Anecdotes from The Life Of Imam Hasan Al-Askari (A)
In the time of our 11th Imam, Imam Hasan al-Askari (A) there lived a Christian priest, who could make it rain by raising his hands up to the sky.

The Muslim king began to get worried because the Muslims' faith started to waver and if the Muslims left Islam he would have no one to rule over.

The king went to the Imam Hasan al-Askari (A) whom he had imprisoned and told him that the Muslims were losing faith in Islam because of the Christian priest.

Imam (A) told the king to arrange a gathering of all the people and the priest.

At the gathering Imam (A) asked the Christian priest to pray for rain. When the priest raised his hands to pray it began to rain. Imam (A) asked for whatever was in the priest's hand to be taken away and then told him to pray for rain again.

The priest tried and tried but he could not get it to rain.

Imam (A) then showed the people the bone that the priest was holding in his hands. Imam (A) told the people that it was a bone of a Prophet and that was what was causing it to rain and not the priest.

Imam Hasan al-Askari (A) then prayed for rain and it rained.

Moral:

When things happen that make you question your faith remember you do not know or understand everything.



The rulers of the time of our 11th Imam, Imam Hasan al-Askari (A) knew that the Imams (A) were going to be 12 in number and that the last of them was going to be the son of Imam Hasan al-Askari (A) and would finally take control of the world.

The rulers wanted to stop the 12th Imam (A) from being born, so they tried to keep Imam Hasan al-Askari (A) imprisoned for most of his life.

They had forgotten how Fir'aun had tried to stop the reign of Prophet Musa (A) by killing all the baby boys born to the Isralites, yet he himself was bringing up the one he wanted to kill.

Motamid, who was the 'Fir'aun' at the time of Imam Hasan al-Askari (A) did everything in his power to stop the birth of the 12th Imam (A).

Motamid had had Imam (A) under his watchful eye from the age of four, and imprisoned following the death of his father, the 10th Imam, Imam Ali an-Naqi (A).

Allah had planned for the 12th Imam (A) to be born so an incident occurred where Motamid had to ask Imam Hasan al-Askari (A) for help to save the faith of the Muslims.

The incident was that at a time of severe draught a Christian priest was able to make it rain, which was making the Muslim people question their faith.

So Motamid had to ask Imam Hasan al-Askari (A) for help, before there were no Muslims to rule over.

Imam (A) showed how the priest was making it rain using the bone of a Prophet (A) and how Imam (A) could make it rain without the help of anything.

The Muslims were overjoyed and Motamid had no choice but to let Imam (A) free. It was during this period that the 12th Imam (A) was born.

Moral:

Allah says in the Holy Qur'an, Sura Ali Imran verse 54: "And they planned, and Allah planned, and Allah is the best of planners." ie. Whatever Allah has decided no-one can change.



Once in the time of our 11th Imam, Imam Hasan al-Askari (A), there lived a man who only had a little money left.

Now this man was scared about what he was going to do when even this little bit of money finished, so he decided to hide this money by digging a hole in his garden and putting it there.

The man then went to Imam Hasan al-Askari (A) and told him that he had no money and needed Imam's (A) help.

Imam Hasan al-Askari (A) gave the man a whole bag of money and told him that the Imams (A) always help anyone that asks them for help, so there had been no need for him to have lied.

Imam Hasan al-Askari (A) continued that the man should be grateful for whatever Allah has given him. Imam (A) then told him that the money that he had hidden would not be there when he would need it.

The man realised what he had done was wrong.

Later when the man needed some more money, he went to dig out the money that he had hidden and found it gone. His son had found out about it and taken it.

Exactly like Imam Hasan al-Askari (A) had said, that when he would need the money it would not be there.

Moral:
  1. You should trust in Allah to look after you.
  2. You should thank Allah for whatever He has given you.
  3. You should never lie, as you will be found out. Even if no-one finds out, Allah knows.