Hasan ibn Ali
الحسن بن علي
c. March 625 CE · c. Ramadan 3 AH – c. 670 CE · c. 50 AH
Elder grandson of the Prophet through Fatima and Ali; briefly caliph in 661 CE before abdicating in favor of Muawiya, an act understood differently across the traditions.
At a glance
- Roles
- Companion
- Counted among
- Sunni · Shia (Twelver)
- Era
- The Prophetic Era · The Rashidun Caliphate · The Umayyad Period
- Region
- Arabia
- Review
- Draft Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it
Life in time
In space
Map: Natural Earth, public domain · places and route from the graph
Sects and schoolsPeace-making and coexistenceCivil wars and revolts
Place in the story
- Family of the ProphetTradition
- RulertowardRashidun Caliphate · January 661 CE · Ramadan 40 AH† – c. August 661 CE · c. Rabi' II 41 AH†Historical
Sunni (transmitted)
Roles are dated and sourced; the museum describes the act and attributes the judgement.
Brief
Hasan was the elder grandson of the Prophet, son of Fatima bint Muhammad and Ali ibn Abi Talib. When his father was killed in 661 he briefly became caliph — then stepped down and gave the leadership to Muawiya, a choice remembered as either peacemaking or defeat.
Life
Born in Medina in mid-625 CE 1, Hasan grew up in the Prophet's household; the traditions describe the Prophet's tenderness toward him and his brother Husayn ibn Ali.
When Ali was assassinated in January 661, the people of Kufa pledged to Hasan. Facing Muawiya's stronger Syrian army, and reports of defections in his own camp, he negotiated an abdication later that year on terms that included an amnesty and, in some reports, a stipulation that Muawiya's successor not be appointed 2. He retired to Medina and died there about 670 CE. The tradition that he was poisoned is widely repeated; historians treat it as unproven 2.
Legacy
His abdication is one of the founding moments of the Sunni–Shia memory of early Islam: the same act read as wisdom by one community and as tragedy by another.
For young visitors
Hasan had a choice: fight a war he might not win, or give up power to keep the peace. Muslims have been discussing his choice for fourteen hundred years.
Opinions on the question
The question: How is Hasan ibn Ali's abdication of the caliphate understood?
First opinion · Sunni tradition (the museum's frame)Main reference
More opinions (2)
Academic viewSecondary opinion
Twelver Shia viewOther opinion
Connections
- Born in
- Medina
- Died in
- Medina
- Buried in
- Medina
- Child of
- Ali ibn Abi Talib· Fatima bint Muhammad
- Sibling of
- Husayn ibn Ali· Zaynab bint Ali
- Member of
- Ahl al-Bayt· Banu Hashim
- Participated in
- The delegation of Najran
- Mentioned in
- Arba'un 11 — leave what makes you doubt for what does not
People and things also explored
Husayn ibn Ali· Fatima bint Muhammad· Zaynab bint Ali· Ahl al-Bayt· Ali ibn Abi Talib· The delegation of Najran· Muhammad· Banu Hashim
Sources
- Ibn Sa'd, Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir (Bewley translation, Ta-Ha)
- Madelung, The Succession to Muhammad (1997)
- Momen, An Introduction to Shi'i Islam (1985)
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Hasan ibn Ali”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/hasan-ibn-ali/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-13.