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Imam Ali al-Hadi عليه السلام was summoned from Medina to the Abbasid garrison city of Samarra by al-Mutawakkil and lived there under close watch for some twenty years. Despite surveillance he guided the community through a network of trusted agents and correspondence, and taught the Ziyarat al-Jami‘a al-Kabira, a profound statement of the Imams’ station.
Zahoor and early Imamate
The zahoor of Ali ibn Muhammad was at Surya, near Medina, in 212 AH. Like his father he became Imam as a child, at about eight, in 220 AH, and spent his early Imamate in Medina.
Summons to Samarra
The caliph al-Mutawakkil was openly hostile to the family of Ali. In 236 AH he ordered the destruction of the shrine of Imam Husayn at Karbala and the flooding of the site. Around 233–234 AH he had the Imam brought to Samarra, the new Abbasid capital built around a military camp (al-‘Askar), where the Imam’s house was searched and he was kept under surveillance.
Al-Mas‘udi records that the Imam was once brought before al-Mutawakkil during a drinking party and asked to recite poetry; he recited verses on the mortality of kings who had sheltered behind guards and walls, moving those present to tears.
Guiding a dispersed community
Unable to move freely, he directed the community through trusted agents in Iraq, Iran and beyond and through letters answering questions of law and creed. His letter on predestination and free will (al-amr bayn al-amrayn — “a matter between two matters”) is preserved in Tuhaf al-‘Uqul.
Martyrdom
He died in Samarra in Rajab 254 AH during the reign of al-Mu‘tazz; Twelver sources report that he was poisoned. He was buried in his house, where his son Imam al-Askari was later buried beside him — the shrine of al-‘Askariyyayn. The shrine’s dome was destroyed by bombings in 2006 and 2007 and has since been rebuilt.
Significance in Twelver Shia belief and Fiqh-e-Jafariya
He is the tenth Imam. The Ziyarat al-Jami‘a al-Kabira, which he taught to a companion who asked for a comprehensive visitation of the Imams, is studied as a summary of Twelver teaching on the Imams’ knowledge, purity and role. His reliance on agents and letters prepared the community to receive guidance without direct access to the Imam.
Significant dates
- 15 Dhu al-Hijja 212 AH (828 CE)Zahoor at Surya near Medina
- 220 AH (835 CE)Beginning of his Imamate
- c. 233–234 AH (848 CE)Brought to Samarra by al-Mutawakkil
- 236 AH (850–851 CE)Al-Mutawakkil orders the destruction of the shrine at Karbala
- 3 Rajab 254 AH (868 CE)Martyrdom in Samarra
Narrations and texts
A comprehensive visitation addressed to all the Imams, taught at the request of Musa ibn Abd Allah al-Nakha‘i.
Sources: Man La Yahduruhu al-Faqih (section on ziyarat); Tahdhib al-Ahkam (Kitab al-Mazar); ‘Uyun Akhbar al-Rida
Verses on kings who spent their nights on mountain heights guarded by armed men, yet could not escape death.
Sources: Muruj al-Dhahab wa Ma‘adin al-Jawhar (account of al-Mutawakkil)
Paraphrase of the account.
Narrations are given as careful paraphrases, not verbatim translations. See the Editorial Methodology
Differing reports
- Zahoor: mid-Dhu al-Hijja 212 AH (al-Mufid); 2 or 5 Rajab and 214 AH are also reported.
- Date of martyrdom: 3 Rajab 254 AH is most common; 26 Jumada al-Thani is also reported.
- The year of his arrival in Samarra is given as 233 or 234 AH.
Sources
- Kitab al-Irshad fi Ma‘rifat Hujaj Allah ‘ala al-‘Ibad — al-Mufid, Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Nu‘man (d. 413 AH / 1022 CE). chapter on Ali ibn Muhammad al-Hadi
- al-Kafi — al-Kulayni, Muhammad ibn Ya‘qub (d. 329 AH / 941 CE)
- Muruj al-Dhahab wa Ma‘adin al-Jawhar — al-Mas‘udi, Ali ibn al-Husayn (d. 345 AH / 956 CE)
- Tarikh al-Rusul wa al-Muluk — al-Tabari, Muhammad ibn Jarir (d. 310 AH / 923 CE). year 236 AH
- Tuhaf al-‘Uqul ‘an Al al-Rasul — Ibn Shu‘ba al-Harrani, al-Hasan ibn Ali (4th c. AH / 10th c. CE)
- An Introduction to Shi‘i Islam: The History and Doctrines of Twelver Shi‘ism — Momen, Moojan
- al-Kafi — al-Kulayni, Muhammad ibn Ya‘qub (d. 329 AH / 941 CE). Kitab al-Hujja