Excerpted from Qadi Muhammad Sulaiman Mansoor Puri’s Rahmatul-Lil Aa-Lameen
Imam Hasan (radi Allahu anhu)
He was born in mid Ramadan in the year 3 after the Hijrah. His caretaker nurse was Sauda Bint Mursa Al Kandia. On the 7th day of his birth, the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sacrificed two sheep for Aqeeqa and gave Sadaqah of silver equal to the weight of his hairs.
It is reported from Hadhrat Imam Ali (peace be upon him) that the features of Hadhrat Imam Hasan (peace be upon him) resembled the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in respect to the upper portion of his body while the lower portion of Imam Husayn (peace be upon him)’s blessed body resembled the Holy Prophet’s lower body (peace and blessings be upon him).
In a Sahih Hadith, the Holy Prophet is reported to have said,
“This child of mine is the leader (sayyidun) and he will survive by the will of Allah until through him, two (quarrelling factions) of Muslims are reunited”.
After the martyrdom of Hadhrat Ali (peace be upon him), forty thousand people who had pledged to him, renewed their pledge to Hadhrat Imam Hasan (radi allahu anhu). He ruled over Iraq, Arabia and Khurasan as the Caliph for four months and advanced towards the rebel armies of Muawiyya, who also marched against the Caliph. When both sides stretched out in the battlefield against each other, the venerable Imam Hasan understood that if a battle ensued, there would be a tremendous loss of blood to the extent that one of the two parties would be completely annihilated. The venerable Imam then, in order to avoid a blood bath, sent word to Muawiyya stating that he, the venerable Imam, would abdicate his rightful claim to the Caliphate to him under the condition that after his (Muawiyya’s) death, the Imam would once again claim the Caliphate to himself without any opposition from the followers of Muawiyya. In Jawadiul Awwal, 41 Hijri, after brief negotiations, Hadhrat Imam Hasan formally entrusted the Caliphate to Muawiyya in the Grand Masjid of Kufa.
On this occasion, a person senior in age and respectable in Kufa by the name of Abu Amir Sufian Bin Laila came to the Imam in a state of grief and shock and addressed him with,
‘As Salamualaika ya muzillal momineena’
Peace be upon you O degrader of the believers
Hadhrat Imam Hasan explained to him that his abdication to Muawiyya was not to degrade the believers, rather to save the loss of lives amongst the Muslims.
While on his way back to Medina, Hadhrat Imam Hasan fell ill and disclosed that he had been poisoned many times by his enemies and this time, the poison proved fatal in its effects.
When he was asked who was behind the poisoning, he declined to reveal the name, stating that if the suspect was the real culprit, Allah would see him while if the suspect was actually innocent, he did not want to cause suffering to an innocent man due to suspicion.
While he was on his death bed, he asked his brother, Imam Husayn (peace be upon him) to approach Lady Aisha and ask for her consent to be buried in her house near his grandfather, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). However, Hadhrat Hasan himself expressed doubts that his last wish would be able to be fulfilled due to the immense opposition he faced under the government and his doubt proved accurate. While Lady Aisha approved to his burial in her house, and declared,
“Naima wa Karamata”
‘I regard it venerable’
The ruler of Medina, by the name of Murdan opposed it and hence the venerable Imam, Hadhrat Hasan (peace be upon him) was buried near his mother in the august cemetery of Baqi Al Gharqad.
Hadhrat Imam Hasan died at the age of 46 in the month of Rabiul Awwal, 59 Hijri.
In the reports of Abu Bakr (radi allahu anhu) Riwayat Abi Bakrah it is mentioned about Hadhrat Imam Hasan,
‘Wa innahu raihanati minad duniya’ (Al Isteab)
He is my flower in the world.
There is yet another Hadith about Hasnain (alaihimusalam), “O Allah, I love these two (Al Hasan and Al Husayn), love those who love them” (Al Isteab)
Descendents of Hasan (radi Allahu anhu)
He had twelve sons and five daughters. His sons were, Zaid, Hasan, Husayn, Talha, Ismail, Abdullah, Hamza, Ya’qoob, Abdur Rahman, Abdullah Abu Bakr, Qasim and Umar.
His daughters were, Fatima, Umme Salma, Umme Abdullah, Ummul Husayn Ramla, Ummul Hasan. His line of descendents continued by four out of twelve sons ie. Zaid, Hasan II, Husayn and Umar. However, historians report that currently, only the progeny of Zaid and Hasan II has survived.
His chivalrous sons Umar, Qasim and Abdullah were among the martyrs of Karbala.
Zaid Bin Hasan (radi Allahu anhu)
His mother was Fatima Bint Abu Masood Aqba. His son Abu Muhammad Hasan was made Governor of Medina during the regime of Mansur.
Hadhrat Syed Muhammad Gesudaraz, caliph of Hadhrat Khwaja Nasiruddin Chiragh Delhlawi was from the descendents of Zaid Bin Hasan (peace be upon him). He is buried Gulbargah and is known as Khwaja Banday Nawaz. He died in the year 120 Hijri.
Hasan II Bin Hasan (radi Allahu anhu)
His mother was Khula Bint Manzoor Bin Rian. He was severely wounded in Karbala and was sighted after the war was over. Asma Bint Kharja Fazari sought permission from Ibn Saad to administer treatment to him and as a result he recovered. He married the daughter of Imam Husayn and had three sons from her, Ibrahim Al Ghamar, Hasan III and Abdullah Makhas.
They are the first three who are Fatimi from both sides and are distinguished amongst the rest.
Abdullah Makhas
Abdullah Makhas was renowned as the Shaykh of Banu Hashim and had five sons. Muhammad Zin Nafs Al Zakiya, Ibrahim, Musi Aljoon, Yahya, Suleman. Muhammad Zin Nafs Al Zakiya had declared himself the rightful Caliph and Imam Malik had issued a decree in his favor.
Ibrahim Bin Abdullah Makhas had also proclaimed himself as the rightful Caliph and Imam Abu Hanifa had donated 4000 Dirham to him for the purpose of establishing his Caliphate. His sons, Hasan and Abdullah were very famous and their progeny still remains. His son Musi Aljoon had many children. Shaykh al Jaleel, Sultan ul Awliya, Shaykh Abdul Qadir Al Jelani (rah) is a descendent of Musi Aljoon.
Ibrahim al Ghamar Bin Hasan II
Ibrahim al Ghamar Bin Hasan II received the title “Ghamar” on account of his philanthropy and extreme generosity. He died at the age of 69 years in the year 145 Hijri. His progeny is continued through Ismail Debagh. Ismail Debagh was also known as Abu Ibrahim and had the title of Shariful Khas (lord of the Nobles).
The progeny of his son Hasan continued through his sons Al Nateeh and Ibrahim Tabataba. Tabataba had many children and the line of Sadat Banu Ma-ayya traces to him. Many of the descendents of Banu Ma-ayya settled in Delhi.
Hasan III Bin Hasan II
He was known as Abu Ali and died in 145 Hijri and his progeny is still found in different parts of the world.
Dawood Bin Hasan II
Dawood Bin Hasan II was born of a Roman mother. He and Imam Jafar Al Sadiq both drank the milk of the same wet nurse. His progeny continued through his son Suleman Bin Dawood. The mother of Suleman was Umme Kulsoom Bint Imam Zainul Abideen.
Suleman’s progeny continued thought the descendents of his sons Musa, Dawood, Ishaque and Hasan.
Jafar Bin Hasan II
Jafar Bin Hasan II was also known as Abdul Hasan and died in 70 Hijri. His son was Hasan and his progeny is found in Kuzwain, Ruanda and Muraja.
Imam Husayn (radi Allahu anhu)
Hadhrat Imam Husayn is the younger brother of Hadhrat Imam Hasan the son of Imam Ali and Lady Fatima. He was born in Medina on the 5th of Shaban in the 4th year Hijri. There is a report attributed to Imam Jafar As Sadiq (rah) in which the age difference between Imam Hasan and Imam Husayn is stated as being one year.
Massab al Zubairi has reported to the effect that Imam Husayn (radi allahu anhu) had performed 25 Hajj pilgrimages on foot in total. Hadhrat Imam Hasan and Hadhrat Imam Husayn performed 20 pilgrimages together and the remaining five were performed by Imam Husayn after the poisoning of Imam Hasan (radi allahu anhu).
It is reported by Abu Huraria (radi allahu anhu) that when Imam Husayn was still a baby, he appeared before the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and the Messenger of Allah held him by his wrists and asked him (Hadhrat Imam Husayn) to climb up. The blessed child began climBing from the holy foot of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) up to his blessed chest and faced the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). The Messenger of Allah looked at the child and kissed him and prayed thus, “O Allah, I love him and so I ask You to love him as well”.
There was a very strong bond of love between Imam Husayn and his wife Lady Rabab. Hadhrat Imam Husayn (peace be upon him) composed the following verses about his beloved wife Lady Rabab Bint Amri and his blessed daughter, Lady Sakina.
It is truth that I love the place where Rabab and Sakina do stay;
I love both of them;
I spend much over them…;
Although they are not present here;
I will not lose affection for them so long as I am alive.
The night seems never ending;
When Sakina and Rabab are away from me.
After the martyrdom of Imam Husayn (peace be upon him) Lady Rabab composed the following verses in grief while mourning her beloved husband, the grandson of the Messenger of Allah.
The effulgence that spread light is murdered at Karbala
And yet none has buried him;
(O) Grandson of the Prophet;
May Allah reward you best;
You are saved from the trouble on the eve of the balancing of deeds;
You were like a hill top;
Underneath which I sought refuge
Imam Husayn (peace be upon him) was martyred in Karbala on the 10th of Muharram in the 60th year of the Hijri before the Juma prayer. Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihe rajioon (To Allah we belong and to Him is our return).
Imam Zainul Abideen Bin Imam Husayn (radi Allahu anhu)
His name is Ali. [He was the son of Imam Husayn (peace be upon him)]. Due to excessive worshiping, he was called Zainul Abideen, Sajjad and Zussaqat. On the eve of Karbala, he was only 23 years old. He was born in 38 Hijri and died in 96 Hijri. His mother is Bint Yazdjard, who had come as a captive during the regime of Umar Farooq (radi allahu anhu).
Imam Zainul Abideen’s progeny continued from his six sons; Imam Muhammad Al Baqir (rah), Abdullah Albahar, Zaidush Shaheed, Umrul Ashrat Husayn Al Asghar and Ali Al Asghar. He also had two daughters, Umme Kulsoom and Khadija.
Umme Kulsoom was married to Dawood Bin Hasan II and her sons name was Sulaiman, whose progeny is through the descendents of Dawood, Ishaqe and Hasan.
Khadija was married to Muhammad Bin Umar Bin Ali Al Murtaza and her sons are Abdullah, Ubaidullah and Umar. They had many children.
Abdullah Al Bahar Bin Imam Zainul Abideen (radi allahu anhu)
He was the brother of Hadhrat Imam Muhammad Al Baqir. His progeny continued from Muhammad Al Arqat. His only son was Ismail who had two sons, Husayn and Muhammad and their progeny is found in Yarjan.
Zaid ush Shaeed Bin Imam Zainul Abideen (radi allahu anhu)
His mother was Umme Wald. During the regime of Hisham, he declared himself the rightful Caliph and a large number of people pledged themselves to him in Medina, Basra, Wasat, Mosul, Khurasan, Reyarjan and Kufa. In Kufa alone, he had 15,000 supporters. However, when the army of Yusuf Saqfi came along with his army, his followers betrayed him and fled the battlefield. As a result, he was fatally wounded by an arrow during that battle and was martyred due to it. He had four sons, one of them; Yahya was martyred at the age of 18. His progeny continued through the remaining three.
Umrul Ashraf Bin Imam Zainul Abideen (radi allahu anhu)
He was the brother of Imam Zaidush Shaheed and his progeny continued through Ali Al Asghar. He had three sons, Qasim, Umar Al Ashraji and Abul Hasan. He also was blessed with many children.
Husayn Al Asghar Bin Imam Zainul Abideen (radi allahu anhu)
His mother was Sabida. Husayn Al Asghar died in the year 157 Hijri and was buried in Baqi. His progeny continued through Abdullah Ubaidullah al Aaraj, Ali, Abu Muhammad Al Hasan and Suleman and their descendents can still be found in Hijaz, Iraq, Syria and Maghrib.
Ali Al Asghar Bin Imam Zainul Abideen (radi allahu anhu)
His progeny continued through Husayn Aftas. The progeny of Hasan Aftas is continued through Al Al Hauri, Umar, Husayn, Hasan Makfoof and Abdullah Ash Shaheed.
Imam Muhammad Al Baqir (radi allahu anhu)
Named Muhammad, Baqir was his title and he was also known as Abu Jafar. [He was the son of Imam Zainul Abideen]. He was a highly respectable and learned scholar. There is a Tradition in Sahih Muslim concerning Hajj which is related to 200 religious issues. His reports are continued in Sahih and Sunnan. He was born in Madina in 57 Hijri and died in 114 Hijri. He is buried in Baqi. He was only nine years old at the time of Karbala. His mother is Umme Abdullah Bin Imam Hasan (radi allahu anhu).
Imam Jafar As Sadiq (radi allahu anhu)
He was named Jafar and his title was Al Sadiq and he was also known as Abdullah. [He was the son of Imam Mumammad Al Baqir] His mother is Umme Farda, the daughter of Qasim Alfaqih; the grandson of Abu Bakr (radi allahu anhu). The mother of Umme Farda was Asma Bint Abdur Rahman Bin Abu Bakr (radi allahu anhu). That is why he would say that he had a ‘dual relationship with Abu Bakr (radi allahu anhu)’.
He was a learned scholar and spread knowledge very extensively. He compiled a number of Traditions, Sunnan and a large number of reports and decrees (Fatawa). He was born in 83 Hijri and died in 148 Hijri. He is also buried in Baqi. His progeny continued though the descendents of his five sons; Musa Al Kazim, Ishmail, Ali Al Areezi, Muhammad Al Mamoon and Ishaq.
Ismail Bin Imam Jafar As Sadiq (radi allahu anhu)
He was the eldest son of Imam Jafar As Sadiq. The Ismaili sect recognizes him as the Imam after his father Imam Jafar As Sadiq (radi allahu anhu). His Highness Sir Agha Khan was amongst the descendents of Ismail. His two sons were Muhammad and Ali.
Ali Bin Ismail Bin Imam Jafar As Sadiq (radi allahu anhu)
He was titled Zia Ud Din and Makhdoom Syed Alauddin Ali Ahmad Sabir Kaliary (rah) is amongst his descendents.
Ali Al Areezi Bin Imam Jafar As Sadiq (radi allahu anhu)
He had many children and many descendents though his four sons. Muhammad, Ahmad Al Sherani, Hasan and Jafar Al Asghar.
Muhammad Al Mamoon Bin Imam Jafar As Sadiq (radi allahu anhu)
He was also known as Muhammad Wassaj. He had also claimed the Caliphate to himself. Mamoon Al Rashid arrested him and later granted him amnesty. His progeny continued though Ali Al Kharji and Qasim Husayn and their descendents can be found in Egypt.
Ishaq Bin Imam Jafar As Sadiq (radi allahu anhu)
He had the title of Mautman and was also known as Abu Muhammad. He was the brother of Imam Musa Al Kazim and a sect of the Shia recognizes him as the Imam. His progeny continued through his sons Muhammad, Hasan and Husayn.
Imam Musa Al Kazim (radi allahu anhu)
He was named Musa, Kazim was his title and he was known as Abdul Hasan and Abu Ibrahim. [He was the son of Imam Jafar As Sadiq] His mother’s name was Hameeda (Umme Wald). He was born in 128 Hijri. He died on the 6th of Rajab 183 Hijri at Baghdad. He had 23 sons and 37 daughters.
From his 23 sons, 5 remained issueless whose names were Abdur Rahman, Aqil, Qasim, Yahya and Abu Dawood. Three of his sons; Sulaiman, Fazal and Ahmad, only had female issues. There is a discrepancy amongst the scholars regarding the descendents of six of his sons, Husayn, Ibrahim, Al Akbar, Haroon, Zaid and Hasan. The progeny of ten of his sons flourished and their names are; Ali, Ibrahim Al Asghar, Abbas, Ismail, Ishaq, Hamza, Abdullah, Ubaidullah and Jafar. Sultan ul Hind, Khwaja Syed Moinuddin Hasan Sanjri also known as Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti (rah) (died. 6th Rajab, 632 Hijri) was from amongst his descendents.
Imam Ali Al Rida (radi allahu anhu)
He was named Ali and titled Rida. [He was the son of Imam Musa Al Kazim] He was known as Abul Hasan. He was born in 148 Hijri and died in Safar in the year 203 Hijri at the age of 55 years old. He is buried in Mashad. His progeny continued through his son Muhammad Al Jawwad.
Imam Muhammad Al Jawwad (radi allahu anhu)
He was named Muhammad and titled Jawwad and was known as Abu Jafar [He was the son of Imam Ali Al Rida and was also referred to as Imam Muhammad Al Taqi). He was born in the month of Ramadan in the year 195 Hijri and died at the end of the month of Zeeqad in 220 Hijri at the young age of 25. He had two sons Ali Al Hadi and Musi Al Mubraqa.
Musi Al Mubraqa Bin Imam Muhammad Al Jawwad (radi allahu anhu)
His progeny continued through his son Ahmad and his descendents. Many of the descendents of Ahmad Bin Musi Al Mubraqa Bin Imam Muhammad Al Jawwad migrated to Hindustan and can be found in the suburbs of Lucknaw, Khairabad, Sadaidon, Sonepat and Samana.
Imam Ali Al Hadi (radi allahu anhu)
Named Ali and titled Askari, his alias was Abul Hasan (peace be upon him) and he was dually called Al Hadi and An Naqi. [He was the son of Imam Muhammad Al Jawwad] He died in Muharram Rai at the age of 41 years and six months. He was born in mid Dhul Hijjah 212 Hijri and died on the 26th of Jamadiul Aakhir 254 Hijri. He left behind two sons, Abu Abdullah Jafar Kazab and Imam Hasan Askari (peace be upon him).
People joined Kazab with the name of Abu Abdullah Jafar because he had claimed the Imamate to himself after the death of his brother Hasan Al Askari. His progeny called him Jafar Tawwab and call themselves Rizvi.
Abu Abdullah was also known as Abu Kureen because he was the father of 120 children. He died in the year 271 Hijri. His progeny continued through his six sons; Ismail Harif, Yahya Al Sufi, Haroon, Ali Al Mukhtar, Idris and Tahir. Descendents of Ismail Harif and those of Yahya Al Sufi can be found in Egypt. Saadat Amroha belonged to the descendents of Haroon Bin Jafar, Saadat Bhakr are from the descendents of Ali al Mukhtar. Khwaja Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kahki (rah) belonged to his line of descendents.
Muhammad Nazak and Syed Jalaluddin Bukhari Nazeel Hind are also from the progeny of Ali Al Mukhtar. The descendents of Idris Bin Jafar continued through his son Qasim and their descendents are called Qawasim.
Imam Hasan Al Askari (radi allahu anhu)
“His name is Hasan, his title is Al Askari and his alias was Abu Muhammad. He was born in the year 232 Hijri in the month of Ramadan. His mothers name is Hudais (Umme Wald) He died on the 8th of Rabiul Awwal 260 Hijri in Surra man Rai. One son Muhammad Al Mahdi born in mid Shabaan in the year 255 Hijri in Surraman Rai and had disappeared in the cave at the age of four. The sect of the Ithna Asharia recognize him as Imam and lifted alive. They call him Imam Zaman Mahdi.”
Source:[Qazi Md. Sulaiman Mansoor Puri, English translation by A.J.Siddiqui. Mercy for the Worlds (Rahmatul-Lil Aa-Lameen) Vol. II, p.95-108. 1977. Dini Book Depot, Delhi, India]