A presentation on the life of Imam Raza(as) the Great grandson of Prophet Muhammad(as) and the eighth imam

1. Name : Ali ar-Riza(a.s.) - the 8th Holy Imam
Title : Gharib al-Ghuraba
Father : Imam Musa-e-Kazim(a.s.) - the 7th Holy Imam
Mother : Ummul-Baneen Bibi Najma
Birth : Madina on 11th of Zi-Qadah 148 AH (765 AD)
Martyred : in Mashhad at age 55, on 23rd Zi-Qadah 203
AH (817 AD)
Cause of Death : Martyred by Abbasid Khalifa Mamoon
Buried :Mashhad, Iran.

2. His grandfather Imam Ja’far Sadiq (as) died one month
before the birth of Imam Ridha’ (as).Hence the family
must have been consoled by his birth which took place
after such a great loss.
Imam Ridha(as) was brought up and instructed by his
affectionate father –for 31 years under whose
supervision he passed his childhood and youth.
Imam Kadhim (as) was eventually taken to Baghdad to
suffer the hardship of imprisonment for four years
until his death.

3. However,Imam Musa al-Kadhim (as) foresaw that the
hostile Abbasid ruler would not allow him to live
peacefully and that his followers would not be able to
see him or enquire about his successor prior to his
death.
So while free and undisturbed in Madina, he
assembled 17 descendants from family of Imam
Ali(as) and introduced his son and successor to them
He also wrote his will on which 60 respected elders of
Madina signed as witnesses.

4. Imam Ridha (as) was 35 years old when his father died
in prison of Harun al-Rashid
After putting an end to the life of Imam Kadhim (as)
Harun al-Rashid lived for ten years but became
unpopular due to his cruelty to the Imam’s father,
hence Harun was forced to show some leniency
towards Imam Ridha(as)

5.  Imam Al-Ridha showed similar personal traits to those of his
father Imam Al-Kadhim (as):
Imam Ridha (as) loved to pray, say Du'aas, and used to do
prostrate frequently, whenever he wanted to thank Allah. He
(as) used to perform Salat to an excessive extent, especially for
Tahajjud. He (as) used to often fast during the year.
Imam Ridha (as) used to accompany his father for hajj or Umra
and travel on foot accompanied by his family, often taking
25-30 days of walking to reach Mecca (from Medina), a distance
of about 300 miles.
And as all members of Ahlul Bayt used to do, imam Ridha (as)
used to go at night to distribute food, flour, and money to
people in need without anyone knowing about him.
It is said that Imam Al-Ridha was instrumental in freeing
about 1,000 slaves during his lifetime. Like his forefathers
before him Al-Ridha used to buy slaves as soon as he could
afford, then give them their freedom.

6. Imam Al-Ridha continued to teach but could not deliver to the
same extent as his grandfather Imam Al-Sadiq (as). Haroon Al-
Rashid had undercover agents following the Imam (as).
After 10 years Al-Rashid died and there came about a period of
nine years during which civil war broke out followed by a
number of uprisings. During this period Imam Al-Ridha could
teach freely and unhampered, and the circles of students
surrounding him became ever so active and lively.
Imam Ridha (as) was actively contributing, tirelessly working,
and patiently explaining many Islamic sciences be it Sunnah,
Tafseer, Hadith, Fiqh, or Ah'kaam. Imam Al-Ridha was known
to answer questions by quoting the Quran.

7. After the death of Harun, his sons Amin and
Mamun. fell into a bloody war over who was to lead.
Amin was killed, after which Mamun became caliph.
The Shias of that day, who comprised a considerable
population, continued to consider the Imams as their
religious leaders to whom obedience was obligatory.
They did not recognize the caliphate of Harun and his
sons as legitimate. The Caliphs were cruel and
corrupt, blood thirsty and lived like kings

8. There were many revolts and uprisings, which had
scared Mamun.
Hence he contrived to invite Imam Ridha (as.) to
the capital city of Marw (now known as Mashhad in
Iran), with the evil intention of making false
friendship with the Imam.
On his departure from Madinah, Imam Reza (A.S.)
gathered the members of his family and enjoined them to
shed tears for his last journey with no return.

9. To accomplish this end he forcefully appointed Imam
Ridha(as)as his successor, hoping in this way to do the
following:
To prevent the descendants of the Prophet from rebelling
against the government since they would be involved in
the government themselves.
The Shias considered Mamun and his Abbasid leadership
as impure and evil and hence to include the Imam (as) in
the day to day running of the Government , would make
them lose trust in their Imam and hence the system of Ahl
ul Bayt would crumble and pose no danger to the
Caliphate of the abbasids
Make the Imam (as) become engrossed in worldly matters
and the politics of the caliphate itself, and hence make the
Imam unpopular amongst his people and at the right time
the removal of the Imam would present no difficulties to
the Abbasid leadership.

10. According to Mamun’s orders, the Imam would be forcefully taken
through a route ,from Madina to Marw, which was planned to go
through villages and cities which did not have many shias.
However,wherever the Imam (as) stopped, during this journey the
Imam was welcomed and the people asked him for blessings.
At one point on his way, he entered the city of Nishapoor. A large
crowd of people gathered to welcome him and on seeing him, they
became so happy that some of them started crying. On the insistence
of the elders, imam dictated this tradition word by word from his
honored father which was narrated from his pure grandfathers and
from the messenger of Allah (PBUH & HP) and from Gabriel and
from Almighty Allah that:
 The word of La Ilaha Illa al-Allah is my fortress (then whoever
says this has entered my fortress) and whoever enters my fortress
will be saved from my punishment.
Imam paused for a while and then said, But on some conditions and I
am one of its conditions.

11. On his arrival in Merv, Mamun welcomed Imam
Ridha(as) with great ceremony and pomp. Mamun treated
the Imam (as)with great honour.
It is mentioned by various historians, Both of Shia and
Sunni schools of thought, that when Mamun initially
offered the Imam (as)his throne, the Imam declined the
offer firmly and resolutely.
After several attempts to bring the Imam(as) to accept the
offer failed, Mamun told him to accept the offer of being
his heir- apparent to succeed him after his death. Imam
(as) reluctantly accepted this offer but on condition that he
will not be involved in any of the business of Mamun and
his government.

12. Once this story of succession was announced
Mamun’s political ambition was achieved. He secured
the help of the shias and with their help his army
invaded the capital of the Abbasid empire,- Baghdad.
Mamun’s half brother Amin was killed and hence
Mamun became the sole ruler of the Abbasid Empire.
However, as Much as Mamun wanted, he did not feel
secure on his throne. He was wary of Imam Ali
Ridha(as)

13.  it was on the 27th of Ramadan, in the year 201 A.H
that Imam Ridha(as) was officially designated as
Mamun’s "heir- apparent,"( Wali’ahd,) and the
Imam’s name was included with his own on gold
and silver coins.
 The inscription on these coins were-"The King of
God and the faith, Al-Mamun, Amir and Khalifa of
the faithful, and Al-Ridha, the Imam of the
muslims".

14. Harun al-Rashid had banned anyone from visiting the
grave of Imam Husain (as) in Karbala.
However, this was brought to an end by Imam Ali al-
Ridha. Mamun implemented a condition that for anyone
wishing to go to Karbala to pay respects to Imam Husain
(as), would need to obtain Imam Ridha’s personal
guarantee.
The Imam gave this guarantee to everyone, establishing
his name as Imam Zamin. So, when Mamun ordered the
state mint to engrave the name of Imam Ridha on the state
coins, so during journeys such coins were kept with the
person’s body as a powerful symbol against any sort of
calamities. So the Imam became a symbol of guaranteeing
a safe journey. Zamin means Safety.

15.  Thus, during the time period of Imam al-Ridha's (as)
life marked the start of the practice of "Imam Zamin".
It become customary for people at this time to take
the coin that had Imam al -Ridha's (as) name on it
and wrap it around their arms when traveling.
 It was believed that when a person traveled with the
Imam's name, he would also be protected by the
Imam's blessings on his journey. When a person
arrived safely to their destination they would take
the coin and give it away as charity, in the name of
the Imam(as).
 The practice of Imam Zamin has this name because it
relates to Imam al-Ridha (as)who is a protector and
guarantee of a safe journey.

16. Imam Ali Ridha(as) took full advantage of the
freedom given to him, by preaching and teaching to
the people.
Scholars from other faiths came to Marw to debate
with the Imam(as) and the Imam not only won the
debates convincingly, but also spread the teachings of
the Ahlul Bayt far and wide.
In one such gathering, one of the prime minister of
Mamun, Fadl Ibn Sahl, arranged a conference on
religions for which he invited the leaders of different
Muslim traditions and scholars of the others faiths –
namely the Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians.

17. Imam Ridha (as) was the first to officially name the
yearly commemoration of Ashura as Majlis.
During the last years of his life, and by official capacity,
Ashura was commemorated in numerous regions all
over the Ummah. Imam (as) also stressed Ashura and
its significance for Islam, and its long-term influence for
saving Islam from being misinterpreted or
misrepresented.
Just as his forefathers had done, Imam Ridha (as)
stressed on people to a hold Majlis on the anniversary
of Ashura and visit the tomb of Imam Husain (as) that
had become a shrine by then, and also understand the
sacrifice of Imam Husain (as).

18. One day when Imam (as) was walking he came across a
hunter who was about to kill a deer. The deer was trying
to get away and when she saw Imam (as) she ran towards
him and said something to him.
Imam asked the hunter to free the deer so that she could
go and feed her little baby deer who were very hungry.
Imam (as) also told the hunter that once the deer had fed
her babies she would come back.
The hunter allowed the deer to go because Imam (A) had
told him to, but he did not think she was coming back, so
Imam Ali ar-Ridha (as) waited with the hunter until the
deer returned. The Hunter out of respect did not kill the
Deer

19. Ibrahim al-Suli is quoted saying: "I never saw Imam ar-
Ridha (a.s.) angering anyone by something he said, nor
did I ever see him interrupting anyone, nor refusing to
do someone a favor 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 and he sat to be served, he
seated with him all his servants."

20. As Imam Ridha’s(as) popularity grew and so did
Mamun’s insecurity. Mamun feared that the Imam will
overthrow his leadership as he saw more and more
people becoming Shia.
Mamun was never sincere in his behaviour towards
Imam. Seeing the Imam's popularity increase disturbed
him immensely especially after the occasion when he
requested Imam to lead Eid prayers as he was not well.
He saw that even before Imam had reached the mosque
the people had lined the streets and were reciting takbir
He was so furious that he asked the Imam to go back
that day.

23. Mamun offered Imam poisoned grapes. Imam became
ill and died after two days on the 29th Safar 203 a.h.
Imam Ali Ar-Ridha (a.s.) died in Tus in a village
called Sanabad. He had only one son,Imam
Muhammad At-Taqi (as) who succeeded him as the
9th Imam.
Mamun ordered Imam's grave to be dug near his
father Harun's and when it was being dug he said that
Imam had once told him that when his grave would
be dug water and fish would appear underneath.
 True to his words when they finished digging a
spring of water appeared with fish in it and then
disappeared.

25.  Many people including Shias questioned Imam
Ridha’s (as) decision to accept Mamun’s offer of heir
apparent.
 This wisdom can be seen today as Imam was
instrumental in setting up the word of Ahlulbayt in
the area of Marw which is now the present day Iran.
 Because of Imam’s teachings and propagation, he
established a strong foundation of Shiaism that made
Iran the only Shia country in the world today.