Hasan al-Askari (; ) was a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, the eleventh of the Twelve Imams, and father of Muhammad al-Mahdi. He was born in Medina in 844 and brought with his father, Ali al-Hadi, to the garrison town of Samarra in 848, where the Abbasid caliphs held them under close surveillance until their deaths, even though neither were politically active. After the death of al-Hadi in 868, the majority of his followers acknowledged his son, al-Askari, as the next Imam. Al-Askari's contact with Shia Muslims was restricted by the Abbasid caliphs, and he communicated with his followers through the network of representatives (Wokala). He died in Samarra in 873 at the age of about twenty-eight and was buried in the family home next to his father, which later developed into the Al-Askari Shrine, a holy site in Shia Islam.
Shia sources hold the Abbasids responsible for the death of al-Askari and his father. A well-known early Shia commentary of the Quran is attributed to al-Askari. Al-Askari died without leaving an heir, which created widespread confusion and fragmented the Shia Muslims into several sects, all of which either disappeared in a few decades or absorbed within the mainstream Twelver Shia Islam. The Twelvers hold that al-Askari had a son, named Muhammad al-Mahdi, who was kept hidden from the public out of fear of Abbasid persecution. He is identified as the Mahdi, the awaited messianic and eschatological figure who will reappear before the End Times by God's permission to fill the earth with justice alongside Isa (Jesus). Al-Mahdi succeeded to the Imamate after the death of his father al-Askari and entered occultation.
Titles Hasan ibn Ali is known by the titles al-Samet (), al-Hadi (), and al-Zaki (), though his most common title is al-Askari ()، on the account of his almost life-long detention in Samarra, a garrison town not far from Baghdad which was the capital of the Abbasids at the time. As a great-grandson of Ali al-Rida, the eighth of the Twelve Imams, Hasan was also known by his contemporaries as Ibn al-Rida (lit|"son of al-Rida").
Life Birth and early life Most Shia sources state that Hasan ibn Ali was born in Rabi' al-Awwal 230 AH (November 844), though other given dates range from 845 to 847. The Shia currently celebrate 8 Rabi' al-Thani as his birthday. Hasan was born in Medina, though Donaldson has cast doubt on this, as he is uncertain between Medina and Samarra. His father was the tenth Shia Imam, Ali al-Hadi, and his mother was a freed slave (umm walad), whose name is variously given as Hudayth, Susan, or Salil in different sources. At the age of about two, Hasan was brought to Samarra with his father in 233 or 234 AH (847–849), where the latter was held under close surveillance by the Abbasid caliphs until his death in 254 (868), some twenty years later.
When Hasan was about twenty-two, an agent of his father is said to have providentially bought a Byzantine concubine, named Narjis (Narcissus), who was given to Hasan in marriage, and later bore him his only son. Other sources give her name variously as Sayqal, Sawsan, and Rayhana. The detailed accounts of Mohammad-Baqer Majlesi and Shaykh Tusi describe Narjis as a captured granddaughter of the Byzantine emperor and a pious woman who was told in a dream about her future union with Hasan, though these accounts have been described as hagiographic. Some other accounts describe Narjis as Nubian.
During the reign of Abbasids A significant part of al-Askari's life, both during his own imamate and his father's, was spent in a situation where the Abbasid Caliphate had become a tool for rival emirs who played an effective role in the government system. The hostile rivalries between the emirs of the Abbasid system had caused the caliphs to hold the caliphate for short periods, which had severely weakened the foundations of the caliphate.
Reign of al-Mustain Perhaps the first recorded political stance in the life of al-Askari dates back to when he was about 20 years old and his father was still alive. In fact, it was in 252 AH, two years before he assumed the Imamate, that al-Askari reportedly wrote a letter, addressed to a Tahirid emir, Abu Ahmad Ubaydullah ibn Abdullah ibn Tahir, (the brother of Tahir ibn Abdallah, the emir of Khorasan), who was an opponent of al-Musta'in, in which he calls the caliph a "tyrant" and asks God to remove him. Shortly after, following a rebellion against Musta'in, he was deposed and al-Mu'tazz succeeded him as caliph. According to Ibn Athir, Abu Ahmad Tahiri himself played an important role in the rebellion against al-Musta'in and his killing.
Reigns of al-Mu'tazz () and al-Muhtadi () In 252 AH, Musta'in was overthrown and his enemy, Mu'taz, assumed the caliphate. According to Pakatchi, given the animosity between Mu'taz and Musta'in, and the fact that Mu'taz's powerful emirs, such as Abu Ahmad Taheri, had informed the new caliph of al-Askari's hatred for the murdered caliph, Mu'taz would not have shown hostility towards him and his father at the beginning of his reign, at least on the surface. In 254 AH, when al-Hadi died and al-Askari succeeded his father, al-Askari enjoyed relative freedom and lived in his own home, despite the restrictions imposed on his activities.
Less than a year into his imamate, Pakatchi writes, the caliph became suspicious of the Imam. Al-Askari's diligent efforts to maintain and reform the Shia financial system and collect funds, which began at the very beginning of his imamate, and his extensive correspondence with the Shias of various regions, and the influence he had even over some government officials such as Abu Ahmad Taheri, could have caused the caliph to worry.
In the second year of Askari's imamate and the last year of Mu'taz's caliphate, i.e. 255 AH, al-Askari was imprisoned by al-Mu'tazz in Baghdad, and he was kept in prison through the short reign of al-Muhtadi, the next caliph.
During the reign of Mu'taz and before his death, some plots to assassinate Askari apparently failed. Shortly after, Mu'taz died, and the short period of Muhtadi's caliphate was marked by conflict between the rulers. Although Muhtadi had Mu'tazilite leanings, this did not prevent the caliph from persecuting Askari, since Salih ibn Wasif, who was the most powerful emir in the court of the previous caliph, still had so much authority that the caliph could not oppose his decisions.
In the last period of the Caliphate of al-Muhtadi, the Caliph adopted a strict policy towards the Shias, intending to drive them away from the important centers of Iraq; the pressure on the Shia prisoners also increased, and it was at this time that a certain emir named Nasr ibn Ahmad al-Zubairi agreed to carry out the Caliph's intention to kill al-Askari, but this decision coincided with the collapse of al-Muhtadi government. Nasr ibn Ahmad al-Zubairi was forced to go to war, according to al-Tabari, in which he was killed on the first of Rajab 256 AH. This event was considered by al-Askari as a sign of God's power. Al-Muhtadi himself was deposed from the Caliphate on the 29th of Rajab following a widespread rebellion, and his death occurred shortly thereafter.
Reign of al-Mu'tamid () The persecution of the Shia continued under al-Mu'tamid, a son of al-Mutawakkil. It is believed that most of al-Askari's prison experiences happened during the caliphate of al-Mu'tamid, who is represented in Shia sources as his main oppressor. Al-Mu'tamid ruled for thirteen years (256–279 AH), but only four years of this reign coincided with the life of al-Askari. The reign of al-Muttamid coincided with the revolts of the Alawites and individuals associated with them. Sahib al-Zanj, claiming Alawi descent, was the most important threat to al-Muttamid's rule. Zanj's violent and reckless actions were worrying even for the Imamiyyah leadership. Al-Askari clearly declared that "Sahib al-Zanj is not from us, the Ahl al-Bayt". The purpose of this stance, according to Pakatchi, was, on the one hand, to prevent the general public from attributing the misconduct of Sahib al-Zanj to the Imamiyya and the Ahl al-Bayt, and another purpose was to prevent the Abbasid government from increasing its strictness against the Shiites, relying on the uprising of Sahib al-Zanj.
However, in 260, al-Mu'tamid, who had freed Askari at the beginning of his reign, ordered Askari and his brother Ja'far to be arrested and taken to prison. Although after a month the caliph was forced to release them, probably for the sake of state interests, but he did not allow him to return to his home in Samarra, instead sent him to "Dar al-Hasan ibn Sahl" to keep a close eye on him. Shortly afterwards, news of his death was circulated.
Al-Askari is said to have criticized the caliph for restricting the administration of Khums (), the Islamic alms distributed among the descendants of the prophet, who were forbidden from receiving general alms in the prophet's lifetime. In his lifetime, a main source of assistance for the poor in his clan, the Banu Hashim, was the income of agricultural lands in Fadak. Historically, Abu Bakr, the first Rashidun caliph, discontinued the prophet's policies and, in particular, reappropriated Fadak as public property, forcing Banu Hashim to rely on general alms, possibly to undermine their claims to the caliphate and cut their privileges as the prophet's kins. This policy was partially reversed by his successor, Umar, and then by the Umayyad Umar II, though later caliphs again appended Fadak to the state treasury.
Death
At the age of about twenty-eight, al-Askari died on 1 or 8 Rabi' al-Awwal 260 AH (25 December 873 or 1 January 874) after a week-long illness. The Shia currently commemorate 8 Rabi' al-Awwal for this occasion. Shia sources commonly attribute his death to poisoning at the instigation of al-Mu'tamid. During the week of his illness, many notable Alid and Abbasid figures visited him on his deathbed and the caliph also sent his doctors and servants to attend the Imam. However, considering that al-Askari did not have an obvious heir, Tabatabai maintains that the caliph intended to closely monitor the Imam and later continued to search for his offspring after his death. Hussain, Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi, and Abdulaziz Sachedina present similar accounts.
Al-Askari was buried in the family home, next to his father, Ali al-Hadi. The house was later expanded to a major shrine by various Shia and Sunni patrons. More recently, Naser al-Din Shah Qajar ordered to rebuild the complex in 1868–1869 and the golden dome was added in 1905. The shrine also houses the tomb of his aunt, Hakima Khatun. As an important destination for Shia pilgrimage, the shrine was bombed in February 2006 and badly damaged. Another attack was executed on 13 June 2007, which led to the destruction of the two minarets of the shrine. Authorities in Iraq hold al-Qaeda responsible for this attack.Graham Bowley (13 June 2007), "Minarets on Shia Shrine in Iraq Destroyed in Attack", The New York Times.
Imamate
Designation as the Imam After the death of al-Hadi in 868, the majority of his followers acknowledged his son, Hasan al-Askari, as their next Imam. Shia sources report that al-Hadi designated Hasan as the next Imam a few months before his death. After al-Hadi, his another son, Ja'far, unsuccessfully claimed the imamate for himself. Madelung adds that some had expected another son of al-Hadi, Muhammad ibn Ali al-Hadi, to be the next Imam but he predeceased his father in Samarra.
Network of representatives