[now in Saudi Arabia]—died 728, Basra, Iraq), deeply pious and ascetic Muslim who was one of the most important religious figures in early Islam. Ḥasan was born nine years after the death of the Prophet Muhammad. One year after the Battle of Ṣiffīn (657), he moved to Basra, a military camp town situated 50 miles (80 km) northwest of the Persian Gulf. From this base, military expeditions to the east disembarked,
and, as a young man (670–673), Ḥasan participated in some of the expeditions that led to the conquest of eastern Iran.After his return to Basra,
Ḥasan became a central figure in the religious, social, and political upheavals brought about by internal conflicts with the Muslim community. The years 684–704 marked the period of his great preaching activity.
From the few remaining fragments of his sermons, which are among the best examples of early Arabic prose, there emerges the portrait of a deeply sensitive, religious Muslim…
