‘Ali al-Rida
‘Ali al-Rida ('Ali ibn Musa al-Rida) ('Ali ar-Ridha) (Ali Reza) (b. c. 11 Dhu al-Qi'dah 148 AH [December 29, 765 CC or January 1, 766 CC], Medina, Hijaz, Abbasid Caliphate [now Saudi Arabia] - d. 17 Safar 202 AH [June 6, 818 CC], Tus, Persia, Abbasid Caliphate [now Iran]). Eighth Imam of the Twelver Shi‘a (r. 799-818).
‘Ali al-Rida’s imamate coincided with a great reversal of fortune for the Shi‘a. He attained the imamate after the brutal persecution and martyrdom of this father, Musa al-Kadim, at the hands of the Caliph Harun al-Rashid. After Harun’s death, however, events rapidly evolved. After a civil war between Harun’s sons Amin and Ma’mun ended in Ma’mun’s victory, ‘Ali al-Rida was summoned to Ma’mun’s capital at Merv (Marv) in northeastern Iran.
‘Ali al-Rida, as the head of the house of 'Ali and, therefore, leader of the Shi‘a, could bring a vast claim of potential support for the cause of whoever made an alliance with him. The caliph brought him to Transoxiana, named him the heir apparent, and replaced the black insignias of the ruling 'Abbasids with those of 'Alid green. This strange episode ended soon, however, when ‘Ali al-Rida died while traveling with Ma’mun from Merv back to Baghdad. The Shi‘a, doubting the honesty of the caliph’s motives in the first place, believed that he had had ‘Ali al-Rida poisoned. ‘Ali al-Rida was interred at Tus by Ma’mun in a mausoleum already containing the remains of Ma’mun’s father Harun al-Rashid, the Abbasid caliph of Arabian Nights fame. The spot soon grew in significance because of the presence there of the 'Alid imam. Its name was changed to Mashhad (literally, “shrine” or “sanctuary”). It became one of the most important centers for Shi‘a pilgrimage and is now at the center of Iran’s third largest city, to which it gives its name.
'Ali ibn Musa al-Rida was descendant of the Prophet Muhammad and the eighth of the Twelve Shi'a Imams. His given name was ‘Ali ibn Musa ibn Ja‘far.
On the eleventh of Dhu al-Qi'dah, 148 AH (December 29, 765), 'Ali ibn Musa al-Rida was born in the house of Imam Musa al-Kadim (the seventh Imam of Shi'a Islam) in Medina. He was named 'Ali and was titled al-Rida. He was born one month after the death of his grandfather, Ja'far al-Sādiq. The mother of 'Ali al-Rida was Najmah, a former slave purchased and freed by Hamidah Khatun, wife of the sixth Shi'a Imam, Ja'far al-Sadiq.
During his childhood, 'Ali al-Rida accompanied his father, Musa al-Kadim, who repeatedly would tell his friends, " 'Ali al-Rida shall be the Imam after me." Since political pressure prevailed in the period of Musa al-Kadim, he added, "What I said must remain (restricted) to you. Do not repeat it to anybody unless you know that he is one of our friends and companions."
'Ali al-Rida’s father, Musa al-Kadim, was martyred in 799. It was then that the responsibility of the Imamate was conveyed to 'Ali al-Rida.
After the death of Harun al-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 al-Taqi, and his wife and set out for Merv.
After defeating his brother, Caliph al-Ma'mun named 'Ali al-Rida his successor. He hoped to win Shi'a support through this move, but the passage of the 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.
'Ali al-Rida did not outlive al-Ma'mun. He was killed in Persia while accompanying al-Ma'mun at Tus. Most scholars agree he was poisoned by al-Ma'mun. 'Ali al-Rida ('Ali Reza) is buried within the Imam Reza Mosque in Mashhad, Iran.
On the eleventh of Dhu al-Qi'dah, 148 AH (c. January 1, 766 CC), a son was born in the house of Musa al-Kadim (the seventh Imam of Twelver Shi'a Islam) in Medina. He was named 'Ali and titled al-Rida, literally meaning in Arabic, "the soothe", since it was believed that Allah was pleased with him. 'Ali's kunya -- 'Ali's alternative name based on the name of his oldest child -- was Abu'l Hasan since 'Ali was the father of al-Hasan. The naming of a father after his son is a common practice in Arab culture. However, in the Shi'a sources, 'Ali is commonly called Abu'l-Ḥasan al-Ṯānī (the second Abu'l Hasan), since his father, Musa al-Kadim, also had the kunya Abu'l Hasan. Musa al-Kadim was known as Abu'l-Ḥasan al-Awwal, meaning the first Abu'l Hasan.
'Ali was born one month after the death of his grandfather, Ja'far al-Sadiq, and was brought up in Medina under the direction of his father, Musa al-Kadim. His mother, Najmah, was a distinguished and pious lady. Originally a North African slave woman, Najmah was purchased by, and freed by, Bibi Hamidah Khatun, the wife of Ja'far al-Sadiq. 'Ali ibn Musa was said to be shadid ummah or Aswad, meaning he had a very dark-skinned or black complexion.
Disputes exist regarding the number of 'Ali al-Rida's offspring and their names. A group of scholars say that 'Ali had five sons and one daughter, and that they were named Muhammad al- Qani', al-Hasan, Ja'far, Ibrahim, al-Husayn, and 'Ayesha. Sabt ibn al-Jawzi, in his work Tadhkiratul-Khawass, says that the sons were only four, dropping the name of al-Husayn from the list.
'Ali reached the Imamate, after the death of his father, Musa al-Kadim, through Divine Command and the decree of his forefathers, especially his father Imam Musa al-Kadim, who repeatedly told his companions that his son 'Ali would be the Imam after him. Musa al-Kadim preferred 'Ali al-Rida over the rest of his sons, informing them, "This is your brother ‘Ali ibn Musa, who is the scholar of the Household of Muhammad (Ahl al-Bayt). Question him about your beliefs and memorize what he says to you, for I heard my father, Ja'far al-Sadiq say: ‘The scholar of the Household of Muhammad (Ahl al-Bayt), may Allah bless him and his Household, is in your loins. Would that I met him, for he is the namesake of (Imam 'Ali ibn Abi Talib) the commander of the faithful (amir al-mu'minin).' "
Even in his youth, 'Ali al-Rida would transmit hadith from his father and his uncles and gave fatawa -- legal rulings -- in the mosque of Medina. 'Ali al-Rida was not looked upon favorably by Harun al-Rashid and the people of Medina were discouraged from visiting and learning from him. Nevertheless, after 'Ali succeeded his father as Imam in Medina, the new Caliph al-Ma'mun ingratiated himself with the numerous Shi'a parties by designating 'Ali al-Rida as his successor to the Caliphate.
After the death of Harun al-Rashid in 809, 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 Persians. Ultimately, al-Ma'mun prevailed over al-Amin. However, after defeating his brother, al-Ma'mun faced many insurrections from the followers of Muhammad's family.
The Shi'a of al-Ma'mun's era made up a large population of al-Ma'mun's Iran and regarded the Imams as their leaders. As their leaders, the Imams were to be obeyed in all aspects of life, spiritual and secular, as the Shi'a believed the Imams to be the real caliphs -- the real successors -- of the Prophet Muhammad. The Abbasids, like the Umayyads before them, realized this was a big threat to their own caliphate, since the Shi'as saw Abbasids as usurpers to the rightful heirs of Muhammad. For the Shi'a, the spiritual status of al-Ma'mun was far from the sacred status of their Imams.
In order to quiet the many Shi'a rebellions, Caliph al-Ma'mun summoned Imam 'Ali al-Rida to Khorasan and offered 'Ali al-Rida the role of Crown Prince -- the royal successor -- to prevent the Shi'as and the relatives of 'Ali al-Rida from rebelling. From al-Ma'mun's perspective the promise of royal succession helped to prevent the Shi'a from rebelling against his government since in doing so the Shi'a would then be fighting against their own Imam. Al-Ma'mun also wanted to cause the people to lose their spiritual belief and inner attachment to the Imams, because, once associated with the government, the Imam would also be associated with its corruption. Thirdly, al-Ma'mun, by bringing 'Ali al-Rida into the government, intended to fool other Shi'as into believing that his government was not so bad after all, especially since 'Ali al-Rida would one day come into power after al-Ma'mun. Finally, al-Ma'mun wanted to keep a close watch over 'Ali al-Rida, the Imam of the Shi'as, so that nothing could happen without al-Ma'mun's knowledge.
However, word quickly spread among al-Ma'mun's circles that al-Ma'mun was not sincere in his offer to make 'Ali al-Rida the Crown Prince, and that it was simply a political move. Al-Ma'mun also became paranoid and thought that 'Ali al-Rida would see through the political ruse as well, and so would 'Ali's Shi'as. In order to quiet the doubts of the people, al-Ma'mun first offered 'Ali al-Rida the caliphate itself.
'Ali al-Rida, who knew the real reason for this offer, politely refused it. Nevertheless, al-Ma'mun continued trying to make his offer seem sincere and kept re-offering the caliphate, and finally moved on to his plan to make his Crown Prince be 'Ali al-Rida.
When Imam al-Rida also declined this position, al-Ma'mun threatened him. Al-Rida said he would accept, under the condition that none of the affairs of government would be his. He would neither appoint anyone, nor dismiss. He would not rule, or pass laws. He would only be Crown Prince in name.
Al-Ma'mun was pleased that 'Ali al-Rida had accepted and would stay out of his way in governing. Al-Ma'mun even changed the black Abbasid flags to green, the traditional color of the Shi'a, Muhammad's flag and 'Ali ibn Abi Talib's cloak. He also ordered the minting of coins with the names of both Al-Ma'mun and 'Ali al-Rida.
When 'Ali al-Rida was summoned to Khorasan and reluctantly accepted the role of successor to al-Ma'mun, al-Ma'mun also summoned the Imam's brother, Zayd, who had revolted and brought about a riot in Medina to his court in Khorasan. Al-Ma'mun kept Zayd free as an honor to 'Ali al-Rida.
One day, however, when 'Ali al-Rida 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 rebuked Zayd saying:
Al-Ma'mun was very interested in working on various sciences translated into Arabic. Al-Ma'mun arranged debates between the Imam and Muslim scholars and the leaders of the religious sects who came into al-Ma'mun's presence. One of the discussions was on Divine Unity with Sulaiman al-Mervi, a scholar from Khorasan. Another discussion was with 'Ali ibn Muhammad ibn al-Jahm was devoted to the sinlessness of the Prophets, which led to still another debate on the same subject in which al-Ma'mun took a great part himself. Many of these debates are recorded in the collections of Shi'a hadiths, like Oyoun Akhbar al-Rida.
According to some accounts, al-Ma'mun's main objective of holding the meetings was a hope to render the Imam incapable of answering questions in order to undermine his popularity. It is related from al-Nawfali who quoted the Imam as saying
Al-Ma'mun thought he would solve the problems of Shi'a revolts by naming 'Ali al-Rida as his successor. After finally being able to persuade 'Ali al-Rida to accept this position, al-Ma'mun realized his mistake, for the Shi'a began to gain even more popularity. Moreover, the Arab party in Baghdad were furious when they heard that al-Ma'mun not only appointed the imam as his successor, but sent out commands that the Abbasid's black flag should be changed to green in honor of the Imam. They were afraid that the empire would be taken from them. They got together, therefore, to depose al-Ma'mun and give allegiance to Ibrahim ibn al-Mahdi, who was the uncle of al-Ma'mun. When al-Ma'mun heard this, the Imam, 'Ali al-Rida, advised al-Ma'mun to solve the problem by dismissing 'Ali al-Rida from his position but al-Ma'mun did not heed 'Ali al-Rida's advice and decided to return to Baghdad and assert his rights. However, when they reached the town of Sarakhs, al-Ma'mun's vizier was assassinated, and when they reached Tus, al-Ma'mūn poisoned the Imam. Then, Muhammad al-Taqi, 'Ali al-Rida's son came.
Al-Ma'mūn ordered that 'Ali al-Rida be buried next to the tomb of al-Ma'mun's own father, Harun al-Rashid, and showed extreme sorrow in the funeral ritual. Al-Ma'mun stayed for three days at the burial site. The unexpected death of both the vizier and the successor (the successor whose presence would have made any reconciliation with the powerful ʿAbbasid opposition in Baghdad virtually impossible) aroused strong suspicion that al-Ma'mun had a hand in the deaths.
The traditional Kutbeh Khani (sermon reciting) ritual is held every year on the anniversary of the death of Imam Reza ('Ali al-Rida). The ritual, based on the order of governor 'Ali Shah of Khorasan in 1160 AH, involves the shrine's servants walking from the nearest street around the shrine to Inqilab yard with candles in their hands. When they arrive, they stand around the yard and begin reciting the sermon, worship Allah and praise the Ahl al-Bayt. This ritual is also held on the night of Ashura.
Today the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad occupies a total area of 598,657 square meters (147.931 acres) — the shrine area occupies 267,079 square meters (65.997 acres) while the seven courtyards surrounding it cover an area of 331,578 square meters (81.935 acres), together having an area larger than Masjid al-Haram and Masjid al-Nabawi (which have areas of 356,800 square meters (88.2 acres) and 400,500 square meters (99.0 acres) respectively). Based on this acreage, some sources describe the Imam Reza shrine as the largest mosque in the world.
One of 'Ali al-Rida's most important works is Al-Risalah al-Dhahabiah (The Golden Treatise). Al-Risalah al-Dhahabiah is a treatise on medical cures and the maintenance of good health which is said to have been written in accordance with the demand of al-Ma'mun. It is regarded as the most precious Islamic literature in the science of medicine, and was entitled "the golden treatise" as al-Ma'mun had ordered it to be written in gold ink. It was explained in this treatise that one's health is threatened when his blood, yellow bile, black bile and phlegm are unbalanced; and that nutrition and traditional medicine may be used to cure imbalances.
Another important work by 'Ali al-Rida is Sahifah. Sahifah is a collection of hadith attributed to 'Ali al-Rida which was transmitted by Abdallah ibn Aḥmad ibn Amer, who heard them from his father Aḥmad, who was said to have heard it from 'Ali al-Rida in 194 AH (809–10 CE) at Medina. It contains hadiths on various topics like the invocation of Allah, the importance of praying five times a day and of saying the prayer for the dead, the excellence of Muhammad's household, of the believer, of good manners, of strengthening the bonds of kinship, and the danger of cheating, of backbiting, and of tattling. It discusses each member of the household.
Uyun al Akhbar ar Reda is a book in which is gathered together everything that has been related about Imam 'Ali al-Rida from debates on religious questions and the sayings which have been recorded from him, to the explanations of the reason his name was chosen, and traditions concerning his death and the miracles which have occurred at his tomb. It was collected by Ibn Babawayh who is also known as Al-Shaykh al-Saduq.
Feqh al-Reżā (Al-Rida's Jurisprudence), also called al-Fiqh al-Radawi, is also attributed to Imam 'Ali al-Rida. It was not known until the 10th AH/16th century CC when it was judged to be authentic by Muhammad Baqir Majlisi. However, most Imami scholars doubted its authenticity.
- "Everyone's friend is his reason; his enemy is his ignorance."
- "Worship is not abundant prayer and fasting; rather it is abundant reflecting on the affair of Allah, the Great and Almighty."
- "Man is not worshipful unless he is clement."
- "Faith is a degree above Islam; fear of Allah is a degree above faith; and nothing less than fear of Allah has been divided among men."
- "Faith is four pillars: trust in Allah, satisfaction with Allah's decree, submission to Allah's command, and entrusting (affairs) to Allah."
- "If one lacks five attributes, do not expect to gain anything good out of him for your life in this world or your life to come: if his lineage is known to be untrustworthy, if his nature lacks generosity, if his temper lacks balance, if he lacks a noble conduct, and if he lacks fear of his Lord."
- "If only three years of a person's span of life has remained and he tightens the bond of kin, Allah will make them thirty years, and Allah does whatever He wills."
- "Adhere to the weapon of the prophets!" They asked, "What is the weapon of prophets?" He replied, "Supplication."
- "A believer's secret supplication is equal to seventy open supplications."
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Partial Listing of Related Wikipedia Links:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali_al-Ridha
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_caliphs
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatimah_bint_Musa
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fourteen_Infallibles
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imam_Reza_Shrine
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_Imams
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