It is narrated from Yusuf bin Mazin that a man confronted Sayyiduna Hasan bin Ali (may Allah be pleased with them both) at the time when he had pledged allegiance to Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him). He reproached him and said: You have blackened the faces of the believers, and you have done this and that. He replied: "Do not reproach me, for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saw (in a dream) the Banu Umayyah leaping upon his pulpit one man after another. This weighed heavily upon him (peace and blessings be upon him) and he was grieved. Then Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, revealed this verse: 'Indeed, We have granted you al-Kawthar' [Surah al-Kawthar: 1] , which is a river in Paradise, and He revealed: 'Indeed, We sent it down on the Night of Decree. And what will make you know what the Night of Decree is? The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months' [Surah al-Qadr: 1-3] , meaning: after you (peace and blessings be upon him) (the days of their rule)."

It is narrated from Abu al-Gharif; he said: We were twelve thousand men in the vanguard of Sayyiduna Hasan bin Ali (may Allah be pleased with them both), and our swords were dripping with keenness and fervour to fight the people of Sham. Our commander was Abu al-Amratah. When the news of the peace between Sayyiduna Hasan bin Ali and Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with them both) reached us, it felt, from the intensity of our anger and grief, as though our backs had been broken. Then when Sayyiduna Hasan bin Ali came to Kufah, a man from among us whose kunyah was Abu Amir, Sufyan bin Layl, stood up before him and said: O humiliator of the believers, peace be upon you! Sayyiduna Hasan (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "O Abu Amir, do not say that. I did not humiliate the believers; rather, I disliked having them (the Muslims) killed for the sake of gaining power."

It is narrated from al-Sha'bi that when Sayyiduna Hasan bin Ali (may Allah be pleased with them both) made peace with Mu'awiyah, he addressed us at al-Nukhaylah. He stood up, praised and extolled Allah, and then said: "Indeed, the greatest of wisdom is piety (taqwa), and the greatest of incapacity is sin and disobedience. And indeed this matter over which Mu'awiyah and I differed was either the right of a man who was more entitled to it than I, or it was my right which I gave up to Mu'awiyah for the sake of the welfare of the Muslims and to spare their blood. 'And I do not know; perhaps it is a trial for you and an enjoyment for a time' [Surah al-Anbiya: 111] . I say these words of mine, and I seek Allah's forgiveness for myself and for you."

Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) used to say about his son Hasan (may Allah be pleased with him): "He is the one who will take off his shirt (the caliphate)."

It is narrated from Qatadah bin Di'amah al-Sadusi that the daughter of al-Ash'ath bin Qays poisoned Sayyiduna Hasan bin Ali (may Allah be pleased with them both) while she was married to him, and she had been bribed with money to do it.

It is narrated from Umayr bin Ishaq that Sayyiduna Hasan bin Ali (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: "Just a little while ago I brought out (in vomit) a portion of my liver with a stick that I had with me. I have been given poison many times before, but I was never given (a deadly) poison like this."

It is narrated from Imran bin Abdullah that Sayyiduna Hasan bin Ali (may Allah be pleased with them both) saw in a dream that "Say: He is Allah, the One" [Surah al-Ikhlas: 1] was written between his eyes. He related the dream to Sa'id bin al-Musayyab, who said: If your dream is true, then your appointed time has indeed drawn near. The narrator said: That very year he was poisoned and passed away, may Allah have mercy on him.

It is narrated from Umm al-Fadl bint al-Harith (may Allah be pleased with her) that she came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), I saw a disturbing dream last night. He (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "What is it?" She said: It is very terrible. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "What is it?" She said: I saw as though a piece of your blessed body was cut off and placed in my lap. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "You have seen something good. If Allah wills, Fatimah will give birth to a boy who will be in your lap." So Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) was born to Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her), and he came into my lap, just as the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had said. Then one day I went to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and placed Husayn in his lap (peace and blessings be upon him), and suddenly I saw that tears were flowing from the eyes of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). I said: O Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), may my father and mother be sacrificed for you, what is the matter with you? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Jibril (peace be upon him) came to me and informed me that my Ummah will martyr this son of mine." I asked: This one? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Yes, and Jibril also brought me some of the red soil of his place." This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim), and they did not record it.

It is narrated from Qatadah that Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) was born to Sayyidah Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) one year and ten months after Sayyiduna Hasan (may Allah be pleased with him). Thus his birth took place at 6 years, 5 months and 15 days of the Hijri calendar. Sayyiduna Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) was martyred on Friday, 10 Muharram 61 AH, when he was 54 years old. I have mentioned these reports in detail in my book "Maqtal al-Husayn", and it is sufficient for whoever hears it and retains it.

It is narrated from Ya'la al-Amiri (may Allah be pleased with him) that he went out with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) to a meal to which they had been invited. He said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) went on ahead of the people, while Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) was playing with some boys. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) wanted to catch him, but the child would run this way one moment and that way the next. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) began making him laugh until he caught him. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) placed one of his hands under the back of his neck and the other under his chin, put his mouth on his mouth and kissed him, and then said: "Husayn is from me and I am from Husayn. May Allah love whoever loves Husayn. Husayn is a distinguished branch among the descendants." This hadith has a sahih (authentic) chain of narration, and the two Shaykhs did not record it.