In some of the sources of the Ahl al-Sunnah, it has been mentioned that Imam Íusayn opposed his brother in the peace treaty that he signed with MuÝÁwÐyah. In the following article, we will research this issue and critique it from the perspective of authenticity and historical accuracy. From looking at the historical sources, it appears that ÓabarÐ was the first to narrate this from ÝUthmÁn ibn ÝAbd al-RaÎmÁn. He has written: ÝUthmÁn ibn ÝAbd al-RaÎmÁn has narrated that Íasan ibn ÝAlÐ wrote to MuÝÁwÐyah in regards to a peace treaty and asked for safety. Íasan said to Íusayn and ÝAbdullah ibn JaÝfar (his cousin) that: I have written MuÝÁwÐyah in regards to a peace treaty. Íusayn responded: I ask you by God not to confirm MuÝÁwÐyah’s story and not to deny ÝAlÐ’s story. Íasan said to him: Be silent, for I know what to do better than you.[1] The following other historians have also mentioned this report: Ibn ÝAsÁkir[2] in his book TÁrÐkh Damishq[3], Ibn AthÐr[4] in his book KÁmil FÐ TÁrÐkh[5], Ibn KhaldÙn[6] in his book TÁrÐkh al-ÝIbr[7] and Íamdullah MastÙfÐ[8] in his summarized history text.[9] In response to this report, the following things need to be said: Firstly, the aforementioned report was initially mentioned by ÓabarÐ in his history text and he had narrated this from one individual by the name of ÝUthmÁn ibn ÝAbd al-RaÎmÁn. ÓabarÐ is well known to have simply narrated the reports that he found without any analysis of their authenticity or reliability. He himself has written in this regard that: The reader of my book should know that what I have said is based on the reports of the narrators and not based on intellectual proof or reasoning. Therefore, if the reader should find certain material which he believes to be incorrect or surprising, then he should know that this is not from me; rather, I have simply taken these reports from the narrators and have mentioned them (in my text).[10] Since ÓabarÐ has narrated this report from a single individual by the name of ÝUthmÁn ibn ÝAbd al-RaÎmÁn and he has furthermore not mentioned who ÝUthmÁn narrated it from, we can consider the report to be weak and unreliable. The second point is that Ibn AthÐr[11], Ibn KhaldÙn[12], and other such historians narrated this report in their own books from ÓabarÐ.[13] Since ÓabarÐ’s report is so weak and unreliable, then all of these reports are of the same quality and should be considered as unreliable. The third point is that this report is at odds with Shia theology. In addition to all these, we have historical reports mentioning that after the peace treaty, Imam Íusayn (Ýa) came to Medina[14] with Imam Íasan (Ýa) and they both lived alongside one another for a period of ten years. If there was such a disagreement, the effects of this opposition would have manifested itself during this long period of time and yet history shows that no such incidents took place.[15] MakÁrim ShÐrÁzÐ ________________ [1] TÁrÐkh al-ÔabarÐ, translation, vol. 7, p. 2715. [2] AbÙ al-QÁsim, ÝAlÐ ibn Íasan ibn HibahÞ Allah ShÁfiÝÐ (famously known as Ibn ÝAsÁkir) was a historian and narrator of tradition from Damascus. He was born in the year 499 HijrÐ and he passed away in the year 808… [3] TÁrÐkh Ibn ÝAsÁkir (TÁrÐkh damishq, vol. 4, p. 21, narrated from ZendegÁnÐ Íasan ibn ÝAlÐ, BÁqir SharÐf al-QarshÐ, vol. 2, p. 302-303). [4] His full name is AbÙ al-Íasan ÝAlÐ ibn AbÐ al-Karam MuÎammad and he is famously known as Ibn AthÐr. He is one of the historians of the Ahl al-Sunnah who was born in JamÁdÐ al-Awwal in the year 555 HijrÐ… [5] TÁrÐkh KÁmil, vol. 5, p. 2020. [6] AbÙ Zayd ÝAbd al-RaÎmÁn ibn MuÎammad ibn KhaldÙn ÍaÃramÐ is famously known as Ibn KhaldÙn. He was born in the year 733 HijrÐ in Tunisia and he died in the year 808. [7] TÁrÐkh Ibn KhaldÙn, vol. 1, p. 641-642. [8] ÍamdÙllah ibn TÁj al-DÐn AbÐ Bakr ibn Íamd ibn NaÒr MastÙfÐ QazwÐnÐ is a famous historian, poet, writer, and geographer of the Muslim world. He was born in the year 680 HijrÐ in QazwÐn…. [9] TÁrÐkh GuzÐdeh, p. 198, ÝAbd al-Íusayn NawÁÞÐ, IntishÁrÁt AmÐr KabÐr, TehrÁn, 1362 HijrÐ ShamsÐ. [10] TÁrÐkh ÔabarÐ, vol. 1, p. 6. [11] Ibn AthÐr has written in the introduction to this book Al-KÁmil: I have started my book with the use of the great history text of AbÙ JaÝfar MuÎammad ibn JarÐr ÓabarÐ… [12] Ibn KhaldÙn has written: I have summarized the events that took place during the early Islamic period, as well as the caliphate and the wars from the text of MuÎammad ibn JarÐr ÓabarÐ… [13] Ibn AthÐr, Al-KÁmil fÐ al-tÁrÐkh, vol. 1, p. 3-4; TÁrÐkh ibn khaldÙn, vol. 1, p. 642. [14] ÓÁrÐkh al-ÔabarÐ, vol. 5, p. 166; Al-MuntaÛam, Ibn JawzÐ, researched by MuÎammad ÝAbd al-QÁdir AÔÁÞ, Beirut, DÁr al-Kutub al-ÞIlmÐyah, First Edition, vol. 5, p. 184; Al-BidÁyah wa al-nihÁyah, Ibn KathÐr, Beirut… [15] Researched by: WÁÎid PÁsukh Be ShubhÁt PaygÁh IÔilÁh RisÁnÐ Ayatullah