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8-Imam Reza Ibne Mosa (A.S)

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Imam Arrives Sana Abad
Absalat narrates that when Imam (A.S.) arrived in the town of Sana Abad it was Zuhr (afternoon) time and he wanted to offer prayers. He asked for water to be brought. The (inhabitants) said we do not have water here. Imam (A.S.) dug some earth and the water started boiling out. He himself and those who were accompanying him, made ablution and offered their prayers. Then he leaned against the mountain from the rocks of which stone pots are prepared. He prayed, "Oh God bestow upon this mountain your benediction and favors." Then he ordered that all the pots of his house be prepared from that stone. Thereafter, he arrived the house of "Hameed bin Qahtaba" and entered the mausoleum where the grave of Haroon was situated. He then draw a line at the side of his grave and said, "Here is my grave and I will be buried here. By Lord, whosoever visits (my grave) God will bless him and (shower his benedictions upon him) and our recommendation and intercession will be in his fate." Then Imam (A.S.) stood facing Qiblah, offered a few (Rakaats) units of prayers and then went into a very lengthy prostration.
Imam (A.S.) arrives Maro
When Imam (A.S.) arrived Maro, Mamoon honored him and gathered all the chiefs and notables in his assembly and said to him (A.S.), "I wish to deposes myself of the caliphate and surrender the ruler-ship to you." Imam (A.S.) said, "If God has made you wear the dress of caliphate, it is not just and fair that you dismiss yourself and hand it over to another person. If the caliphate was not yours, then why did you under take it?"
Mamoon said, "This decision has already be taken and you must accept the caliphate." Because of the fact that Imam (A.S.) was aware of the plan of Mamoon therefore, howsoever he insisted, Imam (A.S.) did not accept it. Then he said, "You must accept my successor-ship (for the throne). Imam (A.S.) said, "I have heard from my ancestors that I will leave the world before you do. Do not insist so very much upon this matter. I will be poisoned (to death) and buried beside the grave of your father Haroon."
When Mamoon asked, "Who will poison you?" He said, "You know it yourself as to who he is. Do not question me." Mamoon became disturbed and uncomfortable and wept. Then he said, "You must accept my successor-ship this is an order. If you reject it, I will order you to be killed."
Imam (A.S.) was forced to accept it but he made it conditioned with himself not having any interference in the functioning of the government all that time.
Haroon accepted it and arranged a big and grand celebration gathering, and made the Imam (A.S.) present in it, and addressed the people saying, "All of you must take the oath of allegiance for Imam (A.S.) for he is the caliph next to me. Honor and accept his word and obey his orders."
Mamoon ordered that the people should take off (abandon) the black dress, which was the standard color of Abbasids and put on the green dress, a color of "Bani Hashim." He got his daughter Um-e-Habib married to Imam (A.S.) and engaged his other daughter Um-ul-Fazal to his son Imam Mohammad Taqi (A.S.) and this itself was a diplomacy and politics by which he desired that both of them must remain under his observation.
EID Prayers
When Eid day fell, Mamoon ordered that the Imam (A.S.) should lead the Eid prayers, and all the notable offer their prayers with him. To begin with, Imam (A.S.) did not accept it. But when Mamoon insisted, he was obliged to accept it. But he made it conditional that he will hold the prayer (assembly) the way his grandfather the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) did. Mamoon accepted this. Imam (A.S.) put on clean clothes in the morning of Eid, perfumed himself and wore a white (Amama) turban upon his head and calling Takbir "Allah-o-Akbar", moved towards the outskirts of the city, bare footedly.
All the people moved along with him calling the slogans of Takbir (Allah-o-Akbar). The thundering of Takbir made the city tremble. The people were so lost and immersed in emotions that they were weeping loudly and were uttering praise and salutations to Mohammad (P.B.U.H.) and his descendants. The condition was such as if the sky and earth and all the beings and creatures had joined voice in calling Takbir with the Imam (A.S.). When Fazal Bin Sahal, the minister of Mamoon, observed that the state of affairs had become dangerous he informed him that if Imam (A.S.) offers his prayers in this manner a riot and revolt would take shape. The official were all afraid that their lives were at risk. Therefore, he (Mamoon) must at once send a word for Imam (A.S.) to turn back. Mamoon at once sent an official to tell Imam (A.S.) to come back as soon as possible and not to hold the prayer assembly. Imam (A.S.) put on his shoes and rode the horse and returned and showed to the people that all of those things were a part of Mammon's game. The anger and hate of the people for Haroon went up and their love and attraction towards Imam (A.S.) increased. All the people perceived and understood the hypocrisy and public deceiving attitude of Mamoon. They appreciated that all that he had been doing about Imam (A.S.) had political motives.
Why Mamoon called Imam (A.S.) to Khorasan
We must be attentive to it that Mamoon was a clever and intelligent man. His bringing Imam (A.S.) to Maro and assigning him his successor was a political plan, which failed. The problem, which were taken into consideration by Mamoon were:
1. Because, the Alveus had risen to revolt in the nook and corners of the country, and on the other hand the Islamic realm had become so very vast and wide spread that Mamoon did not have the energy to control it. Therefore, he decided that pretending to hand over the caliphate to one of the Alvis he might stop them from revolting against him and make all of them calm, cool and peaceful. For that reason the political strategy of Abbasids was accompanied by cunningness, deceit and treachery, otherwise they were blood thirsty enemies of the Prophet's (P.B.U.H.) family. But, apparently pretended to be the sincere friends of the family of Ali (A.S.) so as to avoid and remain safe from the revolt of Alveus and satisfy and please the Shias and Iranians.
2. Mamoon wanted to let the Bani Hashim have a free hand in the administrative affairs of the government, and as Imam Reza (A.S.) knew and had told Mamoon, to show to the people that the family of Bani Hashim is the adorer of world and materialists and that when they show off that they have no desire and attention towards the material (world) actually they lie to the people. If and when they get access to the power they are no less than others. Therefore, their aloofness and distance taking (from it) is for the reason that they do not have any power in the society. If someday they attain power they will do what the people did not presume that they would.
Finally, the people may scatter from all around them and they loose their spiritual worth and status among the people. Mamoon had many times suggested to the Imam (A.S.) to introduce him a number of persons so that he may depute and fix them as the rulers of those cities where people were rebellious and were revolting against him. But Imam (A.S.) had replied him that "I had accepted the successor-ship on the condition that I would not interfere in the affairs of the state, and may not be your advisor and you too acceded and accepted it. If you wish that I might fulfill my commitment you (must) also fulfill your commitment. Mamoon became silent and did not utter a word."
Imam (A.S.) knew that Mamoon desired to attribute all his works and activities to him and turn the people against him. Imam (A.S.) had perceived and discovered all those plans, for the same reason, he did not accept and undertake the responsibility (of his misdeeds). Resulting, Mamoon faced defeat in all his activities and performances and did not achieve his goal.
3. Another view that he had in his mind was to gather the Alveus by this way from all the places around and bring them to the capital and keep an eye upon all of them. Thus whosoever creates headache for him he may be slain. So then he poisoned Imam (A.S.) and martyred him, and killed the Alveus and trampled the agreement and commitments under his feet.
Daabal the poet of freedom
Daabal says, "When I wrote my well known poem admiring the family of Imam Ali (A.S.) and decided to proceed to Khorasan and present the poem to the Imam (A.S.) I undertook the journey and arrived Khorasan. Recited my poem in the presence of Imam (A.S.)." He added a number of verses to it, which were about his martyrdom in Toos. Then he said, "Keep your poem concealed and secret, do not read it to anyone." Mamoon got informed about my coming there and reciting the poem for Imam (A.S.). He summoned me and desired that I may recite the poem for him. I denied having written any such poem. But Mamoon brought Imam (A.S.) to his assembly and in his presence he said, "Read out that renowned poem which you wrote about the worth and virtues of Ali's (A.S.) family before the Imam (A.S.) to me as well.
I was forced to recite it. Mamoon apparently showed his pleasure and joy over it and gave me a prize. His minister Fazal sent a good prize along with a horse for me. Imam (A.S.) too granted me a hundred dinnars from the money, which Mamoon had got minted with his name upon it and said, "keep it, for one day you will need it."
I said to Imam (A.S.), "I want a used shirt of yours so that when I die that becomes my coffin." Imam (A.S.) acceded to it and gave one of his shirts to me and said, "Keep this shirt as by it's benevolence you will remain safe." I said good-bye to Imam (A.S.) and moved upon. With the horse which Fazal had sent for me, out of Toos, with a caravan. On the way thieves attacked the caravan and plundered and looted whatever the travelers possessed. Not very long after it, one of them who was obviously their chief came along, riding my horse. He was reciting the rhymes of the poem written by me. I went to him and asked him, "Do you know whose verses are these?" He said surprisingly "Yes Daabal Khuzaia rhymes". I said, "Do you know I am Daabal who wrote these rhymes. He showed amazement and did not believe my words. I said, "ask those who are traveling with me." The people of the caravan gave witness that I was the poet who wrote those verses. When he knew I was Daabal, he ordered that all the wealth which was looted and distributed among themselves be returned to the passengers of the caravan as an honor to me and as the Imam (A.S.) had said that shirt became the cause of my freedom and that of my friends. They returned the wealth and looted properties to us.
When Daabal got free from the thieves he arrived Qum. People of Qum rushed to welcome him and requested him to recite the famous poem, which he recited to Imam (A.S.). Daabal agreed and went to the mosque of Qum and read out his poem to them. People gave him lot of money. When they came to know about the shirt affair. They begged him to give that to them and take any amount of money for it. Daabal did not agree. They demanded a piece of the shirt he again did not accept.
When Daabal moved out of Qum, a group of young men closed his way down. They snatched the shirt from him and came back to Qum. Daabal too returned to Qum and requested them to return him the shirt. But they did not accede to his request. Daabal yearned for a piece of it. They acceded to this request. They gave him a piece of it for a thousand dirhams and he accepted (the deal) and then moved towards his home land.
When Daabal returned to his home he surprisingly discovered that the thieves had plundered his house leaving back nothing for him. He remembered what Imam (A.S.) had said while giving him a hundred dinnars. He had said, "keep these you will extremely need them (a day). He carried the money to the bazaar and sold each dinar for hundred dinars and received ten thousand dinnars.
During this period his wife whom he loved very much-got ill and her eyes developed dropsy (disease) and the physicians made him disappointed about her treatment. Daabal tied the piece of the Shirt [which has given by Imam (A.S.)] to the eyes of his wife when he opened it the next day, she was cured.
Daabal, for that poem he had written with courage and bravery not only became wealthy and respect worthy. Thereafter, all the shias respected him and he became known as a freedom-loving poet in the history. A portion of the rhymes are translated as under:
When I saw the ruined house of the sons of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) I wept.
The house whose owners were ousted from those and hypocrites had taken their place.
The houses where one-day exegesis (of Quran) was explained.
Those were the places of the descending of revelation but now because of the tyrannies of the criminals, have emptied of the recitation of Holy Quran.
The owners of the houses who were the heritage of Prophet (P.B.U.H.) were considered the best men of the Ummah. The men who helped the afflicted ones and continuously they were taken to be their friends. I see that their belongings and wealth are in the hands of the cruel ones. Their benevolent hands are empty from their own wealth.
I salute to those stars of the sky of Imamate who are sleeping in Kufa and Medina and Karbala. Who has laid their lives for Islam.
There is a grave in Baghdad (Musa Ibn-e-Jaffar [A.S.]) wherein; a pure and combatant Soul is lying. The grave, which is one of the paradise.
Daabal says when I reached this place Imam (A.S.) said I complete this poem by adding to it some rhymes.
So, the Imam (A.S.) gives news of his martyrdom and being buried in Toos, which is considered a miracle of Imam (A.S.).
He said: there is a grave in Toos too, which has awfully great tragedy and grief. And burns the hearts up to the justice day and raise the lamentations and weeping of the people.
Imam's (A.S.) Martyrdom
On the night of his martyrdom the Imam (A.S.) saw a dream. In his dream he saw his grandfather the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) saying, "Come to us tomorrow, what we have for you is better than the condition you are in."
Harsama says, Imam (A.S.) got up in the mid of the night and called me so that I be present before him. I put on my dress and went to Imam (A.S.). He said to me, "Mamoon has decided to poison me through grapes tomorrow. Be aware, after my martyrdom he wishes to give me a bath. 'Tell him to refrain from it. If you do that God will not give you chance and respite (any-longer).' At that time my son will arrive from Medina and give me a bath and coffin, without anyone seeing it or getting informed.
Then, they will carry me to the tomb of Haroon. Mamoon wants to burry me behind him. But howsoever they work on the earth the pickaxe; they will fail to dig the soil. At that time tell Mamoon to dig the earth in front of the grave so that a ready-made grave will appear. At that instance a white water boils out of the head-side (grave) and rises up. Small fish appear in that. Then a big fish appears which eats up the small fish. Thereafter, the water will settle down. After that lay me in the grave. Do not put the soil on my grave since; it will be filled up by itself. Oh Harsama, do what I have said and do not allow things to happen against what I told you, otherwise, God will torment you (people)."
At last Mamoon poisoned the Imam (A.S.) through grapes in Toos, on the way back from Maro to Baghdad. Imam (A.S.) came to the house and said to his old friend Abu Salat, "Collect the carpets of the house and do not allow anyone to enter the house, as this is the time when my soul departs (dieing) I want to die on the earth like my grandfather Hussain (A.S.)."
Before the martyrdom of Imam (A.S.), Mamoon stood next to his pillow (head side). Imam (A.S.) opened his eyes and said to him, "Have a good conduct with my son Imam Mohammad Taqi (A.S.) for his death and yours are close to each other and do not have much distance in between."
The body of Imam (A.S.) was buried in the same parameter where Haroon was buried and in the front of his grave.
This tragedy and calamity occurred on the last day of Safar ul Muzzafar month, 203 Hijrah, when Imam (A.S.) was 55 years of age.
Following the martyrdom of Imam (A.S.) a great revolt took place in Khorasan. Mamoon wept and beat upon his head to show that he was a mourner. But a large number of people knew that Mamoon himself was the killer of Imam (A.S.). A wave of despises and noise awn against Mamoon. So that he did not allow the funeral to be carried out for a day and a night. Because, he was afraid that the disturbance may expand and the angry hostile and flared up masses may annihilate all the set ups and organizations. This is the reason why he sent a few men among the people to exhibit and show the death of Imam (A.S.) as a natural one and tell them that Mamoon did not have a hand in it. But for all he did, he could not get himself acquitted off and prove his innocence.
At last, day-by-day he became more and more worthless and despicable in the eyes of the people, till he died in a very bad shape.
Quotes from Imam Reza
1. A man who takes pain and labors for himself and his children is like some one who fights a holy war (Jihad).
2. Whenever you take some ones name, always take it with respect.
3. Keep yourself clean, since cleanliness is the manner of Prophets.
4. Worst of the people is the one, whose existence is of no use to the people.
5. The one who commits dishonesty with a Muslim is not one of us.
 
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