Imam Ali Ibn Musa Al-Ridha (AS)

The Eighth Holy Imam Ali Al-Reda(as) son of the Imam Musa Al-Khathom (as) and Al-Sayyidah Najmah.

He died, by poisoning mixed in his fruit by Mamoon.

His body was prepared for burial by his son the Imam Mohammad Al-Jawad (as) and he was buried in Meshad, Khorasan in Iran, where his shrine stands now.

It is needless to speak of his achievements in vast knowledge, virtue, nobility, generosity, moral perfections, humbleness and worship of Allah (swt).

Mamoon Al-Abbassi, then the Calipha asked him to take charge of the administration of the Muslim government but he did not accept it because he knew that things will not go the way he liked them to go.

It was just like the case of his great grandfather the Imam Ali Ibin Abe Taleb (as) who did not accept the post of leadership with the condition set by the counsel that he should run the government according to the book of Allah(swt), the traditions of The Holy Prophet (pbuh&hf) and the policies of the two previous Caliphas Abu Bakir and Umar Al-Khattab.

Imam Ali(as) couldn't of course and didn't accept such an offer but Uthman accepted it. Hence he was appointed the third Calipha, over Imam Ali(as)!

When the Eighth Imam(as) did not accept the post of the leadership of the Muslim government, Mamoon then asked him to be his successor and the Imam(as) reluctantly accepted it with the condition that he will not be asked to take part in any governmental tasks and policies, during the life time of Mamoon.

Because quite simply, Mamoon's government policies were completely contrary to Islam principles and the teachings of The Holy Prophet Mohammad Al-Mustafa(pbuh&hf).

Some examples of his vast knowledge came to light when Mamoon invited the scholars of different schools of thought to attend a seminar of debate over the theological issues and matters of the doctrines of faith.

For his worship he would stay up for many nights and read the whole book of Holy Koran in just over three days. Very often he would fast and also pray a thousand prayers in twenty four hours.

He was very generous to everyone especially the poor. He would help the needy during the night so that no one would recognise him.

Imam Ali Al-Reda(as) never did any injustice to any one in words or deeds. He was not loud spoken but always spoke softly with a polite manner and was cordial with everyone. He always sat politely and never slouched in presence of others. He would call all the members of his family and servants to have dinner or lunch together.

Imam Rida (Ali ibn Musa) was the son of the seventh Imam and according to well-known accounts was born in 148/765 and died in 203/817.

The eighth Imam reached the imamate, after the death of his father, through Divine Command and the decree of his forefathers.

The period of his imamate coincided with the caliphate of Harun and then his sons Amin and Ma'mun.

After the death of his father, Ma'mun fell into conflict with his brother Amin which led to bloody wars and finally the assassination of Amin, after which Ma'mun became caliph. Until that day the policy of the Abbasid caliphate toward the Shi'ites had been increasingly harsh and cruel. Every once in a while one of the supporters of Ali ('alawis) would revolt causing bloody wars and rebellions which were of great difficulty and consequence for the caliphate.

The Shi'ite Imams would not cooperate with those who carried out these rebellions and would not interfere with their affairs. The Shi'ites of that day, who comprised a considerable population, continued to consider the Imams as their religious leaders to whom obedience was obligatory and believed in them as the real caliphs of the Holy Prophet.

They considered the caliphate to be far from the sacred authority of their Imams, for the caliphate had come to seem more like the courts of the Persian kings and Roman emperors and was being run by a group of people more interested in worldly rule than in the strict application of religious principles.

The continuation of such a situation was dangerous for the structure of the caliphate and was a serious threat to it.

Ma'mun thought of finding a new solution for these difficulties which the seventy-year old policy, of his Abbasid predecesseors had not been able to solve. To accomplish this end he chose the eighth Imam as his successor, hoping in this way to overcome two difficulties: first of all to prevent the descendants of the Prophet from rebelling against the government since they would be involved in the government themselves, and secondly, to cause the people to lose their spiritual belief and inner attachment to the Imam,

This would be accomplished by having the Imams become engrossed in wordly matters and the politics of the caliphate itself, which had always been considered by the Shi'itee to be evil and impure, In this way their religious organization would crumble and they would no longer present any dangers to the caliphate.

Obviously, after accomplishing these ends, the removal of the Imam would present no difficulties to the Abbasids. In order to have this decision put into effect, Ma'mun asked the Imam to come to Marw from Medina, Once he had arrived there, Ma'mun offered him first the caliphate and then the succession to the caliphate. The Imam made his apologies and turned down the proposal, but he was finally induced to accept the successorship, with the condition that he would not interfere in governmental affaire or in the appointment or dismissal of government agents. This event occurred in 200/814, But soon Ma'mun realized that he had committed an error, for there was a rapid spread of Shi'ism, a growth in the attachment of the populace to the Imam and an astounding reception given to the Imam by the people and even by the army and government agents, Ma'mun sought to find a remedy for this difficulty and had the Imam poisoned and martyred, After his death the Imam was buried in the city of Tus in Iran, which is now called Mashhad.

Ma'mun displayed great interest in having works on the intellectual sciences translated into Arabic, He organized gatherings in which scholars of different religions and sects assembled and carried out scientific and scholarly debates. The eighth Imam also participated in these assemblies and joined in the discussions with scholars of other religions.

Many of these debates are recorded in the collections of Shi'ite hadiths.