۲۵
شهریور
In the name of Allah
Birth anniversary of Imam Reza (A.S.), the Eighth Infallible
Successor of the Holy Prophet Muhammad S.A.W
The 11th of Zil-Qa’dah, the day when the holy city of Medina became illuminated in the year 148 AH with the birth of Imam Reza (AS), the 8th Infallible Successor of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). No we have a special feature on the Imam who reposes in peace in the northeastern Iranian city of Tous, which has ever since become famous as Mashhad ar-Reza, and is the most blessed spot in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The city of Mashhad is bedecked like a bride these days, as people from all over Iran and from other parts of the world are streaming in to pay homage to the Prophet’s 8th Infallible Heir. Imam Reza (AS) needs no introduction. He was the son of Imam Musa al-Kazem, while his mother was the pious lady, Hazrat Najma (peace upon her). In his youth, Imam al-Reza (AS) enjoyed such an outstanding virtue and scholarship that people referred to him as a religious authority. Imam Kazem (AS) referred people to him, saying: “My son’s writing is as my writing; his words are as my words, and his envoy is as my envoy; whatever he says is the very truth.”
The Sunni scholar, Ibn Hajar, has written that Imam Reza (AS), when only twenty and some years old, would give fatwas or legal judgments in the Mosque of the Prophet during the lifetime of his father. This is proof of his God-given knowledge. At the age of 35 years, the mantle of Divine Trust came to rest on his shoulders, following the martyrdom through poisoning of his illustrious father in the dungeon of the tyrant Haroun Rashid in Baghdad. For the next 17 years, the 8th Imam lived in his hometown Medina, grooming scholars and imparting to the seekers of truth, the genuine teachings of Islam and the Seerah and Sunnah of his ancestor the Prophet. As a result his popularity spread throughout the Muslim realm and beyond, alarming the usurper Abbasid regime.
In 200 AH, Mamun, the self-styled caliph, who was based in Khorasan in the city of Merv (which is currently in Turkmenistan), felt nervous about the position of the Imam, and in a bid to isolate him from the ummah, forced him to leave Medina, and come to his capital. Here in Merv, Mamun pretended to respect the Imam, and offered him the caliphate, an offer which the Imam refused. Next he deceitfully, against the Imam’s will, declared him as heir apparent, and to fool the people, even had coins minted in the Imam’s name. The plot was to keep Imam Reza (AS) under strict surveillance, and if possible to humiliate him by arranging debates with the scholars of various religions and philosophical schools. To the surprise of the caliph, however, the Imam as the rightful successor of the Prophet, triumphed in all such debates, making his opponents admit the truth of Islam, and the creed of the Ahl al-Bayt. Books of history and hadith are full of the details of such debates and discourses, which are outside the scope of a brief radio programme. Here we present our listeners with an interesting debate mentioned in the book Tuhaf al-Oqoul between Imam Reza (AS) and a Sabean scholar, named Imran as-Sabi
