The historians have unanimously agreed that Imam al-Hasan (‘a) came to Mu’awiya in Damascus. However they have differed over whether he traveled one time or more than one time. To elaborate on this topic is useless. The most important thing is to know the reason why he traveled. I (the author) think that he traveled to propagate the principles of Ahl al-Bayt and to display the Umayyad reality to those people Mu’awiya misled and turned away from the straight path. The proof for that is the Imam’s attitudes and debates with Mu’awiya, which we will mention.

Through them he could expose him, showed his defects and shortcomings, and destroyed the thrones of his state. Suppose that he traveled to take the pay from Mu’awiya, as some people maintain. It was said that how was it permissible for him to take the pay while most of it was usurped properties? The Muslim jurists have sufficed us the burden of the research on this problem. They have mentioned that the donations and gifts of an unjust ruler are permissible unless they include usurped properties and that the one who has usurped them is definitely known. Otherwise, it is not permissible to take them. If they are taken, it is obligatory to return them to their owners1.

Most properties which were taken from Mu’awiya were from the properties of the land taxes, zakat, and the like from among the properties that the state collected. Mu’awiya unlawfully controlled them because he was among the oppressive, tyrannical rulers. However the good Muslims had the right to save them and to return them to their owners. Besides, the Imam had a general authority over the Muslims.

As for those who maintain that Imam al-Hasan traveled to take the pay, they have depended on a fabricated narration, as we think. It was narrated that he went to Mu’awiya every year, and he gave him a hundred thousand (dirhams). One year he did not go, so Mu’awiya forgot him and did not send him the pay. The Imam intended to write to him. However he saw Allah’s Apostle, may Allah bless him and his family, in his sleep (and heard him) say to him: “O Hasan, why are you going to write to a creature to ask him for your need and leave asking your Lord?”

“What shall I do?” asked al-Hasan.

Allah’s Apostle, may Allah bless him and his family, taught him this supplication: “O Allah, I ask you for every affair toward which my strength is weak, to which my desire does not come, which does not come to my mind and does not run through my tongue. That is from among the things You give to any of the creatures. The first are the Muhajireeen, and the last are the Ansar.”

Al-Hasan woke up and memorized the supplication. He supplicated with it. Shortly after that Mu’awiya sent him the pay after one of his special associates had reminded him that Imam al-Hasan had not come to him in that year2. None can depend on this narration because the Imam was famous for glory, sense of honor, and self-esteem. So how did he yield to Hind’s son (Mu’awiya), intend to write to him to ask for the pay, and Allah’s Apostle, may Allah bless him and his family, had prohibited him from that? It is worth mentioning that Imam al-Hasan was in no need of Mu’awiya’s gifts. That is because he had in Yathrib many country estates that produced him enormous properties as well as the good, righteous Muslims who sent him legal dues. As for the properties he received from Mu’awiya, he did not spend them on himself or on his family. It has been mentioned that he did not take from them the amount the riding animal carried with its mouth3. Imam Musa Ibn Ja’far (‘a) narrated: “Surely al-Hasan and al-Husayn refused to accept the gifts of Mu’awiya Ibn Abi Sufyan.”4 Therefore, it was not permissible for Imam al-Hasan to travel to Mu’awiya to take the pay from him.

His Debates

Mu’awiya was unable to stand Imam al-Hasan when he was in Damascus. He saw the people come and welcome him. He was displeased with that. So he held meetings and filled them with the forces that deviated from Ahl al-Bayt and showed enmity toward them such as Amr Ibn al-‘Aas, al-Mughira Ibn Shu‘ba, Marwan Ibn al-Hakam, Waleed Ibn ‘Aqaba, Ziyad Ibn Abeeh, and Abdullah Ibn al-Zubayr. He ordered them to have the audacity to Imam al-Hasan. He also ordered them to disparage him, that he might induce the people to abstain from him and to satisfy himself for revenge on the (grand) son of the one who conquered Mecca and destroyed Quraysh’s idols.

These rogues met Imam al-Hasan with bitter speech and obscene words. They went too far in showing recklessness and aggression toward him. However the Imam gave them strong answers of his flowing speech. He defeated them, made shame and disgrace follow them. He made them feel their evil deeds, the deviation and corruption for which they were famous. He unwillingly answered them. He refuted their obscenity and said: “By Allah, were it not for that the Umayyads ascribed me to feebleness of speech, I would refrain from debating with them as a sign of neglecting them.” Because of his wonderful speech and his strong proofs, Ibn Abbas kissed him between his two eyes and said to him: “May I die for you, O cousin! Your sea is still full, and you assault until you satisfied me (for revenge on) the children….”

In all these debates the Imam was successful and victorious. His opponents were weak. Submission, defeat, and astonishment befell them. Their leader Mu’awiya advised them to refrain from debating with him after he had seen their defeat5.

Anyway the texts of these debates with eloquent forms and literary values are worthy of presentation as an Arabic original inheritance indicating by itself the correctness of its ascription, and give us through his style and formation a picture of the literature of the debates at his time.

The clubs and assemblies in Damascus were busy repeating the debates. They admired and respected the Imam. In the meantime they made light of his opponents and disrespected them. The following are the texts of the debates:

Mu’awiya came to Imam al-Hasan (‘a) and said to him:

-O Hasan, I am better than you. -How is that, O Hind’s son. -Because the people have unanimously agreed on me, and they have not unanimously agreed on you.

As authority in Islam does not bring about distinction and pride, rather piety and good deed bring them about, Imam al-Hasan (‘a) refuted Mu’awiya’s claim, saying: “How far! The thing through which you have become high is evil, O son of the woman who ate the (Hamza’s) liver. Those who have unanimously agreed on you are two men. They are either obedient or forced. The one who is obedient to you is disobedient to Allah, and the one who is forced is excused according to Allah’s Book. Allah forbids that I say that I am better than you, for you have no good. Surely Allah has cleared me from vices as He has cleared you from virtues.”6

This is the speech of the free who condemn oppression and resist forbidden things; this is not the speech of the one who wants pay and properties.

2. Imam al-Hasan came in to Mu’awiya. When Amr Ibn al-‘Aas saw the Imam’s great veneration and dignity, he became displeased, burst with rage, and said: “The feeble one who cannot express himself has come to you!”

Abdullah Ibn Ja‘far was present. He was displeased with his speech, so he shouted at him: “Stop! By Allah, you have meant a solid rock from which floodwater flows down, of which ibexes fall short, and which the arrows do not reach. Be careful of al-Hasan! For you are still reveling in the flesh of a man from Quraysh. You shot, but your arrow did not leave. You struck, but your flint did not kindle.”

Imam al-Hasan heard the speech. When the assembly of Mu’awiya was full of people, the Imam (‘a) addressed Mu’awiya, imposed on him the guilt of his minister Amr Ibn al-‘Aas. Then he threatened him with declaring war against him if he did not refrain from his deception and error, and he mentioned to him the high qualities standing in his noble personality, saying: “O Mu’awiya, you have a servant who is still reveling in the fleshes of the people. By Allah, if you willed, there would be between us something because of which the affairs became aggravated and the hearts became narrow.”

Then he recited:

O Mu’awiya, you have ordered ‘Abd Sahm to curse me. The people from us are witnesses. When Quraysh take their assemblies, they will come to know what you want. You will foolishly go on cursing me because of a rancor that does not end and perish. You do not have a father like my father, that you may compete with those who compete or plot. Nor do you, O son of Harb, have a grandfather like my grandfather, Allah’s Apostle, when the grandfathers are mentioned. Nor do you have a mother from Quraysh like my mother when the old ancestry occurs. So you, O son of Harb, do not mock at the like of me, nor does the threat frighten the like of me. Slowly! Do not move, from us, affairs that make the newborn child white-haired out of fear of them.7

Imam al-Hasan (‘a) has showed his excellence and achievements, spread Mu’awiya’s bad deeds and disgraceful acts through this wonderful speech in which appeared his eloquent, miraculous nature, marvelous brevity, quick-wittedness, and strong proof. Through it he degraded Mu’awiya’s immoderation and hit the most prominent of his elements from among his known ancestry and lineage. Therefore, where is the feebleness and incapability of expressing himself, O Amr Ibn al-‘Aas?

3. The Imam’s affair in Sham became great. The people successively came to visit him and listen to his speech. So he (‘a) possessed the hearts, the feelings, and the sentiments. The clubs and the assemblies talked about his great excellence and talents. Mu’awiya’s hirelings were Amr Ibn al-‘Aas, Waleed Ibn ‘Aqaba, ‘Utba Ibn Abi Sufyan, and al-Mughira Ibn Shu‘ba. When they saw that, they were afraid that something dangerous would happen, the authority would escape them, and the thrones of the Umayyad government would be destroyed. So they held a meeting in the royal court.

They mentioned to Mu’awiya that the people welcomed Imam al-Hasan, honored him, overcrowded to visit him, and that his (Imam al-Hasan) existence was dangerous to the Umayyad state. They thought that the best way to degrade his dignity and to make the people turn away from him was to summon him, to accuse his father of killing ‘Uthman, and to curse him because of that. This is the text of their speech: “Surely al-Hasan has enlivened his father and his name. He said, and the people believed him. He commanded them, and they obeyed him. They hurried to him. That will raise him to that which is greater than he is. What displeases us still reaches us from him.”

So Mu’awiya asked them: “What do you want?”

They said: “Send for him and let him come, that we may curse him, curse his father, revile and rebuke him, and tell him that his father had killed ‘Uthman, and make him acknowledge that. He will change nothing of that.”

It was well known to Mu’awiya that their opinion was silly and their thinking was far from correctness. That is because he had come to know that the Imam would defeat and succeed in disgracing them. So he said to them: “I do not see that and do not do it.”

“We have determined, O Commander of the Faithful, to do that.”

“Woe unto you!” retorted Mu’awiya, “Do not do! By Allah, whenever I see him sitting with me I am afraid of his position.”

“Anyway send for him!” they demanded.

“Surely if I sent for him, I would treat him fairly,” stipulated Mu’awiya.

So Ibn al-‘Aas said: “Are you afraid that his falsehood will put an end to our right or his speech will exceed ours?”

When Mu’awiya saw that they insisted on him, he said to them: “Surely if I sent for him, I would command him to speak with the whole of his tongue.”

“Command him to do that,” they said.

Mu’awiya responded to what they wanted. He commanded them to follow a special plan during their speech with the Imam, saying: “If you disobeyed me and sent for him and refused (all things) except that, then do not be weak in speaking with him. Know that he

belongs to the members of a House with whom none can find fault or on whom can fasten shame. But throw a stone at him through saying to him: ‘Surely your father killed ‘Uthman and disliked the caliphate of the caliphs before him.’”

Then he sent for Imam al-Hasan. The Imam rose, asked for his clothes, and put them on. He knew the purpose for this summons. So he went out supplicating with this supplication: “O Allah, I seek refuge with you from their evil, repel through You in their throats, and seek help from You against them! Therefore, suffice me against them however You will and whenever You will through might and strength from You, O Most Merciful of the merciful!”

Then Imam al-Hasan (‘a) walked until he reached Mu’awiya. When Mu’awiya saw him coming towards him, he welcomed and honored him. Then he turned to him and apologized to him: “O Abu Muhammad, surely these (people) sent for you and disobeyed me.”

However the Imam explained to him that his apology was not real, saying: “Glory belongs to Allah! The house belongs to you, and asking permission to enter it belongs to you. By Allah if you responded to what they wanted and to that which was in their souls, then I feel shame for you of the obscenity. If they overcame your opinion, then I feel shame for you of weakness. Therefore which of them do you acknowledge? And which of them do you deny? If I had come to know their place, I would have brought a number equal to them from among the Banu ‘Abd al-Muttalib, that I might not feel lonely because of you and them. Surely my guardian is Allah, and He befriends the good.”

Mu’awiya said: “Surely I disliked summoning you. However they urged me to do that though I disliked it. They and I will treat you fairly. We have summoned you to make you confess that ‘Uthman was unjustly killed, and that it was your father who had killed him. Therefore listen to and answer them. Your loneliness and their gathering should not prevent you from speaking with the whole of your tongue.”

When Mu’awiya kept silent, Amr Ibn al-‘Aas began speaking. He cursed Imam ‘Ali, the Commander of the Faithful and accused him of cursing Abu Bakr. He said that he disliked the caliphate, took part in killing ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab and unjustly killed ‘Uthman. He ascribed all bad qualities to him.

Then he turned to Imam al-Hasan and said to him: “O Banu ‘Abd al-Muttalib, Allah does not give you the dominion for your killing the caliphs, your regarding as lawful what Allah prohibited from among the blood, your craving after the dominion, and your doing the unlawful. Then surely you, O Hasan, say to yourself that the caliphate will reach you while you have neither mind nor reason. How do you see that Allah, the Most High, has deprived you of your reason and made you as the most foolish of Quraysh and (made the people) mock at you? That is because of your father’s bad deed. We have summoned you to curse you and your father. As for your father, Allah was alone with him and sufficed us against him. As for you, you are in our hands, and we will choose the qualities regarding you. If we killed you, then we would commit no sin towards Allah, and the people would find no defect with us. Therefore can you refute us and accuse us of lying? If you thought that we told a lie regarding a thing, then refute us in respect of what we have said; otherwise, you should know that you and your father are unjust!”

There is nothing in this speech except slander and cursing that issued from a soul full of falsehood and enmity toward Ahl al-Bayt, peace be on them.

After him, Waleed Ibn ‘Aqaba, a sinful person, said: “Surely you are ‘Uthman’s uncle. He was an excellent child to you. He knew your right. You are his sons-in-law. He was an excellent father-in-law to you. He honored you. However you were the first to envy him. Your father unjustly killed him; he has neither an excuse nor a proof. So how do you see that Allah avenged his blood and placed you in your position? By Allah, the Umayyads are better to the Hashimites than the Hashimites to the Umayyads, and Mu’awiya is better to you than yourself.”

Then he kept silent. After him, ‘Utba Ibn Abi Sufyan spoke. He showed his evil inners and enmity toward Ahl al-Bayt, saying: “O Hasan, your father was the wickedest of Quraysh to Quraysh, for he shed their blood, severed their blood relations, was long in sword and tongue, killed the living, and found fault with the dead. You were among those who killed ‘Uthman, and we will kill you because of him. As for your hope for the caliphate, you have not struck its flint nor are you outweighing in its inheritance. You, the Hashimites, killed ‘Uthman. It is an act of truth to kill you and your brother. As for your father, Allah sufficed us against his affair and killed him for ‘Uthman. As for you, there would be against us neither sin nor enmity if we killed you because of ‘Uthman.”

After him, al-Mughira Ibn Shu‘ba spoke. He started with cursing Imam ‘Ali, the Commander of the Faithful, peace be on him. Then he said: “By Allah, I find no fault with him regarding a matter he betrayed, but he killed ‘Uthman.”

Then they kept silent. Imam al-Hasan faced them. He debated with them. He spread their defects and their disgraceful acts. He lauded the excellence of his father Imam ‘Ali, the Commander of the Faithful, peace be on him. In the first place he addressed Mu’awiya, saying: “O Mu’awiya, these (people) have not cursed me. But you have cursed me out of obscenity with which you are familiar, a bad opinion for which you are famous, a bad moral to which you have stuck, and aggression against us because of an enmity from you toward Muhammad, may Allah bless him and his family. However, listen, O Mu’awiya, and you listen! I will say regarding you and them something less than you have. I adjure you before Allah, O people, did you know that the person you cursed today performed prayers towards both qiblas? As for you, O Mu’awiya, you disbelieved in them (the two qiblas). You thought that they were misguidance. You worshipped al-Laat and al-‘Uzzaa8 out of error. I adjure you before Allah, did you know that he pledged two allegiances-the allegiance of al-fath (the conquest), and the allegiance of al-ridwan (the good pleasure)?

As for you, O Mu’awiya, you disbelieved in one of them and broke the other. I adjure you before Allah, did you know that he was the most appropriate for faith? As for you, O Mu’awiya, and your father, you were among those whose hearts were reconciled (al-mu’alafatu qulubuhum). You concealed unbelief and showed Islam; and you were attracted with money. I adjure you before Allah, did you know that he (Imam ‘Ali) was the bearer of the standard of Allah’s Apostle, may Allah bless him and his family, at the Battle of Badr, and that the standard of the polytheists was with Mu’awiya and his father? Then he met you at the Battle of Uhud and of the Allies carrying the standard of Allah’s Apostle, may Allah bless him and his family, while the standard of the polytheists was with your father.

During all of that Allah granted him conquest, showed his proof, supported his summons, and confirmed his speech. In all those places Allah’s Apostle, may Allah bless him and his family, was pleased with him and was displeased with you and your father. I adjure you before Allah, O Mu’awiya, did you remember the day when your father came riding a red camel that you drove, and your brother ‘Utba led? Allah’s Apostle, may Allah bless him and his family, saw you and said: ‘O Allah, curse the rider, the leader, and the driver!’ Did you, O Mu’awiya, forget the poetry you wrote to your father when he intended to be a Muslim and prohibit him from that? (You said:)

‘O Sakhr, do not be Muslim one day lest you should expose us after those who were torn at (the Battle of) Badr. (They were) my maternal uncle, paternal uncle, granduncle, the third of them, and Hanzal of good who gifted us with sleeplessness…’

“By Allah what you have concealed from among your affair is greater than what you have manifested. I adjure you before Allah, O people, did you know that ‘Ali abstained from pleasures among the companions of Allah’s Apostle, may Allah bless him and his family? So it has been revealed regarding him:

“O you who believe, do not forbid (yourself) the good things which Allah has made lawful” (Qur’an, 5:87).

And that Allah’s Apostle, may Allah bless him and his family, sent the leading companions to Bani Qurayza. They approached their stronghold and were defeated. So he sent ‘Ali with the standard, and he made them follow Allah’s judgment and that of His Apostle, and he did the like at Khaybar.

“O Mu’awiya, I think that you do not know that I know what Allah’s Apostle, may Allah bless him and his family, said about you when he wanted to write a letter to Bani Khuzayma. He sent for you, and you did not come to him. So he invoked (Allah) against you with ‘O Allah,’ until you die.

“And you, O people, I adjure you before Allah, did you not know that Allah’s Apostle, may Allah bless him and his family, cursed Abu Sufyan in seven places that you cannot refute:

“Firstly, when he met Allah’s Apostle, may Allah bless him and his family, who was going out of Mecca to al-Ta’if to summon Thaqif to the religion. He (Abu Sufyan) attacked, cursed, stultified, abused, accused him of lying, and intended to assault him (the Prophet). So Allah and His Apostle cursed him and then the Prophet (S) went away.

“Secondly, on the day of the train of beasts of burden (youm al-‘eer) when Allah’s Apostle, may Allah bless him and his family, interfered with them while they were coming from Sham. However Abu Sufyan drove them away and made them walk by the coast. So the Muslims did not obtain them. Allah’s Apostle cursed him and invoked (Allah) against him. Accordingly, the Battle of Badr took place.

“Thirdly, at the Battle of Uhud when he (Abu Sufyan) stood at the foot of the mountain and Allah’s Apostle was on the top. He was calling out many times: ‘Exalt Hubal!’ So Allah’s Apostle, may Allah bless him and his family, cursed him ten times; and the Muslims cursed him.

“Fourthly, on the day when he (Abu Sufyan) brought the allies along with Ghatafan, the Jews, so Allah’s Apostle, may Allah bless him and his family, cursed him and invoked Allah against him.

“Fifthly, on the day when Abu Sufyan brought Quraysh and prevented Allah’s Apostle, may Allah bless him and his family, from the Holy Mosque in Mecca, and the animals for immolation were ready to reach their place on the day of al-Hudaybiya. So Allah’s Apostle cursed Abu Sufyan. He cursed the leaders and the followers and said: ‘All of them are cursed. None of them will believe.’ It was said: ‘O Allah’s Apostle, is Islam not hoped for any of them? So how is the cursing?’ He said: ‘The cursing will befall none of the followers. As for the leaders, none of them will succeed.’

“Sixthly, on the day of the red camel.

“Seventhly, on the day when they stood in front of Allah’s Apostle, may Allah bless him and his family, to startle his she-camel. They were twelve men. Among them was Abu Sufyan. So this belongs to you, O Mu’awiya.”

Through his speech, Imam al-Hasan (‘a) brought down Mu’awiya from his palace to his grave, from his throne to his coffin. He made sadness hurt him. Then he turned to Amr Ibn al-‘Aas and said to him: “As for you, O Ibn al-‘Aas, surely your affair is common. Your mother gave birth to you (while you were) unknown because of adultery. So four (men) from Quraysh sued one another about you. Her butcher overcame you. He was the meanest of them in lineage and the wickedest of them in position. Then your father rose and said: ‘I detest Muhammad, the childless.’ So Allah revealed regarding him what He revealed. You fought against Allah’s Apostle, may Allah bless him and his family, at all the battles. You satirized and harmed him in Mecca, and you plotted against him with all your scheme. You were the worst of all the people in accusing him of lying and enmity. Then you along with the owners of the ship went out intending (to go to) al-Nejashi (to ask him) to repatriate Ja‘far and his companions to the people of Mecca. When what you hoped escaped you, Allah returned you disappointed and proved you a lying informer, and you specified your punishment against your companion ‘Ammarah Ibn Waleed. So you informed al-Najashi against him as envy for what he committed with his wife. So Allah exposed you and your companion.

Therefore, you are the enemy of the Hashimites during the pre-Islamic period and Islam. Then you and all these people have come to know that you satirized Allah’s Apostle, may Allah bless him and his family, with seventy verses of poetry. So Allah’s Apostle, may Allah bless him and his family, said: ‘O Allah, surely I do not say poetry and I should not (say it). O Allah, curse him a thousand times for each letter. Therefore, there are countless curses on you from Allah. As for what you have mentioned regarding ‘Uthman’s affair, it was you who set the world with fire against him. Then you went to Palestine. When you heard of his murder, you said: ‘I am Abu Abdullah. When I hurt an ulcer, I make it bleed.’ Then you devoted yourself to Mu’awiya and sold your religion for your life in this world. Therefore, we do not blame you for hatred nor do we admonish you for affection. By Allah, you did not support ‘Uthman when he was alive nor did you become angry for him when he was killed. Woe unto you, O Ibn al-‘Aas! Did you not say regarding the Hashimites when you left Mecca for al-Najashi?

‘My daughter says: To where is this departure? And my going is not condemned. I said: Leave me! Surely I am a man (who) wants (to go to) al-Najashi as to Ja‘far. That I may burn him with a burning through which I set right the chivalry of the wry-necked. And my affair is Ahmad (Muhammad) from among them, and I will say as to him with the abominable. And I will run to ‘Utba diligently even if he was like the red gold. And I will not turn away from the Hashimites and as far as I can in absence and presence. If he accepted my admonition to him; otherwise, I will draw my sword towards him Therefore, this is the answer to you. Have you heard it.’

Imam al-Hasan (‘a) mentioned what was standing in Amr Ibn al-‘Aas from among the vices, the disgraceful acts, the violent malice against Islam and the Muslims, his taking part in shedding ‘Uthman’s blood, and his joining Mu’awiya as craving after his world. Then the Imam (‘a) turned to Waleed Ibn ‘Aqaba and said to him: “As for you, O Waleed, I do not blame you for detesting ‘Ali. That is because he whipped you eighty times as to (your drinking) wine and he killed your father before Allah’s Apostle, may Allah bless him and his family. It is you whom Allah has called the transgressor and called ‘Ali the believer. That was when you vied in glory with one another. You said to him: ‘O ‘Ali, keep silent! I am braver than you in heart and longer than you in tongue.’ So ‘Ali said to you: ‘Keep silent, O Waleed! I am a believer, and you are a transgressor.’ So Allah revealed His speech to confirm his speech:

“Is he then who is a believer like him who is a transgressor? They are not equal” (Qur'an, 32:18).

Then He revealed to confirm his speech:

“If an evil-doer comes to you with a report, look carefully into it” (Qur'an, 49:6).

Woe unto you, O Walled! Whatever you forget, do not forget the speech of the poet as to you and him.”

Then Imam al-Hasan (‘a) mentioned the verses of poetry on them:

“He who is believer, may Allah prolong your life, is not like him who is transgressor, traitor. Shortly after, Waleed and ‘Ali will be openly summoned to the reckoning. ‘Ali will be rewarded with gardens, and Waleed will be rewarded with disgrace.” There is no relationship between you and Quraysh. You are an infidel from among the people of Saforiya. I swear by Allah that you are older in birthday than what you claim.”

The reason behind Waleed’s detesting Imam ‘Ali, the Commander of the Faithful (‘a) and showing enmity toward him was that the Imam was the model of belief and Waleed was the model of unbelief. It is well known that the contradiction between belief and unbelief is self and natural. Besides, Imam ‘Ali, the Commander of the Faithful, whipped him eighty times for his drinking wine. Indeed this brought about in himself hatred toward Imam ‘Ali, the Commander of the Faithful. After Imam al-Hasan (‘a) had disgraced Waleed, he turned to Utba Ibn Abi Sufyan and said to him: “As for you, O ‘Utba, by Allah, you are not prudent to answer you nor are you sane to debate with and admonish you. You have no good to be hoped nor have you evil to be avoided. Your reason and that of your slave-girl are the same. If you openly curse ‘Ali, that will not harm him. As for threatening me with killing, why did you not kill al-Lahyani when you found him in your bed? Do you not feel shame of the saying of Nasr Ibn al-Hajjaj as to you:

‘O men, occurring times, and the shame that has disgraced Abu Sufyan. I have been informed that Utba betrayed him as to his wife. (He belongs to) a race ignoble in origin from Lahyan.’

“After this I deem myself as above mentioning it because of its atrocity. So how can one fear your sword while you had not killed the one who exposed you? How can I blame you for your detesting ‘Ali while he killed your uncle during a dueling at the Battle of Badr, helped Hamza in killing your grandfather Utba, and killed your brother Hanzala in one place?”

Imam al-Hasan (‘a) has explained that Utba was foolish, had no reason, and void of honor, that Imam ‘Ali, the Commander of the Faithful (‘a) killed with his sword his grandfather, his uncle, and his brother at the Battle of Badr. For this reason he harbored malice and hatred against him. Then Imam al-Hasan (‘a) turned to al-Mughira Ibn Shu‘ba and said to him: “As for you, O Mughira, you are not worthy of inflicting on me this and the like of it. You are like the mosquito that said to the date-palm: ‘Stand firm, for I am flying from you.’ The date palm said: ‘Did I feel that you had been sitting on me, that I might come to know that you were flying from me?’ We do not feel your enmity toward us nor do we grieve if we come to know of it. Your speech is not difficult to us.

The punishment prescribed by Allah as to fornication is established against you. ‘Umar turned away from you a right about which Allah will ask him. You asked Allah’s Apostle, may Allah bless him and his family: ‘Can man look at the women he wants to marry?’ ‘There is no harm in it, O Mughira,’ he replied, ‘unless he had intended to fornicate her.’ That is because he had come to know that you were a fornicator. You are priding yourself on us through the authority. But Allah, the Most High, says (in this concern):

“And when We wish to destroy a town, We send Our commandment to the people of it who lead easy lives, but they transgress therein; thus the word proves true against it, so We destroy it with utter destruction” (Qur'an, 17:16).

With this the Imam’s debates with his opponents came to an end. The Imam (‘a) showed them their defects, their mental and genealogical vices. He exposed their disgraceful acts. He stripped them of the garment of pride. He (‘a) made sorrow and sadness hurt them. When he wanted to go away, Amr Ibn al-‘Aas clung to his clothes and said (to Mu’awiya): “O Commander of the Faithful, you have witnessed his speech as to slandering my mother. I demand him of the right of slandering.”

Mu’awiya shouted at him with rage: “Leave him! May Allah not reward you with good!”

Then Mu’awiya turned to his retinue. He condemned and blamed them for their disobeying and opposing him, saying: “I had told you that he was among those whose opposition was unbearable. I had prohibited you from cursing him. However you disobeyed me. By Allah, he did not rise until he made the house dark to me. Go away from me! Indeed Allah has exposed and disgraced you because of your leaving determination and turning away from the opinion of the compassionate adviser. And Allah is He Whose help is sought”9

4. Mu’awiya met with his retinue. They prided themselves on each other and had the audacity to one another. Mu’awiya wanted to mock at them. He said to them: “You have prided yourselves on each other very much. If al-Hasan Ibn ‘Ali (‘a) and Abdullah Ibn Abbas were present, they would shorten your long reins.”

Ziyad Ibn Sumayya hurried to say: “How is that, O Commander of the Faithful? They will not challenge Marwan Ibn al-Hakam because he has a strong speech, nor will they challenge us because we are proud and audacious. So send for them tomorrow, that you may hear our speech.”

Mu’awiya turned to his minister Amr Ibn al-‘Aas to consult with him as to that: “What do you say?”

“Send for them (to come) tomorrow,” replied Amr.

Mu’awiya sent his son Yazid to them. When they were present, Mu’awiya said to them: “Surely I magnify you and deem your position as far above the night conversation, especially as it concerns you, O Abu Muhammad (al-Hasan). For surely you are the (grand) son of Allah’s Apostle, may Allah bless him and his family, and master of the youths of the Garden.”

Imam al-Hasan and Ibn Abbas thanked Mu’awiya for his speech. Then Amr Ibn al-‘Aas hurried to say: “O Hasan, we negotiated and said that the Umayyads were more patient in meeting (in war), stronger in war, greater in fulfilling covenant, nobler in nature, and more protective to their followers than the Banu ‘Abd al-Muttalib.”

Then he kept silent. After him, Marwan Ibn al-Hakam said: “How will that not be so? We came to blows with you and overcame you. We fought against you and controlled you. So if we willed, we would pardon (you), and if we willed, we would destroy (you).”

Marwan kept silent, so Ziyad said: “They should not deny the favour of the people and the good of the authority. We are the men of the campaign during wars. We have the excellence over all the people in the past and present.”

Imam al-Hasan faced them like a lion. He destroyed their entity and pride, saying: “It is not an act of feebleness that man keeps silent when a proof is mentioned. However it is an act of falsehood that man says obscenity and describes the untrue as true.” Then he (‘a) addressed Amr Ibn al-‘Aas, saying: “O Amr, you have prided yourself (on me) and showed boldness (toward me) through telling lies. I still know your defects. Sometimes I show them, and some times I refrain from (showing) them. However you have refused (all things) except absorption in misguidance. Do you remember the lamps of darkness, the eminent men of guidance, the knights of the pursuit, the death of the companions, the children of the stabbing, the spring of the guests, the essence of Prophethood, and the place of the descent of knowledge? You have claimed that you are more protective to your followers. That appeared at the Battle of Badr when the heroes turned back, the companions rushed upon each other, the lions attacked one another, death intensified, the war broke out and smiled, and the sparks of the war flew. So we killed your men. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and his family, was kind to your children. By my life, on that day you were not protective to your followers from among the Banu ‘Abd al-Muttalib.”

Then he (‘a) turned to Marwan Ibn al-Hakam and said to him: “As for you, O Marwan, there is no relationship between you and the increase through Quraysh. You were an emancipated (captive), and your father was driven away moving from a disgrace to an atrocity. You were brought to (Imam ‘Ali) the Commander of the Faithful. When you saw that the lion’s claws were covered with blood and his canine teeth became interlaced, you were as the sayer said:

‘A lion, if the lions hear his roaring, they wag the tails, and then they throw the camels.’

When he did you a favour through the pardoning, loosened your throat after it was tight to you, and you choked on your saliva, you were not grateful to us. But you regarded yourself as equal and similar to us. As for us, shame does not befall us nor does disgrace follow us.”

Then he (‘a) addressed Ziyad, saying to him: “O Ziyad, there is no relationship between you and Quraysh. I know that you have among them neither a right lineage nor a growing branch nor constant oldness nor a noble origin. Rather your mother was a prostitute the men from Quraysh and the dissolute from among the Arabs alternated. When you were born, the Arabs did not know who your father was. So this (Mu’awiya) claimed you after the death of his father. You do not have pride. Sumayya suffices you. We are sufficed by Allah’s Apostle, may Allah bless him and his family, my father ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib (‘a) the master of the faithful, who did not turn back upon his heels, my uncle Hamza, the master of martyrs, and by Ja‘far al-Tayyar. I and my brother are the two masters of the youths of the Garden.”

After he had silenced his opponents with the arguments, he turned to Ibn Abbas and said to him: “O cousin, they are mere small birds upon whom a hawk has fallen!”

Ibn Abbas wanted to speak. However Mu’awiya was afraid of his speech. He adjured him before Allah to keep silent, and he kept silent. Then Imam al-Hasan and Ibn Abbas went out. So Mu’awiya turned to his retinue and mocked at them, saying: “Amr spoke well, but his proof was refuted. Marwan spoke but he recoiled.”

Then he turned to Ziyad and criticized him for this interference, saying: “What made you debate with him (al-Hasan). You were (nothing) but like a partridge in the claws of a falcon.”

Amr Ibn al-‘Aas turned to Mu’awiya and said to him: “Oh, why did you not shoot those behind us?”

“Therefore, I would be your partner in ignorance,” replied Mu’awiya, “Do I vie in glory with a man whose grandfather was Allah’s Apostle. He is the master of those who passed away and those who have remained (alive), and whose mother was Fatimah az-Zahra’, the mistress of the women of the world?”

Then Mu’awiya turned to Amr Ibn al-‘Aas and said to him: “By Allah, if the people of Sham heard of that, it would be a deadly shortcoming.”

So Amr Ibn al-‘Aas said: “He kept you. However he destroyed Marwan and Ziyad.”

Ziyad hurried to confirm the statement of Amr Ibn al-‘Aas about that Imam al-Hasan had defeated them, saying: “By Allah, he did. However, Mu’awiya refused (all things) except exciting (enmity) between them and us. Without doubt, by Allah, if I witnessed an assembly in which they were, I would be with them against him who vied in glory with them.”

Ibn Abbas was alone with Imam al-Hasan. He kissed him between his two eyes. He admired his speech and his answer to these rogues, saying: “May I be you ransom, O cousin! Your sea was still full, and you assaulted until you satisfied me (for revenge on) the children of the prostitutes.”

5. Imam al-Hasan was absent from Damascus for some days. Then he came back to it and came in to Mu’awiya. In Mu’awiya’s assembly there was Abdullah Ibn al-Zubayr. When Mu’awiya saw Imam al-Hasan, he rose and received him. After he had sat down, he turned to the Imam and said to him: “O Abu Muhammad, I think that you are tired, so go home and take a rest.”

Imam al-Hasan left Mu’awiya. Mu’awiya turned to Abdullah Ibn al-Zubayr and urged him, saying: “Why do you not pride yourself on al-Hasan? You are the son of the disciple of Allah’s Apostle (S) and his cousin. Your father had done well for Islam.”

Ibn al-Zubayr was deceived by Mu’awiya’s speech. He showed him his readiness for debating with Imam al-Hasan and priding himself on him. He said to him: “I will challenge him!”

Ibn al-Zubayr went away. He spent the night sleeplessly thinking about something with which he would disgrace the Imam. When he entered upon morning, he quickly came to Mu’awiya’s assembly, that he might debate with the Imam and to aggress against him to satisfy Mu’awiya’s feelings. Imam al-Hasan (‘a) came. Mu’awiya rose and welcomed him. After the Imam had sat down, Ibn al-Zubayr hurried to say: “Were it not for that you were weak and not bold during battles, you would not hand over the authority to Mu’awiya. You are in no need of penetrating the remote lands and covering the deserts. You seek his knowledge and stand at his door. You have not to do that, for you are the son of ‘Ali (who was famous for) bravery and help. I do not know what made you do that. Is it weakness in (your) opinion or feebleness (in your) nature? I think you have no outlet from these two qualities. By Allah, if I had what you have, you would come to know that I was Ibn al-Zubayr, and that I would not recoil from the heroes. Of course I am so, for my grandmother is Safiyya, daughter of ‘Abd al-Muttalib. My father is al-Zubayr. He was among the disciples of Allah’s Apostle, may Allah bless him and his family. He was the greatest of the people in bravery, the noblest of them in lineage in the pre-Islamic period, and the most obedient of them to Allah’s Apostle, may Allah bless him and his family?”

Imam al-Hasan hurried to refute his false accusations and slanders, saying: “By Allah, were it not for that the Umayyads ascribe me to incapability of speaking, I would refrain from you as a sign of neglecting (you). However I will explain that to you, that you may come to know I am not incapable of speech and not weak in tongue. Do you revile me and pride yourself on me? Your grandfather had neither a house nor a noble deed in the pre-Islamic period. His wife was my grandmother Safiyya, daughter of ‘Abd al-Muttalib.

So he prided himself on all the Arabs because of her and became noble through her position. So how do you vie in glory with one who is the head and master of the noble? We are the noblest of the inhabitants of the earth in origin. To us belong the clear honor and the prevailing generosity. Then you have claimed that I handed over the authority to Mu’awiya! Woe unto you! How is that so? I am the bravest of all the Arabs. I was born by Fatimah, the mistress and the best of the women of the world, peace be on her. I did that, woe unto you, not because of cowardliness and weakness. However those who are like you had paid homage to me. They want to take revenge on me and flatter me (through showing) affection. I have no confidence in their support.

That is because you are the members of a treacherous house. How is (that) not as what I say? Your father pledged allegiance to (Imam ‘Ali) the Commander of the Faithful, and then he broke his allegiance and turned back upon his heels. He used as a trick one of the cushions of Allah’s Apostle, may Allah bless him and his family, to mislead the people. When he advanced towards the reins and saw the shine of the spearheads, he was killed in vain. None supported him. You were brought as a captive. The armed men and the horses walked on you. Al-Ashtar raised (his sword over) you. So you choked with your saliva and sat upon your heels like a dog surrounded by lions. We, woe unto you, are the light of the nation and its properties. The community prides itself on us. The keys of important matters are entrusted to us.

Do you attack while you deceive the women? Then you pride yourself on the children of the prophets. Our statements are still accepted. Your and your father’s (statements) are refused. The people willingly and unwillingly followed the religion of my grandfather. Then they paid homage to (Imam ‘Ali), the Commander of the Faithful, peace be on him. He went to your father and Talha when they broke the allegiance. They (Talha and al-Zubayr) deceived the wife of Allah’s Apostle, may Allah bless him and his family10. Your father (al-Zubayr) and Talha were killed. You were brought as a captive. So you waged your tail and appealed to him through the kinship not to kill you. He pardoned you. Therefore, my father emancipated you. I am your and your father’s master. Then taste the evil result of your conduct.”

Ibn al-Zubayr was ashamed and repented of what he neglected as to his affair. So he softly and gently talked with Imam al-Hasan. He asked him for pardon. He made clear that it was Mu’awiya who had urged him to do that, saying: “Excuse me, O Abu Muhammad! This (Mu’awiya) urged me to debate with you. Why did you not refrain from me when I failed to know (you)? That is because you are the members of the House whose nature is clemency and pardon.”

Imam al-Hasan turned to Mu’awiya and said to him: “Look! Do I fall short of debating with anyone? Woe unto you! Do you know to which tree I belong? Stop before I impress you with an impression about which the travelers will talk in the cities and countries!”

Ibn al-Zubayr said: “He is worthy of that!”

Mu’awiya turned to Ibn al-Zubayr and said to him: “Surely he has satisfied the anxieties of my heart! He has shown your defects. You have become like a partridge in the claws of a falcon that plays with it however it wants. After this (debate) I do not think that you will pride yourself on anyone!”11

6. Among his valuable debates with his opponents through which he (‘a) destroyed their entity was that once, he went to Mu’awiya. When Mu’awiya’s chamberlain saw Imam al-Hasan, he told Mu’awiya about the Imam’s coming. So Mu’awiya turned to his retinue and said to them: “If he came in to us, he would spoil that in which we were.”

Marwan said to him: “Permit him in. I will ask him about that to which he has no answer.”

Mu’awiya rebuked him and said: “Do not do. They are the people who were inspired with speech.”

Mu’awiya permitted Imam al-Hasan. When the Imam came in, Mu’awiya rose and welcomed him. Marwan turned to the Imam and said with mockery: “O Hasan, the white hair has hurried to your mustache. It is said that it is of clumsiness.”

The Imam answered him, saying: “It is not as it has come to your ears. However we, the Hashimites, have good breaths, so our wives come to us with their breaths. As for you, O Umayyads, have bad breaths. So your wives turn their mouths and their breaths away from you to your temples. The head of the virgin becomes white because of that.”

Mu’awiya became angry and shouted at Marwan, saying: “I had told you, but you refused until you heard that which made your house dark to you and spoiled your assembly.”

Imam al-Hasan went away and made their souls full of sorrow. He said:

This time I practiced fifty-five proofs. I delayed a sayer after a sayer. Death has hurried to me. I am sure that I am a hostage to a quick death12.

7. In Mu’awiya’s assembly Imam al-Hasan (‘a) talked about his great excellence and his noble lineage, saying: “All Quraysh have come to know that I belong to them through their glorious origin. I am not disposed by nature for weakness and humiliation. I am known through my match and that I belong to my father.”

That displeased Amr Ibn al-‘Aas, who said: “Quraysh have come to know that you are the least of them in reason, the greatest of them in ignorance, and that you have qualities that if you had none of them but one, its disgrace would include you as the whiteness included the deep blackness. By Allah, you should refrain from what I see you do; otherwise I will press for you an edge like the she-camel’s skin. Through it I will throw at you something hotter in effect than that of the stones on which the cooking-pots are placed. I will rub through it your skin as I rub the commodity. You often ride something difficult in slope and stop at the sides of the rugged to search for a division and to wait for a discord, and Allah will increase you nothing but an atrocity.”

Imam al-Hasan refuted his claims, saying: “By Allah, if you became high through your ancestry and worked according to your opinion, you would not follow a purpose nor would you halt at a hill of glory. By Allah, if Mu’awiya obeyed me, he would regard you as a malicious enemy. You often keep this secret and hide it in your heart. The hope has made you desirous of the utmost degree for which your branch does not leaf nor does your pasture become green. By Allah, you are about to fall into the jaws of (someone) from Quraysh (who is like) a lion, strong, impregnable, ravenous, and with mane. He will press you as the quern presses grains. Dodging will not safe you from him when the two rings of the belt come together.”13

On every occasion Amr Ibn al-‘Aas tried to disparage the Prophet’s Household. He openly showed enmity and hatred toward them. The reason for that is that he was wicked and impure. He saw Imam al-Hasan circumambulating the Kaaba. He quickly went to him. When he reached him, he raised his voice, saying: “O Hasan, do you claim that the religion does not become manifest except through you and your father? You have seen that Allah, the Great and Almighty, has made it manifest through Mu’awiya. Is Allah pleased with ‘Uthman’s murder? Or is it an act of truth that you go around the House as a camel carrying flour goes around? You are wearing clothes as white as the white of eggs. You killed ‘Uthman. By Allah, it is greater (for the community) to reunite and easier (for it to get rid of) the difficult…that Mu’awiya has to lead you to the ponds of your father.”

Imam al-Hasan (‘a) directed to him some arrows of his speech, saying: “The inhabitants of the Hell have signs through which they are known. They disbelieve in Allah’s friends and follow the enemies of Allah. By Allah, you have come to know that ‘Ali (‘a) did not suspect the affair nor did he doubt Allah even for a twinkle of an eye. By Allah, you, O Amr, should stop or otherwise I will knock your forehead with a speech whose reputation will last against you as long as you live. Be careful of surpassing me. For you have come to know that I am not weak in reason nor am I crisp in determination nor am I docile. I am from Quraysh like the middle of the necklace. My lineage is known, and I belong to my father. Some men from Quraysh sued one another as to you. You were overcome by the meanest of them in lineage and the most manifest of them in cursing. Therefore, go away from me. For you are dirty. As for us, we are the House of purity. Allah has driven away uncleanness from us and thoroughly purified us.”14

8. Among that which happened to Imam al-Hasan when he was in Damascus was that once, he came in to Mu’awiya. When Mu’awiya saw him, he rose and welcomed him. That displeased Marwan. He burst with rage and said: “O Hasan, were it not for the clemency of the Commander of the Faithful (Mu’awiya), the glory and highness his noble grandfathers had built, he would not seat you in this seat. He would kill you, and you deserve that because of your leading the people. When you felt us and came to know that you had no ability (to face) the knights from among the people of Sham and the valiant Umayyads, you yielded through obedience, sought protection in the pledge of allegiance, and sent (a letter) asking for security. Truly, by Allah, were it not for that, your blood would be shed, you would come to know that we gave the swords their right at battle. Therefore, praise Allah when He tried you with Mu’awiya. So he pardoned you out of his clemency, and then he did to you what you see.”

Imam al-Hasan answered him, saying: “Woe unto you, O Marwan! You took charge of the keys of shame during the battles when you witnessed them, and you became weak when you mixed with them. Strong proofs belong to us, may your mother lose you! To us belong, if you were grateful, the ample favours against you. We summon you to salvation, and you summon us to the fire. There is a great difference between the two positions. You pride yourself (on us) through the Umayyads. You claim that they are more patient than us in war and (that they are like) lions at meeting. May your mother lose you! The Banu ‘Abd al-Muttalib are the masters having all good, masters, protectors, defenders, generous men, and leaders. Truly you have seen them and all those who belong to this House. Terrors do not terrify them. They do not swerve from the heroes. They are (like) predatory, brave, angry lions. At that time you turned back and escaped. You were taken as a captive. So you conferred shame upon your people because you were cowardly during the battles.

Do you claim that my blood is shed? Why did you not shed the blood of those who attacked ‘Uthman in the house and slaughtered him as a camel was slaughtered? You were bleating as if you were a ewe! You were calling with woe and destruction as if you were a mean bondmaid! Why did you not defend him with a hand or stand for him with an arrow? You shook with fear! There was a covering over your eyes. So you asked me for help as a slave asking his lord. I saved you from killing and protected you from it. Then you have urged Mu’awiya to kill me. If he wanted to do that to you, he would slay you just as he slew (‘Uthman) Ibn ‘Affan. You, in comparison with him, are shorter in hand, narrower in power, and more cowardly in heart than to have the audacity to do that. Then you have claimed that I have been tried with Mu’awiya’s clemency. Truly, by Allah, he is more knowledgeable of his affair and more grateful (to us) for the authority over which we have appointed him. When it seemed to him, let him not lower his hand toward you. So, by Allah, I will follow the people of Sham with an army to which their space will be narrow and that will uproot their knights. Then, at that time, escape and dodging will not avail you nor will your spreading the speech repel from you the demand. We are well known. Our forefathers are old and great. Our branches are good masters. Set out if you are truthful!”

Accordingly, Amr Ibn al-‘Aas mocked at Marwan, saying: “He utters with obscene language, and you utter with truthfulness!”

Then he said: “The wild ass may break wind when the hot iron takes him. The wild ass does not break wind when the hot iron is in the fire!”

He added, saying: “Then taste the evil result of your conduct, O Marwan!”

Mu’awiya shouted at Marwan, saying: “I had prohibited you form (debating with) this man (al-Hasan). However you refused (all things) except absorption in that which did not concern you. Stop! Your father is not like his father nor are you like him. You are the son of the one who was driven away and were homeless. He is the (grand) son of Allah’s Apostle, may Allah bless him and his family, the generous. However many a man searches for his death (and many a man) digs for his knife!”

Marwan became angry, so he hurried to say to Mu’awiya: “…and undertake the proof of your clan!”

Then he turned to Amr Ibn al-‘Aas and said to him: “His (al-Hasan’s) father stabbed you. You protected yourself with (showing) your testicles. For this reason you are cautious of him!”

Then he rose while his entity was destroyed. He was abased and degraded. Mu’awiya said to him: “Do not keep pace with the seas lest they should cover you nor (do you keep pace with) the mountains lest they should dazzle you!”15

9. Imam al-Hasan (‘a) came in to Mu’awiya. There was no place, so he sat at Mu’awiya’s legs. Mu’awiya talked about what he wanted, and then he said: “I wander at ‘A’isha! She claims that I am in that of which I am not worthy, and that in which I am is not my right. There is no relationship between her and this. May Allah forgive her! The father of this one who is sitting-he indicated with his hand to al-Hasan- had disputed with me. Allah took hold of him (took him unto Him).”

Imam al-Hasan (‘a) asked:

-Is that wonderful, O Mu’awiya? -Yes, by Allah. -Shall I tell you about something more wonderful than it? -What is it? -Your sitting in front of the assembly, while I (am sitting) at your legs!

Mu’awiya smiled and dodged as usual, and then he said:

-My nephew, I have heard that there is a debt against you. How much is it? -A hundred thousands. -I have ordered three hundred (dirhams) to be given to you. A hundred of them is for (paying) your debt. Divide a hundred among the members of your house, and take a hundred for yourself. Rise and you are honored and take your gift.’

Imam al-Hasan left Mu’awiya. Yazid was present in his father’s assembly.

When those who attended the meeting left, Yazid said: “By Allah, I have never seen a man like you. He (al-Hasan) received you in what he received you. Then you ordered three hundred (dirhams) to be given to him!”

Mu’awiya replied: “O my son, surely the right belongs to them. Whoever from among them come to you, give too little to him!”

Mu’awiya acknowledged that the Islamic caliphate belonged to Ahl al-Bayt, and that he usurped it from them.

These are some of the Imam’s debates with his opponents. Al-Bayqahi and al-Jahiz have narrated most of them. Historians other than them have also mentioned them. Through these debates Imam al-Hasan exposed Mu’awiya and his followers, showed their defects, displayed to the people of Sham Mu’awiya’s disgraceful acts, and the shortcomings of Abu Sufyan’s family. Indeed the debates were a revolt against Mu’awiya’s government. For they destroyed his entity, brought him down from his throne to his grave.

Some religious scholars have doubted some of the debates. They have thought that some of them were fabricated, for they included that Imam al-Hasan reviled his opponents through a style that was impossible to come out of him. They indicated that no obscene word issued from the Imam except his speech to Marwan: “You have nothing with me except that which in spite of you.” Nevertheless, how did that issue from him? This is an imaginary possibility. That is because his mean opponents had the audacity to him and faced him with rude, obscene words. As for him, he refuted their aggression against him. However he did not use lying nor did he use obscenity a means as they used it.

Anyway Mu’awiya was cautious of Imam al-Hasan and feared him in spite of the abasement and humiliation the Imam inflicted on him. That is because the Imam had a remarkable position with the Muslims who preferred him to those other than him. The Muslims said that openly in the presence of Mu’awiya. The traditionists mentioned that Mu’awiya talked at his assembly and said: “Tell me about the best of the people in father, mother, paternal uncle, maternal aunt, maternal uncle, maternal aunt, grandfather, and grandmother.”

He said that to know the Muslims’ impression about Imam al-Hasan. Malik Ibn ‘Ajlan rose and said to him: “This-he indicated with his hand to al-Hasan- is the best of the people. His father is ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib. His mother is Fatimah, daughter of Allah’s Apostle, may Allah bless him and his family. His paternal uncle is Ja‘far, the one who flies in the Garden. His paternal aunt is Umm Hani, daughter of Abi Talib. His maternal uncle is al-Kasim, son of Allah’s Apostle. His maternal aunt is Zaynab, daughter of Allah’s Apostle. His grandfather is Allah’s Apostle, may Allah bless him and his family. And his grandmother is Khadija, daughter of Khuwaylid.”

So Mu’awiya kept silent and was unable to answer. When Imam al-Hasan went away, Amr Ibn al-‘Aas hurried to Malik. He criticized him for that, saying: “Did the love for the Hashimites urge you to say false things?”

Malik answered him, saying: “I said nothing but the truth. None of the people seek the good pleasure of a creature through an act of disobedience to the Creator except those who have not obtained their wish in the life in this world and those whose end will be unhappy in the next world. The Hashimites are the noblest and most generous of them.”

Then he turned to Mu’awiya and asked him: “Are they not so?” Mu’awiya could not but believe his speech16.

Surely Mu’awiya was afraid of Imam al-Hasan and was cautious of his revolt against him. He remembered the memories at the Battle of Siffin and was afraid of them. He feared that they would return to him. For this reason he took care of the Imam’s feelings. The historians have mentioned that Amr Ibn ‘Uthman Ibn ‘Affan and Usama, the retainer of Allah’s Apostle, may Allah bless him and his family, sued one another before Mu’awiya regarding a land. Amr said to Usama: “It seems that you deny me!” Usama denied his speech. They disputed with each other very much. So Usama threatened him with the Hashimites. Then he rose and sat beside al-Hasan, peace be on him. The Hashimites rose and sat beside him. When the Umayyads saw that, they joined Amr Ibn ‘Uthman. As for Mu’awiya, he feared that a trouble would happen. So he hurried to put an end to the dispute, saying: “Do not hurry! I was present when Allah’s Apostle granted it (the land) to Usama.”

Through that he decided for Usama and preferred him to Amr. When Imam al-Hasan went away, the Umayyads blamed Mu’awiya for that, saying to him: “Why did you not make peace between us?”

Mu’awiya answered them with a statement indicating his fear, saying: “Leave me! By Allah, when I remember their eyes I saw through the holes in the helmets in Siffin, I become upset. The beginning of a war is a secret conversation, its middle is a complaint, and its end is an affliction.”

Then he quoted as an example the poetry of Umru’ al-Qays, saying:

When a war begins, it is (like) a young woman (who) along with her ornaments ornaments approach all those ignorant. When it becomes hot and its flame shoots up, it becomes (like) an old woman without a husband, gray-haired, (who) cuts her hair, disguise unpleasantly for smelling and kissing.

Then he said: “What is in hearts stirs up wars. A great affair is moved by a small one.”

Then he quoted as an example the poet’s saying:

The small may be added to the great, but the stallion is of the young camel. Date palms are destroyed by palm shoots. With this we will end our talk about Imam al-Hasan’s travel to Damascus and his debates in it.

• 1. Al-Shaykh al-Ansari, al-Makasibin.
• 2. Ibn ‘Asakir, Tarikh. Mashariq al-Anwar. Noor al-Abbsar.
• 3. Jama‘ Asrar al-‘Ulama’. A hand-written book available in the Public Library of Kashif al-Ghita’.
• 4. Hayat al-Imam Musa Ibn Ja‘far, vol. 2, p. 332.
• 5. Al-Zarkali, A‘lam, vol. 2, p. 215.
• 6. Abu ‘Ali al-Nisaburi, Rawdat al-Wa‘izeen.
• 7. Al-Jahiz, al-Mahasin wa al-Azdad, p. 95. Al-Bayqahi, al-Mahasin wa al-Masawi’, vol. 1, p. 62. Ibn Abi al-Hadid, Sharh Nahj al-Balagha, vol. 2, p.102. Jamharat al-Khutab, vol. 1, p. 428.
• 8. Al-Laat and al-‘Uzzaa were two idols.
• 9. Ibn Abi al-Hadid, Sharh Nahj al-Balagha, vol. 2, p.101.
• 10. By that he, peace be on him, meant ‘Aa’isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and his family.
• 11. Al-Bayqahi, al-Mahasin wa al-Masawi’, vol. 1, pp. 58-61. Al-Jahiz, al-Mahasin wa al-Azdad, pp. 92-94.
• 12. Wafayat al-A‘yan, vol. 4, p. 121.
• 13. Al-Mahasin wa al-Masawi’, vol. 1, p. 65.
• 14. Ibn Abi al-Hadid, Sharh Nahj al-Balagha, vol. 4, p.10. Al-Mahasin wa al-Masawi’.
• 15. Al-Mahasin wa al-Masawi’, vol. 1, pp. 63-65.
• 16. Al-Mahasin wa al-Masawi’, vol. 1, p. 62.