Medina to Khorasan in a Blink of an Eye
As time passed, Ma’mun realized that his plots against Imam Reza were ineffective. Also, the situation in Baghdad, the capital of the Abbasids, was unstable and out of control. The Abbasid royal family was outraged by Ma’mun’s decision to appoint Imam Reza as his Crown Prince. They could not tolerate seeing the future of the Abbasid government fall into the Alavid lineage. They selected Ibrahim ibn Mahdi, one of their family members, as their chosen caliph and they all paid allegiance to him. Thus, Ma’mun decided to personally move to Baghdad to handle the instability in the city. He knew that the Abbasids would never approve Imam Reza as his Crown Prince. Ma’mun believed that the Abbasids would still accept him as their caliph if he could eliminate their objection by killing Imam Reza.
Ma’mun wanted to prepare a favorable environment in Baghdad ahead of his arrival. Therefore, he decided to eliminate Imam Reza as soon as possible. On their way to Baghdad, Ma’mun and his army stopped by his father, Haroon’s tomb, which was in a garden near the city of Tus in Khorasan. Here, Ma’mun called the Imam to his presence and poisoned him. Thus, Imam Reza became the only Shia Imam directly poisoned by the hand of a Muslim caliph. He was martyred after being Ma’mun’s Crown Prince for only about a year and half.
When Imam Reza was on his deathbed, Ma’mun came to visit him. He told the Imam that he did not know which tragedy was harder for him, losing the Imam or the people’s accusations that he was responsible for the Imam’s condition. The Imam ignored Ma’mun’s words. He only opened his eyes and told Ma’mun to treat his son Imam Javad well. The Imam warned him with a prophecy, that both of them would die in a short period from each other.
During the last hours of Imam Reza’s life, his companion, Abasalt Heravi, saw a young boy inside the Imam’s residence. He asked the boy how he had entered the house, as he had closed all of the entrance doors because Imam Reza was sick and could not meet anyone. The boy responded that the Almighty, who had brought him from Medina to Tus in just a moment, had gotten him into the house through the closed door. Abasalt asked him who he was, and the boy responded that he was his Imam, Muhammad ibn Ali (Imam Javad). He said that he was there to meet and bid farewell to his lonely and poisoned father. When Imam Reza saw his seven-and-a-half-year-old son, he got up and hugged him. They talked in private for a while, until the Imam’s soul ascended to the heavens. Imam Javad then performed his father’s rituals alone. He washed and prayed over the Imam’s body, and then disappeared without anyone else noticing his presence.
Ma’mun wanted to prepare a favorable environment in Baghdad ahead of his arrival. Therefore, he decided to eliminate Imam Reza as soon as possible. On their way to Baghdad, Ma’mun and his army stopped by his father, Haroon’s tomb, which was in a garden near the city of Tus in Khorasan. Here, Ma’mun called the Imam to his presence and poisoned him. Thus, Imam Reza became the only Shia Imam directly poisoned by the hand of a Muslim caliph. He was martyred after being Ma’mun’s Crown Prince for only about a year and half.
When Imam Reza was on his deathbed, Ma’mun came to visit him. He told the Imam that he did not know which tragedy was harder for him, losing the Imam or the people’s accusations that he was responsible for the Imam’s condition. The Imam ignored Ma’mun’s words. He only opened his eyes and told Ma’mun to treat his son Imam Javad well. The Imam warned him with a prophecy, that both of them would die in a short period from each other.
During the last hours of Imam Reza’s life, his companion, Abasalt Heravi, saw a young boy inside the Imam’s residence. He asked the boy how he had entered the house, as he had closed all of the entrance doors because Imam Reza was sick and could not meet anyone. The boy responded that the Almighty, who had brought him from Medina to Tus in just a moment, had gotten him into the house through the closed door. Abasalt asked him who he was, and the boy responded that he was his Imam, Muhammad ibn Ali (Imam Javad). He said that he was there to meet and bid farewell to his lonely and poisoned father. When Imam Reza saw his seven-and-a-half-year-old son, he got up and hugged him. They talked in private for a while, until the Imam’s soul ascended to the heavens. Imam Javad then performed his father’s rituals alone. He washed and prayed over the Imam’s body, and then disappeared without anyone else noticing his presence.
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