A Report by Altamash
Haider Khan
Imam Al Hasan(Peace Be Upon Him)
His father was the Commander of the faithful (Amir
al-mu'minin), 'Ali b. Abu Talib a.s.. His mother was the mistress of the women
of the worlds, Fatima the daughter of the Apostle of Allah, may Allah bless him
and his family.
He was born in Medina on the night of the middle day of the
month of Ramadan, in the year 3 A.H. He was the eldest son.
When Imam Al Hasan a.s. was born, the Prophet, may Allah
bless him and his family, took him. Then the Prophet said the adhan (call to
prayer) in al-Hasan's right ear, and said the iqama (words similar to the
adhan) in his left ear. Then he sacrificed a ram for him (in the ceremony of
`aqiqa). Then he shaved his hair. He (i.e., the Prophet) gave silver equal to
his hair. So the weight of al-Hasan's hair was a dirham and some of silver.
Then he ordered his hair to perfume. So the `aqiqa and giving alms as equal as
the weight of hair have become Sunna (an act of the Prophet).
The Prophet named him Hasan. People did not know such a name
in the pre- Islamic period. Also he gave him Kunya (i.e., the name by which an
Arab is usually referred to and which refers to him as the father of someone,
usually his eldest son) as Abu Muhammad. Imam Al Hasan a.s.had no Kunya other
than this (Abu Muhammad).
al-Sibt, al-Sayyid, al-Zaki, al-Mujtaba, al-Taqi.
Imam Al Hasan a.s.married Umm Ishaq bint (the daughter of)
Talha b. `Ubayd Allah, Hafsa bint (the daughter of) 'Abd al-Rahman b. Abu Bakr,
Hind bint (the daughter of) Suhayl b. `Amru, and Ju'da bint (the daughter of)
al-Ash'ath b. Qays, whom Mu'awiya tempted to kill al-Hasan. So she killed him
with poison.
Imam Al Hasan a.s.had fifteen children, both male and female:
Zayd, al-Hasan, `Amru, al-Qasim, `Abd Allah, `Abd al-Rahman, Imam Al Hasan a.s.al-Athram,
and Talha, Umm
al-Hasan, Umm al-Husayn, Fatima, Umm Salama, Ruqayya, Umm `Abd Allah, and Fatima s.a.
His Characteristics
No one was more like the Apostle of Allah, may Allah bless
him and his family, than Imam Al Hasan a.s. b. 'Ali, peace be on him, in form,
manner, and nobility.
In this manner the describers have described Imam Al Hasan
a.s. and said: "He (al-Hasan) had a white, reddish face. He had black
eyes, smooth cheeks, thick beard, and curly, plentiful hair. His neck was as
white as a jug of silver. His body was good. He had large shoulders, and big
fleshy bones. He was of medium height; neither long nor short. He was handsome;
the best of all people in face.
Al-Hasan, peace be on him, was as the poet said:
When some handsomeness creeps into the insights of
imaginations,
He (al-Hasan) has the special share.
His forehead from under his forelock
is like
The full moon that illuminates the
dark night.
His ambergris and musk is far above
the perfume of
The people of the earth, so he is the
heavenly perfume.
Ibn
Sa'd said: " Imam Al Hasan a.s. and
al-Husain a.s. used to dye black."
Wasil b. `Ata' said: "Imam Al Hasan a.s.b. 'Ali, peace be on them, had the visage of prophets and the glory of kings."
Imam Al Hasan a.s., peace be on him, performed the hajj on
foot twenty- five times. When he mentioned death, he wept.
When he mentioned the grave, he wept. When he mentioned the
resurrection, he wept. When he mentioned crossing the sirat (a kind of bridge
which only the righteous can cross on the road to Paradise), he wept. When he
mentioned the standing before Allah, the Great and Almighty, he fainted. When
he mentioned Paradise and Fire, he shock as the sick person did. So he asked
Allah to make him enter Paradise and to protect him from Fire.
When Imam Al
Hasan a.s performed an ablution for prayers, he shock all over and his face
became pale.
Imam Al Hasan a.s, peace be on him, shared his property with
Allah three times. He gave people from his property twice in the way of Allah,
the Exalted. He mentioned Allah, the Great and Almighty, in all conditions
whether pleasant or otherwise.
They (the historians) said: "He (Imam Al Hasan a.s,
peace be on him) was the best of all people in worshipping Allah and refraining
from the life in this world."
Imam Al Hasan a.s ibn-‘Ali
died in 669 aged just 45 has been forensically analysed based on written
sources that dictate eyewitness accounts of historical events. The report of
the contemporaneous poisoning of another individual who resided under the same
household as al-Hasan’s and experienced similar, yet non-lethal, symptoms has
served as the beginning of the analysis. In light of ancient (medieval)
documents and through using mineralogical, medical, and chemical facts, it has been
hypothesized that mineral calomel (mercury(I) chloride, Hg2Cl2)
from a certain region in the Byzantine Empire (present-day western Turkey) was
the substance primarily responsible for the murder of al-Hasan.
A mysterious death in the Middle Ages is that of Imam Al
Hasan a.s.. Born of the Prophet Muhammad’s favourite daughter, Fatimah, Imam Al
Hasan a.s.was declared as the legitimate successor of his father, ‘Ali
ibnabi-Talib (the last of the caliphs known to Arab historians as
‘‘orthodox’’), in 661 Faced by his rival, Mu’awiyah ibn-abi-Sufyan, who had
been proclaimed caliph in 660 in Jerusalem, Imam Al Hasan a.s.abdicated in the
same year and reasoned as follows: ‘‘I have deemed it right to make peace with
him and have pledged allegiance to him, since I considered whatever spares
blood as better than whatever causes it to be shed.’’ After living in
retirement in al-Madinah (in present-day Saudi Arabia) for eight years, Imam Al
Hasan a.s. died in 669, when he was just 45 years of age. The belief that Imam
Al Hasan a.s. died peacefully has not been ruled out by all the experts on
Muslim history. However, in general, Muslim theologians commonly believe that
his death was caused by a fatal act of poisoning.
Reasons Behind
the Poisoning of Imam Al Hasan a.s.
Abu Sulaiman then seeks to use some
logic as follows: “…The truth is that Imam Al Hasan a.s. made peace with
Mu’awiyah, and gave him the leadership and the allegiance. Therefore, for what
reason would Mu’awiyah poison Al-Hasan a.s. ?” Mu’awiya despite gaining power
saw in Imam Hasan (as) a formidable opponent. As Abu Sulaiman admits Mu’awiya
wanted Yazeed to succeed him. This contradicted one of the conditions
stipulated in the agreement with Imam Hasan (as) namely that in the event of
Mu’awiya’s death khilafath would return to Hasan a.s..
Mu’awiya had no intention to comply
with this, to ensure the best approach would be to kill Imam Hasan (as) during
his own lifetime. The famous commtentry of Sunan Abu Dawood has been written by
Allamah Shams ul Haq Haqqani which is known as ‘Awn al Mabud Sharah Sunan Abu
Dawud’ wherein he records:
“Mu’awiya was afraid of losing his Caliphate”
Late Salafi scholar Maulana Waheed uz
Zaman Khan Heydar-abadi states in his commentary of Sunan Abu Dawood: “As long
as Imam Hasan (ra) lived, Muawiya was afraid of losing caliphate” .
Renowned Egyptian academic Dr Taha Husayn in his book’Ali wa Banooh’ (Ali and
his sons) translated in Urdu as “Ali (ra)” by Maulana Abdul Hameed Numani
writes: “By poisoning Hasan, Mu’awiya and Amr bin Aas had made the way clear
for making Yazeed the next khalifa”.(4) Similarly we read in Ahl’ul Sunnah’s
esteemed work ‘Maqatil al Talibeen’:
“Muawiya administered poison to him (Hasan)
when he wanted to appoint Yazeed, and poisoned Saad bin Abi Waqas and they both
died in close days. The one who administered poison to Imam Al Hasan a.s .was
his wife J’ada bin al-Ash’ath bin Qais, for which she was rewarded with money,
paid to her by Mu’awiya”. The sole reason that Mu’awiya sought to kill Imam
Hasan (as) was so that he could renage on the peace he had made, and place his
drunkard son onto the throne of Rasulullah (s). Our assertion is further
strenghtned when we take account of the fact that in ‘Al Imama wa al Siyasia’
Dhikr bayya Yazeed we learn:
“An Iraqi tribal chief
said to Mu’awiya ‘As long as Hasan is alive the people of Iraq and Hijaz shall
not give bayyah to Yazeed.”
Mu’awiya poisoned the Chief of the
youth of Paradise Imam Hasan (as) to strengthen the seat of his Fasiq son
Yazeed. Through this poisoning we can see a clear sign of Mu’awiya’s evil
nature. He had no intention of honouring the honouring the promise that he had
reached and signed as part of the peace treaty with Imam Hasan (as), and in
this connection we read in Sahih Bukhari, Kitab al Iman:
“The Prophet said, “The signs of a
hypocrite are three:
1.Whenever he speaks, he tells a lie.
2.Whenever he promises, he always breaks it (his promise).
3.If you trust him, he proves to be dishonest. (If you keep something as a
trust with him, he will not return it.)”
Consider this Hadith and measure it against the way Mu’awiya acted when agreeing terms with Imam Hasan (as). He breached the terms, by planning to make Yazeed Khalifa, during the lifetime of Imam Hasan (as), thus proving that he was a dishonest, untrustworthy liar.
Mu’awiya’s
pleasure upon hearing the death of Imam Hasan (as)
Even if ‘Abu Sulaiman refuses to accept this evidence, one
thing is for certain – Mu’awiya’s reaction upon hearing the death of Imam Hasan
(as) proves his evil nature. Allamah Zamakshari notes: “Upon receiving news of
Hasan’s death, Mu’awiya paid a prostration of thanks”
al Imama wa al Siyasa:
“upon receiving news of Hasan’s death, Mu’awiya displayed such signs of
pleasure that he made a prostration of thanks as did those with him”
Allamah Abu Hanifa Ahmed bin Dawud Dinori records in ‘Akhbar
al Tawaal’: Muawiyah (ra) got the news of Hasan’s (ra) death, Muawiyah was
informed about this by the Marwan the ruler of Madina. Thus Muawiyah called on
Ibn Abbas [ra] who was there in Syria during those days. When he came, Muawiyah
expressed condolence as well as pleasure over the death of Hasan. Therefore Ibn
Abbas [ra] said:’Don’t be happy over the death of Hasan’.
Nuzul
Al-Abrar: “Upon receiving news of Hasan’s death, Mu’awiya recited Takbeer in a
loud voice as did the people of Syria. Fakhra bint Qulaya asked’Why are you
reciting Takbeer so loudly? Mu’awiya said’Hasan has died’. Fakhra then said
“You are reciting a Takbeer of joy at the death of the son of Fatima?”. To
which Mu’awiya said “Not on account of joy, rather comfort and ease has reached
my heart”.
Mu’awiya’s
denial that he is happy is a pure lie, you only have comfort in your heart when
you are happy, and a closed heart is on account of sadness. Allamah Kamaluddin
Muhammad bin Musa Damiri (d. 808 H) in ‘Hayaat al Haywaan’ and Allamah Diyar
Bakri al-Maliki in ‘Tareekh Khamees’ recorded this narration: Ibn Abbas
approached Mu’awiya, and Mu’awiya said: ‘Do you know what happened to your
household?’ Ibn Abbas said: ‘I am unaware of any thing, all I know is that you
are happy, and I heard that you recited a loud Takbeer’. Mu’awiya said: ‘Hasan
has died’.
Allamah Ibn
Abd Rabih in his esteemed book ‘Aqd al Fareed’ records the following incident
“Upon receiving news of Hasan’s death, Mu’awiya became
happy made a prostration of thanks. He then sent a message to Ibn Abbas and
summoned him. When Ibn Abbas came, although Muawiyah advanced his condolence
for Hasan but he was happy over the death”. Maqatil al Husayn: “Mu’awiya said:
‘News has reached me of the death of Hasan’, and he displayed signs of
happiness”
We read in
Tareekh Abul Fida:
“When Muawiyah came to know about the death of
al-Hasan, he performed a prostration of thanks”. Ibn Khalakan records:
When Marwan
wrote a complaint to Muawyia, he mentioned that he has been informed that
Hassan had passed away. When Muawiya heard the news, he did Takbir and the
people of Khadra area performed Takbir too and so did the people Shaam. Thus
Fathkita, Muwayia’s wife said: ‘O commander of believers, may Allah please you,
for what you did Takbir?’ He replied: ‘Hassan has died’.
Is this type
of love Allah (swt) commands his faithful to bestow on the Ahl’ul bait
expressing joy upon their deaths? Those that are happy at the tragedy that
befalls the Ahl’ul bayt (as) adhere to the Sunnah of Mu’awiya.
Mu’awiya’s
not considering the death of Imam Hasan (as) as a calamity and the Sunni
Ulema’s acknowledgement that this demonstrated his hatred towards the family
of’Ali (as). We read in Sunan Abu Daud: Narrated Al-Miqdam ibn Ma’dikarib:
“Khalid said: Al-Miqdam ibn Ma’dikarib and a man of Banu Asad from the people
of Qinnisrin went to Mu’awiyah ibn AbuSufyan. Mu’awiyah said to al-Miqdam: Do
you know that Imam Al Hasan a.s. ibn Ali has died? Al-Miqdam recited the
Qur’anic verse “We belong to Allah and to Him we shall return.”
A man asked
him: Do you think it a calamity? He replied: Why should I not consider it a
calamity when it is a fact that the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) used
to take him on his lap, saying: This belongs to me and Husayn belongs to Ali?
The man of Banu Asad said: (He was) a live coal which Allah has extinguished.
Al-Miqdam said: Today I shall continue to make you angry and make you hear what
you dislike. He then said: Mu’awiyah, if I speak the truth, declare me true,
and if I tell a lie, declare me false.
Continue in
the next article: ( Mu’awiya’s
pleasure upon hearing the death of Imam Hassan (as)
NOTE
1. We will
evidence this from the following esteemed Sunni works:
·
Akhbar al Tawaal,
page 221, Dhikr Hasan
·
Aqd al Fareed,
Volume 1 page 225 Dhikr Hasan
·
al Imama wa al
Siyasia, page 159 Dhikr Hasan
·
Tarikh Khamees,
Volume 2 page 294
·
Hayat al Haywaan,
Volume 1 page 84 Dhikr Hasan
·
Tadhkiratul
Khawaas, page 123 Dhikr Hasan
·
Nuzlul Abrar by
Allamah Badkashani al-Harithi, page 85 Dhikr Hasan
·
Muruj al Dhahab,
Volume 3 page 8, Wafaat Hasan
·
Habeeb al Syaar,
Volume 1 page 19 Dhikr Hasan
·
Maqatil Hasnayn,
Volume 1 page 140
·
Tayseer al Bari
fee Sharh Sahih Bukhari as per ‘Maula aur Mu’awiya’ page 332
·
Dhurat ul
Ma’arif, Volume 4 page 756 Dhikr Yazeed
·
Rabi’ ul Abrar,
Volume 4 pages 186 & 209
·
Tareekh Abul Fida
·
Wafayat
al-A’ayan, by Ibn Khalakan, Vol 2 page 67
·
Rabi’ ul Abrar,
Volume 4 pages 186 & 209
·
Akhbar al Tawaal
(Urdu), published by Urdu board Lahore.
·
Hayat al Haywaan,
Volume 1 page 84 Dhikr Hasan
·
Tarikh Khamees,
Volume 2 page 294
·
Sunan Abu Daud,
Book 32, hadith Number 4119
With autopsy information
unavailable, historical documents are the only available evidence in order to
investigate cases such as al-Hasan’s death scientifically. A few traditions,
such as the one containing the following quote, mention that when Imam Al Hasan
a.s. was about to die, he was asked by his younger brother al Husayn to
identify his poisoner but refused to do so (as he wanted no innocent person to
be falsely accused and killed): If he/she [the poisoner] is not [i.e., not the
one whom I suspect], I would like no innocent person to be killed because of
me. Still, the following tradition addresses two concurrent acts of poisoning,
which resulted in two victims: Imam Al Hasan a.s. and a survivor.
Ja’dah
daughter of al-Ash’ath ibn-Qays al-Kindi poisoned Imam Al Hasan a.s. ibn-‘Ali, peace be upon both of them, and
poisoned a freedwoman of his; however, the freedwoman of his vomited the poison
while Imam Al Hasan a.s. kept it in his stomach. Then he was wrecked by it and
died.
This tradition says that a
freedwoman of Imam Al Hasan a.s. who had also been poisoned ‘‘vomited the
poison’’ and survived, which means that she could have served as forensic
evidence for the murder of al-Hasan. But are there any historical reports in
which the poison is qualitatively described and can lead to a forensic
hypothesis for the murder of al-Hasan?
‘‘Gold filings’’ or mineral calomel?
That Imam Al Hasan a.s. was offered
a poisoned drink by his wife Ja’dah is reported in both Shiite and Sunni
sources. Since intoxicating drinks, such as wine, are not allowed in Islamic
law, the drink itself must have been a non alcoholic drink. According to one
tradition, a yogurt drink was used. One tradition describes the poison that was
given to Imam Al Hasan a.s.as follows: ‘‘It has been said that he was given
gold filings to drink.’’ However, how likely is that from a toxicological
perspective? Elemental gold is relatively inert, and an important use for it is
in dentistry. It dissolves in concentrated hydrochloric acid if a strong
oxidizing agent is present (e.g., in a 3:1 mixture of concentrated hydrochloric
acid and concentrated nitric acid). The hydrochloric acid in the human stomach
is neither concentrated nor in the presence of a strong oxidizing agent. What
could the true identity of the toxic substance that Imam Al Hasan a.s. had
ingested in the drink have been if the powdered solid phase of the substance
only looked like gold filings? In order to answer this question accurately, it
is useful to know the geographic source of the poison. The tradition referred
to in the Introduction, which says that a freedwoman of Imam Al Hasan a.s. had
also been poisoned, suggests that the plot to poison Imam Al Hasan a.s. was because of some harem jealousy. However,
Madelung says that al-Hasan’s ‘‘pursuit of women was not more covetous than
that of most of his class.’’ It is logically appropriate to ask if the murder
of Imam Al Hasan a.s. could have had a political motive force behind it.
Although Imam Al Hasan a.s. abdicated,
in the process of surrendering the reign, he stipulated that his rival ‘‘should
not be entitled to appoint his successor but that there should be an electoral
council.’’ Still, when the caliph died in 680, he had already ‘‘nominated his
own son Yazid as his successor’’ and caused homage to be paid to him. There are
reports, accepted by both Shiite sources and several major Sunni historians,
stating that the poisoning of Imam Al Hasan a.s.by Ja’dah was at the
instigation of the caliph. A very specific report says that in order to
eliminate al-Hasan, the caliph, whose empire’s capital was Damascus, wrote to
the Byzantine emperor and asked him for a poisoned drink, which the emperor,
despite refusing at the beginning, sent conditionally. The mention of the
conditionality of the emperor’s agreement in this report is consistent with the
hostility of Arab–Byzantine relations in 669 (the year Imam Al Hasan a.s. died), when Byzantium had an energetic
emperor, Constantine IV.
The mainland of the Byzantine
Empire in 668 (about one year before al-Hasan’s death) was approximately
present-day Turkey. In present-day western Turkey, there are more than 50 mines
that contain minerals with deposits of mercury. Mercury is isolated from its
main ore, cinnabar (mercury(II) sulfide,
HgS), and was used in the Mediterranean world for extracting metals by amalgamation
as early as 500 BC. The element does not have any known biological functions
and has a long history of toxic effects. Mercury(II) chloride (HgCl2),
for instance, which was probably first made by Arabic alchemists in the 10th
century, was widely used as a violent poison in the Middle Ages. Do the mercury
mines in western Turkey contain any mercury species that look like gold? Although
abandoned since the 1990s, Tu¨rko¨nu¨ and Haliko¨y are two important mercury
mine locations in Turkey. The Haliko¨y mine exists in an area made up of
metamorphic rocks, including gneiss and schist. Cinnabar and meta cinnabar
contain mercury and are found in the Haliko¨y fault. Mine locations also
contain deposits of pyrite, marcasite, chalcopyrite, arsenopyrite, quartz, and
calcite. The mineral calomel (mercury(I) chloride, Hg2Cl2)
is found as a secondary mineral in oxidized zones along with cinnabar, calcite,
and limonite. Calomel can present as a yellow gold crust and forms as
tetragonal crystals presenting in a variety of formations, including tabular,
prismatic, and pyramidal. The environmental assessments performed at the mine
locations in Turkey have utilized computer programs to aid in analysis of the
soil and water samples. The software programs Aquachem and PHREEQCi determined
that water samples taken near the Haliko¨y mine presented with oversaturation
with calomel, as well as quartz and cinnabar.
cinnabar (mercury(II)
sulfide, HgS)
Symptoms on the body of Imam Al Hasan a.s.
The symptoms in historical reports
compared to those of mercury intoxication caused by ingesting calomel Without
an autopsy or any diagnostic testing, it is impossible to diagnose with
certainty what poisoned al-Hasan. However, we can hypothesize the type of
poison used by the symptoms described in the traditions. Some clinical symptoms
described by traditions of al-Hasan’s death are a green coloring of the skin and vomiting of blood. These are also
symptoms that can be caused by the ingestion of calomel and the resulting
mercury intoxication. Imam Al Hasan a.s.
was noted to have had a green hue to his skin. This could occur due to kidney
damage caused by calomel intoxication. Calomel acts on the kidneys and
causes renal tube necrosis and can lead to acute kidney failure. The green colouring
is due to a type of anaemia called hypochromic anaemia, also called chlorosis
or green sickness. This presents with pallor, a known side effect of calomel
poisoning. This type of anaemia is caused by a lack of haemoglobin, the oxygen
binding protein responsible for nourishing our body tissues with oxygen. Haemoglobin
is found within the erythrocytes or red blood cells, and a low erythrocyte
count is the most common cause of hypochromic anaemia. If acute renal failure
occurred, erythropoietin, the hormone that signals hematopoietic stem cells in
the bone marrow to have a cell fate of becoming erythrocytes, would not be
present due to damage of the proximal renal tubule. The proximal renal tubule
is the area in which the red blood cell mass or haematocrit is determined by
the kidneys. It stands to reason that if the haematocrit level could not be
correctly sensed due to renal tube necrosis, then the signal that is normally
sent to the cortical labyrinth to make erythropoietin would be unlikely to
occur. The lack of this hormone would prevent new erythrocytes from being made,
which in turn would result in a lower haemoglobin level, and a person affected
by this would present with an ashen appearance, sometimes said to appear green.
Imam Al Hasan a.s. was said to have vomited blood. The corrosive effects of
calomel on the alimentary or gastrointestinal tract are known to cause damage
and irritation of the oesophagus.
The traditions also mention that he was vomiting up his ‘‘kabid,’’ an
Arabic word that means ‘‘liver’’ and also means ‘‘interior.’’ If ulceration
were to occur in the oesophagus, a certain extent of bleeding should be
expected. When human blood reaches the stomach, it is broken down and can
coagulate, very often resulting in vomiting a substance that has the appearance
of coffee grounds.
Fresh red blood could also be
present with bleeding in the oesophagus. This occurrence of vomiting blood is
referred to as hematemesis and generally occurs due to esophagitis, bleeding
ulcers, and certain cancers. Considering that the understanding of the human
body in the 7th century was less extensive, the ‘‘commoner’s Arabic
expression’’ to refer to vomited blood clots would have been ‘‘kabid.’’
In fact, in some rural areas in the Arab
World, it is still said, ‘‘My liver is
torn and thrust away (kabidi mutaqatti’ mat’un).’’
In several traditions, Imam Al
Hasan a.s. says that he is vomiting pieces of his ‘‘kabid,’’ which could have
been coagulated blood in the emesis, resembling pieces of his liver and/or
internal organs due to the coffee-ground color and texture. Liver damage is
another noted effect of mercury intoxication by calomel, which is due to the
accumulation of deposits of mercury via the hepatic portal vein system. The
liver is a known filtering organ that has capillaries that are sinusoid. This
capillary type has the largest pores and is the only type that allows exchange
of red blood cells through their pores. Red blood cells have susceptibility of
the attachment of ‘‘corrosive sublimate’’ (mercury(II) chloride, HgCl2)
by way of a sulfhydryl attachment. ‘‘Corrosive sublimate’’ can also be
transported by the blood. The liver is one of the areas where red blood cells
are destroyed when they are damaged, which would allow for more mercury
accumulation than the filtering of blood alone. Aqueous calomel ingested by the
human body is converted into ‘‘corrosive sublimate,’’ which is known to have
much more harmful effects than calomel alone. After ingestion, aqueous calomel
(Hg2Cl2) is converted to ‘‘corrosive sublimate’’ (HgCl2),
by oxidation in the hydrochloric acid (HCl) within the stomach. This reaction,
which is shown by Equation goes to completion, as the calculated equilibrium
constant for it, at the normal human body temperature (37C),
1. The exact number of times Imam
Al Hasan a.s. was poisoned is not historically known. After the final
poisoning, according to a couple of traditions, he says that he has been
poisoned three times, and according to a few other traditions, he conveys the
information that he has been poisoned at least four times. If the latter is the
case, the number of times he was given calomel could have been too many to
survive.
2. According to one tradition, the
final poisoning was when Imam Al Hasan a.s. was breaking his fast (Islamic
fast, which includes refraining from eating and drinking from dawn to dusk) on
a hot day. If that is the case, it will naturally lead to the conclusion that
he ingested a large quantity of the drink containing aqueous calomel, which is
‘‘completely’’ converted to ‘‘corrosive sublimate’’ in the human stomach according
to Equation.
The same net ionic equation as that
of Equation 1 and Equation 2 may be written for the reaction between any acids
in the ‘‘to-be-ingested’’ non-alcoholic drink and the aqueous calomel in the
drink, leading to the formation of mercury(II),
which is the mercury in ‘‘corrosive sublimate.’’ A couple of examples of common Arabic non-alcoholic drinks in the 7th century are honey water and yoghurt drink, which both contain acids.
With the reaction shown by Equation
2 in the ‘‘to-be-ingested’’ non-alcoholic drink, Imam Al Hasan a.s. has
ingested some aqueous mercury(II) cation, in addition to the ingested aqueous
calomel, which is converted to ‘‘corrosive sublimate’’ later (in the human
stomach, according to Equation 2. It is possible that the mineral calomel that
was mixed with the drink was naturally accompanied by some other toxic
substance(s).
Conclusions
Records of a green hue to al-Hasan’s skin,
which could occur due to acute renal failure, concurrent with his vomiting of
blood and, apparently, coagulated blood in the emesis are decisively consistent
with those of calomel intoxication. Mineral calomel can present as a yellow
gold crust, which can, in the powdered solid phase, be mistaken for ‘‘gold
filings’’ (the identity of the poison according to a certain tradition). The
effect of al-Hasan’s poisoned freedwoman’s recorded experience seems to
indicate that contemporaneously to al-Hasan’s death, both people suffered the
same affliction while residing under a common household. This, in light of
several historical sources, points at al-Hasan’s wife Ja’dah as the prime
suspect. A considerable number of calomel-containing mercury mines exist in
present-day western Turkey, which was in the heart of the Byzantine Empire
around the time of al-Hasan’s death. The caliph sought to nominate his own son
as his successor (when the caliph died, he had done so and had caused homage to
be paid to the son, who actually succeeded him ). Imam Al Hasan a.s. was
obtrusively an obstruction to that goal, because that was despite the caliph’s
official guarantee of al-Hasan’s stipulation that he (the caliph) ‘‘should not
be entitled to appoint his successor.’’ As often happens in political
dynasties, assassination becomes expedient. The report4 of the caliph’s
solicitation of the Byzantine emperor by writing a letter asking the emperor
for a poisoned drink is a clear example of his intent to act in furtherance of
the plot, and, according to the report,4 the emperor’s final response was a
positive and deliberate agreement to that end. The fact that neither an autopsy
nor a judicial investigation was performed by the authorities at the time
should not deter the use in evidence of eyewitness accounts. Mineralogical,
medical, and chemical facts support the hypothesis that al-Hasan’s death was
caused by calomel (mercury(I) chloride) intoxication. This forensic hypothesis
is consistent with the historical position, reflected in ancient (medieval)
documents, that Imam Al Hasan a.s. was poisoned by Ja’dah, at the instigation
of the caliph, and with the Byzantine emperor’s involvement.
Refer:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1u5RApqX83g_Ve6lSKgTQiEIcCLOdf71o/view?usp=sharing
Mashaw Allah outstanding piece of writing! May Moula grant you success at every step of your life. Ameen elaahi AMEEN. ♥
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