His chief attribute which earned him the titles of "Zain al-Abidin" and "Sayyid al-Sajidan" was his sincere worship of the Almighty. He was an eyewitness to the tragedy of Karbala’, and the scenes of his near and dear ones being slaughtered were always fresh in his memory. Such depressing events naturally make any ordinary person indifferent to all other normal activities of everyday life, but they could not make Imam as-Sajjad (ﻉ) relax his fear of Allah. His complexion faded and his whole frame shook whenever the water for ablution was presented to him, or whenever he stood to say his prayers. When asked about the reason, he explained, "Can you at all imagine in Whose presence I am going to stand?! It is in the presence of the Lord of lords."

While putting on his pilgrimage garb, intending to utter "Labbayka Allahomma Labbayk!" (I am answering Thy Call, O Lord!), colour disappeared from his face. His whole frame shook, so much so that those who saw him inquired what was wrong with him. Imam as-Sajjad (ﻉ) said, "I tried to say Labbayk!’ but I feared lest the Lord of the House calls out: No admittance for you.’" Tears flooded his eyes so excessively that he ultimately fainted. Whenever everyone else prostrated before the pomp of haughty Umayyad monarchy, it was Imam as-Sajjad (ﻉ) who demonstrated how the King of kings should be worshipped.

His supplications were later compiled and named Al-Sahafa as-Sajjadiyya, the book of as-Sajjad, which is dubbed “the Psalms of Muhammed’s family.” The reader who wishes to read some of its contents are referred to pp. 462 - 469 of my book titled Allah: The Concept of Allah in Islam (published by Ansariyan Publications). I feel honoured and humbled by the Almighty enabling me to translate such precious text. It is only He Who enables His servants to do whatever good they do, whatever useful knowledge they acquire and disseminate; He, and only He, is the source of all goodness.

The reign of the antagonistic Umayyad rulers never permitted Imam Zain al-Abidin (ﻉ) to deliver discourses and addresses as his grandfather Imam Ali (ﻉ) did, nor to illustrate the creed as he had done. Later, Imam Muhammed al-Baqir and Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (ﻉ), son and grandson of Imam as-Sajjad respectively, had the opportunity to fathom the depths of religious problems at study circles attended by inquisitive students. But, alas, such a favourable atmosphere was not available to Imam as-Sajjad (ﻉ). He, therefore, adopted quite a different method which no worldly power could obstruct. He suspended all worldly contacts and took to hymns and prayers. The words of those prayers are a treasure-houses of theological mysteries and reflective of the relationship between the Creator and His creation. A collection of these hymns and prayers, known as Al-Sahafa al-Kamila, or Al-Sahafa as-Sajjadiyya, has survived despite all the odds. In the pages of this collection, we can find what we cannot perhaps attain even from reading lengthy addresses and discourses presented in a similarly appealing manner, if such can be found at all.

The calm and peaceful life of the Imam could not be tolerated by the cruel Umayyad regime. The Syrian monarch al-Walid ibn Abdul-Malik had him poisoned, and the Imam died inside the Medina jail on the 25th of Muharram, 95 A.H. (October 20, 713 A.D.). Imam Muhammed al-Baqir (ﻉ) conducted the burial ceremony, laying him to rest in the graveyard of Jannat al-Baqa beside his uncle, Imam Hasan (ﻉ). May the Almighty cut off the hands of the tyrants and those who support them wherever and whoever they may be...

   2) IMAM MUHAMMED AL-BAQIR (ﻉ)

He was named after his great grandfather Prophet Muhammed, peace be with him and his progeny, and he was called "al-Baqir" which means "the splitter of knowledge". His father is Imam Zain al-Abidin (ﻉ) and his mother is Fatima daughter of Imam Hasan (ﻉ), the Prophet’s grandson. His lineage, therefore, reaches the Prophet of Islam (ﻉ) on both parents’ sides. Imam Husain (ﻉ), the younger grandson of the Prophet, is his grandfather. He has the unique attribute of having inherited the qualities of Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib (ﻉ) and Fatima daughter of the Prophet Muhammed (ﺹ).

The Imam was born on Rajab 1, 57 A.H./May 10, 677 A.D., seven years after the martyrdom of Imam Hasan (ﻉ), and he spent more than three years in the company of his grandfather Imam Husain (ﻉ). He was an eyewitness to the tragedy of Taff, and he was contemporary to his father Imam as-Sajjad (ﻉ) during the entire period of his Imamate. The Karbala’ tragedy was a troublesome and tumultuous period of time for the Prophet’s offspring and their followers, supporters of Ahl al-Bayt (ﻉ). Imam Ali’s friends were always hunted, arrested, then hanged.

According to Al-Irshad of al-Mufid, Al-Fusal al-Muhimma of Ibn al-Sabbagh al-Maliki, Vol. 3 of al-Ya'qubi’s Tarikh (history), and Tathkirat al-Khawass of Ibn al-Jawzi, the great sahabi Jabir ibn Abdullah al-Ansari narrates saying, "The Messenger of Allah, peace be with him and his progeny, said to me: You shall live long enough to meet one of the descendants of Husain who shall be named Muhammed and who shall split the core of knowledge; so, convey my Salam to him’."

According to Ikmal ad-Din  wa Itmam al-Ni'ma, and on p. 252 of Shaikh as-Saduq’s work, Jabir ibn Abdullah al-Ansari asked the Messenger of Allah (ﻉ) saying, "O Messenger of Allah, who are the Imams from the descendats of Ali ibn Abu Talib (ﻉ)?" He (ﻉ) answered: "Al-Hasan, al-Husain, masters of the youths of Paradise, then the master of the forbearing of his time, Ali ibn al-Husain, then al-Baqir Muhammed ibn Ali, and, O Jabir! You shall live to see him! So when you do, convey my Salam to him."

Vol. 42, p. 25 of Bihar al-Anwar, and also both I'lam al-Wara bi A'lam  al-Huda and Kashf al-Ghumma fi Marrifat al-A’imma, when Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib (ﻉ) was on his death-bed, his will to his oldest son al-Hasan was: "O son! The Messenger of Allah (ﻉ) ordered me to give you my books and weapons just as he had ordered me to take his books and weapons and to tell you to pass them over to your brother Husain before you die." Then he turned to Imam Husain (ﻉ) and said, "... and the Messenger of Allah (ﻉ) ordered that you (Imam Husain) should pass them on to your son Muhammed ibn Ali and to convey to him Salam from the Messenger of Allah and from me."

For three years, Imam al-Baqir (ﻉ) enjoyed the cherished love of his grandfather Imam Husain (ﻉ), and when he had to leave Medina, al-Baqir, too, was one of the family members who made the journey across the desert. Imam Husain (ﻉ) left for Kufa and his journey terminated at Karbala’. Since the 7th of Muharram, when the Prophet’s family was denied access to the water of the Euphrates, Imam al-Baqir (ﻉ) suffered from the pangs of thirst till the tragedy was over. Providence, however, intended to preserve the Imamate by safeguarding his life, whereas even a baby like Imam Ali al-Asghar (ﻉ) had already been killed by an enemy arrow.

Like his father Imam Zain al-Abidin (ﻉ), Imam al-Baqir (ﻉ) could not physically participate in the battle. The 10th of Muharram, 61 A.H./ October 10, 680 A.D. brought its hideous events with Imam Husain (ﻉ) gathering the corpses of his slain warriors all day long, the women wailing, the children crying because of being extremely thirsty, startled and bewildered, then came the last farewell bidden by Imam Husain (ﻉ), the murder of his baby Ali al-Asghar, the return of Imam Husain’s horse to his master’s tent without his master... Young al-Baqir (ﻉ) witnessed all these events. Al-Baqir witnessed the tents being burnt, the children reeling in panic, the heartless enemy plundering, and the ladies of the Prophet’s family being deprived even of their sheets and scarves. Who can possibly imagine how young Imam al-Baqir (ﻉ) felt, or what a permanent impression such scenes had left on his mind?

On the next day, Imam al-Baqir (ﻉ) witnessed the ladies of the Prophet’s family being shackled with chains, hand-cuffed, then transported as captives by the enemy the entire distance from Karbala’ to Kufa, then to Damascus. Having been released, he witnessed their journey back to Medina, again passing by Karbala’. The profoundly sad impressions could never have been erased from the memory of young Imam al-Baqir (ﻉ).

After Karbala, Imam Zain al-Abidin (ﻉ) led a very calm life, staying aloof from the pursuits of this materialistic world. Secluded from the society, he spent his time either weeping as he reminisced on the agonies of his father Imam Husain (ﻉ), or worshipping the Almighty, while the heart of his son Imam al-Baqir (ﻉ) was being squeezed painfully as he watched helplessly. In this sad environment, Imam al-Baqir (ﻉ) grew up studying the manners of his saintly father and availing himself from his knowledge and noble conduct.

Imam al-Baqir (ﻉ) was in the full bloom of youth, ascending the heights of physical and spiritual perfection, when his revered father died. On his death-bed, Imam Zain al-Abidin (ﻉ) handed over to Imam al-Baqir (ﻉ) a box containing books of religious sciences exclusively known to this illustrious Ahl al-Bayt (ﻉ). Calling together all his offspring, he resigned them to the care of Imam al-Baqir (ﻉ), now named the fifth in the successive series of the successors of the holy Prophet. He was then 38 years old.

The Umayyad monarchy was heading towards its decline and decay. The cruelties inflicted on the Hashemites, especially the massacre at Karbala’, had produced shock waves throughout the Muslim world. Yazid witnessed the aftermath of Karbala’ and may have regretted his heinous sins. After a brief rule, he died in 64 A.H., and his son Mu'awiyah II succeeded him briefly then abdicated. The later Umayyad rulers, therefore, were fully aware of the consequences of the atrocities of their predecessors. The bloody battles waged by the Tawwaban movement, the penitents, led by Sulayman ibn Surd al-Khuza'i and later by al-Mukhtar, led to a powerful uprising against the Umayyads. Everyone now demanded to avenge the holy blood of Imam Husain (ﻉ) and those who defended the Prophet’s family. That movement ruffled the peace of the ruling despots and shook the foundations of their government. The good result was that Imam Muhammed al-Baqir (ﻉ) had the opportunity to free himself from the clutches of the tyrannical government. He had at that time better chances to peacefully guide the Muslim nation to the Right Path.

The Imams, the Prophet’s leading offspring, had rivers of knowledge in their bosoms which were blocked by the oppressing government and thus their waters could not moisten the lips of the thirsty. In the days of Imam al-Baqir (ﻉ), when the grip of the oppressive government loosened a little bit, the confined river of knowledge gushed forth, irrigating the fields of faith-seeking hearts. Having displayed his great skill in solving tough religious problems, he was called al-Baqir (discloser or splitter of hidden knowledge). The number of those who benefitted from him and learned the teachings of Ahl al-Bayt (ﻉ) reached thousands of seekers of knowledge. Many others, belonging to different schools of thought such as Imam Zuhri, Imam Awzai, Attar ibn Jarih, or Hafiz ibn Ghiyath, the judge, who all are considered as outstanding traditionists of the Sunni sects, came to seek knowledge from him and are counted among his students.

Volume 3 of Manaqib al Abi Talib states that Abdullah son of second caliph Omar ibn al-Khattab was asked once for the solution of a complex theological problem, and he could not provide one. "Go to that young boy," Omar said to the person who raised the question, pointing to Imam al-Baqir (ﻉ), "Ask him and tell me what his answer will be." The inquirer approached Imam al-Baqir (ﻉ), obtained the answer, and went back to the son of Omar ibn al-Khattab to tell him what treasures of knowledge he had just acquired, and Abd-Allah commented: "They are a family immersed in knowledge."

Al-Irshad by al-Mufid, in a chapter on the Imamate of al-Baqir (ﻉ), and in Hilyat al-Awliya’ and Tathkirat al-Khawass of Ibn al-Jawzi, the grandson, Abdullah ibn Ata’ al-Makki says, "I never saw scholars shrink as I saw them in the presence of Abu Ja’far Muhammed ibn Ali ibn Husain. And I saw al-Hakam ibn ‘Uyainah, despite his greatness, looking like a young boy before his teacher."

One of the testimonies to the excellence of his political thought is his advice to the renowned Umayyad caliph Omar ibn Abdul-Aziz in which he said, "I advise you to regard young Muslims as your sons, the adults as your brothers, and the elderly as your parents; therefore, be kind to your sons, stay in touch with your brothers, and be generous to your parents."

One of his students, Muhammed ibn Muslim, is quoted in Vol. 46, as saying, "Every time I faced a complex (theological) problem, I had to seek its solution from Abu [the father of] Ja'far, till I asked him about thirty thousand questions." One of his companions, Jabir ibn Yazid al-Jufi, may Allah be pleased with him, said once, as quoted in the same references which also quotes Al-Ikhtisas, saying, "Abu Ja'far narrated to me as many as seventy thousand traditions." Advising Jabir ibn Yazid al-Jufi, he said, "I admonish you regarding five things: If you are wronged, do not commit wrongdoing to others; if your are betrayed, do not betray anyone; if you are called a liar, do not be furious; if you are praised, do not be jubilant; if you are criticized, do not fret and think of what is said in criticism: if you find in yourself what is criticized about you, then your falling down in the eyes of Allah, when you are furious about the truth, is a much greater calamity than your falling down in the eyes of people. And if you are the opposite of what is said (in criticism) about you, then it is a merit you acquired without having to tire yourself in obtaining it."

The dissemination of religious and scientific knowledge of Ahl al-Bayt (ﻉ) was achieved by Imam Muhammed al-Baqir (ﻉ). Out of the benefits gained from such a high-ranking mentor, the students wrote several books on various branches of knowledge. Here is a brief description of some of his disciples and their works which reflects the extent of Islamic learning imparted by the Imam:

1. Aban ibn Taghlib. He was the famous lexicographer and reciter of the Holy Qur’an who wrote the work Ghara’ib al-Qur’an, the first book explaining the intricate diction of the Holy Qur’an. He died in 141 A.H./758 A.D.

2. Abu Ja’far Muhammed ibn al-Hasan ibn Abi Sarh al-Rawasi, the famous scholar of recitation, syntax and exegesis. Kitab al-Faisal and Maani al-Qur’an are two among five books which he authored. He died in 101 A.H./720 A.D.

3. Abdullah ibn Maimun, Abul-Aswad al-Du’Ali. A biography of the Holy Prophet and another book expounding on Paradise and Hell are among his works. He died in 105 A.H./723 A.D.

4. Atiyyah ibn Sa'd al-'Awfi. He wrote an exegesis of the Holy Qur’an in five volumes; he died in 111 A.H./729 A.D.

5. Isma'eel ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Saddi al-Kabir (al-Saddi senior), the well-known author of Tafsir. He is frequently referred to by all Muslim writers of tafsir books as al-Saddi. He died in 127 A.H./745 A.D.

6. Jabir ibn Yazid al-Jufi. He committed to memory 50,000 (or 70,000 according to some biographers) traditions which he had heard from Imam al-Baqir (ﻉ). He is quoted in Muslim’s Sahih. He wrote several volumes on tradition, tafsir and jurisprudence. He died in 128 A.H./746 A.D.

7. Ammar ibn Mu'awiyah al-Wahni. A book on jurisprudence is his contribution. He died in 133 A.H./752 A.D.

8. Salim ibn Abi Hafsah (Abu Yousuf) al-Kufi. He is the writer of a book on jurisprudence. He died in 137 A.H./754 A.D.

9. Abdul-Mu’min ibn Qasim (Abu Abdullah) al-Ansari. He is the writer of a book on jurisprudence. He died in 147 A.H./764 A.D.

10. Abu Hamzah al-Thumali. He wrote a book on tafsir (exegesis) of the Holy Qur’an. Kitab al-Nawadir and Kitab al-Zuhd are among his works. He died in 150 A.H./767 A.D.

11. Zararah ibn Ayun, a high-ranking Shi'a scholar who wrote several books on tradition, jurisprudence and kalam. He died in 150 A.H./767 A.D.

12. Muhammed ibn Muslim. He was a great scholar who recorded 30,000 traditions which he learned from Imam al-Baqir (ﻉ). He wrote many books, including the "Four hundred problems of halal and haram." He died in 150 A.H./767 A.D.

13. Yahya ibn Qasim (Abu Basar) al-Asadi. He was a revered scholar who wrote Kitab Manasik al-Hajj and Kitab Yawmun wa Lailah. He died in 150 A.H./767 A.D.

14. Ishaq al-Qummi. He has a book on jurisprudence.

15. Isma'eel ibn Jabir al-Khashami al-Kufi. He wrote many volumes on hadith (tradition) and one on jurisprudence.

16. Isma'eel ibn Abdul-Khaliq. He was a high ranking jurist and had a book to his credit.

17. Bard al-Asqaf al-Azdi. He wrote on jurisprudence.

18. Al-Harith ibn al-Mughirah. He authored a book on the problems of jurisprudence.

19. Huthaifah ibn Mansur al-Khuza'i. He had a book on jurisprudence.

20. Hasan ibn Sirri al-Katib. He wrote one book.

21. Husain ibn Saur ibn Abi Fakhita, author of Kitab al-Nawadir.

22. Husain ibn Muhammed ‘Abidi al-Kufi; he is author of one book.

23. Husain ibn Mus'ab al-Bajali. He has a book to his credit.

24. Hammad ibn Abi Talha; he wrote one book.

25. Hamzah ibn Hamran ibn Ayun. He was nephew of Zurarah and author of one book.

These are quite a few scholars, traditionists and jurists who learned from the Ahl al-Bayt (ﻉ), mostly from Imam Muhammed al-Baqir (ﻉ), and safeguarded such knowledge by recording it in their books. Later, in the days of the Imam’s son, namely Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq, hundreds of volumes were written^__the sources from which such valuable collections of hadith as Al-Kafi, Man la Yahdharuhu Al-Faqih, Tahdhib al-Khasa’il, Al-Istibsar, etc. were compiled. These books now form the fundamentals of Shi'a learnings. In addition to these, you may read his biography and the ahadith which he narrated in at-Tabari’s Tarikh, in al-Balathiri, al-Salami, al-Khattab, Abu Dawud’s Sunan, al-Isfahani, al-Zamakhshari, and in others.

His moral excellences were admired even by his foes. A Syrian lived in Medina and used to come to Imam al-Baqir (ﻉ) frequently declaring that he was opposed to the Household. Yet, despite his prejudice, he admitted that, "The high morality and eloquence of Imam al-Baqir (ﻉ) are too attractive to resist."

The author of Tuhaf al-‘Uqul quotes Imam as-Sadiq (ﻉ) saying, “I entered the house of my father once and found him doling out eight thousand dinars as sadaqa to the poor, then he freed eleven slaves.”

In a chapter on the merits of Imam Muhammed al-Baqir (ﻉ) in Vol. 3 of Manaqib Ali Abi Talib, and in Vol. 46 of al-Majlisi’s Bihar al-Anwar, Sulayman ibn Qaram is quoted as saying, "Abu Ja'far Muhammed [ibn al-Hanafiyya], son of Imam Ali (ﻉ), used to give us as much as five or six hundred or even a thousand dirhams, and he never tired of visiting his brethren."

Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib (ﻉ) cooperated with his contemporary caliphs and offered sound counsel concerning the affairs of the Muslims. So did all the Imams who succeeded him, each following his example. None of them hesitated to offer advice to their contemporary rulers, and Imam al-Baqir (ﻉ) was no exception. The Umayyad government had till then no currency of its own. The Byzantine currency of the eastern section of the then Roman Holy Empire was the valid tender in Damascus as well. But during the reign of al-Walid ibn Abdul-Malik, there rose a rift between him and the Byzantine ruler when the latter decided to stamp a new currency with a phrase which al-Walid considered as derogatory to the Holy Prophet (ﺹ). This created suspense among the Muslims. Al-Walid convened a committee in which prominent Muslim scholars participated. Imam al-Baqir (ﻉ) expressed his opinion that the Muslim government ought to mint its own currency on one side of which it should stamp the statement "La Ilaha Illa Allah" and on the other the statement "Muhammedun Rasul-Allah," (There is no god but Allah; Muhammed is the Messenger of Allah). The opinion was unanimously approved and new Islamic coins were minted.

It was only during the caliphate of Omar ibn Abdul-Aziz, the only pious Umayyad caliph, that the Prophet’s progeny enjoyed a brief period of peace which lasted for only two years and five months, the duration of Omar’s government. He lifted from them a great deal of atrocities and prohibited the cursing of Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib (ﻉ) on the pulpits on FRidhay, substituting it with this verse of the Holy Qur’an: "Allah commands justice, the doing of good, and liberality to kith and kin, and He forbids all shameful deeds, and injustice and rebellion: He instructs you, that ye may receive admonition" Qur’an, 16:90 (an-Nahl).

When the Imam met caliph Omar ibn Abdul-Aziz, he found him weeping for the injustice inflicted by his predecessors upon their subjects. The Imam admonished him with pieces of wisdom till the caliph sobbed, knelt down and begged the Imam for more. Then the Imam told Omar what wrongdoing he came to ask him to rectify, and it was none other than the estate of Fadak which the Messenger of Allah (ﻉ) had left as inheritance to his daughter Fatima (ﻉ) and her descendants. According to Vol. 4 of Bihar al-Anwar, Omar wrote: "In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. This is what Omar ibn Abdul-Aziz had given back to Muhammed ibn Ali to rectify the wrongdoing: Fadak."

Hisham ibn Abdul-Malik succeeded Omar ibn Abd ul-Aziz as the ruler, and he was a stone-hearted, immoral, miser and racist. His prejudice against non-Arab Muslims caused him to double the taxes non-Arabs had to pay, and his reign was a replay of the bloody days of Yazid ibn Mu'awiyah and those of the blood-thirsty al-Hajjaj ibn Yousuf al-Thaqafi^[223]. It was then that the revolution of Zaid ibn Ali broke out as a continuation of the revolution of Imam Husain ibn Ali ibn Abu Talib (ﻉ), but Hisham was swift in crushing it. Dr. Hasan Ibrahim Hasan, in his book Tarikh al-Islam (“History of Islam”), quotes contemporary historians testifying that Hisham ordered to crucify Zaid ibn Ali and then burn his corpse and throw the ashes in the Euphrates.

Although Imam al-Baqir (ﻉ) never expressed any interest nor participated in political activities except when the rulers invited him to, since his peaceful way of living was devoted to people’s spiritual guidance, he was not tolerated by the government. Hisham ibn Abdul-Malik wrote his governor over Medina instructing him to send Imam al-Baqir (ﻉ) together with his son [later Imam] Ja'far al-Sadiq (ﻉ) to Damascus, intending to insult them both. When they reached Damascus, he kept them waiting for three days. On the fourth day, he called them to his presence. He sat on a throne surrounded by his nobility, fully armed. In the center of the courtyard, a target was set on which the elite were shooting arrows on bet. Islam prohibits betting or gambling or any way of making money without working hard to earn it. As soon as the Imam entered, Hisham bluntly asked him to shoot arrows with others. Imam al-Baqir (ﻉ) asked to be excused, but Hisham insisted; he planned to ridicule the Imam. Since the Imam led a secluded life, Hisham thought that he might not have had anything to do with martial arts. Compelled by Hisham, Imam al-Baqir (ﻉ) took the bow. Handling it skillfully, he shot a few arrows continuously, all sitting straight in the very heart of the center. A shout of praise burst from the throats of the astonished elites standing right and left. Hisham, thus outwitted, began to discuss the problems of Imamate and the virtues of Ahl al-Bayt (ﻉ). Now he clearly saw that the Imam’s stay in Damascus might lead to popular respect for Ahl al-Bayt (ﻉ), so he permitted the Imam to return home to Medina. Inwardly, his enmity of the Prophet’s family had increased.

Hisham harassed not only the Prophet’s family but also their followers, dignitaries and scholars. He issued an order to execute Jabir ibn Yazid al-Jufi, the most distinguished among the Imam’s scholars, but the Imam foiled his attempt by advising Jabir to feign madness as the only way to escape execution.

The more the Umayyads learned about the Imam’s prestige and popularity, the more intolerable his existence became. At last they resorted to the same soundless weapon, poison, which used to be applied by those cunning monarchs quite often to eliminate their opponents or suspects. A saddle was presented to the Imam to which poison was skillfully applied. When he mounted on it, poison affected his whole body. After spending a few days suffering the pain of his ailment, he expired on the seventh of Thul-Hijja, 114 A.H./January 28, 733 A.D. He was laid to rest underneath the same dome in Jannat al-Baqi where Imam Hasan (ﻉ) and Imam Zain al-Abidin (ﻉ) already lay.

   3) IMAM JAFER AL-SADIQ (ﻉ)

His name is Ja'far, and he is known as al-Sadiq and Abu Abdullah, son of Imam Muhammed al-Baqir (ﻉ) son of Imam Zain al-Abidin (ﻉ) son of Imam Husain (ﻉ). His mother was Umm Farwah daughter of Qasim son of Muhammed son of [first caliph] Abu Bakr who was one of the seven most prominent jurists of Medina. Thus, the sixth Imam has an impressive lineage.

The Imam came to this world on Rabi' al-Awwal 17, 83 A.H./April 20, 702 A.D., the same lunar date when his great grandfather, the Holy Prophet (ﺹ), was born. At his birth, his father, Imam al-Baqir (ﻉ), was 26, and his grandfather, Imam Zain al-Abidin (ﻉ), was 44. The Prophet’s family joyfully welcomed this auspicious addition.

Till the age of twelve, Ja'far was brought up under the guidance of his grandfather Imam Zain al-Abidin (ﻉ) whose main concern was to worship his Maker and reflect on the tragic events of Karbala’. Twenty-two years had lapsed since then, yet the remembrance of that shocking tragedy was still quite fresh in his memory. So, as soon as Ja'far gained understanding, he was profoundly impressed by the continuous grief of his grandfather, so much so that he felt as if he himself was present during that tragedy. He also contemplated on the presence of his father, Imam Muhammed al-Baqir (ﻉ), although only three years old, at that gruesome scene. Ja'far as-Sadiq considered it as his duty to convene the recitation gatherings (majalis) about that sorrowful event.

He was twelve years old when his grandfather Imam Zain al-Abidin (ﻉ) expired. From then on and till the age of 31, he spent his time under the supervision of his father Imam al-Baqir (ﻉ). It was the time when the Umayyad politics were tottering and Muslims who were approaching Imam Muhammed al-Baqir (ﻉ) by the thousands seeking his knowledge, wisdom and guidance. Whether at Medina or in travels, Ja'far al-Sadiq was always with his father. When Hisham ibn Abdul-Malik summoned Imam Muhammed al-Baqir (ﻉ), Ja'far al-Sadiq accompanied him, as stated above.

In 114 A.H./732 A.D., Imam Muhammed al-Baqir (ﻉ) died, and the responsibilities of Imamate devolved on the shoulders of now Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq. Hisham ibn Abdul-Malik was ruling in Damascus and political disturbances were rampant. The call for seeking revenge against Bani Umayyah was strong among the public, and several descendants of Imam Ali (ﻉ) were preparing themselves in the hope of overthrowing their corrupt regime. Most prominent among them was Zaid bin Ali, the respected son of Imam Zain al-Abidin (ﻉ). His religious zeal and piety were known throughout Arabia. He was a well versed hafiz of the Holy Qur’an and had taken the field against the tyranny of the Umayyads.

This was a precarious juncture for Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq. As regarding hatred of the Umayyads, he agreed with his uncle Zaid for whom he had a great deal of respect. His far-sighted judgment could clearly see that his rising against the well-organized royal forces was of no avail; he, therefore, did not join him for all practical reasons. But he was compassionate towards him and sympathetic to his cause, and he asked him to be judicious. As a great host of Iraqis had sworn their allegiance to him, Zaid was now quite optimistic. He valiantly fought the royal forces but was in the end killed.

The vengeful enemies were not satisfied with Zaid’s death. They exhumed his dead body from the grave, severed his head, sent it as a trophy to Hisham and hanged the body at the gate of Kufa where it remained for several years. One year after Zaid’s martyrdom, his son Yahya earned the same ancestral honour. Imam Ja'far was surely moved by these tragic events, but he was destined to carry out the duties of spreading the religious knowledge of Ahl al-Bayt (ﻉ).

The last days of the Umayyads’ reign of terror were ruffled by political disturbances. Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq witnessed the rise and fall of many of their kings. After Hisham, al-Walid ibn Yazid ibn Abdul-Malik, then Yazid ibn al-Walid, then Ibrahim ibn al-Walid, then Marwan al-Himar [the donkey] ascended the throne. The capture and death of the latter terminated the monarchy of tyrannical Umayyads.

During the last phase of tottering Umayyad rule, the Hashemites were actively engaged in their anti-Umayyad activities. The Abbasides took advantage of their efforts and secretly formed an association whose members had sworn to transfer the government from the Umayyads to the Hashemites who really deserved it. It is clear that to rule the Islamic world was not the job of every Hashemite. It was the right of those divinely appointed descendants of the Holy Prophet and Imam Ali (ﻉ) whom Allah had chosen to lead humanity. But these high-thinking souls never wished to take undue advantage of the situation with the aid of cunning tactics.

In short, the Imams who descended from the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali (ﻉ), never tried to acquire power through political trickery and opportunism. But the Abbasides, who also were Hashemites, no doubt took the opportunity by the forelock. Availing themselves of the silence shown by the Imams, and of the compassion the people had for the Hashemites, the ‘bbasides realized their chance to rise to power. But when they established themselves on the throne, they became enemies of Imam Ali’s posterity in the same degree or more than that which had been adopted by the heartless Umayyads. Details of this will be narrated in the biographies of later Imams.

The first to start the movement from among the Abbasides was Muhammed ibn Ali ibn ‘Abdullah ibn al-Abbas who sent his agents throughout Persia to secretly obtain the oath of allegiance to the Hashemites’ cause from the Persians. On Muhammed’s death, his son Ibrahim succeeded him. Meanwhile, the martyrdom of Zaid and his son Yahya had fanned the flames of revolution against the Umayyads. The Abbasides took advantage of it, increasing their influence in Iraq through Abu Salamah al-Khallal. Slowly but steadily, their power base increased. Through the sincere support of Abu Muslim al-Khurasani, all Western Persia and Khurasan came under their control and the Umayyad governor had to flee. The name of the Umayyad ruler was dropped from FRidhay sermons, having been replaced by that of Ibrahim ibn Muhammed.

The Umayyads till then were under the impression that the disturbances were merely local protests, but now the government spies reported that it was a full-fledged movement initiated by Ibrahim ibn Muhammed ibn Abbas who resided at Jabulqa. Soon Ibrahim was arrested, imprisoned and mercilessly killed. His family escaped the royal wrath with other Abbasides and sought refuge with Abu Salamah in Iraq. When the news reached Abu Muslim al-Khurasani, he sent an army to Iraq which defeated the Umayyad forces and annexed Iraq.

Abu Salamah al-Khallal, dubbed “Minister of the Prophet’s Progeny,” was especially compassionate towards Imam Ali’s offspring. He wrote letters to the prominent heads from among them inviting them to accept and share the royal power. One of such letters was addressed to Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq. In political struggles, such opportunities are considered golden, but the Imam declined the offer and remained devoted to his duty of disseminating knowledge.

Those who supported the Abbasides’ cause, in addition to the followers of Abu Muslim al-Khurasani, swore the oath of allegiance to Abul-Abbas al-Saffah. On Rabi' II 14, 132 A.H./November 30, 749 A.D., the latter was acknowledged as the ruler and caliph of the Muslim world. Establishing themselves in Iraq, the Abbasides advanced towards Damascus. Marwan assembled his forces and confronted them, but his army was defeated. He had to flee for his life but was later captured in Egypt and killed.

Thereafter, a reign of terror followed: The Umayyads were massacred publicly; the dead bodies of the monarchs of their dynasty were ex­humed and treated in a most shocking manner; thus, the revenge upon the oppressors, the law of nature, was implemented through the Abbasides. In 136 A.H./753 A.D., al-Saffah, the first Abbaside caliph, died and was succeeded by his brother Abu Ja'far al-Mansur, commonly known as al-Dawaniqi.

They Abbasides raised the banner of standing and protecting the rights of Ahl al-Bayt (ﻉ), thus succeeding to rally the public around them on this very pretext, and it was their war-cry as well. But when they came to power and destroyed the Umayyads, they naturally feared lest the world should be disappointed and disillusioned with them, or lest a movement should start demanding that the caliphate must be vested upon the descendants of Imam Ali (ﻉ) and Fatima instead of the Abbasides. Abu Salamah was inclined to the descendants, and he was a candidate to support such a movement; therefore, in spite of all the favours which he had done to the Abbasides, he was the first to fall victim to their ingratitude. He was put to death during the reign of al-Saffah. Persia was under the control of Abu Muslim al-Khurasani. Al-Mansur arranged to have him murdered most treacherously.

Al-Mansur was no longer apprehensive of the interference of any influential person in his government. He, therefore, turned all his tyranny against the Sayyids, descendants of the Prophet (ﺹ) themselves. On mere suspicion, al-Mansur would begin to destroy the Sayyids. The prominent among them were subjected to atrocities. Muhammed son of Ibrahim, who was the most handsome among them and was, therefore, called the "silken", was walled alive^[224].

Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (ﻉ) was sadly affected by those events. When the descendants of Imam al-Hasan ibn Ali (ﻉ) were all fettered, shackled and banished from Medina, he watched their plight with a saddened heart from the flat roof-top of his house. With flooded eyes he was heard saying, “Oh! Medina is no longer a sanctuary or a haven of peace...” Then he expressed his sorrow for the descendants of the Ansar who stood idly by thus: “The early Medenites (Ansar) had invited the Holy Prophet to Medina under the oath that they would protect him and his descendants just as they would protect their own kith and kin. But today the descendants of those very Ansar act as silent onlookers,and none stands up to protect the Prophet’s offspring.” Having said these words, he returned to his house and fell ill, unable to move from bed for twenty days.

Among the afore-mentioned prisoners was the aged Abdullah Mahd son of Imam al-Hasan ibn Ali (ﻉ) who had to suffer the hardships of a prolonged imprisonment. His son Muhammed (known as “Thul Nafs al-Zakiyya”) rose against the oppressive government and fell fighting near Medina in 145 A.H./762 A.D. The head of the young warrior was severed then sent to his aged father in prison, a shocking sight which the worn-out old man could not bear, falling dead shortly thereafter. Another son of Abdullah Mahd, namely Ibrahim, also fought against al-Mansur’s army and fell fighting near Kufa. In the same way, Abdullah son of Thul Nafs al-Zakiyya, Musa and Yahya, brothers of Thul Nafs al-Zakiyya, were all killed mercilessly. Many Sayyids were used alive as part of the building mate­rials of walls as explained in a footnote above.

In spite of all these atrocities which have been described very briefly here, Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (ﻉ) went on silently propagating the teachings of Ahl al-Bayt (ﻉ). As a result, even those who did not acknowledge him as the Imam nor knew his prestige and lineage, bowed before his knowledge and prided in being counted among his students.

Al-Mansur wanted to diminish the esteem in which Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (ﻉ) was held by the people. He tried to bring persons to compete with him who all proved incapable of arguing not with him but with his own students. These fellows admitted that their counterparts had acquired the religious learning from the Prophet’s Progeny (ﻉ). The haughty ruler, therefore, ignored them but continued to undermine the popularity of the Imam. Failing in all his efforts, he decided to harass, arrest or murder him. In every town and city, hired agents were posted to monitor the activities of the Shi'as so that anyone suspected of supporting the Imam would be arrested. Al-Mu'alla son of Khunais was one of the many Shi'as who were thus arrested and murdered in cold blood.

The Imam himself was summoned from Medina to the royal palace five times, each time being in one way or another nothing but harassment. Al-Mansur, however, could never find sufficient grounds to order his imprisonment or execution. On the other hand, the consequent stay of the Imam in Iraq only expanded the circle of those who wanted to learn the teachings of Ahl al-Bayt from him. Perceiving this, al-Mansur ordered him to be sent back to Medina. Even there, he was not spared persecution. Through saboteurs, his house was once set on fire but Providence put it out and nobody was harmed.

Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (ﻉ) was one of those Infallibles who were created by the Almighty to be role models of moral excellence. The particular virtues of Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (ﻉ), which were recorded by historians, included: hospitality, charity, the helping of the needy in secrecy, the fair treatment of the relatives, forgiveness, patience and fortitude.

Once a pilgrim visiting the Prophet’s mosque in Medina fell asleep there. On waking up, he hurriedly searched his belongings and found out that his purse containing one thousand dinars was missing. Looking around, he saw Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (ﻉ) saying his prayers in a corner of the mosque. Bewildered and ignorant of the greatness of the Imam, he accused him of having picked his purse. The Imam asked about its contents and was told that it contained one thousand dinars. The Imam asked the stranger to follow him to his house where he paid him the amount from his own money. When the stranger came back to the mosque satisfied, once more he checked his property and found his purse intact, wrapped in a bundle. Greatly ashamed of his conduct, he went back to the Imam’s house, profusely apologized and asked him to take his money back. The Imam appeased him with these words: "We never take back what we once give away."

Another event of the Imam’s trust in Allah, the Sustainer, deserves mention here. During the days of scarcity and famine, one naturally tries to hoard up as much provisions as might suffice his needs for a long time. Once, the Imam asked his household’s manager, Trenchab, “The price of corn is rising day by day. How much corn is there in our warehouses?” Trenchab said that the Imam should have no reason to worry since there was a large quantity of it to sustain them over a long period of time. The noble Imam then ordered him thus: “Sell out all the corn today and let us face the situation along with others.” Then he directed him thus: “Pure wheat flour shall not be used in my kitchen. Let it be mixed with an equal quantity of oat flour. We must share the misfortune with the needy as long as it takes.”

The Imam (ﻉ) used to respect the poor more than the rich and value their hard work. Trade was his occupation, yet he liked to personally do manual work in his orchards. One day, while wielding the spade and sweating profusely from top toe, someone offered to do the work for him, but the Imam (ﻉ) said, “It is no insult to bear the heat of the summer sun for the sake of my family.”

To be kind to the slaves and bondmaids was the main characteristic of the Prophet’s Progeny (ﻉ). Sufyan al-Thawri has narrated a surprising event in this regard. He said, “Once I went to pay him a visit. I saw his complexion fading. On my asking him the reason, the Imam explained: I had forbidden my folk from ascending the stairs to the roof-top. Just now, as I entered the house, I saw a nursing maid with my babe in her arms ascending the stairs. She was so frightened that she became nervous, and the baby fell down and died. I do not grieve on the death of the baby as much as I grieve on her fright.’” Then he prepared to arrange for the shrouding and burial of his dead baby.

The Imam’s profound knowledge of religious and other sciences was reputed throughout the entire Islamic world, and even Western scholars have paid him tribute, admiring his knowledge and character. One famous Western reference discussing the Imam is the renown Encyclopedia Britannica where he is discussed on p. 498, Vol. 5, of its Micropedia. People came to him from distant regions to quench their thirst for his ocean of knowledge. The number of his students reached once four thousand. Among them were scholars of jurisprudence, tafsir (exegesis), hadith, etc. Theologies from other creeds also went there to debate with his students. When they went away vanquished and defeated, the Imam used to explain to his students their (the latter’s) own weak points so that they might be more careful in the future.

Sometimes he himself debated with the opponents especially the atheists. Apart from religious sciences, he used to teach some students mathematics, chemistry, medicine, etc. Jabir ibn Hayyan^[225] of Tarsus, the famous pioneer of physics, chemistry and mathematics, was his disciple who wrote about four hundred treatises based on his mentor’s instruction. The jurists who learned from him and authored several volumes of books on jurisprudence can be counted by the hundreds and their students by the thousands.

Such a great teacher and scholar can never be ambitious for power. But the government of his time regarded his popularity as a constant threat. It finally resorted to the use of their soundless weapon, poison, to put an end to this great man, just as other governments did to his ancestors and offspring. History always repeats itself; it is a wheel in an endless motion. The governor of Medina was directed to offer him poisoned grapes the efficacy of which ended his life on Shawwal 15, 148 A.H./December 4, 765 A.D. when he was 65. His funeral was arranged by his son and successor, Imam Musa al-Kadhim (ﻉ), who led the burial prayers. He was laid to rest in the same compound at Jannat al-Baqi where Imam al-Hasan (ﻉ), Imam Zain al-Abidin (ﻉ), and Imam al-Baqir (ﻉ) are buried...

   4) IMAM MUSA AL-Kadhim (ﻉ)

His name is Musa; “al-Kadhim” and “Abul-Hasan” are his titles. He is usually called Musa al-Kadhim. Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (ﻉ) was his father whose lineage, by five generations, reaches the Holy Prophet (ﺹ). His mother, Hamida Khatun, was a North African Berber. He was born on Safar 7, 128 A.H./November 8, 745 A.D. The knowledge of his father, Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (ﻉ), saturated the Islamic world. Although two elder sons, Isma'eel and Abdullah, had already illuminated the house, the addition of the new-born brought unequalled happiness to the family, probably because Providence had decided to maintain the continuity of Imamate through him.

For twenty years, he remained under the care of his father Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (ﻉ). It was due to the virtues, teachings and the dissemination of the knowledge of the Prophet (ﺹ) through Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (ﻉ) that Shi'a Muslims are called “Ja'faris,” taught by Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (ﻉ). The scholarly achievements of Imam Musa al-Kadhim (ﻉ) were so conspicuous that the world acknowledged Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (ﻉ) had, indeed, appointed him as his successor as commanded by the Almighty. It is proven by this act that Imamate does not, as a rule, go to the eldest son or be inherited. It is the blessing bestowed by the Almighty upon the Infallible ones who are gifted with divine knowledge. The principle is further established by the fact that such a great responsibility had once before passed from Imam Hasan (ﻉ) to his brother Imam Husain (ﻉ) rather than to Hasan’s descendants. The Imamate of Musa al-Kadhim (ﻉ), therefore, illustrates that Imamate is based on personal perfection, not necessarily on descent.

In 148 A.H./765 A.D., upon the death of Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (ﻉ), the responsibilities of Imamate devolved on Imam Musa al-Kadhim (ﻉ). This was during the reign of al-Mansur al-Dawaniqi, the tyrant who ordered the slaying of countless Sayyids, descendants of the Prophet of Islam (ﻉ). The number of those imprisoned, oppressed, thrown into the dark cells of prisons or bricked up in the walls alive, was known only to Allah. Imam Ja'far himself had been subjected to harassment, tyranny and intrigues, the last of which was poison which ended his life.

On his death-bed, Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (ﻉ) predicted that the life of his successor would also be ended in the same way. In order to avert this danger as much as he could, he nominated, in his will, five trustees to look after his family. Al-Mansur, the Abbaside ruler, was one of them. The other four were: Muhammed ibn Sulayman, the then governor of Medina, his son Abdullah al-Aftah, (later Imam) Musa al-Kadhim (ﻉ), and their respected mother Hamida Khatun.

Imam Ja'far’s prediction was correct. When the news of his death reached al-Mansur, the latter made a show of grief by thrice repeating these words: Inna lillahi wa inn ilayhi rajioon, “We are Allah’s and to Him is our return.” He also said, “Who can be Ja'far’s equal now...?” But secretly he wrote to the governor of Medina saying, “If Ja'far, by way of a will, appointed any trustee, put him to death immediately.” The governor replied: “He has appointed five trustees, the first of whom is your majesty.” Having read this reply, al-Mansur remained silent, since the sanctity of a will cannot be violated. Then, pondering over the situation, he said, “In this case, these persons cannot be slain.”

Accordingly, for the next ten years, al-Mansur did not try to harass Imam Musa al-Kadhim (ﻉ) who carried out the duties of Imamate peacefully. Al-Mansur was, moreover, preoccupied with building the new capital, Baghdad, which he completed just one year before his death. He had, therefore, little time to think about harassing Imam Musa al-Kadhim (ﻉ).

Al-Mansur al-Dawaniqi died in 158 A.H./775 A.D. and was succeeded by his son al-Mahdi. In the beginning, al-Mahdi did nothing to humiliate or disrespect Imam Musa al-Kadhim (ﻉ), but later he fostered the old enmity against Imam Ali’s descendants. In 164 A.H./781 A.D., having performed the hajj, he took the Imam with him from Mecca to Baghdad where he imprisoned him. For one year, the Imam suffered the hardship of imprisonment. Then the ruler realized that he was mistreating a descendant of the Prophet (ﺹ), so he released the pious Imam (ﻉ). In 169 A.H./785 A.D., al-Mahdi died and was succeeded by his brother al-Hadi who ruled for only 13 months. On his death, Harun ar-Rashid ascended the throne. The latter’s attitude towards Imam Musa al-Kadhim (ﻉ) was very antagonistic, causing Imam al-Kadhim (ﻉ) to die in prison.

Imam Musa al-Kadhim (ﻉ) was one of the illustrious Imams whom the Almighty Allah had set as a paragon of moral excellence. Each member of this illustrious family personified the best of virtues and moral excellences. Each one of them was the embodiment of goodness. The Seventh Imam excelled in tolerance and forgiveness, so much so that he was titled al-Kadhim (ﻉ), the suppressor of fury. Never was he heard speaking roughly or looking sternly. Even in the most unpleasant situations, he wore a smile. This was in accordance with the saying of his ancestor Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib (ﻉ) that a believer keeps his grief confined in his chest while wearing a smile on his face.

One government official of Medina was a persistent source of harassment to Imam Musa al-Kadhim (ﻉ), even using abusive language regardig Imam Ali (ﻉ). But the Imam always directed his followers not to abuse him in return. When his malicious conduct became too rude to be tolerated, they sought permission to retaliate against him. The Imam appeased them, promising to settle the matter himself.

Pacifying his followers thus, he went to the fellow’s farm and treated him with such noble benevolence that the man felt ashamed of his conduct and subsequently changed his attitude and altered his conduct. Explaining this policy to his followers, the Imam asked them: “Was my behaviour better than the methods you suggested?” They admitted that it was. He thus carried out the instruction of his great ancestor Imam Ali (ﻉ) which is recorded in Nahjul-Balagha: Subdue the enemy with kindness, since it is more effective than vanquishing him with force. Undoubtedly, this requires a correct judgment of the enemy’s nature. With some enemies, one may say, good conduct does not bear any fruit; it is then that force must be met with equal or better force, rest assured. Imam Ali (ﻉ) has, therefore, warned not to use this policy with the vile and the mean lest they should be encouraged to do more mischief. Consider this piece of advice when you deal with the enemies of Islam.

To vanquish the foe with goodness certainly requires the foresight the Imam possessed. Strictness is permissible only when the enemy’s continuous vile conduct justifies retaliation or the use of force. If not, these dignified souls preferred to deal with him gently, so as to have a valid pretext against the opponent and leave no ground for him to justify his aggression.

Such was the noble method usually employed by the Family of the Prophet (ﺹ). Imam Ali (ﻉ), even on his death-bed, behaved liberally with Ibn Muljim al-Muradi, his assassin who had dealt him a mortal blow only the day before. Imam Musa al-Kadhim (ﻉ) showered his generosity on Muhammed ibn Isma'eel who carried out the orders of the Abbaside caliph to put an end to the Imam’s life. It was Imam Musa al-Kadhim (ﻉ) who aided him when he wanted to embark upon his journey with a grant of 400 dinars and 1,500 dirhams although he undertook this journey solely to poison the ears of the caliph against him.

Imam Musa al-Kadhim (ﻉ) had to undergo a great deal of hardship. The academy of learning, which his father Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (ﻉ) had established, could no longer be maintained. Other means to disseminate knowledge were beyond his reach. It was only through his noble personal behaviour that he was able to introduce the teachings of Prophet Muhammed (ﺹ) and his Progeny (ﻉ) to the public. This, indeed, is the best way to propagate Islam. You can talk about Islam as much as you want, but when one sees you doing something un-Islamic, your words will be forgotten, your reputation will be ruined, and your hypocrisy will be exposed. Talk is cheap; action is the true yardstick to measure one’s piety; actions speak louder than words.

The Imam (ﻉ) used to observe silence at gatherings or seminars, and he never spoke unless spoken to or someone asked him a question or requested him to solve a scientific problem. Nor did he ever initiate a conversation. In spite of this, he was held in very high esteem by friends and foes alike. All acknowledged his knowledge and noble personality. In view of his excessive worship at night, he was called “al-Abd al-Salih,” i.e. the pious worshipper of Allah. No less famed was his generosity. He used to secretly help the beggars and the destitute who never got to know who their benefactor was till he had died. After the fajr (pre-dawn) prayers, he used to lower his forehead in prostration and remain in that position till the sun rose high in the heart of the sky. His recitation of the Holy Qur’an was attractive; he wept as he recited, and his audiences were deeply moved.

In 170 A.H./787 A.D., Harun ar-Rashid succeeded Abu Ja'far al-Mansur as the caliph. His ancestors’ traditional cruelty towards the descendants of Imam Ali (ﻉ) and Fatima (ﻉ) was well in his view. The revolt of Yahya ibn Abdullah ibn al-Hasan broke out. Violating all agreements and covenants, as was always customary of the Umayyads and the Abbasides, Harun threw Yahya into the choking dark dungeons then had someone kill him. Imam Musa al-Kadhim (ﻉ) was in no way connected with Yahya’s uprising. Rather, he had actually advised him against opposing the tyrannical government. But Yahya’s action served to intensify the enmity which Harun harboured towards Imam Ali’s descendants including, of course, Imam Musa al-Kadhim (ﻉ). To make matters even worse, the Prime Minister, Yahya ibn Khalid al-Barmaki, poisoned Harun’s ears by pointing out that Ja'far ibn al-Ash'ath (tutor of Harun’s son, al-Amin, and a political rival of Yahya) was a follower of the Imam and that he planned to bring the Imam to power.

Although Yahya ibn Khalid intended just to entice Harun against Ja'far ibn al-Ash'ath, his plan proved to be fatal to Imam Musa al-Kadhim (ﻉ). In the same year, Harun came to Mecca to perform the hajj, and so did Imam Musa al-Kadhim (ﻉ). Here Harun watched with jealous eyes the sublime popularity which the Muslim multitudes demonstrated towards that sage. It was sufficient to flare up his rage. Muhammed ibn Isma'eel’s hostility worsened the situation.

To understand these complications, let us ponder on the following facts: Isma'eel, Muhammed’s father, was the eldest son of Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (ﻉ), and he was expected to succeed his father as the Imam. But he died during the Imam’s lefetime. The common notion was thus shattered. Yet some simpletons still held the view that Imam Ja'far’s successor should be one of Isma'eel’s offspring. Muhammed ibn Isma'eel and his followers, the Isma'eelis (or Isma'eelites, now a small off-shoot Shi'a sect), therefore, never acknowledged the Imamate of Musa al-Kadhim (ﻉ). Since his followers were a small minority, he outwardly expressed his loyalty to the family.

To discuss all means to annihilate Imam Musa al-Kadhim (ﻉ), Harun consulted Yahya al-Barmaki whom he instructed to collect complete reports about the Imam through one of the descendants of Imam Ali (ﻉ). Yahya, an avowed foe of the Prophet’s Progeny, recommended Muhammed ibn Isma'eel as the person who would supply all the details correctly. Accordingly, he was summoned to Baghdad.

When Muhammed ibn Isma'eel received the caliph’s letter, he considered it a passport to power, prestige, and prosperity. But he was penniless and unable to prepare for the journey. He was, therefore, obliged to approach the same generous saint who demonstrated benevolence to friends and foes alike. The Imam knew fully well the motives behind the journey. He nevertheless inquired about its purpose. Muhammed explained that he was having hard times, being deeply in debt, and that he thought that the journey might bring him prosperity. The Imam said, “You need not go there; I promise to pay off all your debts and provide adequately for your sustenance.” But Muhammed would not change his mind about going to Baghdad. Upon leaving, he paid the Imam a visit and requested a useful piece of advice. Imam Musa al-Kadhim (ﻉ) remained silent. When he repeated his request, the Imam said, “Please see that you do not become a party in slaying me, and please do not be the cause of making my children orphans.” Muhammed tried to turn from the point and asked for some appropriate advice. But the Imam refused to say anything more. When he got up to depart, the noble Imam gave him 450 gold dinars and 1,500 silver dirhams for the journey.

The result was exactly what the Imam had foreseen. Muhammed ibn Isma'eel reached Baghdad and stayed at the house of Prime Minister Yahya who introduced him to caliph Harun. The latter surrounded him with honours and inquired about the pace of events in Medina. Muhammed stated the circumstances most incorrectly, adding, “I never saw nor heard that a country is ruled by two kings.” Asked to explain, he asserted: “As you are ruling here in Baghdad, Imam Musa al-Kadhim rules there in Medina. From every town, revenues are delivered to him, and he claims to be your own equal in power.”

These were the words Yahya al-Barmaki had instructed Muhammed to say to Harun who felt provoked and challenged. He sent Muhammed back after granting him ten thousand dinars. But Allah wished that Muhammed should not avail of this sizeable wealth. On that very night, he suffered from throat pain, and when the day dawned, the darkness of death closed on him. Harun heard the news and ordered to retrieve the cash! Muhammed’s statement was not erased from Harun’s memory and he was resolved to put an end to the Imam’s life.

In 179 A.H./795 A.D., Harun went to Mecca and Medina. He stayed in the latter city for a day or two after which he sent his men to arrest Imam Musa al-Kadhim (ﻉ). The Imam was not at home when the caliph’s men came, so they went to the Prophet’s tomb where he used to say his prayers. Having total disregard for the sanctity of the Prophet’s grave, they arrested his descendant there and brought him before Harun. It was on the 20th of Shawwal of 179 A.H./795 A.D. that the Prophet’s pious son was being fettered and taken prisoner while not even one Medenite dared to raise a finger against the tyrant. This lethargy of the unfeeling Muslims had also been witnessed on several occasions before that incident. As a matter of fact, these Medenites have been politically lethargic ever since, especially after the Wahhabis took control, by force, of the politics of their country...

Being apprehensive of any attempt which might be made to rescue the Imam, Harun ordered two camel-domes to be prepared in one of which he seated the Imam and sent him to Basra escorted by a sizeable military detachment. The other empty dome was sent to Baghdad with an equal number of soldiers in order to confuse any prospective rescuers and distract the attention of the people by keeping the place of imprisonment unknown. Was it not a shocking event that the Imam’s family could not even see the Imam or bid him farewell? They only received the news that he had been imprisoned by the government. They were distressed to hear it and the Imam, too, was equally grieved for being separated from his loved ones without being able to bid them farewell.

Nobody knows what a zigzag route was followed; the journey to Basra took 47 days. There, the Imam remained in confinement for one year. The city’s governor was asa ibn Ja'far, a cousin of Harun. In the beginning, he carried out Harun’s orders. But he often wondered about the reasons for the imprisonment of the pious descendant of Prophet Muhammed (ﺹ). He, therefore, became curious about the Imam’s life, character and personality. The more he studied them and noticed his forbearance, the more he was impressed by his noble conduct. He conveyed his views to Harun in good faith, but the latter only became suspicious of the intentions of his own cousin. He, therefore, ordered the Imam to be transferred to Baghdad where he put him under the custody of Fadl ibn al-Rabi'. Having come to know that Fadl was sympathetic to the followers (Shi'a) of the Prophet’s Progeny (ﻉ), he put the Imam under the custody of Yahya al-Barmaki, the notorious enemy of Ahl al-Bayt (ﻉ). It seems that the Imam’s sacred personality impressed everybody, so the tyrant thought it necessary to change his jailers.

The Imam was finally imprisoned in a dungeon under the charge of al-Sindi ibn Shahik, the ruthless and stone-hearted Chief of Police of Harun ar-Rashid . The Imam died on the 25th of Rajab 183 A.H./September 2, 799 A.D. at the age of 55. No respect was awarded to him at the time of his burial either. Rather, the corpse was carried to the grave-yard by men who were announcing his death in degrading tones. By this time, the people felt depressed about the fate of the elevated Imam and sadly accompanied the coffin with a sincere display of grief and respect. They buried him in a northern suburb of Baghdad now bearing his name: al-Kadhimiyya, the city of Imam al-Kadhim (ﻉ), where his magnificent mausoleum now houses a reputed school of theology coveted by scholars and seekers of knowledge.

   5) IMAM ALI AL-Ridha (ﻉ)

He is Imam Abul-Hasan II, Ali ibn Musa al-Ridha, the eighth in the series of the Imams from the Ahl al-Bayt (ﻉ) of the Prophet. His birthplace is Medina, and his resting place is Tas (Iran). He was born in Medina on FRidhay, or Thursday, Thul-Hijja 11, or Thul-Qi’da, or Rabaul-Awwal, of the Hijri year 148 or the year 153. He died on FRidhay, or Monday, near the end of the month of Safar, or the 17th of Safar, or Ramadan 21, or Jumada I 18, or Thul-Qi’da 23, or the end of Thul-Qi’da, of the year 202 or 203 or 206. In his ‘Uyun Akhbar al-Ridha, al-Saduq states: “What is accurate is that he died on the 13th of Ramadan, on a FRidhay, in the year 203.” There is a great deal of dispute regarding the name of his mother. Some say she was called al-Khayzaran; others say she was Arwi and her nickname was “the blonde of Nubia,” while others say she was Najma and her nickname was “Ummul-Baneen.” Others say she was called Sakan the Nubian; still others say she was called Takattum. Disputes exist also regarding the number of his offspring and their names. Some scholars say that they were five sons and one daughter, and that they were: Muhammed al-Qani', al-Hasan, Ja'far, Ibrahim, al-Husain, and 'Aisha.

Sibt ibn al-Jawzi, in his book titled Tathkiratul-Khawass, says that the sons were only four, dropping the name of Husain from the list. Al-Mufid inclines to believe that the Imam did not have any son other than Imam Muhammed al-Jawad (ﻉ), and Ibn Shahr Ashub emphatically states so, and so does al-Tibrisi in his A’lam al-Wara. Author of Al-‘Udad al-Qawiyya states that the Imam (ﻉ) had two sons: Muhammed and Musa, and that he did not have other descendants. In his claim, he is supported by Qurb al-Isnad where the author says that al-Bazanti asked al-Ridha, “For years I have been asking you who your successor is and you keep telling me that it is your son even when you had no son at all, but since Allah has now blessed you with two sons, which one of them is he?” ‘Uyun Akhbar al-Ridha indicates that he had a daughter named Fatima. His life was characterized by melancholy from its beginning till its painful end. At the onset of his life, he witnessed the trials and tribulations which filled the life of his father Imam Musa ibn Ja'far (ﻉ).

The Abbaside caliph al-Mahdi III ordered the Imam (ﻉ) to go to Baghdad so that the caliph would secure from him promises and pledges that he would not oppose his authority nor mobilize a revolution against him, and the Imam (ﻉ) did not go back home till al-Mahdi went back to his Lord with his shoulders bent by the load of the regime’s sins and immoral actions. He was succeeded by the Abbaside caliph al-Hadi who tried to put an end to the life of the Imam, but he did not live long enough, so ar-Rashid  acceded to the throne, thus the parching flames of the tragedy started incinerating the existence of the Alawis (Alawides) headed by Imam Musa ibn Ja'far (ﻉ), and the dungeons of Baghdad, Basra, Wasit and other cities could not limit the regime’s passion for seeking revenge against its opponents. Instructions issued by the government required the builders to fill the hollow building cylinders and columns with the still alive bodies of the elite from among Alawi youths as well as non-Alawi sympathizers. This ugly method of eliminating the government’s opponents was not something invented by ar-Rashid ; it was a continuation of a custom started by al-Mansur who sought revenge against some Alawi youths as history tells us.^[226]

The Abbaside caliph al-Ma'mun decided to use the Imam (ﻉ) as a bargaining chip between him and the Abbasides in Baghdad on one hand, and between him and the Alawis on the other, and also between him and the Shi'as of Khurasan as well. The ploy of relinquishing the throne was foiled when the Imam (ﻉ) refused to accede to it.

It is worth mentioning here that when Imam al-Ridha (ﻉ) refused to accept the caliphate from the abdicating caliph, al-Ma'mun, or to take charge of the post of heir apparent to the throne, he had no reason except his own awareness of the real depth of the goal al-Ma'mun anticipated to achieve by his plan, and that the desire to abdicate was not to be taken seriously.

Imam al-Ridha (ﻉ) inherited the knowledge of his grandfather the Messenger of Allah (ﻉ). History narrates a great deal about his scholarly stances and intellectual discourses. Imam Musa a-Kadhim (ﻉ) is reported to have often said to his sons, “Ali ibn Musa, your brother, is the learned scholar of the Descen­dants of Muhammed (ﺹ); therefore, you may ask him about your religion, and memorize what he tells you for I have heard my father Ja'far ibn Muhammed more than once saying, The learned scholar of the family of Muhammed is in your loins. How I wish I had met him, for he is named after the Commander of the Faithful Ali (ﻉ).’” Ibrahim ibn al-Abbas al-Sali is reported as having said, “I never saw al-Ridha (ﻉ) unable to provide the answer to any question he received, nor have I ever seen any contemporary of his more learned than he was. Al-Ma'mun used to put him to test by asking him about almost everything, and he always provided him with the answer, and his answer and parable was always derived from the Holy Qur’an.”

Raja’ ibn Abul-Dhahhak, who was commissioned by al-Ma'mun to escort al-Ridha (ﻉ) to his court, said once, “By Allah! I never saw anyone more pious than him nor more often praising Allah at all times, nor more fearful of Allah, the Exalted. People approached him whenever they knew he was present in their area, asking him questions regarding their faith and its aspects, and he would answer them and narrate a great deal of hadith from his father who quoted each of his forefathers till Ali (ﻉ) who quoted the Messenger of Allah (ﻉ). When I arrived at al-Ma'mun’s court, the latter asked me about his behaviour during the trip and I told him what I observed about him during the night and the day, while riding or halting; so, he said, Yes, O son of al-Dahhak! This is the best man on the face of earth, the most learned, and the most pious.’”^[227]

Al-Hakim is quoted in Tarikh Nishapur as saying that the Imam (ﻉ) used to issue religious verdicts when he was a little more then twenty years old. In Ibn Majah’s Sunan, in the chapter on “Summary of Cultivating Perfection,” he is described as “the master of Banu Hashim, and al-Ma'mun used to hold him in high esteem and surround him with utmost respect; he even made him his successor and secured the oath of allegiance for him.”

Al-Ma'mun said the following statement once in response to Banu Hashim: “As regarding your reaction to the selection by al-Ma'mun of Abul-Hasan al-Ridha (ﻉ) as his successor, be reminded that al-Ma'mun did not make such a selection except upon being fully aware of its implications, knowing that there is none on the face of earth more distinguished, more virtuous, more pious, more ascetic, more acceptable to the elite as well as to the commoners, or more God-fearing, than he (al-Ridha) is.”^[228]

Abul-Salt al-Harawi is quoted as saying, “I never saw anyone more knowledgeable than Ali ibn Musa al-Ridha (ﻉ). Every scholar who met him admitted the same. Al-Ma'mun gathered once a large number of theologians, jurists and orators and he (al-Ridha [a]) surpassed each and every one of them in his own respective branch of knowledge, so much so that the loser admitted his loss and the superiority of the winner over him.”^[229]

He is also quoted as saying, “I have heard Ali ibn Musa al-Ridha (ﻉ) saying, I used to take my place at the theological center and the number of the learned scholars in Medina was quite large, yet when a question over-taxed the mind of one of those scholars, he and the rest would point at me, and they would send me their queries, and I would answer them all.”^[230]

After an intellectual discourse with al-Ma'mun, Ali ibn al-Jahm said, “Al-Ma'mun stood up to perform the prayers and took Muhammed ibn Ja'far, who was present there, by the hand, and I followed both of them. He asked him: What do you think of your nephew?’ He answered, A learned scholar although we never saw him being tutored by any learned mentor.’ Al-Ma'mun said, This nephew of yours is a member of the family of the Prophet (ﺹ) about whom the Prophet (ﺹ) said, The virtuous among my descendants and the elite among my progeny are the most thoughtful when young, the most learned when adult; therefore, do not teach them for they are more learned than you are, nor will they ever take you out of guidance, nor lead you into misguidance.’”^[231]

Good manners constitute a significant part of one’s personality. The Imam was characterized by a most noble personality which won him the love of the commoners as well as the elite. Ibrahim ibn al-Abbas al-Sali is quoted as saying, “I never saw Abul-Hasan al-Ridha (ﻉ) angering anyone by something he said, nor did I ever see him interrupting anyone, nor refusing to do someone a favour he was able to do, nor did he ever stretch his legs before an audience, nor leaned upon something while his companion did not, nor did he ever call any of his servants or attendants a bad name, nor did I ever see him spit or burst into laughter; rather, his laughter was just a smile. When he was ready to eat, he seated with him all his attendants, includ­ing the doorman and the groom.” He added saying, “Do not, therefore, believe anyone who claims that he saw someone else enjoying such accomplishments.”^[232] A guest once kept entertaining him part of the night when the lamp started fading and the guest stretched his hand to fix it, but Abul-Hasan (ﻉ) swiftly checked him and fixed it himself, saying, “We are folks who do not let their guests serve them.”^[233] The author of Al-Manaqib states that al-Ridha (ﻉ) once went to the public bath-house and someone asked him to give him a massage, so he kept giving the man a massage till someone recognized him and told that person who that dignitary was. The man felt extremely embarrassed; he apolo­gized to the Imam (ﻉ) and gave him a massage.^[234] Muhammed ibn al-Fadl narrates the following anecdote regarding the Imam’s simple personality. He says:

Al-Ridha (ﻉ), on the occasion of Eidul-Fitr, said to one of his attendants, “May Allah accept your good deeds and ours,” then he stood up and left. On the occasion of Eidul-Adha, he said to the same man, “May Allah accept our good deeds and yours.” I asked him, “O son of the Messenger of Allah! You said something to this man on the occasion of Eidul-Fitr and something else on the occasion of Eidul-Adha; why?” He answered: “I pleaded to Allah to accept his good deeds and ours because his action was similar to mine and I combined it with mine in my plea, whereas I pleaded to Allah to accept our good deeds and his because we are capable of offering the ceremonial sacrifice while he is not; so, our action is different from his.”^[235]

Imam al-Ridha (ﻉ) defines for us the Islamic theory as the rules which govern the actual dealings of man with his brother man. From this can we be inspired that Islam abolishes the then class distinctions among individuals and groups in the areas of public rights and the safeguarding of man’s dignity, and that the difference which we must recognize regarding these areas is the one between a person who obeys Allah and another who does not. A man once said to the Imam: “By Allah! There is nobody on the face of earth who is more honourable than your forefathers.” The Imam responded by saying, “Their piety secured their honour, and their obedience of Allah made them fortunate.”^[236] Another man said to him: “By Allah! You are the best of all people!” He said to him: “Do not swear that like. Better than me is one who is more obedient to Allah and more pious. By Allah! The following verse was never abrogated: And We have made you nations and tribes so that you may know each other; verily the best of you in Allah’s sight is the most pious.’”^[237] Abul-Salt once asked him: “O son of the Messenger of Allah! What do you say about something because of which people have been criticizing you?” He asked: “What is it?” He said, “They claim that you call people your slaves.” He said, “Allah! Creator of the heavens and the earth, You know what is hidden and what is manifest! I invoke Thee to testify that I have never said so, nor did I ever hear that any of my fore­fathers had said so! Allah! You know the many injustices this nation has committed against us, and this is just one of them...” Then he came to Abul-Salt and said, “O Abdul-Salam! If all people, as some claim, are our slaves, who did we buy them from?” Abul-Salt answered: “You are right, O son of the Messenger of Allah...” Then the Imam said, “O Abdul-Salam! Do you deny the right which Allah has allotted for us to be charged with the authority as others deny?” He said, “God forbid! I do acknowledge such right.”^[238] Abdullah ibn al-Salt quotes a man from Balkh saying, “I accompanied al-Ridha (ﻉ) during his trip to Khurasan. One day he ordered preparations for his meal to which he invited all his attendants, blacks and non-blacks, so I said to him, May my life be sacrificed for yours! Maybe these should have a separate eating arrangement.’ He said, Allah Almighty is One; the father (Adam) and the mother (Eve) are the same, and people are rewarded according to their deeds.’”^[239] Ibrahim ibn al-Abbas al-Sali is quoted as saying, “I heard Ali ibn Musa al-Ridha saying, I swear by emancipation--and whenever I swore by it, I would emancipate one of my slaves till I emancipated each and every one of them--that I do not see myself as better than that (and he pointed to a black slave of his who remained in his service) on account of my kinship to the Messenger of Allah (ﻉ) except if I do a good deed which would render me better.’”^[240] Yasir, one of his servants, said once: “Abul-Hasan said to us once: If I leave the table before you do, while you are still eating, do not leave on my account till you are through.’ It may happen that he calls upon some of us to his service and he is told that they are eating, whereupon he says: Leave them to finish their meal first.’” Nadir, another servant, says: “Abul-Hasan did not require us to do anything for him except if we had finished eating our meal.”^[241]

There is no doubt that, generally speaking, the Imams (ﻉ) were more distant than anyone else from the alluring wares of this vanishing world, and most distant from its ornamentations and allurements. But the concept of asceticism according to them was not limited to wearing modest coarse clothes or eating very simple food. Rather, its limits extended beyond that, for the ascetic person is the one who does not allow the pleasures of this world to take control over him without being able to take control of them, one who does not see this world as the ultimate goal he seeks; rather, when it comes towards him, the believer is entitled to enjoy its good things, and when it forsakes him, he contends himself that Allah’s rewards are more lasting.

Al-abi is quoted in Nathr al-Durar as saying,

"A group of Sufis visited al-Ridha (ﻉ) when he was in Khurasan, and they said to him, 'The commander of the faithful looked into the authority Allah Almighty entrusted to him, and he found you, members of the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt (ﻉ), to be the most deserving of all people to be the leaders. Then he discerned you, members of the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt (ﻉ), and he found yourself the most worthy of leading the people, so he decided to entrust such leadership to you. The nation is in need of one who wears coarse clothes, eats the most simple food, rides the donkey and visits the sick.' Al-Ridha (ﻉ) was first leaning on his side, so he sat straight then said, 'Joseph (Yousuf) was a Prophet who used to wear silk mantles brocaded with gold. He sat on the thrones of the Pharaohs and ruled. An Imam is required to be just and fair; when he says something, he says the truth, and when he passes a judgement, he judges equitably, and when he promises something, he fulfills his promise. Allah did not forbid (an Imam) from wearing a particular type of clothes or eating a particular type of food.' Then he recited the Qur’anic verse: 'Say: Who has forbidden the beautiful (gifts) of Allah which He has produced for His servants, and the good things, clean and pure (which He has provided) for sustenance?'”^[242]

Imam al-Jawad (ﻉ) was asked once about his view regarding musk. He answered: “My father ordered musk to be made for him in a ben tree in the amount of seven hundred dirhams. Al-Fadl ibn Sahl wrote him saying that people criticized him for that. He worte back: O Fadl! Have you not come to know that Joseph (Yousuf), who was a Prophet, used to wear silk clothes brocaded with gold, and that he used to sit on gilded thrones, and that all of that did not decrease any of his wisdom?’ Then he ordered a galia moschata (perfume of musk and ambergris) to be made for him in the amount of four thousand dirhams.’”^[243]

Ibn Abbad tells us the following about Imam al-Ridha’s ascetic conduct: “Al-Ridha used to sit on a leaf mat during the summer and on a straw sack during the winter; he used to put on coarse clothes, but when he went out to meet the public, he put on his very best.”^[244] So, when he is by himself, away from public life, his soul finds harmony with denying what is fake, that is, the decorations and allurements of this life. But when he goes out to meet people, he puts on his best for them follow­ing their own nature of holding the appearances of this world as significant, enjoying its good things. This realistically ascetic conduct of the Imam provides us with a glorious example of the truth regarding the Ahl al-Bayt (ﻉ) and their pure view of life which is free from any disturbing fake or pretense.

The Imam (ﻉ) tries to cause others to adorn them­selves with the same trait of clemency and tolerance upon being wronged as an element of good relationship among them, justifying this by saying that it increases the dignity of man, for clemency and tolerance, when the ability to deal equal blows and effect equal retribution express the power of anger in man and his control over his rash temper upon being challenged, this causes others to respect and venerate such a person especially when that person shoulders the responsibilities of authority. Al-abi says:

A man sentenced to be beheaded was brought to al-Ma'mun while al-Ridha (ﻉ) was among his train. Al-Ma'mun asked him: Father of al-Hasan! What is your view?’ He said, All I can say is that Allah only increases the dignity of those whose good will causes them to forgive.’ He, therefore, forgave the man.^[245]

In a dialogue with al-Bazanti, the Imam said, “Anyone who receives a boon is in danger: He has to carry out Allah’s commandments in its regard. By Allah! Whenever Allah blesses me with something, I continue to be in extreme apprehension till (and here he made a motion with his hand) I take out some of it and spend it in the way Allah has ordained in its regard.” Al-Bazanti asked him: “May my life be sacrificed for yours! You, in your status of high esteem, fear that much?” He answered: “Yes, indeed! And I praise my Creator for the blessings He bestowed upon me.”^[246] When in Khurasan, he once distributed his entire wealth to the poor on the day of Arafat, so al-Fadl ibn Sahl said to him: “Now you are bankrupt!” he said, “On the contrary! I am now wealthier than ever. Do not consider trading my wealth for Allah’s rewards and pleasure as bankruptcy.”^[247] He did not give others in order to buy their affection or friend­ship; rather, he considered giving with generosity as a good trait whereby man gets nearer to his Maker by including His servants in the wealth with which He blessed him. This is the difference between his method of giving and that of others. Ya'qub ibn Ishaq al-Nawbakhti is quoted as saying,

A man passed by Abul-Hasan and begged him to give him according to the extent of his kindness. He said, “I cannot afford that.” So he said, “Then give me according to mine,’”whereupon he ordered his servant to give the man two hundred dinars. ^[248]

The reason why the Imam abstained from giving the man according to the extent of his own kindness, as the man asked him the first time, is probably due to the fact that he simply did not have as much money as he liked to give. As regarding his own affection towards the poor and the indigent, and his way of looking after them, Mu’ammar ibn Khallad narrates this anecdote:

Whenever Abul-Hasan al-Ridha (ﻉ) was about to eat his meal, he would bring a large platter and select the choicest food on the table and put on it, then he would order it to be given away to the poor. After that he would recite the following verse: “But he hath made no haste on the path that is steep.”^[249] After that he would say, “Allah, the Exalted and the Sublime, knows that not everyone has the ability to free a slave; nevertheless, He found means for them to achieve Paradise (by feeding others).”^[250]

Thus does the Imam sense the weight of deprivation under which the poor moan and groan; therefore, he shares his best food with them in response to the call of humanity and kindness and in harmony with the spirit of the message with which Allah entrusted him. Al-Bazanti tells the story of a letter Imam al-Ridha (ﻉ) once wrote to his son (later Imam) Abu Ja'far (ﻉ) which personifies the generosity and spirit of giving deeply rooted in the hearts of the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt (ﻉ); he says: “I read the letter of Abul-Hasan Imam al-Ridha (ﻉ) to Abu Ja'far which said, O Abu Ja'far! I have heard that when you ride, the servants take you out of the city through its small gate. This is due to their being miser so that nobody would ask you for something. I plead to you by the right I have upon you that every time you enter into or get out of the city, you should do so through its large gate, and when you ride, take gold and silver with you, and every time you are asked, you should give. If any of your uncles asks you for something, you should give him no less than fifty dinars, and you yourself may determine the maximum amount you would like to give; and if any of your aunts asks you for something, do not give her less than twenty-five dinars, and it is up to you to determine the maximum amount. I only desire that Allah raises your status; therefore, keep giving away and do not fear that the Lord of the Throne will ever throw you into poverty.’”^[251] Yasir, one of the Imam’s servants, narrates saying that the Imam’s attendants were eating some fruit one day and they were throwing away a good portion of it uneaten. Abul-Hasan (ﻉ) said to them: “Praise be to Allah! If you have eaten to your fill, there are many who have not; so, you should feed them of it instead.”^[252] Sulaiman ibn Ja'far al-Jufi is quoted as saying, “I was in the company of al-Ridha (ﻉ) trying to take care of some personal business of my own when I wanted to go home. He said to me, Come with me and spend the night over my house.’ So I went with him and he entered his house shortly before sunset. He noticed that his attendants were working with clay, probably mending stables, and there was a black man among them. He asked them, What is this man doing with you?’ They said, He is helping us, and we will pay him something.’ He asked, Did you come to an agreement with him regarding his wages?’ They said, No. He will accept whatever we pay him.’ He, thereupon, started whipping them and showing signs of extreme anger. I said to him, May my life be sacrificed for yours! Why are you so angry?’ He said, I have forbidden them so many times from doing something like that and ordered them not to employ anyone before coming to an agreement with him regarding his wages. You know that nobody would work for you without an agreed upon wage. If you do not, and then you pay him three times as much as you first intended to pay him, he would still think that you underpaid him. But if you agree on the wage, he will praise you for fulfilling your promise and for paying him according to your agreement, and then if you give him a little bit more, he would recognize it and notice that you increased his pay.”^[253] Al-Bazanti is quoted as saying,

Al-Ridha (ﻉ) had one of his donkeys sent to convey me to his residence, so I came to the town and stayed with a dignitary for a part of the night, and we both had our supper together, then he ordered my bed to be prepared. A Tiberian pillow, a Caesarian sheet, and a Merv blanket were brought to me. Having eaten my supper, he asked me, “Would you like to retire?”’ I said, “Yes, may my life be sacrificed for yours.” So he put the sheet and the blanket over me and said, “May Allah make you sleep in good health,” and we were on the rooftop. When he went down, I told myself that I had achieved a status with that man nobody else had attained before. It was then when I heard someone calling my name, but I did not recognize the voice till one of his (al-Ridha’s) servants came to me. He said, “Come meet my master;” so I went down and he came towards me, asked me for my hand to shake and he shook it with a squeeze, saying, “The Com­mander of the Faithful, Allah’s peace be with him, came once to visit Sasaah ibn Sawhan, and when it was time to leave, he advised Sa’sa’ah not to boast about his visit to him but to look after himself instead for he seemed to be about to depart from this world and that worldly hopes do not do a dying man any good, and he greeted him a great deal as he bid him good-bye.”^[254]

We can clearly be acquainted with the negative stance of Ahl al-Bayt (ﻉ) towards their rulers by examining what al-Hasan ibn al-Husain al-Anbari tells us about Imam Abul-Hasan al-Ridha (ﻉ). Says he, “I continued writing him for fourteen years asking his permission that I accept a job in the service of the sultan. At the conclusion of the last letter which I wrote him, I stated the fact that I was fearing for my life because the sultan was accusing me of being a Rafidi and that he did not doubt that the reason why I declined from working for him was due to my being a Rafidi. So Abul-Hasan wrote me saying, I have comprehended the contents of your letters and what you stated regarding your life being in jeopardy. If you know that should you accept the job, you would behave according to the commands of the Messenger of Allah (ﻉ) and your assistants and clerks would be followers of your faith, and if you use the gain you receive to help needy believers till you become their equal, then one deed will offset another; otherwise, do not.’”^[255].

The author of Al-Ghaiba quotes al-Hassan ibn al-Hassan saying, “I said to Abul-Hasan Musa (ﻉ) once, Can I ask you a question?’ He answered, You must rather ask your own Imam.’ I inquired, What do you mean? I do not know of any Imam other than your own self.’ He said, He is my son Ali to whom I gave my title (of Imam).’ I said, Master! Please help me save myself from Hellfire! Abu Abdullah (ﻉ) had said that you yourself are the Qa’im, the caretak­er of this issue.’ He said, Was I not?’ Then he added, O Hassan! No Imam preaches to a nation except when he is their Qa’im; so, when he leaves them (i.e. dies), his successor will be the Qa’im and the Hujja (Proof) till he too leaves. We (the Imams) are all Qa’ims; there­fore, from now on, redirect all your dealings to my son Ali, for by Allah do I swear twice that I did not do that on my own accord but Allah did out of His love for him.’”^[256]

The Imam did his best to emphasize the error of that concept and how it collided with the reality by continuously stating that the Imamate after his demise would be the responsibility of his son Ali, and he even made a number of his followers and family testify to it. For example, Haider ibn Ayyub says, “We were in Medina at Quba, where we used to meet Muhammed ibn Zaid ibn Ali. He (the latter) came to us one day much later than anticipated, so we asked him what caused him to be so late. He said, Abu Ibrahim (Imam al-Ridha [a]) invited seventeen of our men, all descendants of Ali and Fatima, Allah’s blessings be upon both of them, and he required us to bear witness to his will and testimony that his son Ali would be his successor and representative during the remainder of his own life and after his demise.’ Then Muhammed ibn Zaid said, By Allah, O Haider! He has today tied the knot of Imamate for him, and the Shi'as will accept him as the Imam after his father’s demise.’”^[257] Abdullah ibn al-Harith said, “Abu Ibrahim called us to his presence and we responded. He said, Do you know why I have gathered you all here?’ We answered in the negative. He said, Bear witness that this Ali, my son, is my regent, the executor of my will, and my successor after me; whoever entrusted me with anything, let him take it back from him, and whoever insisted on seeking audience with me, let him obtain his written approval first.’”^[258] Abdul-Rahman ibn al-Hajjaj is quoted as saying that Abul-Hasan Musa ibn Ja'far (ﻉ) had nominated his son Ali for the Imamate and wrote a statement to this effect in the presence of sixty witnesses from among the most distinguished dignitaries of Medina.^[259]

There are many narratives narrated by some advocates and inventors of Waqfism which clearly prove to us their false claims. For example, Ziyad ibn Marwan al-Qandi narrates the following:

Once I visited Abu Ibrahim, and his son Ali was with him. He said to me, “O Ziyad! His statements (referring to his son) are as good as mine, his speech is like my speech, and his instructions are as binding as mine.”^[260]

Ahmed ibn Muhammed al-Maithami, a Waqfi, says, “Muhammed ibn Isma'eel ibn al-Fadl al-Hashimi told me the following: I visited Abul-Hasan Musa ibn Ja'far (ﻉ) when he was suffering from an acute illness. I asked him: If the matter regarding which I pray Allah that it would not happen (Imam’s death) comes to pass, who shall we follow?’ He said, My son Ali; his writing is as though I wrote it, and he is my regent and successor after me.’”^[261]

Ghannam ibn al-Qasim is quoted as saying, “Mansur ibn Younus Barzaj told me that he had visited Abul-Hasan, that is, Musa ibn Ja'far (ﻉ), and he said to him, Have you come to know what new undertaking I have undertaken today?’ He answered in the negative, so the Imam said, I have appointed my son Ali as my regent and successor after me; so, entered the room and congratulate him and tell him that I ordered you to do so.’ He, therefore, entered Ali’s room and congratulated him and informed him that his father had ordered him to do so, but al-Mansur reneged after that, and he even confiscated the funds (of Muslims) entrusted to him.”^[262]

There is another stance for the Imam which is not without an exciting moment involving one of the main advocates of Waqfism. His stance was like a clear warning to those who created the controver­sy of this “sect” and promoted it; al-Bata’ini states the following:

I said to Abul-Hasan, “Your father had informed us of his successor, and we wish you could inform us of yours.” So he took my hand and shook it, then he recited the verse: “Allah will not mislead people after He had guided them, in order that He may make clear to them what to fear (and avoid).”^[263]

The recitation of that verse came almost like a prophecy about the future of what that person and his friends would do and how they would fall into the slippery paths of misguidance; therefore, he shook his hand and recited a verse which predicted that those folks’ deviation would take place after proof had been made manifest against them. The Imam, as a matter of fact, referred clearly to the Waqfi movement after him and even recited the epitaph of the faith of those who advocated Waqfism in a narrative transmitted by Muhammed ibn Sinan who says,

I visited Abul-Hasan one year before he was transported to Iraq, and his son was with him. He called upon me to be attentive, and I responded. Then he said, “There will be a movement this year..., but do not let it bother you.” Then he lowered his head contemplating, picking the ground. Then he raised his head and recited this verse: “Allah leads the oppres­sors astray and does whatever He pleases.”^[264] I said, “And what is that, may my life be sacrificed for yours?” He said, “Anyone who denies the right of this son of mine and refuses to recognize his Imamate after me will be equal to one who denied the right of Ali ibn Abu Talib (ﻉ) and did not recognize his Imamate after Muhammed (ﺹ).” So I understood that he was implying that his death was near, and that he was appointing his son as his successor.^[265]

The Imam (ﻉ) was briefly contemporary to ar-Rashid ’s regime during which he suffered the tragedy of the assassination of his father Imam Musa al-Kadhim (ﻉ) and other Alawides. After the murder of his father, he was not safe from the schemes of some of those who flattered the rulers, followed their course, and pretended to show their loyalty by instigating enmity against the regime’s opponents, encouraging their elimination, thinking that that would increase the rulers’ liking for them and nearness to them, that it would stren­gthen their position, grant them unique distinctions, and raise them to the highest pinnacles.

Ja'far ibn Yahya says, “I heard asa ibn Ja'far say to Harun (ar-Rashid ) upon leaving al-Riqqa for Mecca, Remember your oath by the dignity of the descendants of Abu Talib that: should anyone after Musa (al-Kadhim [a]) claim to be the Imam, you would strike his head with the sword. This Ali, his son, claims so, and people are addressing him in the same way they used to address his father.’ He looked at him angrily and said, Why? Do you expect me to eliminate each and every one of them?’” Musa ibn Mahran says that when he heard Ja'far ibn Yahya say so, he went to him (i.e. to Imam al-Ridha) and told him what he had heard. Al-Ridha (ﻉ) responded by saying, “What do I have to do with them? By Allah, they cannot hurt me in the least.”

Such instigation was not confined within a reasonable limit but went beyond it to where instigation might cause ar-Rashid  to pay serious attention, for the Barmakis were most antagonistic towards the Descendants of the Prophet (ﺹ) and the most cruel among them in their grudge, so much so that it is reported that Yahya ibn Khalid al-Barmaki was the one who ordered Imam Musa ibn Ja'far (ﻉ) to be murdered^[266] when the Abbaside caliphate was under their mercy.^[267] Imam al-Ridha (ﻉ) rendered Allah’s retribution against the Barmakis to their persecution and oppression the worst of which was suffered by Imam al-Kadhim (ﻉ).^[268] Suffices for proof is the fact that Yahya ibn Khalid was the one who plotted the ugly plot against Imam al-Kadhim (ﻉ) after causing Harun ar-Rashid to be angry with him, instigating ar-Rashid  against the Imam (ﻉ) and using some simpleton weaklings among the Alawides to achieve his goal.^[269]

Finally, ar-Rashid  is surrounded by a large number of courtiers instigating him to kill Imam al-Ridha (ﻉ), and they succeeded in stirring his feelings against the Imam (ﻉ). Abul-Salt al-Harawi narrates saying that one day he was sitting with the Imam (ﻉ) at his house when a messenger from Harun ar-Rashid came in and ordered the Imam (ﻉ) to present himself before the caliph. The Imam (ﻉ) said, “O Abul-Salt! He does not call upon me at such time of the night except for trouble. By Allah! He cannot do anything which I hate to me because of what I had come to know of certain statements said by my grandfather the Messenger of Allah (ﻉ).” Abul-Salt continues his narrative to say that he accompanied the Imam (ﻉ) as he entered Harun ar-Rashid ’s court. When the latter looked at him, al-Ridha (ﻉ) recited a certain supplication by the Prophet (ﺹ). When the Imam (ﻉ) stood before ar-Rashid , the latter looked carefully at him and then said, “O Abul-Hasan! We have ordered a hundred thousand dirhams for you; write down of all your family’s needs.” When the Imam (ﻉ) left the court, the caliph kept looking at him as he was leaving and said behind his back: “I wished something, and Allah wished otherwise, and what Allah wished was good.” Thus did Allah save the life of the Imam (ﻉ) who sought refuge with Him, seeking His assistance through the sincere words which he had come to know that his grandfather the Messenger of Allah (ﻉ) had articu­lated. Ar-Rashid , on the other hand, went back to himself satisfied after destiny had opposed his vicious intention just to realize that what Allah had done was, indeed, better than what he himself had intended to do.

Safwan ibn Yahya is quoted as saying, “When Abul-Hasan Musa (ﻉ) passed away and al-Ridha (ﻉ) started preaching his mission, we were worried about his life (al-Ridha’s) and we said to him, You have declared something of great magnanimity, and we worry about your safety because of this tyrant.’ He said, Let him try his best, for he shall not have the means to hurt me.’”^[270] Muhammed ibn Sinan said, “During Harun’s reign, I said to Abul-Hasan al-Ridha (ﻉ), You have made yourself well-known because of this matter and followed in the footsteps of your father while Haroun’s sword is dripping with blood.’ He said, What made me bold in this regard is that the Messenger of Allah (ﻉ) had said, If Abu Jahl harms even one hair on my head, then bear witness that I am not a Prophet at all,’ and I tell you that if Harun took one hair away from my head, then bear witness that I am not an Imam at all.’”^[271]

Some Waqfis tried to warn him against declaring himself as the Imam (ﻉ) and openly acting as such, and he told them that such a matter did not require a warning, and that the fear that Harun might hurt him was groundless. Those individuals had only one objective in mind: to discourage al-Ridha (ﻉ) from making his Imamate public so that they might be able to promote their “sect” which claimed that the Qa’im was Imam Musa ibn Ja'far (ﻉ) and that he was still alive as we mentioned above. Let us review the dialogue between the Imam (ﻉ) and some of those Waqfis. Abu Masrooq has stated the following:

"A group of Waqfis entered the house of the Imam (ﻉ) once and among them were men like Abu Hamzah al-Bata’ini, Muhammed ibn Ishaq ibn Ammar, al-Husain ibn Umran, and al-Husain ibn Abu Sa'd al-Makari. Ali ibn Abu Hamzah said to him, “May my life be sacrificed for you! Tell us how your father is doing.” He said, “He, peace be with him, passed away.” He said, “Who did he recommend to succeed him?” He answered, “Myself.” He said, “You are claiming something which none among your forefathers claimed, starting from Ali ibn Abu Talib downwards.” He said, “It was said by the best of my forefathers and the most distin­guished among them: the Messenger of Allah (ﻉ).” He asked, “Do not you fear for your safety?” He said, “Had I worried about my safety, I would have been in a position to do something to protect myself. The Messenger of Allah (ﻉ) was approached once by Abu Lahab who threatened him; the Messenger of Allah (ﻉ) said to him: If I am scratched by you even slightly, then I am, indeed, a liar.’ That was the first time the Messenger of Allah (ﻉ) instigated someone, and this is the first time I do likewise and tell you that if I am scratched by Harun even slightly, then I am, indeed, a liar.” Husain ibnMahran said to him, “If this comes to pass, then we will have achieved our objective.” He said, “What do you exactly want? Should I go to Harun and tell him that I am the Imam (ﻉ) and that he is nobody? This is not how the Messenger of Allah behaved at the onset of his mission; rather, he said so to his family and followers and those whom he trusted from among the public. You believe that Imamate belongs to my father, claiming that what stops me from admitting that my father is alive is my own fear. I do not fear you when I say to you that I am the Imam; so, how can I fear you if my father is, indeed, alive?”^[272]

The Imam’s expectation proved to be true; Ar-Rashid breathed his last without hurting the Imam (ﻉ) in the least.

As regarding the Imam’s life during al-Amin’s reign, we cannot recount any incident regarding the government’s stance towards Imam al-Ridha (ﻉ), and this may be attributed to the confusing environment in which the Abbaside caliphate found itself due to internal dissents which led in the end to a serious split among the members of the ruling dynasty. Such split which was caused by al-Amin who deposed his brother al-Ma'mun from the post of heir to the throne and the nomination of his son, Musa, in his place after listening to the advice of al-Fadl ibn al-Rabi'’ who had a personal vendetta against al-Ma'mun and who feared him for his post should he become the caliph instead, since he had already opposed him openly.^[273]

There is disagreement regarding caliph al-Amin’s school of thought. Some think that he was Shi'a, while others think that he only pretended to be so out of his concern for Imam al-Ridha’s feelings and for those of other Alawides while in reality he was otherwise. But his discourses, debates, and his serious method whereby he challenged what was regarded as accepted facts by those who opposed his views dispel any doubts regarding his acceptance of Shi'aism. Moreover, there are certain noteworthy measures which he undertook supporting this view such as his belief that the Holy Qur’an was the Word of Allah created by Him, and his insistence that scholars and faqihs should indicate and promote this view, so much so that he stirred quite a reaction among contemporary Islamic circles to the extent that it was referred to as “the Holy Qur’an’s ordeal.” His father, ar-Rashid , differed from him in this regard. When he heard that Bishr al-Marisi endorsed the concept that the Holy Qur’an was created by Allah, he said, “If I ever lay my hand on him, I shall strike his neck with the sword.”^[274] Also, he believed in the temporary marriage of mut’a, and he refuted the views of the second caliph in this regard with arguments which have already been recorded by leading historians.

Add to all this his preference of Ali ibn Abu Talib (ﻉ) over all other companions of the Prophet (ﺹ) and his view that Ali was more worthy of succeeding the Messenger of Allah (ﻉ) as the caliph. Yet another supporting argument is his serious attempt to make the cursing of Mu'awiyah a tradition and enforce it on his subjects; he announced to people once the following:

There shall be no pardon for anyone guilty of praising Mu'awiyah, and the best of creation after the Prophet (ﺹ) is Ali ibn Abu Talib (ﻉ).^[275]

That was in response to Mu'awiyah who made the cursing of Ali a tradition which continued throughout the reign of all Umayyad rulers till the days of caliph Omar ibn Abdul-Aziz who put an end to it in order to safeguard the government of the Umayyads against the disgust people felt towards such ignominous tradition. He sympathized with the Alawides, and returned Fedak to them.

Al-Ma'mun, in fact, sincerely felt guilty about the crimes committed by his predeces­sors against the Alawides as a letter he wrote to some Hashemites testified as stated above wherein he said, “The Umayyads killed anyone (among the Alawides) who unsheathed a sword, while we, the Abbasides, have been killing them en masse; so, ask the great souls of the Hashemites what sin they committed, and ask those who were buried in Baghdad and Kufa alive...”^[276]

Al-Ma'mun’s inclination towards Shaism is the result of many factors of a permanent impact upon his way of thinking, starting with his childhood when a Shi'a educator planted deeply in his soul the allegiance to Ali and the family of Ali (ﻉ), and ending with his residence in parts of Khurasan where mostly Shi'as lived. Al-Ma'mun himself narrated an anecdote with a moral which taught him to sympathize with Shi'as. It involved an encounter with his father ar-Rashid  who was very well known for his cruelty, tyranny, arrogance and hatred of the Alawides, especially Imam Musa ibn Ja'far (ﻉ) whom he poisoned. Al-Ma'mun states that when Imam Musa ibn Ja'far (ﻉ) met ar-Rashid  at Medina, ar-Rashid  showed a great deal of humbleness before him and a great deal of respect to a degree which attracted his own attention; so, he continues to say, “When there was nobody else present, I said, O commander of the faithful! Who is this man whom you have held with such high esteem, respected a great deal, stood up to receive, and even seated in the most prominent place while seating yourself in front of him, and you even ordered us to hold the rein of his horse?!’ He said, This is the Imam of the people, the Proof of Allah’s Mercy to His creation (Hujjatullah) and His caliph among His servants.’ I asked, O commander of the faithful! Are not all these attributes yours and fulfilled in your person?’ He replied, I am the Imam of the masses by force and through oppression, while Musa ibn Ja'far (ﻉ) is the Imam in truth. By Allah, son, he is more worthy of being the successor of the Messenger of Allah (ﻉ) as the caliph than I am and anyone else among the people! By Allah! If you yourself attempt to take such caliphate from me, I shall take it away from you even if that means gouging your eyes, for power is blind!’”^[277]

Harun ar-Rashid was still not satisfied till he divided the domains of the state into three sections, granting al-Amin authority over Iraq and Syria up to the end of his western possessions; to al-Ma'mun he gave the territories from Hamadan up to the eastern borders of his domains; to al-Qasim he gave the peninsula, the sea ports, and the metropolises after having secured the oath of allegiance for him after his brother al-Ma'mun and giving him the option to keep or depose al-Ma'mun.^[278] Thus, ar-Rashid  thought, the ghost of dissension would be averted, and the govern­ment after his death would be secured for all his sons since he gave each one of them a portion thereof whereby he would maintain a force strong enough to deter the aggression of the other.

People predicted ominous consequences because of what ar-Rashid  had done. Some of them said that he sowed the seeds of evil and war among his sons.^[279] Some wise men said that he caused them to fall into an inner conflict the perils of which victimized the subjects.^[280] The conflict among the two brothers was worsened by the instigation of some top rank politicians in each party. On one hand, we find al-Fadl ibn al-Rabi'’, who caused the army to renege on its sworn promise of support for al-Ma'mun in Khurasan as soon as ar-Rashid  died, marched to Baghdad in order to strengthen al-Amin’s position, trying to aggravate the tension between al-Amin and his brother al-Ma'mun, instigating the first to nullify the allegiance to al-Ma'mun and change it to his son Musa, depending in so doing on various means of instigation which in the end pushed al-Amin to attack his brother. Al-Fadl, by doing so, was trying to get rid of al-Ma'mun as the regent for fear that should he come to rule, he would certainly seek revenge against him due to his going back on his promise to support al-Ma'mun whom he slighted and the oath of allegiance to whom he violated.^[281]

Al-Irshad narrates that al-Ma'mun discussed the subject of regency with al-Ridha (ﻉ), saying, “I have decided that you should be my successor.” The Imam said, “Exempt me from that, O commander of the faithful, for I have neither the ability nor the strength for that.” He said, “I have decided that you should be my successor.” The Imam said, “Exempt me from that, O commander of the faithful.” Al-Ma'mun responded with a statement which was more of a threat than anything else; he said to him: “Omar ibn al-Khattab entrusted six persons to consult regarding the caliphate; one of them was your grandfather, Ali ibn Abu Talib (ﻉ), and he preconditioned that anyone who went against their decision should be executed; therefore, you will have to accept what I have decreed for you, for I see no way that I can ever change my mind.”^[282]

The Imam (ﻉ), therefore, had to agree.^[283] It is also narrated that a lengthy discussion went on between both men in which al-Ma'mun offered the Imam to be the caliph and the Imam refused to accept, then he offered him the regency and he again refused, so al-Ma'mun said to him, “You always say what I hate to hear, and you think that you are safe from my might; therefore, I swear by Allah that you should either accept the regency willingly or I shall force you to do so; therefore, accept out of your own will; otherwise, I shall certainly strike your neck with the sword.”^[284]

What proves the fact that al-Ma'mun was not serious in his offer to the Imam to be the regent is a narration stating that al-Fadl al-Nawbakhti, who was an astronOmar believed to be a Shi'a, wanted to test al-Ma'mun’s intentions, so he wrote him saying, “The order of the stars indicates that naming al-Ridha (ﻉ) as the regent at this time cannot be done; otherwise, the person named will suffer a catastrophe. Therefore, if al-Ma'mun’s intentions agree with what he proclaims in public, he ought to postpone this matter till a more opportune time.” To this, al-Ma'mun warned him against discouraging Thul-Riyasatayn from contracting that agreement at that time, and that if he did not, he would know that the postponement was instigated by al-Nawbakhti. He also ordered him to return his own letter back to him so that nobody else would come to find out about it. He then came to know that al-Fadl was aware of the fact that time was not ripe for contracting the regency because he himself had knowledge of the science of the stars; therefore, al-Nawbakhti feared that the change of mind of al-Fadl ibn Sahl was because of him personally, and he would thus be killed by al-Ma'mun, so he rode to him and convinced him through his own knowledge of astronomy that time was indeed ripe for it, contrary to the reality, because he was more knowledgeable than him in astrology, and he kept confusing him till he finally convinced him.^[285]

Having failed to convince the Imam that he would abdicate the throne for him, al-Ma'mun requested him to accept to be the regent and to name him the succeeding caliph after him, but the Imam again insisted on refusing, so much so that al-Ma'mun had to seek the assistance of some of his best aides despite the fact that they themselves were not convinced that it was such a good idea, thinking that al-Ma'mun was serious. In his book titled Kitab Al-Irshad, Shaikh al-Mufid states the following:

"A group of historians and court biographers who were contemporary to the [Abbaside] caliphs say that when al-Ma'mun wanted to name Ali ibn Musa (ﻉ) as his successor, and having thought seriously about the matter, he ordered al-Fadl ibn Sahl to come to him and he informed him of his intention, ordering him to seek the assistance of his brother al-Hasan ibn Sahl^[286] in this regard, and he did just that. So they met with him, and al-Hasan kept pointing out the magnanimity of the consequen­ces of his suggestion, acquainting him with the outcomes resulting from taking his family out of it and affecting his own life. Al-Ma'mun, thereupon, said to him: “I pledged to Allah that if I lay my hand on the person who deposed me, I would hand the caliphate over to the best person among the progeny of Abu Talib, and I do not know anyone better than this man on the face of earth.” So, when both al-Fadl and al-Hasan saw his determination to carry out this matter, they stopped opposing him and he sent them to al-Ridha (ﻉ). They offered him the position, but he refused to accept it, and they continued pressing him till he finally agreed, so they went back to al-Ma'mun and told him about his approval whereupon he was very pleased."^[287]

Abul-Faraj al-Isfahani stated something similar to the above with this variation: “He dispatched them to Ali ibn Musa al-Ridha (ﻉ) and they offered it to him, and they continued pressing him while he was refusing till one of them said to him, If you agree, let it be so, but if you do not, we shall surely harm you,’ and he threatened to kill him. Then one of them said, By Allah he ordered me to strike your neck with my sword if you go against his wish.’”^[288]

Imam al-Ridha (ﻉ) knew beforehand about al-Ma'mun’s intentions through his knowledgeable foresight of the circumstances which led al-Ma'mun to vest the regency upon him, and he was contented that he would not actually accede to the throne in the future. Al-Madaini quotes one of his sources saying, “When al-Ridha (ﻉ) was seated during the regency celebration, with the orators and poets surrounding him and the flags fanning him, one individual who was present there and then said, I was close to him that day, and he looked at me and noticed my optimistic smile regarding the event, so he beckoned for me to come close. When I did, he said the following to me while nobody except me could hear him: Do not let this excite you, and do not be overly optimistic, for it will never materialize.’”^[289]

Al-Ma'mun was not satisfied with all of that; he went ahead and subjected the Imam (ﻉ) to a strict surveillance whereby he was closely watching all his movements, and he indirectly restricted his contacts with others; al-Rayyan ibn al-Salt narrates the following:

"Hisham ibn Ibrahim ar-Rashid I was the closest person to al-Ridha (ﻉ) before he was taken to the caliph’s palace, and he was a courteous and brilliant scholar. Al-Ridha’s contacts used to be transacted through him and under his supervision, and he used to collect all monies on his behalf before he, Abul-Hasan, was taken away. When he was taken away to the palace, Hisham ibn Ibrahim contacted Thul-Riyasatayn and he tried his best to win his favour and started informing him and al-Ma'mun about al-Ridha’s movements, thus he won their confidence and did not conceal anything regarding the Imam (ﻉ) from them. Al-Ma'mun, therefore, appointed him as the Imam’s chamberlain, and nobody could have audience with the Imam (ﻉ) except those whom he liked, and he enforced a tight surveillance on the Imam (ﻉ), so much so that none of his supporters could reach him without Hisham’s approval, and he used to inform al-Ma'mun and Thul-Riyasatayn of anything and everything al-Ridha (ﻉ) said at home."^[290]

What prompted al-Ma'mun to take such a harsh measure was his great apprehension that the Alawides, who predominated Khurasan, encouraged and directed by the Imam (ﻉ), might move topple his government.

Having evaluated the general status of the political policies of his government, which were surrounded by tumultuous events starting with Baghdad going back against its promise of support to him and passing by the Shi'a Alawide throngs surrounding his base of government in Khurasan and ending with the Alawide rebellions in Iraq, Hijaz and Yemen, al-Ma'mun thought of curing this weak point by a brilliantly acceptable political move which would be something to divert the attention of the Alawides and the Shi'a residents of Khurasan and, at the same time, constituting a terrible threat to the Abbaside masses in Baghdad. All such measures, he hoped, would strengthen his influence and help him control all parties involved. This could not be accomplished without naming Imam Ali ibn Musa al-Ridha (ﻉ) as the successor to the throne. And so it happened; the caliph sent letters to the Imam (ﻉ) ordering him to go to Merv. The Imam (ﻉ) refused, and a great deal of correspondence ensured between both men till al-Ma'mun finally convinced him to go there, sending a special force to escort him which included al-Dhahhak, or, according to al-Mufid and Abul Faraj al-Isfahani, al-Jalladi. History books do not say much about that trip except small bits and pieces which do not provide us with a clear vision of its nature and mission.

Al-Ma'mun had already ordered his messenger to take a group of dignitaries who were descendants of Abu Talib to the Basra highway, then to al-Ahwaz and Persia, keeping in mind that the alternate route, which was Kufa-al-Jabal-Kerman Shah-Qum, was mostly inhabited by Shi'as and it has their strongholds, and they might be carried away by their enthusiasm upon finding out that the Imam (ﻉ) was among them and might decide to keep him there and thus involve the government in dangerous consequences which might cause its weakening and collapse.

When he entered Nishapur^[291], he stayed at a neighbourhood called al-Qazwani where there were crowds of pigeons, the pigeons which they call today al-Ridha (ﻉ) pigeons, and there was a spring there the water of which had receded, so he hired workers who repaired it till its water became plentiful. He had a pool built on its outside where stairs were also built according to his instructions leading to the low level of the spring water, so the Imam (ﻉ) went down, made his ablution, came out and said his prayers on the outside.

The Imam (ﻉ) continued his trip till he finally reached Merv where al-Ma'mun had prepared a comfortable place for him, surrounding him with respect and. It was then that al-Ma'mun started to execute the plan which he had plotted for the regency.

Having been convinced to accept, the Imam (ﻉ) said to al-Ma'mun: “I also agree not to name anyone in a post nor remove anyone from a post, that I do not cancel any decree or custom, and to remain as an advisor.” The caliph agreed.^[292]

In another encounter, al-Ma'mun tried to press the Imam (ﻉ) into participating in the state affairs. Mu’ammar ibn Khallad said that Abul-Hasan al-Ridha (ﻉ) had said to him, “Al-Ma'mun said to me, O father of al-Hasan! You may suggest the names of some individuals whom you trust to be governors of the areas where corruption is manifest,’ and I said to him, If you honour your part of the agreement, I shall certainly honour mine. I agreed to what I agreed on the condition that I do not issue orders nor overrule others, nor depose anyone nor appoint anyone, nor do I go anywhere except wherever Allah sends me. By Allah! Caliphate is something which I never desired, and I used to live in Medina where I would go traverse its alleys on the back of my animal, and when its residents or others asked me to do them a favour, I would do them a favour, and thus they become like my own uncles. My letters still carry weight in various lands, and you have not increased me in the least in whatever blessing Allah has bestowed upon me.’ So he said, I shall honour it.’”^[293]

One of the manifestations of the inaugural regency ceremony was the Eid prayers which al-Ma'mun insisted that the Imam (ﻉ) should conduct in person because he himself had caught a very bad cold, or he may have had another excuse. Al-Irshad quotes Ali ibn Ibrahim who, in turn, quotes Yasir the servant and al-Rayyan ibn al-Salt saying that when the Eid approached, and al-Ridha (ﻉ) had already been named as the caliph’s successor, al-Ma'mun invited him to ride to the place where the occasion was to be celebrated and to lead the congregational prayers and deliver the sermon. Al-Ridha (ﻉ) sent him word saying, “You know what terms exist between both of us; so, please exempt me from conducting the prayers to people.” Al-Ma'mun answered saying, “My intention is that people’s hearts must rest at peace regarding you and they should come to know your excellences.” Messengers kept going between both men carrying messages, and when al-Ma'mun insisted on his suggestion, he sent him a message saying, “If you exempt me, I would appreciate it, and if you do not, I shall come out just as the Messenger of Allah (ﻉ) and the Commander of the Faithful Ali ibn Abu Talib (ﻉ) did,” whereupon al-Ma'mun said, “Come out however you please.” He ordered the commanders of the army and the chamberlains as well as the public at large to go early to al-Ridha’s house. People waited in the alleys and on rooftops to see Abul-Hasan al-Ridha (ﻉ), and women and children waited for him, too. The army commanders and their attending troops stood guard at his door mounted on their horses till the sun started rising. Abul-Hasan washed, put on his outdoor clothes. He wore a cotton turban, leaving a tassel of it drape down on his chest and between his shoulders. He rubbed his hands with some perfume, took a cane and told his servants to do likewise. So they all came out, and he was barefoot. He raised his trousers up to half the leg, and his clothes were hanging loosely on him. He walked for a short while, raised his head above and made the takbar and his servants did likewise. Then he walked till he reached his doorstep. When the leaders and their troops saw him looking like that, they all swiftly alighted, so much so that lucky was whoever happened to have a knife to cut the leather stirrups so that he could jump faster than the rest, take his sandals off and remain barefoot just as the Imam (ﻉ) had done. Al-Ridha (ﻉ) made takbar again, and everyone else did likewise; it seemed as if the sky and the walls echoed with him, and Merv was shaken with the noise of weeping and hassle when its residents saw Abul-Hasan and heard him say Allahu Akbar! Allahu Akbar!...

Al-Ma'mun came to know about all of that. Al-Fadl ibn Sahl Thul-Riyasatayn said to him, “O Commander of the faithful! If al-Ridha (ﻉ) reaches the mosque in such a condition, people will be fascinated by him and we all will have to fear for our lives; so, send him a messenger and tell him to return.” Al-Ma'mun sent him a message saying, “We have over-burdened you and wore you out, and we do not wish that you should suffer any hardship on our account; so, go back home, and let people say their prayers behind whoever they have been praying.” Abul-Hasan, therefore, asked for his sandals back, put them on and went back. People on that day differed regarding their prayers, and he did not congregate with them.

Al-Ma'mun’s reign was plagued with dissensions and discords both at home and abroad, and part of the problem was the influence the caliph had awarded to his prime minister al-Fadl ibn Sahl. The latter did many things on his own, letting the caliph know what he wanted him to know. Many dignitaries, including top ranking government officials and commanders of the army, were not happy about such an influence. They were sincere in their intentions to save the deteriorating situation by requesting Imam al-Ridha (ﻉ) to disclose the reality of the status quo to al-Ma'mun, since he was the only one who could not be harmed by al-Fadl nor could anyone instigate al-Ma'mun against him. Ibn Khaldun writes the following:

"As discords took place in Iraq because of al-Hasan ibn Sahl (brother of al-Fadl), and due to people’s resentment of his and his brother’s excessive influence over al-Ma'mun, then [their outrage at] the nomination of Ali ibn Musa al-Ridha (ﻉ) and the possibility of the caliphate slipping away from the Abbasides’ hands, al-Fadl ibn Sahl was meanwhile concealing all of that from al-Ma'mun. He was going to extremes in such concealment for fear al-Ma'mun might change his heart about him and about his brother. When Harthamah came, he knew that he was going to tell al-Ma'mun about all of that, and that al-Ma'mun trusted the advice of Harthamah; so, he perfected his instigation against him with al-Ma'mun till he made him change his mind about the man and kill him, and he did not even listen to what he wanted to say; therefore, the displeasure of the Shi'as there, as well as that of the residents of Baghdad, intensified against him, and dissensions became widespread. The commanders of al-Ma'mun’s army started talking about it, but they could not inform him of it, so they approached Ali al-Ridha (ﻉ) and asked him to convey the matter to al-Ma'mun. And so it was. He informed him of the rioting and killing in Iraq and that people criticized him for the favourite status which he had granted both al-Fadl and al-Hasan, and for his (al-Ridha’s) nomination. Al-Ma'mun asked him, “Who else besides you knows all of that?” He said, “Yahya ibn Maad, Abdul-Aziz ibn Imran and other prominent army leaders.” So he called them to him, and they did not reveal anything except after he had offered them sworn guarantees of their own security, so they told him exactly what al-Ridha (ﻉ) had already told him."^[294]

At-Tabari provides us with a clear and more precise picture of Imam al-Ridha’s situation; he writes the following in his famous history book:

"It was rumoured that Ali ibn Musa ibn Ja'far ibn Muhammed [al-Ridha], the Alawide, told al-Ma'mun about the dissension and inter-killing among people, that since the assassination of his brother, al-Fadl was concealing the news from him, that his own family and the public criticized him for certain reasons and said he was a bewildered madman, and that since they saw that he was doing all of that, they swore the oath of allegiance to his uncle Ibrahim ibn al-Mahdi as the caliph. Al-Ma'mun said, “They did not swear the oath of allegiance to him; rather, they accepted him as a governor ruling them in the way al-Fadl had instructed him.” He informed him that al-Fadl had indeed lied to him and that he cheated him as well, adding, “The war between Ibrahim and al-Hasan ibn Sahl is raging; people criticize him for the status which you gave him (al-Fadl) and his brother, and they criticize your nomination of myself as your successor.” He asked him, “Who else in my army is aware of that?” He said, “Yahya ibn Mad, Abdul-Aziz ibn Imran, and a number of prominent military commanders.” So he called them to his court, and they were Yahya ibn Mad, Abdul-Aziz ibn Imran and Musa and Ali ibn Abu Sa'd, who was son of al-Fadl’s sister, and also Khalaf the Egyptian. He asked them about what he had heard, but they refused to tell him anything unless he guaranteed their safety against the threat of revenge by al-Fadl ibn Sahl. He guaranteed that for them, and he wrote each one of them a statement in his own handwriting to that effect. Then they told him about the discords among his subjects, about the deliberate misinforma­tion he heard from al-Fadl regarding Harthamah, and that Tahir ibn al-Husain had done an excellent job serving him and opened many lands to his government and strengthened his caliphate. When he accomplished all of that, he was “rewarded” by banishment to Riqqa where he was not permitted to receive funds from anyone, till his authority was undermined and his troops mutinied, that had his caliphate been in Baghdad, he would have had a better control and nobody would have dared to mislead him as al-Hasan ibn Sahl had. The land from one end to the other was shaking under his feet. Tahir ibn al-Husain had been forgotten that year, since the murder of Muhammed in Riqqa, without being utilized in these wars while someone who was a lot less qualified was in charge...^[295]

The picture now was turned upside down in the eyes of al-Ma'mun, but he did not try to change the way how he was dealing with al-Fadl because the latter was in charge of the government base in both Khurasan and Baghdad. In Khurasan, the psychological war, which he waged by deposing Tahir ibn al-Husain and by having Harthamah murdered, nurtured the desire among the commanders of the army for mutiny, pushing them to yield to his wishes and expectations after having felt that al-Ma'mun represented no more than a magic wand in al-Fadl’s hands. As regarding Baghdad, it was in the grip of his brother al-Hasan ibn Sahl who was considered as al-Fadl’s right hand and the big stick whereby he threatened al-Ma'mun.

As regarding those men who exposed to al-Ma'mun the reality of al-Fadl’s conduct and the dangers it implied, they were terrified when al-Fadl tore down the assurances which had been written by al-Ma'mun guaranteeing their safety against his wrath and revenge upon coming to know about their instigation and their support of what Imam al-Ridha (ﻉ) had said about him. At-Tabari says,

"When that became certain to al-Ma'mun, he ordered preparations to march to Baghdad, and when al-Fadl ibn Sahl came to know about those preparations, he came to know only about some of them, so he interrogated those men, whipping and jailing some of them and pulling the hair out of the beards of others. Ali ibn Musa [al-Ridha] came to his court and told him what had happened to those men and reminded him of his assurances to them. He [al-Ma'mun] answered him by saying that he was only tolerating."^[296]

Al-Ma'mun was now convinced that he had no choice except to get rid of al-Fadl ibn Sahl whose job in modern times is equivalent to prime minister. It is also interesting that chance should play a major role in the execution of al-Ma'mun’s plan to eliminate al-Fadl, and it may even have been arranged by al-Ma'mun himself.

While on his way to Baghdad, al-Fadl, who was in the company of al-Ma'mun, received a letter from his brother al-Hasan ibn Sahl in which he said, “I have looked in the changing of this year according to the calculations of the movements of the stars and I found out that you will in such and such month, on a Wednesday, taste the pain of red-hot iron and of the burning fire, and I am of the view that you should today go in the company of al-Ridha (ﻉ) and the commander of the faithful to the bath-house to take a bath and then pour blood over your body so that the ill luck of this omen may leave you.” Al-Fadl, therefore, sent a letter to al-Ma'mun asking him to go with him to the bath-house, and to request Abul-Hasan (ﻉ) to join them too.

Al-Ma'mun wrote a letter in that same meaning to al-Ridha (ﻉ) who wrote him back saying that he would not enter the bath-house the next day, nor would he recommend that the commander of the faithful should enter it either, nor even al-Fadl. But al-Ma'mun repeated his request twice, and Abul-Hasan wrote him again saying, “I shall not enter the bath-house tomorrow for I saw in a vision the Messenger of Allah (ﻉ) last night telling me not to enter the bath-house tomorrow; therefore, I do not advise the commander of the faithful nor al-Fadl to enter the bath-house tomorrow,” whereupon al-Ma'mun wrote him saying, “You have, master, said the truth, and so has the Messenger of Allah (ﻉ); I shall not enter the bath-house tomorrow, and al-Fadl knows best what he should do...”^[297] Al-Fadl entered the bath-house just to be received by the swords of the assassins as the letter he had received from his brother al-Hasan ibn Sahl had “predicted,” or was it really a prediction?!

We do not think it is unlikely that the letter prepared by al-Ma'mun imitated the writing style of the al-Fadl’s brother, al-Hasan, in order to avoid being accused of murdering his prime minister. It is also possible that al-Ma'mun wished to get rid of both al-Fadl and Imam al-Ridha (ﻉ) by that method of assassination, but the Imam (ﻉ) was alert in the face of al-Ma'mun’s cunning and scheming, so he resisted the insistence of al-Ma'mun to enter the bath-house with him and with al-Fadl by tact and caution. The last paragraph of the anecdote tells us clearly that the letter was a plot by al-Ma'mun to kill both al-Fadl and the Imam (ﻉ); otherwise, why did al-Ma'mun abstain from warning al-Fadl against entering the bath-house although the Imam (ﻉ) had asked him to do just that? What provides evidence is the fact that those who killed al-Fadl were among the closest courtiers and train members of al-Ma'mun and, according to one account, they later on faced al-Ma'mun with their accusation that he was the one who asked them to do it. At-Tabari writes the following:

When he [Ma'mun] reached Sarkhas, some men assaulted al-Fadl ibn Sahl at the bath-house and struck him with their swords till he was dead, and that was on a FRidhay two nights before the end of Shaban in the year 202 A.H./817 A.D. They were arrested, and it became clear that those who assassinated al-Fadl were among al-Maman’s closest courtiers. They were four in number: Ghalib al-Mas'udi, the black man, Qistantine (Constantine), Faraj al-Daylami, and Muwaffaq of Sicily; they killed him and he was sixty years old and they ran away. Al-Ma'mun posted a reward of ten thousand dinars for anyone who would bring them to him, and they were brought to him by al-Abbas ibn Haitham ibn Bazar-Jamhar al-Daynari, and they said to al-Ma'mun, “But you ordered us to kill him!” He ordered them to be killed. It is also said that when those who killed al-Fadl were arrested, al-Ma'mun interrogated them, and some of them said that Ali ibn Abu Sa'd the son of al-Fadl’s sister had dispatched them, while others among them denied that, and he ordered their execution. After that he ordered Abdul-Aiz ibn Imran, Ali, Musa, and Khalaf, to be brought to him, and he interrogated them. They denied having any knowledge of the matter, but he did not believe them and ordered their execution too, sending their heads to al-Hasan ibn Sahl in Wasit as a trophy and informing him about his own pain because of the tragedy of the murder of al-Fadl and that he appointed him in his place.^[298]

Thus did al-Ma'mun get rid of the strongest power base within his government which threatened his authority and his fate, leaving only one obstacle in his way to guarantee to uproot the rebellion in Baghdad by dealing with its root causes which included the presence of Imam al-Ridha (ﻉ) who, according to the Abbasides, was a difficult knot they could not be loyal to al-Ma'mun except if he untied it, for its presence meant the end of the Abbaside rule and the beginning of the Alawide.

It was not politically feasible for al-Ma'mun to reach Baghdad accompanied by Imam al-Ridha (ﻉ), for that would stir the winds of dissension against him which he might not be strong enough to withstand. We are convinced that al-Ma'mun was the one who plotted to end the life of the Imam (ﻉ) by giving him poisoned grapes. Al-Ma'mun’s letter to the Abbasides and the residents of Baghdad, which he wrote after the demise of Imam al-Ridha (ﻉ), lends credence to such a conviction. “He wrote the Abbasides and their supporters as well as the people of Baghdad informing them of the death of Ali ibn Musa and that they had resented his nominating him as his successor, asking them now to go back to their loyalty to him.”^[299] This may be understood as a clear admission that the death of the Imam (ﻉ) was not natural during those circumstances, and the text Ibn Khaldun provides in expressing the contents of this letter provides even clearer clues to accusing al-Ma'mun of murdering him; he says the following in his Tarikh:

"... And al-Ma'mun sent messages to al-Hasan ibn Sahl, to the people of Baghdad, and to his supporters apologizing for naming him his heir to the throne and inviting them to go back to his loyalty.^[300]

Al-Saduq narrates saying, “While al-Ridha (ﻉ) was breathing his last, al-Ma'mun said to him, “By Allah! I do not know which of the two calamities is greater: losing you and parting from you, or people’s accusation that I assassinated you...’”^[301] In another narrative by Abul-Faraj al-Isfahani, al-Ma'mun said to him, “It is very hard for me to live to see you die, and there was some hope hinging upon your stay, yet even harder for me is people saying that I have poisoned you, and Allah knows that I am innocent of that.”^[302] This situation discloses the fact that the accusation of his own murder of the Imam (ﻉ) was the subject of argument, maybe even of conviction, even then, for al-Ma'mun asserts people’s accusation of him and he tries to extract an admission from the Imam (ﻉ) clearing him of it, as Abul-Faraj al-Isfahani mentions in his book Maqatil al-Talibiyyin.

Accounts regarding the method al-Ma'mun employed to kill Imam al-Ridha (ﻉ) are abundant. Abul-Faraj al-Isfahani and Shaikh al-Mufid say that he killed him by poisoned pomegranate juice and poisoned grape juice. In his book Al-Irshad, al-Mufid quotes Abdullah ibn Bashir saying, Al-Ma'mun ordered me to let my nails grow as long as they could without letting anyone notice that; so I did, then he ordered to see me and he gave me something which looked like tamarind and said, Squeeze this with both your hands,’ and I did. Then he stood up, left me and went to see al-Ridha (ﻉ) to whom he said, How are you?’ He answered, I hope I am alright.’ He said, I, too, by the Grace of Allah, am alright; did any well-wisher visit you today?’ He answered in the negative, so al-Ma'mun became angry and called upon his servants to come, then he ordered one of them to immediately take the pomegranate juice to him, adding, ... for he cannot do without it.’ Then he called me to him and said, Squeeze it with your own hands,’ and so I did. Then al-Ma'mun handed the juice to al-Ridha (ﻉ) in person, and that was the reason for his death for he stayed only two days before he (ﻉ) died.’”

Abul-Salt al-Harawi is quoted as saying, “I entered al-Ridha’s house after al-Ma'mun had already left; he said to me, O Abul-Salt! They have done it...!’ and he kept unifying and praising Allah.” Muhammed ibn al-Jahm is quoted as saying, “Al-Ridha (ﻉ) used to love grapes. Some grapes were said to be prepared for him; they were pierced with needles at their very tips and were kept like that for several days. Then the needles were taken out, and they were brought to him and he ate some of them and fell into the sickness to which we have referred. The grapes killed him, and it was said that that was one of the most effective methods of poisoning.”^[303] Al-Ma'mun was, indeed, the one who killed Imam al-Ridha (ﻉ), there is no doubt about it.

His death occurred at Toos in a village called Sanabad, of the Nooqan area, and he was buried at the house of Hameed ibn Tahtaba under the dome where Harun ar-Rashid had been buried, and he was buried beside him facing the qibla.^[304]

When al-Ridha (ﻉ) died, al-Ma'mun did not disclose when it happened, leaving him dead for one day and one night, then he called for Muhammed ibn Ja'far ibn Muhammed and a group of descendants of Abu Talib. When they were present, he showed him [Imam] to them; his corpse looked alright; then he started weeping and addressed the corpse saying, “O Brother! It is indeed very hard for me to see you in such a condition, and I was hoping to go before you, but Allah insisted on carrying out His decree,” and he showed a great deal of agony and grief and went out carrying the coffin with others till he reached the place where it is now buried...^[305]

... So al-Ma'mun was present there before the grave was dug, and he ordered his [Imam’s] grave to be dug beside that of his father, then he approached us and said, “he person inside this coffin told me that when his grave is dug, water and fish will appear underneath; so, dig...” They dug. When they finished digging, a spring of water appeared, and fish appeared in it, then the water dissipated, and al-Ridha (ﻉ) was then buried.^[306]

In Yemen, in the aftermath of the Imam’s assassination, Ibrahim ibn Musa ibn Ja'far rebelled and took control of the government after banishing al-Ma'mun’s governor. In Mecca, al-Husain ibn al-Hasan al-Aftas revolted, and Muhammed ibn Ja'far was named caliph. In Basra, Zaid ibn Musa ibn Ja'far rebelled. He was nicknamed “Zaid of the fire” due to the number of the homes of the Abbasides and of their followers which he had burnt. Whenever he came across a man draped in black, he would burn his home. Ali ibn Sa'd marched to him. Zaid requested him to guarantee his safety if he gave up, and Ali agreed. But he nevertheless arrested him^[307] and sent him to al-Hasan ibn Sahl who ordered to have him executed while al-Hajjaj ibn Khaythamah was present, so he said, “Prince! Do not rush, for I have a piece of advice for you.” He stopped the executioner and came close to him. He said, “Prince! Did you receive instructions from the commander of the faithful to do what you are about to?” He answered in the negative, so he asked again, “Then why are you executing the cousin of the commander of the faithful without his knowledge or consultation?” Then he narrated for him the story of Abu Abdullah al-Aftas whom ar-Rashid  jailed under the watchful eyes of Ja'far ibn Yahya. Ja'far killed him without his knowledge and sent his head on a platter to him together with other Nawraz^[308] presents. When ar-Rashid  ordered Masrar to kill Ja'far, he said to him, “If Ja'far asked you about his crime for which you are killing him, tell him that you are killing him for his own killing of my cousin Ibn al-Aftas whom he killed without my knowledge.” Then al-Hajjaj ibn Khaythamah said to al-Hasan ibn Sahl, “O Prince! Do you feel secure should anything happen between you and the commander of the faithful if you kill this man and use it as an excuse just as ar-Rashid  had done against Ja'far ibn Yahya?” Al-Hasan said to al-Hajjaj, “May Allah reward you!” Then he ordered Zaid to be returned to his prison where he was kept till he was transported to al-Ma'mun. Once he was there, al-Ma'mun sent him to his brother al-Ridha (ﻉ) who set him free.^[309] One of the interesting anecdotes narrated about him is the following:

"When he was brought to al-Ma'mun, the latter said to him, “O Zaid! You led the uprising in Basra, and instead of starting with the homes of our common enemies: the Umayyads, Banu Thaqaf, Uday, Bahila and al Ziyad, you targeted the homes of your own cousins.” Zaid, who had a humorous temper, said, “I, indeed, erred from each direction, O commander of the faithful! If I go back, I will start with our enemies!” Al-Ma'mun laughed and sent him to his brother al-Ridha (ﻉ) saying, “I have pardoned him just to please you.” When he was brought to the Imam (ﻉ), he was reprimanded then released."^[310]

What we try to get acquainted with by examining the Imam’s stand towards his brother “Zaid of the fire” was the reality regarding the Imam’s viewpoint of the revolutionary method employed by the Alawides in their revolutions against the Abbasides. We find the Imam (ﻉ) taking a strictly negative stand towards his brother Zaid. Yet he did not rebuke him and blame him simply because he had revolted against the government, but rather because he had committed several unlawful acts according to Islamic Shari’a such as looting, confiscating, burning, in which acts he did not distinguish between the innocent and the guilty. Other than that, the sincere Alawide revolutions which aimed at standing in the face of injustice and oppression used to enjoy the support of the Imams who considered them the only way to disclose to the nation how corrupt the government was, and to make them aware of its infringements and transgressions.

Al-Ma'mun’s tolerance towards those who rebelled against him was not in contradiction with his general conduct. On one hand, he wanted to compete with the Alawides in winning the public opinion to his side. On the other hand, he was trying to stay away from getting involved in shedding their blood and seeking revenge against them which did not agree with his inclination, though in theory, towards the Alawides.

The Imam (ﻉ) had sided with the Alawide revolution of Ibn Tabataba under the command of Abul-Saraya; this is a fact. Muhammed ibn al-Athram, Medina’s chief of the police force of Muhammed ibn Sulayman al-Alawi during the days of Abul-Saraya, is quoted as saying, “His near in kin and some people from Quraish gathered around him and swore the oath of allegiance to him saying, If you send word to Abul-Hasan (ﻉ), he will surely support us, and we will be thus united.’ Sulayman said to me, Go to him and convey my greetings to him and tell him that his kinfolk have gathered and desired that he should join them; so, if you wish, please do so.’ So I met him at al-Hamra and I conveyed the message to him. He said, "Convey my greeting to him and tell him that I will join him after twenty days." I conveyed to him the message with which I was sent. On the 18th day, Warqa, al-Jalladi’s commander, marched towards us, whereupon I ran in the direction of the two Surs. When I heard someone calling me 'O Abu Athram!’, I turned back, and it was Abul-Hasan (ﻉ) asking me: 'Did the twenty days pass already?!”^[311]

Such cautious stand of the Imam (ﻉ) was not due to evading his participation in the revolutionary movement but was the result of a realistic calculation of the development of events in the sphere of the movement of revolutions along the Abbaside rule and before them the Umayyad. For this reason, we cannot conclude that the Imam’s lack of participation in a rebellion meant that he was not convinced of the principle of its necessity.

Now let us turn to the intellectual contributions of this great sage to Islam in particular and to humanity in general. Nobody can do justice to all the rich aspects of the intellectual life of Imam al-Ridha (ﻉ), but let us glance at his intellectual output in various fields of knowledge and scholarship.

Some historians doubted the scholarship of the Imams, let alone their scholarly superiority, basing their doubts on the claim that had they been truly scholars, their books would have been made available to the public as is the case with all other scholars. Anyone who considers the revolution of Imam Husain (ﻉ) against Yazid as a mistake committed by the Imam (ﻉ) and a gross miscalculation can be expected to make a statement like this which we cannot attribute to ignorance or to lack of the ability to know, but it is nothing other than the dark cloud of sectarian prejudice forming a curtain between a prejudiced person and his seeing events, issues, and reflections as they really are. This is true about Muslims and non-Muslims. A “fair-minded” historian is asked to tell us about the books authored by the sahaba and their works from whom he derived the principles and precepts of the creed of the Prophet (ﺹ), or even the works of the tabieen whom he regards as the second class that is knowledgeable of the issues of the sharaa, custodians of its structure. What books did the “righteous caliphs” write?! Can you call the title of any of them besides Nahjul-Balagha or Mushaf Fatima?! Let us stop here for a minute; surely many readers have heard and probably read Nahjul-Balagha, but not many of them are familiar with Fatima’s mushaf; so, let us shed some light on it here.

Linguistically, the word “mushaf” means: a collection of suhuf, plural of sahafa, a page or a tablet. The word “qur’an” means: a reading material, a written text. Both words are used at the present time to denote the Book of Allah, the Holy Qur’an, but that was not the case during the dawn of Islam. Mushaf Fatima, or Fatima’s mushaf, is not a copy of the Holy Qur’an as one may be tempted to believe. One of the scholars who sheds light on it is Thiqatul-Islam Muhammed ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni. He does so on page 295 and following pages of Vol. 1 of his famous classic work titled Usul al-Kafi. The edition consulted for this book was published by Dar al-Ta'aruf (Beirut, Lebanon) in 1411 A.H./1990 A.D. Al-Kulayni quotes a dialogue between Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (ﻉ) and his great companion, Abu Busayr, wherein the Imam (ﻉ) details the most precious relics Ahl al-Bayt (ﻉ) have, and the list includes, among others, Fatima’s mushaf. The Imam (ﻉ) described this mushaf as follows: “It is a mushaf three times the size of the Qur’an, yet it does not contain even one Qur’anic verse.” The Imam (ﻉ) continued to describe the extent of its contents to Abu Busayr. It contains, among others, a chronology of Islamic events, numerous traditions of the Prophet (ﺹ), numerous qudsi traditions and many narratives related by arch-angel Gabriel to the Prophet (ﺹ). Refer to this text for a description of "al-jami'a", a 70-yard long book written on ox skin by the Commander of the Faithful Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib (ﻉ).

The legacy our Imams, members of Ahl al-Bayt (ﻉ) in various fields of knowledge is narrated about them by those with whom they associated, their admirers and sincere followers, and it is sufficient to acquaint us with the extent of their knowledge and superiority over all others barring none. Is it really possible that Ibn Khaldun did not review such legacy of ahadith which reached us through them and recorded by scholars and thinkers and upon which the structure of their school of thought, in which a large section of the nation believes, stood? We doubt it; nay, we are sure about the unrealistic nature of such an odd question especially since Ibn Khaldun is one of the most knowledgeable, highly intellectual, and mature writers. A writer of such caliber is not expected to be so ignorant. Ignorant he was not, prejudiced he surely was, and so are millions others...

The Imams were tested during various periods of their lives by pressing crises due to the trespassing of oppressive rulers on their civil liberties. They pursued their followers and sincere adherents, straitening on them in various aspects of their everyday life, so much so that the word rafidi came to represent in the eyes of the rulers the final indictment of anyone proven to be “guilty” of its context, a believer in its background. Because of that, the chance was lost for many of those who sought knowledge to derive from that leading fountainhead, and the chance to find the scholarly solutions for the intellectual problems because of which they were disturbing their minds. Despite all these pressures and violent trespassing, mankind is not intellectually deprived of a great deal of intellectual masterpieces which the Imams (ﻉ) dictated to their students and disciples in various aspects of scholarship.

Some of those students used to bribe the jailers so that they might agree to carry written questions to the jailed Imam (ﻉ) and bring them back his answers. They only desired to benefit from the presence of the Imam (ﻉ), and they aspired to be faithful to the trust of scholarship. They, moreover, wanted to protect the faith from the abyss of doubt and suspicion. The biography of the jailed Imam Musa ibn Ja'far (ﻉ) bears witness to these facts according to the testimony of those who quoted him. Historians and biographers of Imam al-Ridha (ﻉ) do, in fact, mention some books authored by the Imam (ﻉ) besides his narration of hadith. They record what he dictated to those who asked him various questions and whatever he confided to his close companions who used to frequently question him about various types of knowledge which they could not fully comprehend and digest.

Among such books is Al-Fiqh al-Radawi which was for some time the object of debate among scholars. There are among the latter those who considered it to be authored by the Imam (ﻉ), relied on it, and built their arguments on its premises. Among such scholars were: al-Majlisi (both al-Majlisi senior, the father, and his son, the renown author of Bihar al-Anwar, Sayyid Bahr al-Ulum, Shaikh al-Nawari, and others. The story of how this book surfaced is interesting. A a group of the residents of Qum brought a copy with them to Mecca where the ruler-judge (qadi-emir) Sayyid Husain al-Isfahani saw it and testified to its being authored by al-Ridha (ﻉ) and made a copy of it for himself which he brought to Isfahan. There, he showed it to al-Majlisi (senior) who was, likewise, sure it was authored by the Imam (ﻉ) and so was his son the second al-Majlisi (junior). The latter quoted the ahadith it contained in his voluminous book Bihar al-Anwar, making the book one of his references, and this is how its fame spread.

In his Introduction to Bihar al-Anwar, al-Majlisi writes, “I was told about the book Fiqh al-Ridha by the virtuous traditionist the ruler-judge Husain, may Allah be Gracious to his soul, after returning to Isfahan. He said to me, It happened that during the time when I was neighbouring the House of Allah, a group of the residents of Qum visited me while performing their hajj and they had with them an old book the date of its writing agreed with the date during which al-Ridha (ﻉ) was alive.’” Al-Majlisi continues to say, “I heard my father saying that it was written in the handwriting of al-Ridha (ﻉ), and a large number of dignitaries testified to the same.”

Among the Imam’s scientific books is what is known as Al-Risala al-Thahabiyya fil Tibb (the golden medical dissertation) for which sources are counted reaching sometimes to Muhammed ibn Jumhar, and sometimes to al-Hasan ibn Muhammed al-Nawfali who was accepted as trustworthy by al-Najjashi who described him as “highly esteemed and trustworthy; he narrated one text about al-Ridha (ﻉ),” which could be “the golden medical dissertation.”

It is possible that the dissertation’s fame among scholars, and their consensus in various centuries that the Imam (ﻉ) was its author, and that nobody doubted such an authorship, are enough proofs leading the researcher to comfortably conclude that it was, indeed, from the intellectual output of Imam al-Ridha (ﻉ) himself. But what is this dissertation all about, anyway?

This dissertation is one of the most precious pieces of Islamic legacy dealing with the science of medicine. It is a summary of a number of medical sciences such as anatomy, biology, physiology, pathology and preventive medicine. Its contents are also relevant to the sciences of nutrition and chemistry, in addition to other medicine-related branches of science. The Imam (ﻉ) sent this dissertation to the caliph al-Ma'mun around the year 201 A.H./816 A.D., that is to say, when medicine was a primitive science and its research was not conducted scientifically but based on practice alone rather than on scientific discoveries. The science of bacteriology was not yet discovered, nor was there any significant knowledge of nutritional supplements such as vitamins, nor were there other significant medical discoveries for fighting microbes such as penicillin, streptomycin, oromycin, etc. On the surface, the dissertation seemed to be very simple in order to be in line with the mentality of that time, but it is quite deep and complicated in its implications and it is worthy of a serious scientific study and lengthy researches to unveil its secrets and uncover its treasures. It should be compared with modern scientific facts.^[312] Al-Ma'mun was very pleased to receive that dissertation and he expressed how much he cherished it by ordering to have it written down in gold and to be deposited at his “depository of wisdom,” hence its name, “the golden dissertation.” In praising it, al-Ma'mun said, “I have reviewed the dissertation of my learned cousin, the loved and virtuous one, the logical physician, which deals with the betterment of the body, the conduct of bathing, the balance of nutrition, and I found it very well organized and one of the best blessings. I carefully studied it, reviewed and contemplated upon it, till its wisdom manifested itself to me, and its benefits became obvious, and it found its place to my heart, so I learned it by heart and I understood it by my mind, for I found it to be a most precious item to post, a great treasure, and a most useful thing, so I ordered it to be written in gold due to its being precious, and I deposited it at the depository of wisdom after I had it copied down by the descendants of Hashim, the youths of the nation. Bodies become healthy by balanced diets, and life becomes possible by overcoming disease, and through life wisdom is achieved, and through wisdom Paradise is won. It is worthy of being safeguarded and treasured... It is so because it came out of the house of those who derive their knowledge from the knowledge of the Chosen One (ﻉ), the missive of the prophets, the arguments of successors to the prophets, the manners of scholars, the cure to the hearts and the sick from among the people of ignorance and blindness..., may Allah be pleased with them, bless and be merciful to them, the first of them and the last, the young and the old. I showed it to the elite from among my closest train who are known for their wisdom and knowledge of medicine, and who are authors of books, those who are counted among the people of knowledge and described with wisdom. Each one of them lauded it and thought highly of it, elevated it with esteem and evaluated it in order to be fair to its author, submitting to him, believing in the wisdom he included therein.”^[313]

Al-Ma'mun had a very inquisitive mind and a thirst for knowledge; he was always eager to obtain more and more knowledge. During one of his scientific debates, a group of physicians and philosophers in Nishapur, including Yuhanna (John) ibn Masawayh, the physician, Jibraeel (Gabriel) ibn Bakhtishoo^[314], the physician, Salih ibn Salhamah, the Indian philosopher, in addition to others, had gathered. Discussion turned to medicine and how through it can the bodies be improved. Al-Ma'mun and his attendants were involved in a very lengthy discussion of the subject. They were debating how Allah created the human body and the contradictory things in it, the four elements, the harms and the benefits of various types of food. All this went on as the Imam (ﻉ) kept silent and did not take part in any of it. Al-Ma'mun, therefore, said to him, “What do you have to say, O father of al-Hasan, about today’s subject of discussion?” Abul-Hasan (ﻉ) said, “I have of it the knowledge of what I have personally tested and came to know about its accuracy by experience and by the passage of time in addition to what I was told by my ancestors of what nobody can afford to be ignorant of, nor excused for leaving out. I shall compile it with an equal portion of what everyone should know.” Al-Ma'mun, following that, had to go in a hurry to Balkh, now a province in northern Afghanistan the capital of which is Mazar Sharif^[315], and Abul-Hasan (ﻉ) did not accompany him; therefore, al-Ma'mun sent him from there a letter asking him to fulfill his promise and to make that compilation. Al-Ridha (ﻉ) wrote him saying,

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful; My reliance is upon Allah. I have received the letter of the commander of the faithful ordering me to acquaint him with what is needed of matters which I have tested and heard, about foods and drinks, medicines, venesection, blood letting, bathing, poisons, what should be avoided, and other things which manage the health of the body, and I explained what is needed to be done regarding one’s own body, and Allah is the One Who grants success.

After that he initiated his dissertation. A good number of scholars attempted to write commentaries on the dissertation; here is a partial listing of some of them so that the discreet reader may refer to them if he so wishes:

1. Tarjamat al-Alawi lil Tibb al-Radawi of Sayyid Diaud-Dan Abul-Ridha Fadlallah ibn Ali al-Rawandi (d. 548 A.H./1153 A.D.).

2. Tarjamat al-Thahabiyya by mawla FaydAllah ‘Usarah al-Tasatturi, an authority on medicine and astrology during the regime of Fath-Ali Khan. This book was written in secrecy in about 107 A.H./725 A.D. A handwritten copy of the manuscript dated 1133 A.H./1721 A.D. is available at the Mishkat Library of Tehran’s University.

3. Tarjamat al-Thahabiyya by Muhammed Baqir al-Majlisi. It is available at the private library of the late Sayyid Hasan al-Sadr in Kadhimiyya (north Baghdad, Iraq).

4. ‘Afiyat al-Bariyya fi Sharh al-Thahabiyya by Mirza Muhammed Hadi son of Mirza Muhammed Salih al-Sharazi. It was authored during the reign of Sultan Husain al-Safawi (the Safavid). It is in handwritten manuscript form and is available at the Sayyid Husain al-Hamadani Library, Najaf al-Ashraf (Iraq).

5. Sharh Tibb al-Ridha by mawla Muhammed Sharif al-Khatunabadi. He authored it around 1120 A.H./1709 A.D.

6. Tarjamat al-Thahabiyya by Sayyid Shamsud-Din Muhammed ibn Muhammed Bada al-Radawi al-Mashhadi. Its writing was finished in 1155 A.H./1743 A.D. and is available at the Shaikh Muhammed Ali Akbar al-Nahawandi Library in Khurasan (Iran).

7. Sharh Tibb al-Ridha by Sayyid Abdulllah al-Shubber who died in 1242 A.H./1827 A.D. Shaikh al-Nawari indicated in some of his writings that he had seen that copy himself.

8. Sharh Tibb al-Ridha by mawla Muhammed ibn al-Hajj Muhammed Hasan al-Mashhadi who taught at Mashhad and died in 1257 A.H./1842 A.D.

9. Sharh Tibb al-Ridha by mawla Nawraz Ali al-Bastami.

10. Al-Mahmoodiyya by al-Hajj Kadhim al-Masawi al-Zanjani who died in 1292 A.H./1876 A.D. It is in manuscript form and is available with the author’s grandsons.

There are others besides these scholars who explained and commented on it, revealing what is hidden of its secrets and obscure treasures. Probably the latest person to explain it and to conduct a comparative study between its theory and the latest modern scientific discoveries is Dr. Abdul-Sahib Zaini who did so in the “Multaqa al-Asrayn” periodical series.

Among other works, credit for which goes to this great Imam (ﻉ), is Sahafat al-Ridha which deals with fiqh. The author of Mustadrak al-Wasa’il described it as “among the well-known books which is relied upon and which no other book, before it or after it, is more esteemed or reliable.”

Sayyid Muhsin al-Amin, in his encylopædic work titled A’yan al-Shi'a^[316], mentions an isnad (ascription) related to it alone from Shaikh Abdul-Wasi’ al-Yemani al-Zaydi for the copy brought by the said Shaikh from Yemen and published in Damascus, Syria. Also, some of its copies contain its ascription to Abu Ali al-Tibrisi.

Al-Mustadrak states the following: “The esteemed Mirza Abd-Allah Afandi, in his Riyad al-Ulema’, has compiled all its sources and said, Among them is a copy of this Saheefa which I saw at the town of Ardabil (chief town of the Azerbaijan district, Iran), and its sanad was...,’ then he goes on to indicate its sanad. Among other works attributed to the Imam (ﻉ) is the book titled Mahd al-Islam wa Shara’i ad-Dan which is referred to by al-Saduq in his Uyun Akhbar al-Ridha through al-Fadl ibn Shathan, but he did not indicate that it was written in response to al-Ma'mun’s request.^[317]

Ajwibat Musa’il Ibn Sinan (“Answers to ibn Sinan’s Queries”) can be described as one of the works of the Imam (ﻉ). It contains his answers to questions put forth to him by Ibn Sinan. But this cannot be described as a book authored by the Imam (ﻉ); otherwise, the collection of his answers to the questions of many others, which deal with various fields of knowledge and scholarship, must be also described as such. Ilal Ibn Shathan: This book contains the Imam’s answers to questions relevant to ailments put forth to him by Ibn Shathan.

On various occasions, al-Ma'mun tried to force Imam al-Ridha (ﻉ) into the arena of complex debates with various groups and creeds. He used to conduct scientific and intellectual sessions to which he invited great thinkers, leading scientists, the atheists of the century, and debaters whose scientific caliber was feared, and before the stubbornness of whose complex arguments the evidence was muted, and due to the fierceness of whose doubt the proof was weakened. In all such debates, the Imam would come out victorious over his opponents due to the tremendous power of knowledge with which the Almighty endowed him, for such are the miracles of the Infallible Imams. None of them ever had to force himself into the sophistry of arguments to which some might have resorted in order to smash his opponent’s argument and weaken his ability to provide evidence. Rather, he depended in his debates on honest arguments in order to prove right to be right and on his miraculous ability of conviction and calm stylistic method.

Al-Nawfali tried to warn the Imam against attempting to deal with the debates of such people when the Imam asked him why al-Ma'mun had invited him to debate them, for al-Ma'mun had asked the Catholic archbishop, the High Rabbi, the leading Sabians, the Hindu high priest, followers of Zoroaster, Nestus the Roman medical scientist, and a group of orators of his time, to engage in scientific debates with Imam al-Ridha (ﻉ).

He dispatched Yasir, the servant, to tell the Imam about the time when the debate would start, requesting him to attend. When Yasir went out and al-Nawfali was alone with the Imam, the Imam (ﻉ) turned to him and asked him in the form of a dialogue, “O Nawfali! You are an Iraqi, and the heart of an Iraqi is not severe; so, what can you gain from causing your cousin to require us to meet with disbelievers and rhetoricians?” Al-Nawfali answered, “May my life be sacrificed for yours! He wants to put you to test, and he loves to know how much knowledge you have. He has, indeed, built his assumption on a shaky foundation, and doomed, by Allah, is what he has built.” He asked him, “And what has he built?” He answered him saying, “Scholars of kalam and innovators are the antithesis of the scholars. A scholar does not deny the undeniable, whereas rhetoricians and polytheists are people who deny and try to prove what is not true. If you argue with them and tell them that Allah is One, they would say, Prove His Oneness,’ and if you say that Muhammed (ﺹ) is the Messenger of Allah, they would say, Confirm his Message,’ then they would press their lies on a person while he tries to disprove their lies, and they would continue to prove that he is mistaken till he abandons his argument; so, beware of them, may my life be sacrificed for you.” The Imam (ﻉ) smiled and asked him, “O Nawfali! Do you fear that they will disprove my argument?” He answered, “No, by Allah! I have never worried about you, and I hope Allah will enable you to have the upper hand over them.” The Imam asked him again, “O Nawfali! Would you like to know when al-Ma'mun will feel remorseful?” He answered, “Yes.” He said, “When he hears me argue with the people of the Torah quoting their own Torah, with the people of the Gospel (Bible) quoting their own Gospel, with the people of the Psalms quoting their own Psalms, with Zoroastrians arguing in their Persian language, with the Romans in their own Latin, and with rhetoricians using their very rhetoric. So, if I closed all the avenues of argument in the face of each arguing party and disproved his claim, making him renounce his statement from its onset and referring to my own statement, then al-Ma'mun will realize that he will not achieve what he aspires. It is then that he will feel regretful; We are Allah’s, and Unto Him is our return.”

Thus does the Imam show that he was not concerned about such persons whom al-Ma'mun wished to gather together against him trying to embarrass him with their falsification and arguments which he hoped might close for the Imam (ﻉ) all the avenues of argument.

Whenever a session started and the Imam (ﻉ) was invited to join it, discussion started and the Imam (ﻉ) debated with the Catholics, making the Bible his reference to prove his own defense of the Unity of Allah (versus their Trinity) and disprove the so-called godhead of Christ (ﻉ). Then he would follow up with a magnificent discussion proving that the Bible in circulation today is not the same which Allah had revealed to Christ (ﻉ) and that it is authored by some of the disciples of Jesus (ﻉ) who are the authors of the four gospels, not Jesus (ﻉ), depending in his argument on the fact that the details presented by each one of them stand in flagrant contradiction with those of the other.

Let us digress here for a minute to tackle the issue of Christianity in brief, particularly that of Catholicism, then we will bring the reader a debate between Imam al-Ridha (ﻉ) and a Catholic archbishop.

The reader already knows that the only Bible accepted by Muslims is the one compiled by Saint Barnabas, a gospel which was not canonized at the famous Nicæa, N.W. Asia Minor, conference of 325 A.D. called for by Emperor Constantine who aspired to put an end to the sectarian differences among the Christians of his time. The next few paragraphs are excerpted from my book Mary and Jesus in Islam:

According to the Gospel of Matthew, and to be exact Ch. 10, verse 4, the list of the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ is as follows: Simon (or Peter), Andrew (Peter’s brother), James (son of Zebedee), John (James’ brother), Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew (the tax collector), James (son of Alphaeus), Thaddaeus, another Simon who is said to be "a member of The Zealots,’ a subversive political party," and Judas Iscariot. Why is the name of Saint Barnabas not among them, and how did he come to write his own Gospel, the only one accepted by Muslims as the true Bible? With all their prejudices, speculations, sectarian motivations, it is unwise to accept what today’s or yesterday’s Christians tell us about Saint Barnabas and his Bible, or about the other disciples. The Encyclopedia Britannica III, for example, describes those who believed that Christ was human and not divine as heretics, and so do many Christian writers and theologians. An independent research, therefore, will yield better results, that’s for sure. One such research has been undertaken by M.A. Yusseff who published his findings in a very interesting book titled The Dead Sea Scrolls, the Gospel of Barnabas, and the New Testament which was published in 1405 A.H./1985 A.D. by the American Trust Publications of Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.A.^[318] Saint Barnabas was originally called Joseph the Levite, or Joses the Levite, and is better known as Matthai, or Matthias. In the Christian document known as Recognitions, Matthias is identified as another name for Apostle Barnabas, which is correct. In another document known as Homilies, Barnabas is said to be a personal Apostle of Jesus, "a strict servant of the Law," and, hence, one of the original twelve Disciples (or Apostles) of Jesus Christ. The Jews, too, list his name among not twelve but five apostles, the remaining four being: Naki, Nester (perhaps Nestor after whom Nestorian Christians are named), Buni, and Todah. But we find the name "Lebbacus" among these disciples in Matthew 10:13, that of "Judas son of James" in Luke 6:16 and Acts 1:13, both contradicting other Biblical accounts; so, which one is correct and which one is not?!

Saint Barnabas was born in Cyprus in the first century A.D. Other references to him are recorded in the Bible in Acts 11:19 and 15:41. He is said as having joined the Jerusalem church "after the alleged crucifixion of Jesus^[319]," which is not true, sold his property, and gave the proceeds as a donation to his community. He founded the church in Antioch (Turkish Antakya; see footnote above about the history of this city), where he preached. Inviting Paul of Tarsus (Turkey) to be his assistant, he undertook missionary activity and then went to Jerusalem. Shortly after 48 A.D., a conflict separated both men, and Barnabas sailed home to Cyprus. Where did he write his Gospel and when? Nobody seems to know. How did he die? Nobody seems to know, yet he is called a martyr... We are also told that he knew St. Mark. In 488 A.D., his grave was discovered near the Monastery of St. Barnabas in the Cypriot city of Salamis. A copy of his Gospel was found buried with him^[320]. The accurate list of the twelve disciples of Jesus exists in the Gospel of St. Barnabas himself who records the following:

Jesus, having returned to the region of Jerusalem, was found again of the people with exceedingly great joy, and they implored him to abide with them, for his words were not as those of the scribes, but were with power; for they touched the heart.

Jesus, seeing that great was the multitude of them that returned to their heart for to walk in the law of God, went up into the mountain, and abode all night in prayer. When the day came he descended from the mountain and chose twelve whom he called apostles, among whom is Judas, who was slain upon the cross^[321]. Their names are: Andrew and Peter his brother, fishermen; Barnabas, who wrote this, with Matthew the publican, who sat at the receipt of custom; John and James, son of Zebedee; Thaddaeus and Judas^[322]; Bartholomew and Philip; James, and Judas Iscariot the traitor. To these he always revealed the divine secrets. He made Judas Iscariot his dispenser of that which was given in alms, but he took the tenth part of everything. (The Gospel of Barnabas 14)

The Gospel of St. Barnabas is the one that contains the true teachings of Jesus Christ; it will be discussed later how it refers to Prophet Muammed as the "Paraclete," a Greek word meaning "Messenger" and "Comforter," in Arabic al-Amin... Even if you set aside the Gospel of St. Barnabas, a good Greek translation of the original of John 14:16 will be: "And I will Pray the Patera, and he shall give you another Paraclete, that he may abide with you forever." The Greek word Patera is erroneously translated into "the Father," a reference to the Almighty, in a "modern" version of the Bible which gives the following text for John 14:16-17: "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever^__the Spirit of Truth."^[323] No man of righteousness has earned the title of "the Spirit of Truth" (in Arabic al-adiq) more than Prophet Muammed. A good scholar of Greek will do better than that; he will translate Patera into "Nourisher" or "Sustainer," and Paraclete into "Comforter," al-Amin in Arabic, a title given to Prophet Muammed even before he had started his mission. The translation of what John has in 14:16-17 should instead run as follows: