Calamities of Imam Al-Hassan (p) in Holy Quran

«يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَدْخُلُوا بُيُوتَ النَّبِيِّ إِلَّا أَنْ يُؤْذَنَ لَكُمْ إِلَىٰ طَعَامٍ غَيْرَ نَاظِرِينَ إِنَاهُ وَلَٰكِنْ إِذَا دُعِيتُمْ فَادْخُلُوا فَإِذَا طَعِمْتُمْ فَانْتَشِرُوا وَلَا مُسْتَأْنِسِينَ لِحَدِيثٍ إِنَّ ذَٰلِكُمْ كَانَ يُؤْذِي النَّبِيَّ فَيَسْتَحْيِي مِنْكُمْ وَاللَّهُ لَا يَسْتَحْيِي مِنَ الْحَقِّ وَإِذَا سَأَلْتُمُوهُنَّ مَتَاعًا فَاسْأَلُوهُنَّ مِنْ وَرَاءِ حِجَابٍ ذَٰلِكُمْ أَطْهَرُ لِقُلُوبِكُمْ وَقُلُوبِهِنَّ وَمَا كَانَ لَكُمْ أَنْ تُؤْذُوا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَلَا أَنْ تَنْكِحُوا أَزْوَاجَهُ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ أَبَدًا إِنَّ ذَٰلِكُمْ كَانَ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ عَظِيمًا»

“O you who believe! Do not enter the houses of the Prophet unless permission is given to you for a meal, without waiting for its preparation. But when you are invited, then enter; and when you have eaten, then disperse, without lingering for conversation. Indeed, that used to inconvenience the Prophet, and he was shy of asking you to leave, but Allah is not shy of the truth. And when you ask [his wives] for something, ask them from behind a curtain. That is purer for your hearts and for their hearts. And you have no right to hurt the Messenger of Allah, nor ever to marry his wives after him. Indeed, that would be an enormity in the sight of Allah.”

{O you who believe! Do not enter the houses of the Prophet unless permission is given to you… And you have no right to hurt the Messenger of Allah…}

(Surah al-Ahzab, verse 53)

The noble verse 53 of Surah al-Ahzab, in its immediate revealed context, explains the greatness and sanctity of the house of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh&hf) and emphasizes the necessity of observing its sanctity and privacy: the prohibition of entering the house of the Prophet without permission, and the prohibition of causing harm or distress to him.

However, what reveals the connection between this noble verse and the calamities suffered by the elder grandson of the Messenger of Allah, Imam Hasan al-Mujtaba (عليه السلام), is the fact that Imam Husayn (p) cited this very verse at the time of the burial of his noble brother, Imam Hasan al-Mujtaba (p).

Among the clear and manifest examples of causing harm to the Messenger of Allah (pbuh&hf) and violating the sanctity of his house, according to this account, was the burial of the accursed enemies [the first and the second—may they be cursed] beside him and their entry into the precinct of the Prophet’s house without permission or authorization.

For, according to the interpretation given beneath the noble verse above, the true meaning of harming the Messenger of Allah (pbuh&hf) includes harming him with regard to the Ahl al-Bayt of purity and infallibility (pbut):

«وَمَا كَانَ لَكُمْ أَنْ تُؤْذُوا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ فِي عَلِيٍّ وَالْأَئِمَّةِ عليهم السلام» (1)

“And you have no right to hurt the Messenger of Allah — concerning Ali and the Imams (pbut).”

The accursed enemies, besides having buried those two enemies of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh&hf) [meaning the first and the second—may they be cursed] beside the Prophet without his permission and contrary to his pleasure, thereby violating the sanctity of the house of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh&hf) and causing him harm, also, during the burial of the purified body of the elder grandson of the Messenger of Allah, stood with utmost audacity against Imam Aba Abdillah al-Husayn (p) and prevented Imam Hasan al-Mujtaba (p) from being buried in the house of the Prophet (pbuh&hf).

The luminous words of Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (p) concerning this event clearly express this reality. Imam al-Baqir (p) said:

When the blessed body of Imam Hasan al-Mujtaba (p) was brought near the grave of the Prophet (pbuh&hf), and A’ishah was informed that the body of Imam Hasan (p) had been brought so that he might be buried beside the Messenger of Allah (pbuh&hf), … A’ishah stopped and said:

“This body must be kept away from my house. Nothing is to be buried in my house; the sanctity of the Messenger of Allah must not be violated!”

Imam Husayn (p) said:

“You had already violated the sanctity of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh&hf), and you brought into his house someone whose proximity he did not love! …”

“O A’ishah! Know that my brother Hasan (p) was more knowledgeable than other people concerning Allah and His Messenger (pbuh&hf), and more knowledgeable concerning the interpretation of the Book of Allah than to violate the sanctity of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh&hf)!

For Allah, the Exalted, says:

«يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَدْخُلُوا بُيُوتَ النَّبِيِّ إِلَّا أَنْ يُؤْذَنَ لَكُمْ»

“O you who believe! Do not enter the houses of the Prophet unless permission is given to you.”

(Surah al-Ahzab, verse 53)

Yet you brought men [the bodies of Abu Bakr and Umar] into his house without the Prophet’s permission!” (2)

Likewise, Imam Hasan al-Mujtaba (p) had emphasized in his will that it is only the Ahl al-Bayt of the Noble Prophet (pbuh&hf) who possess the right to exercise authority over his inheritance, including his house.

Just as the accursed enemies could not enter the house of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh&hf) during his lifetime without his permission, after the demise of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh&hf), they likewise had no permission to enter without authorization.

No such permission was ever granted to them [by the Ahl al-Bayt (pbuth), who were the heirs of the Messenger of Allah].

▫️«فَإِنِّي أُوصِيكَ يَا حُسَيْنُ .. إِنْ تَدْفِنِّي مَعَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ فَإِنِّي أَحَقُّ بِهِ وَبِبَيْتِهِ مِمَّنْ أُدْخِلَ بَيْتَهُ بِغَيْرِ إِذْنِهِ وَلَا كِتَابَ جَاءَهُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ قَالَ اللَّهُ فِيمَا أَنْزَلَهُ عَلَى نَبِيِّهِ فِي كِتَابِهِ "يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَدْخُلُوا بُيُوتَ النَّبِيِّ إِلَّا أَنْ يُؤْذَنَ لَكُمْ" فَوَاللَّهِ مَا أَذِنَ لَهُمْ فِي الدُّخُولِ عَلَيْهِ فِي حَيَاتِهِ بِغَيْرِ إِذْنِهِ وَلَا جَاءَهُمُ الْإِذْنُ فِي ذَلِكَ مِنْ بَعْدِ وَفَاتِهِ وَنَحْنُ مَأْذُونٌ لَنَا فِي التَّصَرُّفِ فِيمَا وَرِثْنَاهُ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ» (3)

“Indeed, I enjoin you, O Husayn… If you bury me with the Messenger of Allah, then I am more entitled to him and to his house than the one who was brought into his house without his permission, while no command came to them after him [permitting it]. Allah says in what He revealed to His Prophet in His Book:

‘O you who believe! Do not enter the houses of the Prophet unless permission is given to you.’

By Allah, He did not give them permission to enter upon him during his lifetime without his permission, nor did permission come to them concerning this after his death. But we have been granted the right to exercise authority over that which we inherited from him after his passing.”

In other words:

“O Husayn (p)! I instruct you to bury me beside the Messenger of Allah (pbuh&hf), for I am more entitled to the Prophet and to the Prophet’s house than the one who entered his house without permission.

After the revelation of the verse:

«يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَدْخُلُوا بُيُوتَ النَّبِيِّ إِلَّا أَنْ يُؤْذَنَ لَكُمْ»

‘O you who believe! Do not enter the houses of the Prophet unless permission is given to you,’

no later command or permission was ever revealed permitting their entry. And it is we who possess the right of disposal over the inheritance of the Messenger of Allah [and others possess no such right].”

Therefore, the noble verse 53 of Surah al-Ahzab, while pointing—according to this interpretation—to the audacity of the accursed enemies in violating the sanctity of the house of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh&hf), entering it without permission, and burying the leaders of tyranny (لعنة الله عليهم) within his sacred precinct without the approval of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh&hf), also points to one of the calamities suffered by Imam Hasan al-Mujtaba (p).

The enemies of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh&hf) prevented the elder grandson of the Messenger of Allah—the fruit of his heart and the delight of his eyes—from being buried beside him.

With complete audacity, they forced the purified body of Imam Hasan al-Mujtaba (p) out of the mosque through oppression and coercion, and disregarded his will concerning burial beside the Messenger of Allah (pbuh&hf), to the point that there was fear of bloodshed.

Therefore, Imam Aba Abdillah al-Husayn (p) acted in accordance with the will of his noble brother, who had instructed that if they were confronted with force, oppression, and injustice, his purified body should be taken to al-Baqi and buried there. Thus, Imam Husayn (p) removed the blessed body from the house of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh&hf), took it to Jannat al-Baqi, and buried him there.

▪️«..فَإِنْ أَبَتْ عَلَيْكَ الْمَرْأَةُ فَأَنْشُدُكَ اللَّهَ بِالْقَرَابَةِ الَّتِي قَرُبَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ مِنْكَ وَالرَّحِمِ الْمَاسَّةِ مِنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ أَنْ تُهَرِيقَ فِيَّ مِحْجَمَةً مِنْ دَمٍ حَتَّى نَلْقَى رَسُولَ اللَّهِ فَنَخْتَصِمَ إِلَيْهِ وَنُخْبِرَهُ بِمَا كَانَ مِنَ النَّاسِ إِلَيْنَا بَعْدَهُ..» (4)

“…And if the woman refuses you, then I adjure you by Allah, by the kinship through which Allah Almighty has brought you close, and by your close blood relationship with the Messenger of Allah, do not allow even the amount of blood drawn in a cupping to be shed because of me, until we meet the Messenger of Allah, bring our dispute before him, and inform him of what the people did to us after him…”

▫️ In other words:

“…But if that woman prevents you, then I adjure you by the right of the kinship which Allah has established for you with the Messenger of Allah: do not allow even the amount of blood drawn in a single cupping to be shed because of me, until we meet the Messenger of Allah (pbuh&hf) and complain to him about the oppression and injustice that the people committed against us after him, and inform him of what took place.”

(1) Al-Kafi, vol. 1, p. 414; Tafsir al-Qummi, vol. 2, p. 197; Al-Burhan fi Tafsir al-Qur’an, vol. 4, p. 497; Tafsir Nur al-Thaqalayn, vol. 4, p. 308.

(2) Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 44, p. 142; Al-Kafi, vol. 1, p. 302; Tafsir Kanz al-Daqa’iq wa Bahr al-Ghara’ib, vol. 10, p. 420; Tafsir Nur al-Thaqalayn, vol. 4, p. 295.

(3) Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 44, p. 151; Al-Amali of al-Tusi, p. 160; Bisharat al-Mustafa, p. 271; Al-Burhan fi Tafsir al-Qur’an, vol. 4, p. 483; Madinat al-Ma‘ajiz, vol. 3, p. 376; Tafsir Nur al-Thaqalayn, vol. 4, p. 296.

(4) Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 44, p. 151; Al-Amali of al-Tusi, p. 160; Bisharat al-Mustafa, p. 271; Al-Burhan fi Tafsir al-Qur’an, vol. 4, p. 483; Madinat al-Ma‘ajiz, vol. 3, p. 376; Tafsir Nur al-Thaqalayn, vol. 4, p. 296.