Imam al-Reza's (A.S.) Widespread Knowledge in Occult Sciences

A part of the vast knowledge of Imam al-Reza(A.S.) is manifested in the occult news reported by his holiness, some of which are mentioned as follows: Imam al-Reza's (A.S.) Predictions concerning the Barmakids.
His holiness frequently pointed out the annihilation of the Barmakids, who were the closest people to Hārūn and very influential in his court. On his journey to Hajj pilgrimage, when the Imam glanced upon the dusty face of Yahyā b. Khālid Barmakī in the land of Minā, he said, “These wretched people do not know what is going to happen to them this year.”
Muhammad b. Fadl said, “The same year that Hārūn toppled the Barmakid dynasty, I saw Imam al-Reza(A.S.) standing to pray in ‘Arafat; then he suddenly cast his head down. When he was asked why he did so, he answered: “I had prayed God to punish the Barmakids, and today my prayer was answered.
When Dāwūd b. Kathīr heard Imam al-Reza(A.S.) that Yahyā b. Khālid had caused Imam Mūsā al-Kāzim’s (A.S.) martyrdom with poisoned dates, he said to the Imam: “May I be your ransom! If Yahyā b. Khālid is your father's murderer, I will sell my soul to God and kill him.” His holiness said, “Do him nothing; what is going to befall him and his children this year will be much more severe than what you have intended to do.”

Hārūn will do no Harm to me!
His holiness frequently pointed out that no harm would be done to him by Hārūn. When the Imam was informed that ‘Isā b. Ja‘far had told Hārūn and sworn that he would murder the one who claims Imamate after Mūsā b. Ja‘far and that ‘Alī b. Mūsā al-Reza has succeeded his father and claims to be the Imam after him and that Hārūn has given a negative answer, the Imam said, “There will be no harm done to me by Hārūn.” And when it was told to the Imam: “You have been recognized as Imam and popularized as such; blood is dripping from Hārūn's sword!” The Imam answered: “My answer is what the Messenger of Allāh (S.A.W.) said. The Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) said, “If Abū Jahl hurts me in the slightest, be witness that I am not a Holy Prophet; I do also say that if Hārūn hurts me in the slightest, be witness that I am not an Imam. It is related in another ḥadīth that when the Imam was warned about Hārūn, he said, “He won’t be able to hurt me so much as he tries.”

Various Predictions
His holiness informed that ‘Abd Allāh (i.e. Ma’mūn) would kill Muhammad(i.e. Amīn) and when the narrator [of this ḥadīth] asked with surprise: “Will ‘Abd Allāh, son of Hārūn kills Muhammad, son of Hārūn?!” The Imam said, “Yes, ‘Abd Allāh, who is in Khurasan will kill Muhammad b. Zubayda, who is in Baghdad.” And it happened as the Holy Imam (A.S.) predicted. When Imam al-Sadiq’s (A.S.) son revolted against Ma’mūn in Mecca, His holiness said to him: “O Uncle! Do not deny your father and brother; this will lead you nowhere and will not end. It did happen so and after a while, he was defeated and disarmed by Ma'mūn’s army.”
One day Ja‘far b. ‘Alī ‘Alawī passed by a group of Hashemite youth with an unfit appearance. They humiliated him for his unfit appearance. Imam al-Reza(A.S.) said, “You will soon see him with abundant properties and a large following. Less than a month later he was appointed as governor of Medina and his condition changed for the better.

Awareness of Imam al-Reza(A.S.) of Children in Mother’s Wombs
Someone said to Imam al-Reza(A.S.): “When I was coming – from Kūfa – my wife was pregnant, ask God that our baby be a boy child!” His holiness said, “It is a pair of twins!”
“When I wanted to leave, his holiness addressed me and said, ‘Name one ‘Alī and the other Umm ‘Umar – or ‘Amr (i.e. they are not both boys).’ When I returned to Kūfa I found out there were a boy and a girl born to us. Because of Imam al-Reza's (A.S.) advice, I named the boy ‘Alī and the girl Umm ‘Umar. When my neighbor (who was an adversary) heard about it said, ‘Now I no longer accept the words of those who say you are a Rāfiḍī”
One day, Imam al-Reza(A.S.) went to visit his uncle, Muhammad b. Ja‘far, who was in his deathbed. He noticed that his other uncle, named Ishāq b. Ja‘far, and some other people weeping at his bedside. His holiness left the room with a meaningful smile, so that those present were surprised.
His holiness said, “My surprise is because Muhammad b. Ja‘far will recover and Ishāq b. Ja‘far who is now weeping for him will die and Muhammad b. Ja‘far will weep for him!” And it happened as the Imam (A.S.) had stated.
Someone named Hasan b. Mūsā, two of whose handmaidens were pregnant, sent a letter to the Imam asking him to pray for his handmaidens to bear boy children. His holiness replied in a letter: “All things are in the Hands of God; if He wills, there will be a boy and a girl born to you. Name the boy Muhammad and the girl Fāṭima.” It turned out to happen as his holiness had predicted.
Someone else, whose eleven children had died, complained to Imam al-Reza(A.S.) about his children not to survive; the Imam lowered his head and prayed for a long while, then said, “Hopefully two sons will be born to you, one after another.” The narrator goes on to say: “It turned out as his holiness had predicted; so, I named the first one Ibrāhīm and the second one Muhammad and both of them survived.”
After the martyrdom of Imam al-Reza(A.S.), his cunning enemy, Ma’mūn, Said, “I requested something (a prayer) from the Imam for an easy and safe delivery of the baby that one of my most delightful and favorite handmaidens was pregnant with, as she had miscarried several times before. His holiness said, ‘Do not worry! She will deliver a baby boy who is most similar to his mother. However, he will have an extra finger on his right hand and one on his left foot; and it happened as he had predicted.”

Imam al-Reza's (A.S.) Knowledge of How he would be Martyred and Where he would be Buried
His holiness had frequently talked about how he would be martyred by Ma’mūn, which we will recount in detail in the chapter on his martyrdom. Following are some instances.
Sometimes he said, “I am going on a trip to Khurasan, from which I will not return.” The narrator says: “When Ma’mūn invited the Imam (A.S.) to Khurasan from Medina for heir apparency, his holiness went to the Holy Shrine of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) while weeping loudly. I greeted him and congratulated him for the heir apparency. His holiness said, ‘They are taking me away from my grandfather and I will die in a strange land and will be buried next to Hārūn.’ That was why he enjoined people to cry for him, when he was leaving Medina.”
As Ma’mūn ostensibly expressed interest in Imam al-Reza(A.S.) and defended the Imamate of Imam ‘Alī (A.S.) here and there, his holiness would say to his friends: “Do not let Ma’mūn deceive you; by God, no one but him would kill me; and I have no choice but let what is destined be fulfilled.”
Another narrator reports: “I saw Hārūn, the Abbasid Caliph, leaving through one of the gates of Masjid al-Harām and Imam al-Reza(A.S.) from another. His holiness said, ‘How far is home and how near is the meeting; [the city of] Ṭūs will gather me and him [in one place].’ And as we know the Hārūn’s tomb is next to Imam al-Reza (A.S.).”
Sometimes in Medina Mosque, while Ma’mūn was lecturing, the Imam (A.S.) said, “You will see me and him buried in one place.” On another occasion he said, “Hārūn and I would be like these two”, showing his middle and index fingers. The narrator says: “We did not figure out the meaning of the Imam’s words until his holiness was buried next to Hārūn.”
Reference:
Story of the Sun
A Look at Imam al-Reza's Life
Author: Sayyid Muhammad Najafi Yazdi
Translated by: Ahmad Rezwani
Published by: Islamic Research Foundation, Astan Quds Razavi, Mashhad - I.R. Iran