman he married fall in love with him. However, Ja’da bint Ash’as was very afraid that he would divorce her and held a grudge against him. Hadrat Hasan was martyred by his wife Ja’da bint Ash’as poisoning him at 49 (AD 669). Saîd ibn Âs conducted his janâza namâz. He was buried in the Baqî Cemetery in Medîna al-munawwara.

Hadrat Hasan went to hajj by foot twenty-five times. He had fifteen sons and eight daughters. His descendants are called “Sharîf”. Our Master Rasûlullah’s lineage continued through the children of Hadrat Hasan and his brother Hadrat Husayn.

He advised his daughter and nieces, “Learn knowledge. If memorizing is hard for you, write it down and take it home with you.”

As it is written on the 323^rd page of the Jilâ-ul’uyûn book of Shia, Hadrat Hasan said, “I swear by Allah that Mu’âwiya is better toward me than they are. They say that they are shia. However, they tried to kill me, and they stole my properties.”

Our Master, the Prophet said about His grandson Hadrat Hasan:

“The best one among you is Alî; the best ones among the young are Hasan and Husayn. The best of the women is Fâtima.”

“Hasan and Husayn are the superiors of the young of Jannah. Their father is far superior.”

“Hasan and Husayn are my fragrance in the world.”

Rasûlullah (sall-Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) took Hadrat Hasan on His shoulders and said, “O my Rabb! I love him. Please, You love him, too! And love those who love him!”