Imam Reza (A.S.), the Truth Immortalized

By: Seyyed Ali Shahbaz
On the 11th of Zil-Qa’dah in the year 148 AH, less than a month after the martyrdom of the Prophet’s 6th infallible successor, Imam Ja’far as-Sadeq (AS), when the bewildered assassin Mansour Dawaniqi was still trying to figure out who actually was the heir of his venerable victim so as to do him harm as well, an enlightened heir was born to the still publicly unannounced heir.
Little did the Abbasid usurper Mansour – one of the principal hijackers and deviators of the pro-Ahl al-Bayt uprising of the people of Khorasan – realize that the new addition to his victim’s family that year would soon transform not only Khorasan but the whole of Iran and the greater part of his own capital Baghdad in Iraq into the realm of the devotees of the Prophet’s pure progeny, whom he thought had been totally deprived of their rights.
Fifty-three years later, as the rotten bones of Mansour and his four tyrannical successors – Mahdi, Hadi, Haroun and Amin – rattled in their infernal graves, the son born that year to Imam Musa al-Kazem (AS) – the son and hitherto unannounced successor of Imam Sadeq (AS) – would step on the soil of Khorasan to establish a permanent foothold for the followers of the Ahl al-Bayt.
Although Imam Reza (AS), whose birthday we celebrate today, was forced to leave Medina and come to the then Abbasid capital Marv (presently in Turkmenistan) in 201 AH at the age of 53 years, as part of an intricate plot by the crafty caliph Mamoun who even declared him as his heir-apparent in a bid to discredit the Ahl al-Bayt in the eyes of the ummah, the Prophet’s 8th infallible successor completely turned the tables on the usurpers of the inalienable rights of his Blessed Household.
During his two-year sojourn in Khorasan, so firmly did he manifest the God-given wisdom of the Prophet’s rightful heirs that despite a desperate Mamoun’s resorting to the same old tactics of fatal poisoning of the food to martyr yet another Infallible Imam, all traces of Abbasid rule soon evaporated from Iran.
A brief newspaper column is not the place to pen the outstanding events of Imam Reza’s (AS) stay in Khorasan such as the miracle of the rain during a period of extreme drought; the lively debates with different Muslim and non-Muslim scholars that convinced them of the truth of Islam; and the memorable incident of Eid al-Fetr at the end of Ramadhan 202 AH that badly backfired on Mamoun when after announcing that the Imam was to lead the especial prayer he stopped him midway to the Mosalla out of fear and jealousy as masses started to turn out with enthusiasm at the sight of the Prophet’s heir performing the Eid ritual – an act that further alienated the people from the Abbasids.
However, in view of the blessed birthday of Imam Reza (AS), I end the article by referring to the immortal incident at Neishabour where thousands of scholars requested the Prophet’s eighth infallible successor to relate to them a Hadith Qods (which has come to be known as Hadith Silsalat az-Zahab or the Hadith of the Golden Chain of Authority). The Imam obliged and thus proved till eternity the divinely ordained authority of the Ahl al-Bayt that continues to guide Muslims on the straight and unwavering right path in all eras, and prevents the true believers from falling into the pitfalls of the imposters, usurpers and all other deviants.
He quoted the Prophet as saying: God Almighty says La ilaha il-Allah hisni fa man dakhala hisni aamana min azaabi (The testimony of faith ‘There is no deity but God’ is My impregnable fortress and whoever enters my impregnable fortress is from My wrath). Imam Reza (AS) then said: But entering this impregnable fortress of God requires certain conditions and stipulations and I am (my wilayah or God-given authority) is among these conditions.”
Those still in doubt are advised to cast a glance at the magnificent mausoleum of Imam Reza (AS) in Holy Mashhad to realize which Household continues to rule the hearts of Muslims all over the globe when all pretenders to the caliphate have vanished without trace from the face of the earth.