Imam Reza (PBUH) turns tables on Ma’moun
May 12, 2019 04:22 UTC
Welcome to a special article on the 6th of Ramadhan, the day when the deceitful caliph, Ma’moun, had declared as his Heir Apparent, Imam Reza (PBUH), the 8th Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).
First we present to you a famous statement from Imam Reza (AS), concerning God’s Revealed Word to all humanity, the holy Qur’an:
“Invoke Allah, ask for forgiveness, recite the Qur'an and repent to Allah for your sins more frequently, so that the blessings of the month of Ramadhan may come to you, while you are sincere to Allah, the Exalted.” -
The above gem of a saying on the bounties of the fasting month of Ramadhan from the Prophet’s 8th Infallible Successor, who rests in peace in Mashhad, Khorasan, is indeed food for thought for us.
Undoubtedly, this hadith opens up the minds of believers to the Infinite Mercy of our Loving Creator, strengthens the spirit for self and social reform, purifies the soul for pursuit of perfection in life, and makes the hearts receptive to Divine Guidance, all of which are vital requirements for the bliss of paradise in the Hereafter.
Imam Reza (AS) needs no introduction. Anyone feigning ignorance about him, knows little about Muslims but nothing about Islam, even if such a person fasts in Ramadhan, is punctual in performance of the daily ritual prayers, has undertaken the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, and claims to recite the Holy Qur’an.
Even non-Muslims might say that he is the same person who rests in peace in the sprawling golden-domed mausoleum in Mashhad in Khorasan in northeastern Iran, attracting millions of pilgrims throughout the year from all over Iran and from around the world.
Here a question might arise: How come, his final resting place happens to be in Khorasan when he was born in Medina and spent his whole life there?
Today, the 6th of Ramadhan not just provides the answer to the above question but brings into sharper focus his divinely-designated status as the rightful successor of the Seal of Messenger, a position which no king or caliph could seize from him.
On this day in 201 AH (811 AD) when Imam Reza (AS) – son and successor of Imam Musa al-Kazem (AS) and the grandson and heir of Imam Ja’far as-Sadeq (AS), and through him the legatee of the dynamic legacy of the Martyr of Karbala, Imam Husain (AS), and the Commander of the Faithful Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS) – entered the city of Marv, the crafty Ma’moun, who styled himself as caliph of the usurper Abbasid regime, held a grand gala ceremony in his apparent honour.
The feast was complete with all sorts of fruits and sumptuous food for Iftar of the dignitaries assembled, while poets sang praises and had their hands, and even mouths, stuffed with pearls and jewels from the public treasury – the looted wealth of the Muslim people. The Black Insignia of the Abbasids was replaced by the Green Insignia of the Ahl al-Bayt of the Prophet, and coins were circulated proclaiming the 53-year old middle-aged Imam Reza (AS) as Heir-Apparent of the young 33-year old Ma’moun.
What did the Abbasid ruler, whose coffers overflowed with gold, silver and diamonds; and whose armies inspired awe in the hearts of the emperors of China, Byzantium and the Franks of Europe, lack? What made him go to such great lengths vis-à-vis a person who neither possessed any material wealth nor had any soldiers at his command?
The answer is simple. He lacked legitimacy.
The caliphate, which Ma’moun had inherited, was neither based on God’s commandments in the holy Qur’an, nor was it in accordance with the instructions of the Prophet of Islam.
The Abbasids had taken it through military might in 132 AH from the equally tyrannical Omayyads, who in turn had seized it from the Prophet’s Infallible Ahl al-Bayt, when in 41 AH the hypocrite Mu’awiyya ibn Abu Sufyan resorted to threats and bribing of the Muslims to snatch the caliphate from the Prophet’s elder grandson Imam Hasan al-Mujtaba (AS) and then pass it on to his Godless son, Yazid, in violation of the treaty that stipulated the return of caliphate to Imam Hasan (AS), and if he was not alive, to the Prophet’s younger grandson, Imam Husain (AS).
Thus, the real intention of Ma’moun was to hoodwink Muslims, especially the Iranians into believing that a member of the Prophet’s Immaculate Ahl al-Bayt was being honoured and entrusted with state responsibilities. He also wanted to tarnish the image of the imamate through political trappings and court ceremonies.
He, however, miserably failed in his devilish plan to drive a wedge between the Imam and the Ummah, when Imam Reza (AS) politely refused the offer of caliphate with the words: "If the caliphate is really yours, you ought not to give others what God has given you as a trust; and if it does not belong to you, how can you give to others what is not yours?"
In this way, the 8th Imam exposed the fallacy of the caliphate that owed its illegal origins to the gathering of Saqifa Bani Sa’da in Medina, where in 11 AH, while the Almighty’s Last and Greatest Messenger was being laid to rest by his bereaved household, the right of political leadership of Imam Ali (AS), the Prophet’s cousin, son-in-law, and divinely-designated vicegerent, was usurped.
During his less than two years of stay in Khorasan, before achieving martyrdom at the hands of the stupefied caliph, the 8th Imam, through his prudent policy of shunning politics and through his memorable debates with the scholars of various religions and philosophical schools, proved the dynamism of Islam and the righteous path of the Ahl al-Bayt, which is firmly based on the Holy Qur’an and the Sunnah of his ancestor Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).
As the divinely-decreed Heir of the Prophet, he expounded the genuine teachings of Islam to the people, and removed so many doubts and even lies heaped upon the righteous servants of God, such as his own illustrious ancestor, Abu Taleb – the uncle and guardian of the Prophet of Islam.
Once when a certain Aban bin Mahmood wrote a letter asking him whether Abu Taleb was a Muslim, Imam Reza (AS) in reply cited Ayah 115 of Surah Nisa (“whoever defies the Prophet, after the guidance has become manifest to him, and follows a way other than that of the faithful, We shall abandon him to his devices and We shall make him enter hell, and it is an evil destination”).
The Imam then added: “If you do not believe that Abu Taleb was a believer, your destination will be in the fire.”
In this way, Imam Reza (AS) exposed as hypocrites those who accuse Abu Taleb of being an unbeliever, despite the fact that till the last moments of his life he not only guarded the Prophet but also the mission of the Prophet, Islam, as well as the neo Muslim community, whom he took under his protection and retired to the gorge outside Mecca, known till this day as “She’b Abi Taleb, when the pagan Arabs imposed the 3-year socio-economic boycott on the Prophet.
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