She
was a slave of Umme Hamida (6th Imam's wife). When the 7th
Imam had gone to buy her from the slave trader he was told
that when he was coming to Medina from Marrakesh a pious Christian
lady had told him that Bibi Suttana was a very special slave
who would bear a son who would spread the true word from the
East to the West.
Umme Hamida saw the Prophet (S.A.W.) in her dream telling
her to give Bibi Suttana to Imam Musa Al-Kadhim (a.s.) which
she did. The 6th Imam used to tell his companions to await
the birth of his grandson who he addressed as Alim e Ale Muhammad.
He was one of the three Imams who did Jihad with their knowledge.
(The other two were the 5th and 6th Imams). Imam Ali Ar-Raza
(a.s.) was born one month after the martyrdom of his grandfather
Imam Ja'fer As-Sadiq (a.s.) He was born during the reign of
the Harun Al-Rashid who poisoned his father.
Father:
Imam
Musa Al-Kadhim (a.s.)
His Titles:
Ar-Raza
- Angels, Prophets, Aimma, believers and even the enemies
of Ahlul-Bayt accepted him. So much so that Mamun Rashid had
to offer him to be the heir apparent (to be the leader after
him).
Imam
Zamin-e-Thamin - Thamin means eight. Zamin means safety
and security. One of the incidents attributed to this title
is that one day Imam was going through the market place with
a few followers when he saw a hunter about to kill a (struggling)
female deer. Imam told the hunter to let the deer go as she
wanted to feed her two young ones who were in the forest and
that she would return to the hunter who could then kill her.
The hunter thought that Imam was making a fool out of him.
Imam stood in surety and the hunter allowed the deer to go.
A little while later the deer returned with her young ones
and asked Imam to look after them. We believe that if anyone
who is going on a journey goes under the security of Imam
he/she will return safely.
Gharibul-Ghurabaa
(One who is a stranger i.e. he is away from his hometown).
Imam was far away from his home and family and he is the only
Imam who is buried out of Iraq and Hejaz (Saudi Arabia).
Alim
e Aali Mohammed - The learned one from Aale Muhammad.
This name was given to him by his grandfather (Imam Ja'fer
As-Sadiq (a.s.)).
Life And
Works
Imam
played a significant role in the educating of Muslims. Setting
examples of education through one's own conduct.
He saw a short period of the rule of Harun Rashid who had
murdered his father. Harun Rashid also attempted to kill Imam
Ali Raza (a.s.) but was unsuccessful. After Harun's death,
his sons, Amin and Mamun fought for power. Mamun won with
Amin being killed.
Immediately after becoming the Khalifa Mamun, according to
the tradition started by Muawiya, had to name a successor
(heir apparent) . Mamun summoned Imam to come to his capital
Marw sending a messenger to Medina to bring the Imam to him
and specifying a certain route and sending a security force
. The route he chose was not the normal route where, a lot
of Shia's lived. On the way they entered a town called Nishapur.
There the scholars and people requested Imam to tell them
a hadith. Imam related the following hadith which is known
as the hadith of the golden chain.
"My father Musa Al-Kadhim narrated to me from his father Ja'fer
As-Sadiq from his father Mohammed Al-Baqir from his father
Ali Zaynul Abedeen from his father , the martyr of Kerbala
from his father Ali ibn Abu Talib saying :"My loved one, and
the pleasure of my eyes, the Messenger of God (S.A.W.) told
me once, that Jibrail told him from the Lord "The kalima of
LA ILAHA ILLALLAH is my fort; whoever said it would enter
my fort; and whoever entered my fort was safe from my punishment".
Those who wrote down the hadith numbered twenty thousand.
People started reciting the Kalima when Imam put his hand
up and continued: "Yes, the kalima is Allah's fort. It will
provide you with excellent safety but on one condition only
and that is that you obey and follow us - the holy Imams in
the progeny of the holy Prophet (S.A.W.). On reaching Marw
Mamun forced Imam to accept the heir apparency (To be the
leader after him). Imam accepted unwillingly.
Why did
Mamun want Imam to be the heir apparent ?
1.
To please the Shia public opinion in Khurasan and the surrounding
areas which would make it easier for Mamun to be accepted
by the people there and a victory over his brother Amin.
2.
To avoid clashes with those like the Alawids who had always
threatened the Abbasids with various uprisings.
Mamun
celebrated the occasion of Imam's acceptance of heir apparency.
Imam only gave a short sermon saying after he had praised
Allah "We have over you a right appointed by the Prophet,
and you have a right over us as well; so if you fulfil your
duty towards us, we will be bound to perform our duty towards
you".
Mamun ordered a new coin to be minted with Imam Ar-Raza's
name on it. Imam however knew that this would not last long.
Soon Mamun put Imam under constant watch. Imam used the position
to spread the true word of Islam. Mamun's court was visited
by thousands and Imam made an impact on their minds. His ahadith
were widely recorded. Mamun who was fond of scholarly discussions
would arrange for intellectuals from Greece, Italy , India
etc. to come to his court and hold discussions with the Imam.
One day a Jewish scholar was brought by Mamun to debate with
Imam. The scholar asked: "How can you accept Muhammad to
be the prophet of God when he showed no miracles ? "
Imam replied : "The greatest of miracles of Allah is the
human mind. It allows ideas to be thought through and reasoned
out. Islam appeals to human reason. Man must accept God through
reason and not through miracles ".
The scholar did not have much to say after that answer.
Imam
also encouraged greatly the remembrance of Imam Husayn (a.s.)
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 and it seemed that even the walls of Marw were doing
the same. He had to ask Imam to go back that day.
There
are various accounts of how Imam Ali Ar-Raza (a.s.) was killed
by Mamun. One of them is that Imam used to like grapes and
Mamun offered Imam poisoned grapes. Imam was ill and died
after two days on the 29th Safar 203 a.h.
Imam Ali Ar-Raza (a.s.) died in Toos in a village called Sanabad.
He had only one son, Imam Muhammad At-Taqi (a.s.), 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 told him that
when his grave would be dug water and fish would appear underneath.
Just as Imam had said when they finished digging a spring
of water appeared with fish in it and then disappeared. Imam
is buried there at what is today called Mashhad in IRAN.
