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Ali al-Rida
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‘Ali ibn Musa al-Rida (commonly known as, ‘Ali ar-Ridha, Ali Reza) (ca. December 29, 765 - August 23, 818) was the seventh descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the eighth of the Twelve Imams. His given name was ‘Ali ibn Musa ibn Ja‘far.
Birth and family life
On the eleventh of Dhu al-Qi'dah, 148 AH, a son was born in the house of Imam Musa al-Kadhim (the seventh Imam of Islam) in Medina, who took over the position of the Imamate, after his father.
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Encyclopedia
‘Ali ibn Musa al-Rida (commonly known as, ‘Ali ar-Ridha, Ali Reza) (ca. December 29, 765 - August 23, 818) was the seventh descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the eighth of the Twelve Imams. His given name was ‘Ali ibn Musa ibn Ja‘far.
Birth and family life
On the eleventh of Dhu al-Qi'dah, 148 AH, a son was born in the house of Imam Musa al-Kadhim (the seventh Imam of Islam) in Medina, who took over the position of the Imamate, after his father. He was named Ali and titled al-Ridha. He was born one month after the death of his grandfather, Ja'far as-Sadiq. Like his father and grandfather, his education came at the hands of his father. The mother of Ali al-Ridha was Najmah, who was considered to be the most notable and distinguished lady in the realm of wisdom and faith. Najmah was a former slave purchased and freed by Hamidah Khatun, wife of Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq, and like Hamidah was also a notable Islamic scholar.
Right from his childhood, Ali al-Ridha accompanied his father, Musa al-Kadhim, who repeatedly used to tell his friends, "Ali al-Ridha shall be the Imam after me." As such, Makhzumi says one day Musa al-Kadhim summoned and gathered us and said, "I invited you to be witnesses that this child (Ali al-Ridha) is my executor and successor."
Since an extreme choking atmosphere and pressure prevailed in the period of Musa al-Kadhim, he added, "What I said must remain (restricted) up to you and do not reproduce it to anybody unless you know he is one of our friends and companions."
Ali al-Ridha’s father was martyred in 799, when Ali al-Ridha was 35, and he was given the responsibility of the Imamate. Ali al-Ridha was not looked upon favorably by Harun Rashid, and the people of Medina were disallowed from visiting Ali al-Ridha and learning from him. Harun attempted to kill him but was unsuccessful.
The Shi'a Views of Ali al-Ridha's Morality
According to Shi'a tradition, the first Imams of Islam were infallible and became the practical example for others during their lives. They taught the lesson of life to the people. They did not segregate and separate themselves from them and did not lead their lives on the style and pattern of tyrants and oppressors. They did not overlook or show heedlessness and disrespect to anyone.
Sheikh Saduk narrates through the words of Ibrahim ibn Abbas that, "I never saw Imam Ali al-Ridha committing excess over anyone in talking and interrupting anybody's speech before its coming to the end. He did not stretch his legs in the presence of others. When the meal table was laid he invited the servants to it, and took his meals with them. After taking rest in the nights he got up and made himself busy with the prayers to Allah. Similar to his fore fathers he carried food to the houses of the afflicted ones at the mid of nights."
Muhammad ibn Abi Ibad says about Imam Ali al-Ridha, "He used mats of palm date leaves, straws and marsh reed in the summer season, and woolen carpets in the winter."
He led a simple life in his home, but when he went out he used to decorate himself and put on new and clean dress. He respected and honored the guests to the extent that one night a lamp of the house went out of order, the guest got to his feet to put it right. Ali al-Ridha made him sit and he set the lamp right, and said, "We do not employ our guests (exploit) upon work."
Yasir, the servant of Ali al-Ridha says, Imam Ali Ridha said to us, "Whenever you are busy taking your meal, if I call you, do not get up till you have finished up eating." Another friend of Ali al-Ridha says, "One day a stranger came Ali al-Ridha's house and said, I am one of your friends and I am also not a poor man but my money has finished up and I do not have the expanses to return. You give me an amount and when I return to my city I will give it out as alms on your behalf." Imam Ali al-Rida got up and went to another room, brought an amount of two hundred dirhams and gave it to him from upside the door and said, "Take this and go and it is not necessary to give it away as alms on my behalf."
They asked the Imam Ali al-Ridha, "Why did you do it this way that he may not see you."
He said, "So that he does not catch my sight and get ashamed (embarrassed)."
Sulaiman, one of the friends of Ali al-Ridha says, "I went along with the Imam Ali Ridha to the house. The labors were busy at work. There was a stranger among them whom the Imam Ali al-Ridha did not recognize." He said, "Who is this man?" They said we have brought him from outside, so that he may help us. He said, "Have you concluded an agreement with him and fixed his wages?" They said, "No, he is a good man, whatever we pay him he accepts it and does not utter a word."
Ali al-Ridha was angry and annoyed and said, "I have always told you that when you employ someone for a job first of all fix his wages. Because, when his wages are fixed and you give more than that to him, he will become happy. But if you do not fix his wages and give him three times the amount, he thinks you have not given him the correct wages."
Ali al-Rida Admonishes Brother
Once Ali al-Ridha was summoned to Khurrasan and he forcibly accepted the special conditions of the succession of al-Ma'mun, al-Ma'mun summoned his brother, Zayd, who had revolted and brought about a riot in Medina to his court in Khurrasan. Al-Ma'mun kept him free as a regard and honor to Ali al-Rida and overlooked his punishment.
One day, when Ali al-Ridha was delivering a speech in a grand assembly. He heard Zayd praising himself before the people, saying I am so and so. Ali al-Rida shouted at him saying, "Oh Zayd, have you trusted upon the words of the grocers of Kufa and are conveying them to the people? What kind of things are you talking about? The sons of Ali ibn Abi Talib and Fatimah Zahra are worthy and outstanding only when they obey the command of Allah, and keep themselves away from sin and blunder. You think you are like Musa al-Kadhim, Ali ibn Husayn, and other Imams? Whereas, they took pains and bore hardships on the way to Allah and prayed to Allah day and night. Do you think you will gain without pain? Be aware, that if a person out of us the Ahl al-Bayt performs a good deed, he gets twice the reward. Because not only he performed good deeds like others but also that he has maintained the honor of Muhammad. If he practices something bad and does a sin, he has performed two sins. One is that he performed a bad act like the rest of the people and the other one is that he has negated the honor of Muhammad."
Oh brother! The one who obeys Allah is from us the Ahl al-Bayt and the one who is a sinner is not ours. Allah said about the son of Noah who cut the spiritual bondage with his father, "He is not out of your lineage; if he was out of your lineage, I would have (saved) and granted him salvation."
Death
Ali al-Ridha did not outlive al-Ma'mun, killed on May 26, 818, in Persia while accompanying al-Ma'mun at Tus. Scholars agree he was poisoned by al-Ma'mun. Ali al-Ridha is buried within Imam Ridha Mosque, in Mashhad, Iran.
After the death of Harun Rashid, Harun's two sons began fighting for control of the Abbasid Empire. One son, Al-Amin, had an Arab mother and thus had the support of Arabs, while his half-brother Al-Ma'mun had a Persian mother and the support of Persia. Al-Ma'mun believed that Persia was sympathetic to the Hashemites and asked for Ali al-Rida to meet him in Persia. Ali al-Rida left his only son, Muhammad at-Taqi, and his wife and set out for Merv.
After defeating his brother, al-Ma'mun named Ali al-Ridha his successor. He hoped to win Shi'a support through this move, but the passage of caliphate would occur only if Ali al-Rida outlived al-Ma'mun (as with all promises of succession). Al-Ma'mun even changed the black Abbasid flags to green, the traditional color of the house of Ali ibn Abi-Talib, the first Shi'a imam.
On the night of his death Ali al-Ridha saw his grandfather Muhammad in the dream saying, "Come to us tomorrow, what we have for you is better than the condition you are in."
Harsama says, Ali al-Ridah got up in the mid of the night and called me so that I be present before him. I put on my dress and went to Ali al-Rida. He said to me, "al-Ma'mun has decided to poison me through grapes tomorrow. Be aware, after my martyrdom he wishes to give me a bath. Tell him to refrain from it. If you do that Allah will not give you chance and respite (any-longer). At that time my son will arrive from Medina and give me a bath and coffin, without anyone seeing it or getting informed.
Then, they will carry me to the tomb of Harun al-Rashid. Al-Ma'mun wants to bury me behind him. But howsoever they work on the earth the pickaxe; they will fail to dig the soil. At that time tell al-Ma'mun to dig the earth in front of the grave so that a ready-made grave will appear. At that instance a white water boils out of the head-side (grave) and rises up. Small fish appear in that. Then a big fish appears which eats up the small fish. Thereafter, the water will settle down. After that lay me in the grave. Do not put the soil on my grave since; it will be filled up by itself. Oh Harsama, do what I have said and do not allow things to happen against what I told you, otherwise, Allah will torment you (people)."
At last al-Ma'mun poisoned the Ali al-Ridha through grapes in Tus, on the way back from Merv to Baghdad. Ali al-Rida came to the house and said to his old friend Aba Salat, "Collect the carpets of the house and do not allow anyone to enter the house, as this is the time when my soul departs (dying) I want to die on the earth like my grandfather Husayn ibn Ali."
Before the death of Ali Rida, al-Ma’mun stood next to his pillow (head side). Ali Rida opened his eyes and said to him, "have a good conduct with my son Muhammad al-Taqi for his death and yours are close to each other and do not have much distance in between."
The body of Ali al-Rida was buried in Mashhad. This occurred when Ali Ridha was 55 years of age.
Following the death of Ali al-Ridha a revolt took place in Khorrasan. Al-Ma’mun wept and beat upon his head to show that he was a mourner. But a large number of people knew that al-Ma’mum himself was the killer of Ali al-Rida. A wave of despises and noise awn against al-Ma’mum. So that he did not allow the funeral to be carried out for a day and a night. Because, he was afraid that the disturbance may expand and the angry hostile and flared up masses may annihilate all the set ups and organizations. This is the reason why he sent a few men among the people to exhibit and shows the death of Ali al-Rida as a natural one and tells them that al-Ma’mun did not have a hand in it. But for all he did, he could not get himself acquitted off and prove his innocence. At last, day-by-day he became more and more worthless and despicable in the eyes of the people, until he died in a very bad shape.
Timeline
See also
External links
About Imam Reza
an article of Encyclopedia Britannica online
by Wilferd Madelung an article by Encyclopedia Iranica
by Baqir Sharif al-Qarashi.
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