Death of Prophet and Imam Hasan

The twenty-eighth of Safar is observed in Iran as a mourning day for the death of Prophet Muhammad and the death of Imam Hasan, the second Imam in Twelver Shi'a Islam. The combined anniversary brings the close of the Prophet’s life and the early history of the Imam’s family into a single public commemoration.

Mosques and shrines hold elegies, sermons and prayer, while families may give food or charity in remembrance. The date’s public-holiday status underscores its importance in the Shi'a religious calendar. Its Gregorian date changes annually and should be checked in the official calendar.

Iran’s calendar combines two traditions on 28 Safar: the death of Prophet Muhammad and the martyrdom of Imam Hasan, his grandson and the second Twelver Imam. Historical reports about Imam Hasan’s death and poisoning are transmitted differently, so the guide attributes the Shi'a commemorative identity rather than asserting contested details as settled fact. The holiday begins a closely spaced sequence followed by Imam Reza’s martyrdom. In 2026 it falls on August 12, not August 11.