Name: Ali
Title: Ar-Reza
Epithet: Abu
al-Hasan
Father: Musa
ibne Ja'far
Mother: Najma
(Tuktam, Tah'I
Date of
Birth: Zil Qa'd
11, 148 AH
(December 29,
765 AD)
Place of
Birth:
Madinah
Progeny: From
Umme Habiba
binte Mamoon
ar-Rashid
None
From: Sabika
Nubia
One son:
Muhammad
Date of
Death: Safar 17,
203 AH (August
24, 818 AD)
He lived to
an age of 53
years
Place of
Death: Mashed
(Tus)
Place of
Burial: Mashed
THE LIFE AND THE
TIMES OF IMAM
ALI BIN MUSA
Ali bin Musa
was bom during
the reign of the
Abbasid caliph
alMansoor
Dwaneeqi. He
was only two
weeks of age
when his grand
father, Imam
Ja'far as-Saadiq
was martyred. He
was thirty-five
years of age
when his father
was martyred by
the caliph
Haroon
ar-Rashid. He
had witnessed
the treatment
his father had
received at the
hands of the
caliphs for
refusing to
accept them as
his leaders.
The first
encounter of the
new Imam with
the powers of
the caliph came
swiftly and like
lightening. With
the false
accusation of an
armed rising by
an uncle of the
Imam Muhammad
bin Jafar, the
caliph Haroon
ar-Rashid
dispatched his
captain Issa
Jaludi with an
army to sack
Hijaz and to
liquidate the
house of the
Alkyds. The
havoc they
rendered to the
people and their
property in
Madinah dwarfed
the deeds of the
Syrian army sent
by Yazid bin
Muawiyah after
the massacre of
Karbala over a
hundred years
earlier. The
Imam stood
firmly in front
of the dwellings
of his clan, and
handed the
invaders all
they had, except
the clothing on
their bodies at
the time. The
ruthless general
and his soldiers
departed with a
large booty
obtained from
the homes of the
innocent
Muslims.
To prevent
bloody conflict
between his two
sons Muhammad
al-Amin and
Mamoon ar-Rashid
after him, the
caliph Haroon
ar-Rashid
divided his
empire between
them. Al-Amin
(from an Arab
mother) was
given the West
with the Arab
provinces, and
Mamoon (from a
Persian mother)
the East with
all of the
non-Arab
provinces. Due
to his sickness,
Haroon ar-Rashid
retired from his
throne and died
in 193 AH at the
age of
forty-five
years. He
was buried in
the city of
Meshed. However,
the two princes
wasted no time
in waging war on
each other in
order to grab
the share of the
other. The
tussle between
the divided
caliphate went
on for about
five years till
the year 198 AH.
Finally, Al-Amin
got killed in a
battle and the
original expanse
of the empire
was again
unified under
Mamoon. Although
Mammon was
victorious in
his
confrontation
with his
brother, he had
made the Arabs
very upset at
their defeat and
the death of al-Amin
at his hands.
Mamoon knew that
the people of
Hijaz, and the
Shiites
elsewhere had
already received
a heinous
treatment from
his father. The
memory of the
events was still
quite fresh in
their minds. As
a result of
these events,
the Shiites had
become
rebellious. There
were many
uprisings among
them in various
provinces led by
prominent
Alkyds. Mamoon
took an unusual
step to redress
these ill
feelings of his
subjects. In
the year 201 AH,
he called the
Imam to Merv (in
Khorasan) from
Madinah and
declared him as
his successor,
and minted coins
in the Imam's
name. To
further enhance
his apparent
goodwill among
the Alkyds and
the Shiites, he
gave his
daughter, Umm-e
Habiba, in
marriage to the
Imam in 202 AH. The
caliph had took
wise steps to
produce the
desired effects. He
managed to win
the confidence
of the Shiites
and stabilize
his rule.
Mamoon invited
learned
individuals to
participate in
religious and
multicultural
debates in his
court. This
afforded Imam
Ali ar-Reza
great
opportunity to
expound the
vastness of his
knowledge in
these large
gatherings. It
also increased
his visibility
and the
popularity of
the Imam which
had previously
been denied to
all his
ancestors. He
was now able to
preach the Truth
about the Faith
of Islam
according to
teachings of the
Ahle Bait. The
Abbasids in
Baghdad were
already very
unhappy at
having an
Aliyyid among
them as a
declared
successor to the
caliph. The
growing
popularity of
the Imam in the
eastern
provinces
naturally posed
a grave threat
to the rule of
the dynasty. They
decided to name
a new Abbasid
caliph to
replace Mamoon. They
started to rally
behind Ibrahim
bin Mahdi bin
Mansoor as their
new caliph.
Mamoon had to
make a hasty
move back to
Iraq from
Khorasan to
quell the
dangerous
developments in
Baghdad. It
was this time
when the Imam
was given
poisoned grapes
that caused his
death. Before
his death, Imam
Ali ar-Reza
advised his
followers that
his only son
Muhanunad (Jawad)
would be the
next Imam, even
though he was at
a young age of
only eight
years. After
his death, the
body of the Imam
was buried in
Meshed close to
the gravesite of
his tormentor,
Haroon
ar-Rashid.
REFLECRIONS ON
THE LIFE OF IMAM
ALI AR-REZA
The Imam had to
face an unusual
strategy posed
by his
appointment to
the heir ship. He
had to accept
the offer to go
to the palace,
otherwise the
Imam would have
to bear the
blame of keeping
aloof from
involvement in
governing the
people when he
was given the
opportunity to
do so.
His interaction
with the
literary circles
of the Caliph
caused a vast
variety of
written and oral
traditions to be
gathered from
the Imam which
later became
available to the
later
generations to
benefit from. They
consist of his
sermons, his
debates and
contests, his
replies to
complicated
questions posed
in the court of
the caliph, his
letters to his
companions and
family, as well
as his writings
and poetry. Much
of the collected
material is
related to the
meanings and the
interpretations
of the Qur'an. Some
of it is related
to Islamic law,
some to the
general
knowledge of the
heavens and the
earth, and some
to the Medicine
of the Imam.
He produced many
learned students
from many lands
in the empire. The
Imam was fully
conversant with
many languages
and fluently
communicated
with people from
other lands in
their mother tongues. When
his students
returned to
their homes,
they spread the
Imams message
far and wide. It
became evident
that the vast
knowledge
exhibited by the
Imam was not
obtained from
any known school
or university of
the time. His
school and his
university was
located in the
"City of the
Prophetic
Knowledge" whose
gateway was
through none
other than his
own ancestor,
Imam Ali bin Abi
Talib.
The Imam
perpetuated the
tradition of the
ritual majalis
that had been
initiated by his
ancestors to
commemorate the
martyrdom of
Imam Hussain. He
used to sponsor
these majalis
and patronized
them. He
considered this
to be a great
opportunity to
reach out to the
sensitive souls
of the people
and propagate
every aspect of
the true
teachings of
Islam. Since
the people who
attended these
majalis had come
to listen, the
Imam used their
receptiveness to
its greatest
advantage. He
dispelled many
misconceptions
about the Faith.
He confected
many misquotes
from the Prophet
as well as those
attributed to
the preceding
Imams. He
personally was
able to
demonstrate the
true methodology
of the daily
ritual practices
of the Faith. He
taught people
how to pray and
how to
supplicate.
The members of
the Abbasid clan
had not suddenly
developed love
for the Alkyds. In
fact, their
spite had
multiplied
many-fold by the
position the
Imam had been
placed by
Mamoon. His
life and conduct
was under the
stem scrutiny by
his opponents. Under
the watchful eye
of his enemies,
the Imam
demonstrated the
excellence of
his personal way
of life despite
the imposing
royal protocol. He
never spoke
harshly to any
one, be it a
slave or a
master. He
only smiled
gently on
amusing
situations and
was never seen
in bursts of
laughter. He
was never seen
to cut in a
conversation.
Selected
Sayings:
1. One
who compares
Allah with one
of His
creations, is a
polytheist. One
who relates to
Allah with
something he has
been forbidden
to do, is a
kafir (a
non-believer).
2. Knowledge,
forbearance and
less talk are
the qualities of
a pious
practitioner of
the Faith.
3. Man's
best friend is
intelligence,
and ignorance is
his enemy.
4. The
believer is
closer to Allah
when he throws
himself down in
prostration
before Him.
5. One
who gives in the
name of Allah,
earns His
nearness, His
rewards and away
from an abode in
hell. The
miser is distant
from people and
Allah, but closer
to an abode in
hell.
6. Charitable
giving is like a
tree planted in
paradise and
whose branches
are in the
world. One
who gives
charity clings
to the branches
and is carried
to the
fulfillment of
the ultimate
prize of
paradise.
7. A
Momin is that
person who
derives pleasure
when he does a good
deed, and
repents with
sincerity when
he commits an
error.A Muslim
is that person
from whose hands
and tongue the
other Muslims do
not get hurt.
8. Belief
has four
components:
(i) Dependence
on Allah;
(ii) Acceptance
of the Acts of
Allah;
(iii) Submission
to His Will;
(iv) Reliance
on Allah's help
in his deeds.
9. One
who is not
thankful to his
provider in this
world, cannot be
thankful to
Allah.
10. Allah
has ordained
three sets of
duties to be
performed
together:
(i) Pay
the poor tax as
you offer
prayers;
(ii) Thank
your parents as
you thank Allah;
(iii) Fear
Allah and do
good to your own
kin.