Two dates for one martyrdom
The Shia sources agree that Imam Hasan (a) was martyred in Safar of the year 50 AH, poisoned at Mu'awiya's instigation, but they differ on the day. Al-Shaykh al-Mufid, al-Shaykh al-Tusi, al-Tabrisi and Ibn Shahrashub record the twenty-eighth; al-Kulayni gives the last day of the month; and al-Shahid al-Awwal records the seventh. Modern researchers who have weighed the chains of these reports generally prefer the twenty-eighth.
Why the seventh is kept
The seminary of Najaf has long held its mourning for the second Imam on 7 Safar, and the practice spread to Qom in the time of Shaykh Abd al-Karim al-Ha'iri. Iraq's Shia communities, and many families of Iraqi origin elsewhere, therefore commemorate the Imam on this day, while Iran and South Asia mourn him on the twenty-eighth together with the passing of the Prophet (s).
The Imam
Hasan b. Ali (a), the eldest grandson of the Prophet (s) and the second Imam, ruled as caliph for some months after his father's martyrdom before making peace with Mu'awiya to spare the lives of his followers. He spent his last decade in Madinah as its foremost religious authority, famous for his generosity and his pilgrimages on foot. The story of his martyrdom is told in full on the entry for 28 Safar.
Written for Shia Online Community. Dates and facts are checked against the references listed under Research & books; where the tradition records more than one date, all are given.
