Most of the Muslim Historians say: "Sul'h" with means agreement/accord rather than Bay'ah. Yet many also mention the word Bay'ah. Yet I must stress -based on the available textual evidence- it was not that Imam Hasan put his hand in Muawiyah's (ra) hand. You will see that the "Bay'ah" or accord was done on paper i.e. by correspondence before Muawiyah even entered Kufa. (and If Iam wrong I stand corrected if authentic narrations/daleel are available).
Among the examples of the wording "Bay'ah" of Imam Hasan, yet it shows that the "Bay'ah" was not given in hand or in person, but before Muawiyah even came to Iraq. Also the narrations by Imam Hasan carry lots of explicit/implicit meanings, or at least a meaning that the Bay'ah was not by free choice, but for stopping the blood shed that was going to happen if the Shaami's and their leader Muawiyah (ra) don't get their way.
Imam Ibn Hajar in Al Isaabah and Imam Ibn Al Athir vol. 2, page 12 in Usdul-Ghabah, both mention the same narration:
ولما
بايع الحسن معاوية خطب الناس قبل دخول معاوية الكوفة فقال: أيها الناس،
إنما نحن أمراؤكم وضيفانكم، ونحن أهلُ بيت نبيكم الذين أذهب الله عنهم
الرجس، وطهَّرَهم تطهيراً، وكرر ذلك حتى ما بقي إلا من بكى حتى سُمع نشجيه.
ولما دخل معاوية الكوفة وبايعه الناس قال عمرو بن العاص لمعاوية: لتأمر الحسن ليخطب، فقال: لا حاجة بنا إلى ذلك، فقال عمرو: لكني أريد ذلك ليبدو عَيُّه؛ فإنه لا يدري هذه الأمور، فقال له معاوية: قم يا حسن فكلم الناس فيما جرى بيننا؛ فقام الحسن في أمر لم يُرَوّ فيه، فحمد الله وأثنى عليه ثم قال في بديهته: أما بعد، أيها الناس، فإن الله هداكم بأولنا، وحقن دماءكم بآخرنا، ألا إن أكيس الكَيْس التقي، وإن أعجز العجز الفجور، وإن هذا الأمر الذي اختلفت أنا ومعاوية فيه: إما أن يكون أحق به مني، وإما أن يكون حقي تركته لله عز وجل، ولإصلاح أمة محمد حقن دمائكم، ثم التفت إلى معاوية وقال: {وَإنْ أدْرِي لَعَلَّهُ فِتْنَةٌ لكُمْ وَمَتَاعٌ إلى حِين} .
فأمره معاوية بالنزول، وقال لعمرو: ما أردت إلا هذا.
ولما دخل معاوية الكوفة وبايعه الناس قال عمرو بن العاص لمعاوية: لتأمر الحسن ليخطب، فقال: لا حاجة بنا إلى ذلك، فقال عمرو: لكني أريد ذلك ليبدو عَيُّه؛ فإنه لا يدري هذه الأمور، فقال له معاوية: قم يا حسن فكلم الناس فيما جرى بيننا؛ فقام الحسن في أمر لم يُرَوّ فيه، فحمد الله وأثنى عليه ثم قال في بديهته: أما بعد، أيها الناس، فإن الله هداكم بأولنا، وحقن دماءكم بآخرنا، ألا إن أكيس الكَيْس التقي، وإن أعجز العجز الفجور، وإن هذا الأمر الذي اختلفت أنا ومعاوية فيه: إما أن يكون أحق به مني، وإما أن يكون حقي تركته لله عز وجل، ولإصلاح أمة محمد حقن دمائكم، ثم التفت إلى معاوية وقال: {وَإنْ أدْرِي لَعَلَّهُ فِتْنَةٌ لكُمْ وَمَتَاعٌ إلى حِين} .
فأمره معاوية بالنزول، وقال لعمرو: ما أردت إلا هذا.
Which means: " when Al Hasan gave Bay'ah to Muawiyah he delivered a speech BEFORE MUAWIYAH ENTERED KUFA , in it he said: "O People, We are your Leaders/Amirs, and We are the Household of your Prophet that Allah has purified.", he kept repeating that until everybody wept so much, that it is heard loudly. Then when Muawiyah enterd Kufa and people gave him Bay'ah, Amru Bin Al Aas said to Muawiyah: Order Al Hasan to give a speech. (Muawiyah) replied: no need for that. Amru said: But I want that so people can see his weaknesses, for he does not know these things. Muawiyah said: Stand up O Hasan and tell people about what happened between us. Al Hasan stood to talk without a prior notice, starting with praising Allah and glorifying Him then said: O people, Allah has guided you with the first one amongs us (the Prophet), and has stopped the shedding of your blood with our last one of us (meaning himself). The smartest of the smartest people is the one who has Taqwa, and the weakest of weakest are those who do Fujoor (when you disagree they slander, lie and observe no ethics or standards in their fight seeking anything to harm). The matter (khilafah) that I and Muawiyah disagreed over is either: his rightful thing over me, or my rightful thing over him that I decided to leave it for the Sake of Allah Azzawajall, and for the sake of stopping the bloodshed and reconciliation among the Ummah of Muhammad. Then he looked at Muawiyah and recited the Ayah which means: ( Though I know it is a Fitnah for you and a short-lived period). Muawiyah (immediately) ordered him to come down and told Amru: is this what you wanted?? (i.e. to have me humiliated).
Imam Tirmithi and Imam Hakem narrated and many others, Al Hakem authenticated the Hadith:
قام
رجل إلى الحسن بن علي، فقال: يا مسود وجوه المؤمنين، فقال الحسن: لا
تؤنبني رحمك الله فإن رسول الله (3170) قد رأى بني أمية يخطبون على منبره
رجلاً رجلاً فساءه ذلك فنزلت: {إِنَّا أَعْطَيْناكَ الْكَوْثَر} نهر في
الجنة، ونزلت: {إِنّا أَنْزَلْناهُ في لَيْلَةِ الْقَدْرِ وَما أَدْرَاكَ
ما لَيْلَةُ الْقَدْرِ لَيْلَةُ الْقَدْرِ خَيْرٌ مِنْ أَلْفِ شَهْرٍ}
تملكها بنو أمية فحسبنا ذلك، فإذا هو لا يزيد ولا ينقص. هذا إسناد صحيح،
وهذا القائل للحسن بن علي هذا القول هو سفيان بن الليل صاحب أبيه.
A Man came to Imam Hasan (after the accord with Muawiayh) and told him: You have blackened the faces of the believers (by having an agreement with Muawiyah). Al Hasan said: do not blame me, may Allah have mercy on you, for Rasoolullah has seen Bani Umayyah delivering speeches on his Minbar (on prophetic Minbar) and that upset him, so the Ayah Inna A'taynaka Al Kawthar was revealed, and (Inna Anzalnahu fi laylati Qadr....and the night of Qadr is better than a 1000 months) a 1000 months in which Bani Umayyah rule. (i.e this the beginning of the 1000 months).
(the narrator said) we counted how many years Bani Ummayah ruled (from Muawiyah till the Abbasi rule started)and it turned to be 1000 months exactly.
Imam Ibn Asaker narrated in his Tarikh Dimashq page 166:
قيل للحسن بن علي: تركت أمارتك وسلمتها إلى رجل من الطلقاء وقدمت المدينة؟ فقال: اني اخترت العار على النار
Al Hasan bin Ali was told: you left your leadership (khilafah) and gave it to a man from the Tulaqa (those Kuffar who were given amnesty at the liberation of Makkah event, then were paid money to remain under the name of Islam- some of them like Abu Sufyan and Muawiyah started out like this but their Islam has gotten better as the Ulama and Historians narrate- and Sayyidina Umar stopped their regular salary to remain Muslims) and you returned to Madina? Al Hasan said: I choose Shame over Hellfire.
then in page 355 Imam Ibn Asaker narrates:
أتى مالك بن
ضمرة الحسن ابن علي فقال: السلام عليك يا مسخّم وجوه المؤمنين، قال: يا
مالك لا تقل ذلك، اني لما رأيت الناس تركوا ذلك إلاّ أهله، خشيت أن تجتثوا
عن وجه الأرض، فأردت أن يكون للدين في الأرض ناعي فقال: بأبي أنت وأمي،
ذرية بعضها من بعض
Malek Bin Dumra came to Al Hasan bin Ali and said: Asslamu Alayka O' one who blackened the faces of the believers. (Al Hasan) replied: O Malek do not say that. When I have seen people abondon the true path in the religion except a few, I was afraid that you (those who follow the true path and did not deviate) would be eliminated from the face of the earth, so I wanted to leave on earth some who can spread the true Deen. (Malek) said: My father and mother are a sacrifice for you, member of a household that is identical to each other.
Al Hakem and authenticated it:
قلت للحسن بن علي أن
الناس يقولون إنك تريد الخلافة، فقال: قد كان جماجم العرب في يدي يحاربون
من حاربت ويسالمون من سالمت تركتها ابتغاء وجه الله تعالى وحقن دماء أمة
محمد ثم ابتزها باتئاس أهل الحجاز. هذا إسناد صحيح على شرط الشيخين ولم
يخرجاه.
Conclusions:
1- Imam Hasan did Sul'h with Muawiyah (ra) not because of anything, but to stop the blood shed that was going to happen if he did not. Also there have been conditions to this accord, and some argue that they were not met, such as not slandering or persecuting Imam Ali's lovers..which didn't happen for example. Also the condition was that Muawiyah (ra) would take the executive leadership of the Ummah from Imam Hasan, until he dies, then Imam Hasan would resume his Khilafah of the Ummah after Muawiyah.
Obviously that condition was also taken care of by the Umawi's through the murder of Imam Hasan, paving the way for Muawiyah (ra) to enforce the appointment of his son Yazid as a successor.
2- It was not a Bay'ah of likening and free choice. it was a circumstance that necessitated such a grave sacrifice to save the Ummah. This is what the Awliya do.
The most important lesson here is:
1- The Hadith of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi wa sallam, came true.
2- The Hadith described both groups as Muslims. The Hadith is in Bukhari إن ابني هذا سيد ولعل الله يصلح به بين فئتين عظيمتين من المسلمين
My Son ( Al Hasan is a Sayyed, and Allah may make him the reason for reconciliation between two big groups of Muslims). This is an important fact to remember when studying this era of history and to keep in mind always.
This Hadith also refutes the Rafidi's who do Takfir of Muawiyah (ra) and all the Shaami's with him. The Hadith is authentic and specific beyond a doubt, and calls both groups Muslims.
3- We learn that the great Awliya of Allah sacrifice their rights for the sake of Allah, and do not seek vengenace. They seek the Izzat (pride) from Allah Ta'ala only.
May the best peace and blessings be on Sayyidina Imam Hasan Ash-Shaheed, who sacrificed everything for Islam, and that was not even enough for his Umawi enemies, so they murdered him. This is how Allah Ta'ala chooses a path of Honur for His Awliya.
Finally, I don't believe we should occupy our precious time learning about events that "may" have happened 1400 years ago, which we will not be questioned about in the day of judgment, and worry instead about perfecting our own worship and act, which we will be questioned about.
P.S. to the MODS: If such topics are asked for the sake of knowledge, then maybe we should consider barring the laymen from viewing such topics. The last thing you want is some Jahel twisting anybody's words or misunderstanding things said, or for those who cannot differentiate between what is within the bounds of Ahlus Sunnah and what is not.
Wallahu A'lam
