Did Imam al-Hasan divorce hundreds of women?

One of the greatest injustices against the Prophet's (saw) family was the mistreatment and misrepresentation of his grandson, Imam al-Hasan al-Mujtaba, the second rightly guided caliph. He is often falsely portrayed as someone who frequently married and divorced in Medina. These accusations have been used to attack the Ahl al-Bayt. Certain narrations from al-Kafi have been cited to criticize him. What is the truth behind these claims? Let's explore this topic to uncover the facts.

What is the definition of a Mitlaq?

We read in al-Kafi, Vol. 11, pg. 467 - 468, H. # 4:

 حميد بن زياد، عن الحسن بن محمد بن سماعة، عن محمد بن زياد بن عيسى، عن عبد الله بن سنان، عن أبي عبد الله عليه السلام قال: إن عليا قال وهو على المنبر: لا تزوجوا الحسن فإنه رجل مطلاق، فقام رجل من همدان فقال: بلى والله لنزوجنه وهو ابن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله وابن أمير المؤمنين عليه السلام فإن شاء أمسك وإن شاء طلق.

Humayd b. Ziyad has narrated from al-Hasan b. Muhammad b. Sama‘ah from Muhammad b. Ziyad b. ‘Isa from ‘Abdullah b. Sinan who narrated that Imam al-Sadiq (as) said:

Amir al-Mu’minin (as) once from the pulpit said, "Do not give in marriage to al-Hasan because he is a man who divorces very often." A man from Hamadan stood up and said, "Yes, we will give to him in marriage, by Allah, because he is the grandson of the Messenger of Allah (saw) and the son of ’Amir al-Mu’minin. He may keep if he likes or divorce if he so wills.”

A similar report can be found in Tabaqat al-Kubra, Vol 6, pg. 375 and in Tarikh al-Khulafa, pg. 213. This hadith states that Imam al-Hasan is a man who divorces often.

We also read in al-Kafi, Vol. 6, Ch. 2, H. # 2:

عَلِيُّ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنِ ابْنِ أَبِي عُمَيْرٍ عَنْ غَيْرِ وَاحِدٍ عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ( عليه السلام ) قَالَ: مَا مِنْ شَيْ‏ءٍ مِمَّا أَحَلَّهُ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ أَبْغَضَ إِلَيْهِ مِنَ الطَّلَاقِ وَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُبْغِضُ الْمِطْلَاقَ الذَّوَّاقَ .

Ali b. Ibrahim, from his father, from b. Abi Umayr, from multiple narrators, from Imam al-Sadiq (as), who said:

"There is nothing among the things made lawful by Allah (azwj) that is more detested by Him than divorce. Indeed, Allah abhors a man who frequently divorces and marries merely to indulge his desires."

Opponents of the Ahl al-Bayt have tried to use this hadith to cast doubt on the character of Imam al-Hasan. According to this hadith, the Holy Prophet (saw) stated that Allah dislikes the mitlaq dhawwaq, meaning someone who marries and divorces frequently just to fulfill temporary desires.

Why would his father publicly call him out?

Imam al-Hasan (as) did nothing wrong that would warrant private advice from his father. Rather, Imam Ali (as) was advising the people of Kufa to stop offering their daughters in marriage to al-Hasan (as). The Imam was known for his kindness and was too compassionate to refuse these proposals, yet he could not keep these women as wives because doing so would lead to circumstances that were not permissible, as will be explained later.

Curiously, when we see the reply of one of the men of Kufa, we see that this hadith is in fact a merit for al-Hasan (as), as the man said:

فقام رجل من همدان فقال: بلى والله لنزوجنه وهو ابن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله وابن أمير المؤمنين عليه السلام فإن شاء أمسك وإن شاء طلق.

A man from Hamadan stood up and said, ‘Yes, we will give to him in marriage, by Allah, because he is the grandson of the Messenger of Allah (saw) and the son of Amir al-Mu’minin. He may keep if he likes or divorce if he so wills.’”

This Hamadani man was affirming that al-Hasan (as) was not at fault; if he divorced their daughters, they would not take offense as they knew that he was not at fault, rather they knew he had a good reason to divorce these women if saw fit to do so.

Addressing the accusation

This polemic is invalid for the simple reason that the first hadith describes Imam al-Hasan (as) as a mitlaq- someone who divorces, while the second narration states that Allah dislikes the mitlaqun dhawwaq- someone who marries and divorces habitually, like someone who constantly tastes food. There is a significant difference between the two concepts. Divorce itself is not haram, and many righteous Muslim men and women have gone through divorce when their marriages did not work out.

To highlight this, let us show a hadith from the same chapter. We read in al-Kafi, Vol. 6, Book 2, Ch. 1, Hadith # 1:

We were informed by several of our companions, from Ahmad b. Muhammad, from Ibn Faddal, from Abu Jameela, from Sa'd b. Tarif, from Imam al-Baqir (as), who said:

The Messenger of Allah (saw) passed by a man and asked, “What has happened to your wife?” The man replied, “I have divorced her, O Messenger of Allah.” The Prophet (saw) asked, “Did you divorce her without any fault?” The man responded, “Yes, without any fault.”

The man married again, and the Prophet (saw) passed by him. He asked, “Did you marry?” The man replied, “Yes.” The Prophet (saw) then asked, “What has happened to your wife?” The man answered, “I have divorced her.” The Prophet (saw) asked again, “Did you divorce her without any fault?” The man replied, “Yes, without any fault.”

The Prophet (saw) then said, “Indeed, Allah, Mighty and Majestic, abhors or curses every man who frequently divorces and every woman who frequently divorces.”

This hadith shows that a man getting a divorce is not an issue, but rather the fact that he was divorcing his spouse for no good reason was. This is because divorce by itself, is not necessairily a makruh act, as exceptions to this case exist. This nuanced issue is explained to us by al-Shahid al-Thani (may God sanctify his soul) in ‎Sharh al-Lum'a, Vol. 3, pg. 357:

وهو ينقسم أربعة أقسام ﴿ وهي ﴾ : ما عدا المباح ـ وهو متساوي الطرفين ـ من الأحكام الخمسة ، فإنّه لا يكون كذلك ، بل إمّا راجح أو مرجوح مع المنع من النقيض وتعيينه أم لا. وإمّا سنّة ، وهو الطلاق مع الشقاق ﴾ بينهما ﴿ وعدم رجاء الاجتماع ﴾ والوفاق ﴿ والخوف من الوقوع في المعصية ﴾ يمكن أن يكون هذا من تتمّة شرائط سُنّيّته على تقدير الشقاق ، ويمكن كونه فرداً برأسه ، وهو الأظهر ، فإنّ خوف الوقوع في المعصية قد يجامع اتّفاقهما ، فيُسنّ تخلّصاً من الخوف المذكور إن لم يجب كما وجب النكاح له.

It (divorce) is divided into four sections, excluding the permissible (mubah) among the five rulings (wajib, mustahab, makruh and haram). It is not 'just permissible', but either preferable or non-preferable. As for the recommended divorce (sunnah), it is in the case of discord between the spouses, with no hope of reconciliation or agreement, and fear of falling into sin. This can be considered one of the conditions for the recommendation of divorce when discord is present, or it could be a separate case on its own, which seems more apparent. This is because the fear of falling into sin may coexist with their agreement, and in that case, divorce would be recommended to avoid the mentioned fear, if it is not obligatory, just as marriage is required to avoid sin

It is also important to consider that, as the chapter’s title suggests, this hadith pertains to divorcing an uncooperative wife, which is not inherently detestable. Imam al-Hasan (as) simply held his spouse to a high standard, and his wives were not meeting that standard. Imam al-Hasan’s grandfather, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw), also experienced divorces, a fact that is acknowledged in both Sunni and Shia sources. Therefore, to criticize Imam al-Hasan (as) for this is unreasonable. What is particularly interesting, however, is that, unlike Imam al-Hasan, the Sunni school of thought upholds the status of a figure who was, in fact, a habitual divorcer, fitting the very description condemned in the hadith.

The real womanizer: Mughira b. Shu'ba

While we have shown that Imam al-Hasan was not a womanizer, the same cannot be said for the infamous Sahabi Mughira b. Shu’ba al-Thaqafi, whose womanizing and licentious lifestyle is a well recorded fact of history. We read in Mughira’s bio in the Encyclopedia of Islam:

Al-Mughira holds in tradition the record for marriages and divorces: the figures of 300, 700, and 1,000 are given.

This is corroborated by the biographical dictionaries of the sahaba. Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr recorded in al-Isti’ab pg. 666:

حَدَّثَنَا سَعِيدُ بْنُ مُسَوَّرٍ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا عبد الله بن محمد بن علي، حدثنا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ قَاسِمٍ، حَدَّثَنَا ‌ابْنُ ‌وَضَّاحٍ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا سَحْنُونُ، عَنِ ابْنِ نَافِعٍ، قَالَ: أَحْصَنَ المغيرة ابن شُعْبَةَ ثِلاثَمِائَةَ ‌امْرَأَةٍ فِي الإِسْلامِ. قَالَ ‌ابْنُ ‌وَضَّاحٍ: غَيْرُ ابْنِ نَافِعٍ يَقُولُ: أَلْفَ ‌امْرَأَةٍ

On the authority of Said b. Masrur who said on the authority of Abd Allah b. Muhammad b. Ali on the authority of Muhammad b. Qasim, on the authority of Ibn Wadhah who said on the authority of Sahnun from Ibn Nafi’ who said: Al Mughira married 300 women in Islam. Ibn Wadhah said that people other than Ibn Nafi’ said: 1000 women.

Ali b. al-Athir recorded in Usud al-Ghaba pg. 1161 - 1162:

قيل: إن المغيرة أحصن ثلاثمائة امرأة فِي الإسلام، وقيل: ‌ألف ‌امرأة

It is said: Mughira married 300 women in Islam, and it is said: 1000 women.

Furthermore, we read in al-Dhahabi’s Siyar A’lam al-Nubala Vol 3, pg. 31:

عَاصِمٌ الأَحْوَلُ: عَنْ بَكْرِ بنِ عَبْدِ اللهِ، عَنِ المُغِيْرَةِ بنِ شُعْبَةَ، قَالَ: لَقَدْ تَزَوَّجْتُ سَبْعِيْنَ امْرَأَةً، أَوْ أَكْثَرَ. أَبُو إِسْحَاقَ الطَّالَقَانِيُّ: حَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ المُبَارَكِ، قَالَ: ‌كَانَ ‌تَحْتَ ‌المُغِيْرَةِ ‌بنِ ‌شُعْبَةَ ‌أَرْبَعُ ‌نِسْوَةٍ. قَالَ: فَصَفَّهُنَّ بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ، وَقَالَ: أَنْتُنَّ حَسَنَاتُ الأَخْلَاقِ، طَوِيْلَاتُ الأَعْنَاقِ، وَلَكِنّي رجل مطلاق، فأنتن الطلاق . ابن وهب: حدثنا مالك، قال: كان المغيرة نكاحا للنساء، ويقول: صاحب الواحدة إن مرضت مرض، وإن حاضت حاض، وصاحب المرأتين بين نارين تشعلان. وكان ينكح أربعا جميعا، ويطلقهن جميعا 

‘Asim al-Ahwal narrated from Bakr b. ‘Abd Allah, from al-Mughira b. Shu’ba, who said: "I have married seventy women, or more." Abu Ishaq al-Talaqani narrated to us that Ibn al-Mubarak said: "Al-Mughirah b. Shu‘ba had four wives. He lined them up before him and said, ‘You all have good character and long necks, but I am a man who divorces often, so you are all divorced.'"

Ibn Wahb narrated to us from Malik, who said: "al-Mughira was a man who married many women. He used to say: 'The man with one wife, if she becomes ill, he is ill with her, and if she menstruates, he is affected by it as well. The man with two wives is like one between two blazing fires.' He would marry four women at once and divorce them all together."

Should any of our opponents complain that these historical reports do not have a sahih chain of transmission, we read in Sunan Sa’id b. Mansur Vol 1, pg. 145. Hadith # 516 as well as Sunan al-Bayhaqi Vol 7, pg. 136, Hadith # 13490:

وَلَقَدْ ‌تَزَوَّجْتُ ‌سَبْعِينَ أَوْ بِضْعًا وَسَبْعِينَ امْرَأَةً

(al-Mughira said:) "I have indeed married seventy or more than seventy women."

Al-Albani certified this tradition in Silsilat al-Ahadith al-Sahiha Vol 1, pg. 198, Hadith # 97.

Yet we see that our opponents love and revere this hypocrite who by his own admission had to be told that he should at least see a woman before marrying her, married and divorced women at an astonishing rate, and even after the Prophet's death was infamously accused of adultery during his tenure as governor of Basra.

In conclusion, we have demonstrated that the issue of Imam al-Hasan’s divorces is not a matter of concern. The Imam was not engaging in anything haram, nor is there any evidence to suggest he was marrying and divorcing women in a frivolous or indulgent manner. Based on what we know of his exceptional morals and character, we conclude that Imam al-Hasan (AS) divorced his wives for valid reasons. We would not dare question his decisions, as he is an Imam. Instead, we assume that his actions were virtuous, as sometimes divorcing a woman is just as necessary as marrying her, particularly to avoid haram. This stands in stark contrast to al-Mughira b. Shu’ba, the notorious sahabi and enemy of the Ahl al-Bayt.