Origins & Early Life

Hasan al-Askari (Arabic: الحَسَن بْن عَلِيّ ٱلْعَسْكَرِيّ, romanized: al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī al-ʿAskarī; c. 844 – c. 874) was a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, the eleventh of the Twelve Imams, and father of Muhammad al-Mahdi. He was born in Medina in 844 and brought with his father, Ali al-Hadi, to the garrison town of Samarra in 848, where the Abbasid caliphs held them under close surveillance until their deaths, even though neither were politically active.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

After the death of al-Hadi in 868, the majority of his followers acknowledged his son, al-Askari, as the next Imam. Al-Askari's contact with Shia Muslims was restricted by the Abbasid caliphs, and he communicated with his followers through the network of representatives (Wokala). He died in Samarra in 873 at the age of about twenty-eight and was buried in the family home next to his father, which later developed into the Al-Askari Shrine, a holy site in Shia Islam. Shia sources hold the Abbasids responsible for the death of al-Askari and his father. A well-known early Shia commentary of the Quran is attributed to al-Askari.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

Al-Askari died without leaving an heir, which created widespread confusion and fragmented the Shia...

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