Remaining accounts of al-Hasan bin Ali (may Allah be pleased with them)

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) led the Asr prayer. When he was in the fourth rak'ah, Hasan and Husayn came forward until they climbed onto the back of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). When he (peace and blessings be upon him) had said the salam, he seated them in front of him, and Sayyiduna Husayn came forward, so the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) lifted Sayyiduna Hasan onto his right shoulder and Sayyiduna Husayn onto his left shoulder, then said: "O people, shall I not tell you who are the best of people in terms of maternal grandfather and grandmother? Shall I not tell you who are the best of people in terms of paternal uncle and aunt? Shall I not tell you who are the best of people in terms of maternal uncle and aunt? Shall I not tell you who are the best of people in terms of father and mother? They are Hasan and Husayn: their grandfather is the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), their grandmother is Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, their mother is Fatimah, the daughter of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), their father is Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him), their paternal uncle is Ja'far bin Abi Talib, their paternal aunt is Umm Hani' bint Abi Talib, their maternal uncle is al-Qasim, the son of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and their maternal aunts are Zaynab, Ruqayyah and Umm Kulthum, the daughters of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Their grandfather is in Paradise, their father is in Paradise, their paternal uncle is in Paradise, their paternal aunt is in Paradise, their maternal aunts are in Paradise, and these two are in Paradise, and whoever loves them is in Paradise too."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Hudhayfah bin Asid al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O people, I will go ahead of you (to the Pool), and you will come to me at the Pool, a Pool wider than the distance between San'a' and Busra, in which are cups of silver as numerous as the stars. When you come to me, I will ask you about the two weighty things (al-thaqalayn), so see how you treat them after me. The greater rope is the Book of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, one end of which is in the Hand of Allah and the other end in your hands; so hold fast to it, and do not go astray and do not change it. And my 'itrah (kin), my household; for the Subtle, the All-Aware (Allah) has informed me that these two will never come to an end until they come to me at the Pool."

Sayyiduna Hasan bin Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "The Book (of decree) has been lifted, the pen has dried, and matters have been decided in a writing that has already passed."

It is narrated from the narrator's grandmother that Sayyiduna Hasan bin Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) used to practise 'azl (withdrawal) with her, and she was his concubine (surriyyah).

Sayyiduna Hasan bin Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was asked about cheese, and he said: "Put the knife on it, say Bismillah, and eat."

Abu Shu'bah said: "I saw Sayyiduna Hasan and Sayyiduna Husayn (may Allah be pleased with them both) perform tawaf after Asr and pray two rak'ahs."

Al-Harith (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) asked his son Sayyiduna Hasan bin Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) about some matters of muru'ah (noble character). He said: My son, what is sadad (rectitude)? He said: Father, sadad is to repel evil with good. He said: What is sharaf (honour)? He said: Doing good to one's kinsfolk, bearing the burden of their offences, being in harmony with one's brothers, and protecting one's neighbours. He said: What is muru'ah? He said: Chastity and setting one's wealth in order. He said: What is meanness (diqqah)? He said: Keeping an eye on every trifling thing and withholding even what is paltry. He said: What is base character (lu'm)? He said: A man protecting himself and sacrificing his wife. He said: What is generosity (samahah)? He said: Spending in both hardship and ease. He said: What is miserliness (shuhh)? He said: That you regard what you have spent as a loss. He said: What is brotherhood (ikha')? He said: Standing by one another in both hardship and prosperity. He said: What is cowardice (jubn)? He said: Being bold against a friend and shrinking back from the enemy. He said: What is booty (ghanimah)? He said: Desire for taqwa and detachment from the world; that is the booty gained without toil. He said: What is forbearance (hilm)? He said: Swallowing one's anger and keeping control of oneself. He said: What is richness (ghina)? He said: The heart being content with what Allah Almighty has allotted to it, even if it is little; true richness is the richness of the heart. He said: What is poverty (faqr)? He said: The greed of the self for everything. He said: What is might (mana'ah)? He said: Great strength and contending with the mighty among people. He said: What is humiliation (dhull)? He said: Being seized with fear when the moment of truth comes. He said: What is inarticulateness ('iyy)? He said: Playing with one's beard and spitting repeatedly while speaking. He said: What is boldness (jur'ah)? He said: Contending with one's peers. He said: What is affectation (kulfah)? He said: Speaking about what does not concern you. He said: What is glory (majd)? He said: Giving when there is a loss (a debt to be paid) and pardoning an offence. He said: What is intellect ('aql)? He said: Preserving in the heart whatever you gather in it. He said: What is clumsiness (khurq)? He said: Being obstinate with your imam and raising your voice in speech before him. He said: What is good praise? He said: Doing what is good and abandoning what is evil. He said: What is prudence (hazm)? He said: Long patience and gentleness with those in authority. He said: What is foolishness (safah)? He said: Following what is base and keeping the company of the misguided. He said: What is heedlessness (ghaflah)? He said: Abandoning the mosque and obeying the corrupter. He said: What is deprivation (hirman)? He said: Abandoning your share when it has been offered to you. He said: Who is the corrupter? He said: The one who is foolish with his wealth and careless about his honour. Then Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "There is no poverty worse than ignorance, no wealth more beneficial than intellect, no loneliness more desolate than self-admiration, no support more fitting than consultation, no intellect like foresight, no lineage like good character, no piety like self-restraint, no worship like reflection, and no faith like modesty and patience. The bane of speech is lying, the bane of knowledge is forgetfulness, the bane of forbearance is foolishness, the bane of worship is slackness, the bane of wit is boastfulness, the bane of bravery is transgression, the bane of generosity is reminding others of favours, the bane of beauty is arrogance, and the bane of lineage is pride." O my son, never look down on any man you see: if he is better than you, regard him as your father; if he is like you, he is your brother; and if he is younger than you, regard him as your son.

Imam Abu al-Qasim al-Tabarani (may Allah have mercy on him) said: No one narrated this hadith from Shu'bah except Muhammad bin Abdullah Abu Raja' al-Habati; only Uthman bin Sa'id al-Zayyat narrated it (from him), and it is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) only through this chain.

Muslim bin Iyad said: I asked Sayyiduna Hasan bin Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) about the two rak'ahs of Jumu'ah, and he said: "These two (rak'ahs) suffice in place of what is besides them (the remaining rak'ahs of Zuhr)."

Al-Hasan (al-Basri) said: Ziyad used to track down the followers of Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) and kill them. When this reached Sayyiduna Hasan bin Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), he said: "O Allah, You alone take charge of his death, for being killed is an expiation (for sins)."

Yazid bin al-Asamm (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I went out with Sayyiduna Hasan (may Allah be pleased with him), and a slave girl was scraping some henna off his nails. Meanwhile a bundle of letters came to him, and he said: O slave girl, bring the basin. He poured water into it and threw the letters into the water; he did not open any of them, nor did he look at them. I said: O Abu Muhammad, from whom are these letters? He said: "From the people of Iraq, a people who neither return to the truth nor refrain from falsehood. Listen, I do not fear them for myself, but I fear them for that one," and he pointed to Sayyiduna Husayn.

Raqabah bin Masqalah said: When the time of death drew near for Sayyiduna Hasan bin Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), he said: Take me out into the open desert, so that perhaps I may reflect on the dominion of the heavens - meaning the (cosmic) signs. When he was taken out, he said: "O Allah, I entrust my soul to You and seek its reward from You, for it is the dearest of souls to me." And among what Allah did for him was that he sought the reward for (entrusting) his soul (to Allah).

Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Numayr said: "Sayyiduna Hasan bin Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) passed away at the age of forty-seven."

Abu Bakr bin Hafs said: Sayyiduna Sa'd and Sayyiduna Hasan bin Ali (may Allah be pleased with them both) passed away in the time of Sayyiduna Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him), and people thought that he had poisoned him.

Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Numayr said: "Sayyiduna Hasan bin Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) passed away in the year 49 AH, in the month of Rabi' al-Awwal."

Yahya bin Bukayr (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "Sayyiduna Hasan bin Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) passed away in the year 49 AH, and Sa'id bin al-As led his funeral prayer. His death took place in Madinah, and his age was forty-six or forty-seven."

Shurahbil (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I was with Sayyiduna Husayn bin Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) when the bier of Sayyiduna Hasan bin Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was brought out. He wanted to bury him with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), but he feared that the Banu Umayyah would prevent him. When they brought him to the mosque, the Banu Umayyah stood up (to oppose it), so Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Ja'far (may Allah be pleased with them both) stood up and said: I heard him (Sayyiduna Hasan) say: "If they prevent you, then bury me with my mother."

Abu Mijlaz (may Allah have mercy on him) (as the narrator recalled it) said: Amr bin al-As and al-Mughirah bin Shu'bah said to Mu'awiyah: Hasan bin Ali is slow of speech, although he has eloquence and judgement; we know his manner - he will start speaking and then find nothing more to say. Mu'awiyah said: Do not do it. But they both refused, so Amr ascended the pulpit, mentioned Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) and disparaged him. Then al-Mughirah bin Shu'bah ascended, praised and extolled Allah, then disparaged Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him). Then Sayyiduna Hasan bin Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was told: Ascend. He said: I will neither ascend nor speak until you give me your assurance that if I speak the truth you will confirm it, and if I speak falsehood you will declare me a liar. They agreed to this, so he ascended the pulpit, praised and extolled Allah, then said: By Allah, O Amr, and you, O Mughirah, do you know that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "May Allah curse the one driving and the one riding," and that one of them was so-and-so? They both said: By Allah, yes, certainly. He said: I adjure you by Allah, O Mu'awiyah and O Mughirah, do you know that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) cursed Amr with a curse for every line of verse he composed? They both said: By Allah, yes. He said: I adjure you by Allah, O Amr, and you, O Mu'awiyah bin Abi Sufyan, do you know that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) cursed this man's people? They both said: Yes. Sayyiduna Hasan (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Then I praise Allah that you have reviled a man who was free of all this. The narrator then mentioned the rest of the hadith.

Abd al-Rahman bin Abi Awf (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Amr bin al-As and Abu al-A'war al-Sulami said to Mu'awiyah: Sayyiduna Hasan bin Ali (may Allah be pleased with them both) is a man slow of speech. Sayyiduna Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Do not say that, for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) put his saliva into his mouth, and one into whose mouth the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) has put his saliva cannot be slow of speech. Then Sayyiduna Hasan bin Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "As for you, O Amr, two men disputed over you, so see which of them is your father. And as for you, O Abu al-A'war, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) cursed Ri'l, Dhakwan and Amr bin Sufyan."