During the time Marwan was the governor of Medina, he used to curse Amir al-Mu’minin (PBUH) before starting the sermon of Friday prayers every week. One day he sent someone with a letter that was full of insults and verbal abuses to Imam Hassan (PBUH).
When the agent delivered the letter to Imam Hassan (PBUH), he said to the agent,” When you meet with Marwan, tell him on my behalf that:’ I swear to Allah (SWT) that I won’t remove anything by insulting you; but (I will remain patient and say nothing since) we shall meet in front of Allah (SWT). If you were truthful about what you have said about me, then Allah (SWT) will offer you a good reward, but if you were lying, then Allah (SWT) is more worthy than all the people to take revenge…(1).” (1. Sawa’iq al-Muhriqah, p. 83)
According to Ibn Hajar (one of the fanatic Sunni scholars), the cause of demise of Imam Hassan (PBUH) was that based on a plot by Yazid (however, according to prominent Sunni and Shia scholars, the plot to poison Imam Hassan (PBUH) was initiated by Mu’awyiah; to get more information, refer to the footnotes)(2), (2. According to what the Shiites believe, which is based on historical evidences, and as some great Sunni scholars such as Ibn Sa’ad in his book Tabaqaat al-Kubra and Baladhuri in his book Ansaab al-Ashraaf have mentioned, Imam Hassan (PBUH) was martyred due to Muawyiah’s plot. It was Muawyiah who promised Ju’dah to marry her to Yazid in return to poisoning Imam Hassan (PBUH). However, due to the status of Muawyiah in the eyes of some the Sunnis, which respect him for his short companionship with the Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HP) and being the caliph, and deny any misconduct from him, it is not unlikely that people such as Ibn Hajar have introduced Yazid as the killer of Imam Hassan (PBUH) to purge Muawyiah from this crime; because Yazid is not respected by the majority of Sunnis due to the shameful calamites of his rulership. In fact, Ibn Hajar is so fanatic in this regard that he has compiled a book called “Tathir al-Jinan Wa Al-Lisaan an al-Khutur wa al-Tuful li Thulb Sayyidna Muawyiah ibn Abi Sufyan” in order to purge Muawyiah from the numerous crimes he had committed during his life. ) Imam Hassan’s (PBUH) wife, Ju’dah daughter of Ash’ath ibn Qais Kindi, decided to poison him so that Yazid would marry her once the Imam (PBUH) was poisoned. In order to guarantee this, Yazid gave her a hundred thousand silver coins, and Ju’dah poisoned Imam Hassan (PBUH) based on the instructions of “Yazid”. Imam Hassan (PBUH) was sick for forty days, and eventually was martyred.
It has been narrated that when Imam Hassan (PBUH) was poisoned, He said to Imam Hussain (PBUH),” O brother! My death has come and I shall be separate from you and join my Lord soon. O brother! I was poisoned three times, but none of the previous poisons were as effective as this last one.
O brother! I threw up parts of my liver; I know who has poisoned me. I ask you through my right on you not to talk about this at all.
When I die, wash my body and shroud me, and take my body towards the grave of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HP) to renew my respect to him. Then, take my body to the grave of my grandmother Fatimah bint Asad, and bury me besides her.
With regards to my martyrdom, I urge you to avoid spill of blood, even as little as a syringe”.
Imam Hussian (PBUH) asked,” Who has poisoned you?”
Imam Hassan (PBUH) replied,” It is obvious from your question that you want to kill him”.
Imam Hussain (PBUH) said,” That is right”.
Imam Hassan (PBUH) refused to answer him question, and left the affair of his killers in the hands of Allah (SWT).
Finally, as soon as the Imam (PBUH) passed away, Ju’dah sent someone to Yazid to remind him of the promise he had given. However, Yazid sent a message saying:” We did not want you to treat him as such. How can we make ourselves caught by you? (3)” (3. Sawa’iq al-Muhriqah, p. 83)
When Imam Hassan (PBUH) was martyred, Marwan also attended his funeral and cried. Imam Hussain Imam (PBUH) said to him,” Why are you crying over my brother when you gave him drinks of sadness and grief?”
Marwan replied,” I cry over the honorable person whose patience was greater than a mountain (4)!” (4. Tahzib al-Tahzib, vol. 2, p. 298)
(The above is a selection taken from Fada’il al-Khamsa, by Allamah Firouz Abaadi (5)) (5. The translation has been taken from Mr. Muhammad Baqir Sa’idi.)
Footnotes: