On Saturday, the 12th of October 2024 A.D. (the 8th of Rabī al-Thānī 1446 A.H)
1179 years ago (846 A.D) the 11th Imam of Shia (Imam Al-´Askarī) was born in Medina in 232 A.H. His name is al-Ḥasan and his patronymic is Abu-Muhammad. His father was Imam Ali al-Naqī (the 10th Imam) and his mother was Salīl, an ideal woman in piety, worship, chastity and generosity. Being a resident of ´Asgar (a suburb of Samarra) he is titled Al-´Askari.
He lived under the care of his respected father up to the age of 11. When his father had to leave Medina for Samarra he was to accompany him and thus share the hardships of the journey with the family. Before his father’s martyrdom in 254 A.H. (868 A.D.) when he was 22 years old, his father declared him to be his successor and executor of his will asking his followers to bear witness to the fact. Thus the responsibilities of Imamate were vested upon him that he fulfilled even in the face of great difficulties and hostile environment.
Imam Hasan al-´Askarī was peerless in knowledge, forbearance, forgiveness, generosity, sacrifice and piety. He had a brief span of life, only twenty-eight years, but even in this short period which was fueled by a chain of troubles and tribulations, several high ranking scholars benefited from his ocean of knowledge.
