Hasan–Mu'awiya treaty
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The Hasan–Mu'awiya treaty was a political peace treaty signed in 661 between Hasan ibn Ali and Mu'awiya I (r. 661–680) to bring the First Fitna (656–661) to a close. Under this treaty, Hasan ceded the caliphate to Mu'awiya on the condition that the latter should rule in compliance with the Quran and the sunna, a council should appoint his successor, and Hasan's supporters would receive amnesty.[1][2] Upon accession, Mu'awiya publicly recanted his earlier promises,[1][3] while Hasan retired from politics in Medina,[4] and was later killed in 670 by poisoning.[1] Mu'awiya is commonly viewed as the instigator in the murder of Hasan, which removed an obstacle to the succession of his son Yazid (r. 680–683), whose nomination violated the treaty with Hasan.[5][6][7][8] Throughout his reign, Mu'awiya also prosecuted notable partisans of Hasan and his father Ali.[9][10][11]
Historical background
After
Peace treaty
Mu'awiya now sent envoys to propose that Hasan abdicate in his favor to spare Muslim blood. In return, Mu'awiya was ready to designate Hasan as his successor, grant him safety, and offer him a large financial settlement.[31][22] Hasan accepted the overture in principle and sent his representative(s) to Mu'awiya in Maskin, who sent them back to Hasan with carte blanche, inviting him to dictate whatever he wanted. Hasan wrote that he would surrender the Muslim rule to Mu'awiya if he would comply with the Quran and sunna, his successor would be appointed by a council (shura), the people would remain safe, and Hasan's supporters would receive amnesty.[1][2] His letter was witnessed by two representatives, who carried it to Mu'awiya.[32] Hasan thus renounced the caliphate in August 661 after a seven-month reign.[1][33][34] Some have criticized Hasan for ceding the caliphate, while others maintain that his abdication was inevitable, given the Kufans' weak support and Mu'awiya's military superiority. They suggest that Hasan was motivated by the desire for unity and peace among Muslims,[35][22][36][37] and that he was averse to bloodshed and bellicose politics.[14][38]
Terms of the treaty
Veccia Vaglieri (d. 1989) finds certain variants of the treaty impossible to reconcile. She lists several conditions in the early sources and questions their veracity, including an annual payment of one or two million dirhams to Hasan, a single payment of five million dirhams from the treasury of Kufa, annual revenues from variously-named districts in Persia, succession of Hasan to Mu'awiya or a council (shura) after Mu'awiya, and preference for the Banu Hashim over the Banu Umayyad in pensions.[14] Another condition might have been that Mu'awiya should end the ritual cursing of Ali in mosques, writes Mavani.[39]
Jafri thus concludes that Hasan's final conditions in carte blanche were that Mu'awiya should act according to the Quran, sunna, and the conduct of the
Fate of the treaty
In the surrender ceremony, Mu'awiya publicly recanted his earlier promises to Hasan and others,[1][3] saying that those promises were made to shorten the war.[1] Hasan then left Kufa for Medina but soon received a request from Mu'awiya to subdue a Kharijite revolt near Kufa. He wrote back to Mu'awiya that he had given up his claim to the caliphate for the sake of peace and compromise, not to fight on his side.[50][51][14] Madelung suggests that the relations between the two men deteriorated when Mu'awiya realized that Hasan would not actively support his regime.[1]
After his abdication, Hasan retired from politics in Medina.[4] In compliance with the peace treaty, he also declined requests from Shia groups to lead them against Mu'awiya.[52][53] The Sunni al-Baladhuri (d. 892) in his Ansab writes that Hasan sent tax collectors to the Fasa and Darabjird provinces of Iran in accordance with the peace treaty but the governor of Basra, instructed by Mu'awiya, incited the people against Hasan and his tax collectors were driven out of the two provinces. Madelung regards this account as fictitious, adding that Hasan had just refused to join Mu'awiya in fighting the Kharijites. He holds that Hasan had made no financial stipulations in his peace proposal and Mu'awiya consequently made no payments to him.[45]
Hasan died in 50/670,[1] and the early sources are nearly unanimous that he was poisoned.[1] Mu'awiya is commonly viewed as the instigator in the murder of Hasan, which removed an obstacle to the succession of his son Yazid (r. 680–683), whose nomination violated the treaty with Hasan.[5][6][7][8][3] Throughout his reign, Mu'awiya also prosecuted notable partisans of Ali,[9] including Hujr ibn Adi, a companion of Muhammad, who was executed in 670.[10][11] Mu'awiya also institutionalized the regular public cursing of Ali in the congregational prayers.[54][9]
See also
- Hasan ibn Ali
- Muawiya I
Footnotes
- ^ 1) That the caliphate would be restored to Hasan after the death of Mu'awiya, 2) that Hasan would receive five million dirhams annually from the state treasury, 3) that Hasan would receive the annual revenue of Darabjird, 4) that the people would be guaranteed peace with one another.[42]
- ^ 1) That Mu'awiya should rule according to the Book of God, the sunna of the Prophet, and the conduct of the righteous caliphs, 2) that Mu'awiya would not appoint or nominate anyone to the caliphate after him, but the choice would be left to a shura, 3) that the people would be left in peace wherever they are in the land of God, 4) that the companions and the followers of Ali, their lives, properties, their women and their children, would be guaranteed safe conduct and peace, 5) that no harm or dangerous act, secretly or openly, would be done to Hasan, his brother, Husayn, or to anyone from the family of Muhammad.[43]
References
Citations
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Madelung 2003.
- ^ a b c Madelung 1997, pp. 322–3.
- ^ a b c Tabatabai 1977, p. 48.
- ^ a b Hulmes 2013, p. 218.
- ^ a b Momen 1985, p. 28.
- ^ a b Jafri 1979, p. 158.
- ^ a b Donaldson 1933, pp. 75–8.
- ^ a b Madelung 1997, p. 331.
- ^ a b c Tabatabai 1977, p. 49.
- ^ a b Madelung 1997, p. 334-5, 337.
- ^ a b Jafri 1979, p. 165.
- ^ Wellhausen 1927, p. 102–103.
- ^ Wellhausen 1901, p. 18.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Veccia Vaglieri 1971.
- ^ Jafri 1979, p. 134.
- ^ Madelung 1997, p. 317.
- ^ Madelung 1997, p. 318.
- ^ Jafri 1979, p. 142.
- ^ Anthony 2013, p. 229.
- ^ Jafri 1979, p. 143.
- ^ a b Donaldson 1933, p. 69.
- ^ a b c Momen 1985, p. 27.
- ^ Jafri 1979, pp. 93–4, 100.
- ^ Madelung 1997, p. 319.
- ^ Jafri 1979, p. 145.
- ^ Wellhausen 1927, pp. 106–7.
- ^ Lalani 2000, p. 4.
- ^ Madelung 1997, p. 320.
- ^ Wellhausen 1927, p. 106.
- ^ Jafri 1979, pp. 146–7.
- ^ Madelung 1997, p. 322.
- ^ Madelung 1997, p. 323.
- ^ Donaldson 1933, pp. 66–78.
- ^ a b Jafri 1979, p. 153.
- ^ McHugo 2018, p. 102.
- ^ Jafri 1979, pp. 109–10.
- ^ Dakake 2008, pp. 74–5.
- ^ Jafri 1979, pp. 154–5.
- ^ Mavani 2013, p. 118.
- ^ Jafri 1979, pp. 105–8.
- ^ a b Jafri 1979, p. 149.
- ^ Jafri 1979, pp. 150–1.
- ^ Jafri 1979, p. 151.
- ^ Jafri 1979, pp. 150–2.
- ^ a b Madelung 1997, p. 328.
- ^ Madelung 1997, pp. 329–30.
- ^ Jafri 1979, pp. 141–2.
- ^ Jafri 1979, p. 152.
- ISBN 978-0887067075.
- ^ Madelung 1997, pp. 324–5.
- ^ Jafri 1979, pp. 157, 158.
- ^ Momen 1985, pp. 27, 28.
- ^ Jafri 1979, p. 157.
- ^ Madelung (1997, p. 334)
Sources
- OCLC 752790641.
- Wellhausen, Julius (1901). Die religiös-politischen Oppositionsparteien im alten Islam (in German). Berlin: Weidmannsche Buchhandlung. OCLC 453206240.
- Veccia Vaglieri, L. (1971). "(Al)-Ḥasan b. ʿAlï b. Abï Ṭālib". In OCLC 495469525.
- ISBN 0-521-64696-0.
- Anthony, Sean W. (2013). "Ali b. Abi Talib". In Bowering, Gerhard (ed.). The Princeton encyclopedia of Islamic political thought. Princeton University Press. pp. 30–31.
- Lalani, Arzina R. (2000). Early Shi'i Thought: The Teachings of Imam Muhammad Al-Baqir. I. B. Tauris. ISBN 978-1860644344.
- ISBN 978-0-7914-7033-6.
- Mavani, Hamid (2013). Religious Authority and Political Thought in Twelver Shi'ism: From Ali to Post-Khomeini. Routledge. ISBN 9780415624404.
- ISBN 9780582780804.
- ISBN 9780853982005.
- Hinds, M. (2021). "Muawiya I". Encyclopaedia of Islam (Second ed.). Brill Reference Online.
- Madelung, Wilferd (2003). "Hasan b. Ali b. Abi Taleb". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Vol. XII/1. pp. 26–28.
- Burke, Nicole; Golas, Mitchell; Raafat, Cyrus L.; Mousavi, Aliyar (2016). "A forensic hypothesis for the mystery of al-Hasan's death in the 7th century: Mercury(I) chloride intoxication". Medicine, Science, and the Law. 56 (3): 167–171. PMID 26377933.
- Aal-Yasin, Radi; Translated by Jasim al-Rasheed. Sulh al-Hasan (The Peace Treaty of al-Hasan (a)). Qum: Ansariyan Publications. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
- Hulmes, Edward D. A. (2013). "Al-Hasan Ibn 'Ali Ibn Abi Talib (c. AD 625-690)". In Netton, Ian Richard (ed.). Encyclopædia of Islamic Civilisation and Religion. Routledge. pp. 218–219. ISBN 978-0700715886.
- Donaldson, Dwight M. (1933). The Shi'ite Religion: A History of Islam in Persia and Irak. Burleigh Press.
- ISBN 0-87395-390-8.
- McHugo, John (2018). A Concise History of Sunnis and Shi'is. Georgetown University Press. ISBN 9781626165885.