Martyrdom of Imam Reza (PBUH)

Heartfelt condolences to you all on the anniversary of yet another doleful day in Islamic history. Today the last day of the month of Safar happens to be the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Reza (PBUH), the 8th Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (Blessings of God upon him and his progeny). Now we have a special article in this regard.

Imam Reza (AS) needs no introduction to anyone familiar with Islam, the School of the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt, and Iran’s history, culture, and contemporary events. Born in the Prophet’s city of Medina in 148 AH, he was destined to find his final resting place in distant Khorasan, northeastern Iran, where he reposes in peace in the city of Mashhad.

As a matter of fact, Mashhad in Arabic means place of martyrdom, and since he was laid to rest in the environs of the ancient city of Tous, following his martyrdom through poisoning in the year 203 AH, the place and the city soon became known as Mashhad ar-Reza or simply Mashhad.

His sprawling golden-domed shrine is the rendezvous of tens of millions of pilgrims from all over Iran and from different parts of the world. Right now, hundreds of thousands of Iranian, joined by pilgrims from other countries, have assembled in Mashhad to pay homage to Imam Reza (AS) on his martyrdom anniversary.

Many have braved the wintry cold and the snows to walk on foot. This shows their devotion to Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) and the blessed Ahl al-Bayt. The people of Iran have been ardent devotees of Imam Reza (AS) ever since he came to Khorasan, or more properly was forcibly brought to the city of Marv by Mamoun, the self-styled caliph of the Abbasid usurper regime, who had made this Khorasani city his capital.

He was afraid of the popularity among the Muslim Ummah of Imam Reza (AS), and in order to deceive the people, he craftily declared the 8^th Imam as his heir apparent, although the Imam was some twenty years older than him. He showed outward respect to Imam Reza (AS), and when his plot to mislead the people failed, he had the Imam secretly poisoned to death, and then joined the funeral in black clothes, pretending that he was innocent of murder.

Let us focus on one of the debates of Imam Reza (AS), who as the successor of the Prophet was the repository of divine knowledge, and who during his 20-year imamate, left no stone unturned to enlighten Muslims and all those who came into contact with him, including Jews, Christian, Sabians, Zoroastrians, Hindus, and atheists. Following the martyrdom of his father, Imam Musa Kazem (AS) in 183 AH, the prison of Baghdad by the Abbasid tyrant Haroun – also through a dose of poison – he traveled to the port city of Basra in Iraq in order to disprove the claims of those who deviated from the truth.

He stayed in the house of a Hashemite kinsman named Hassan bin Mohammad al-Alawi and held a session for a group of Muslims among whom was Amr bin Haddab, who had deviated from the path of the Ahl al-Bayt. In this session of a lively debate, a Jewish Rabbi and a Christian priest were also present. The Imam told them that they have been invited so that they can ask him about Islam, the Prophet's Sunnah and the legacy of the God-given authority of the Imams of the Ahl al-Bayt.

Amr bin Haddab hastened and asked him: I am told that you know all that which God has sent down, including the various languages the people speak.

Imam Reza (AS) replied in the affirmative, which made Amr say: "First of all I want test you through languages. This is a Roman; this is an Indian; this is an Iranian; and this is a Turk. We have brought them before you."

The Imam said that by the Will of God, he would answer them in their own respective language, if they raise any question. To the utter surprise of Amr, the Jewish Rabbi, the Christian priest, and the people of various ethnicities, Imam Reza (AS) fluently spoke with each of them in their native languages, that is Latin, Sanskrit, Persian, and Turkish.

After answering the questions of the non-Arabs, Imam Reza (AS) turned to Amr bin Haddab and said in flawless Arabic that he will be tried in these days on charges of murdering one of his blood relations. At this Amr expressed doubt, saying that none except God has knowledge of the unseen.

The Imam disproved Amr’s statement, by drawing his attention to what God has said in the holy Qur’an that He the Almighty, Who is the Knower of the Unseen, does not reveal His secrets to any except to him whom He chooses as the Prophet. The Imam added: We are the inheritors of God’s Last and Greatest Messenger, who informed us of what was and what will be till the Day of Resurrection.

It is said, that as per the prediction of Imam Reza (AS), five days later, Amr bin Haddab suffered the fate of which he has been foretold, and confessed that he had been concealing his crime of murder of which no one else was informed.

Imam Reza (AS) then held lively discussions with the Christian priest and the Jewish Rabbi, quoting extensively from the various Gospels of the Bible, the Torah and other sacred texts of Judaism, including the Psalms of David. To the amazement of the Christian and the Jew, the 8^th Imam proved to them the real meaning of so many passages in the Old and New Testaments, pointing out that these pertain to the coming of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).

The two argued with the Imam for some days, but couldn’t prove that Jesus or Ezra had ever claimed to be sons of God, as alleged by the Christians and Jews respectively. On the contrary Imam Reza (AS) proved to them that Moses, Jesus, and other prophets had given the Israelites the tidings of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).

To their utter surprise the quoting passages from their religious scriptures, noted that these are direct references to not just the Prophet of Islam, but to his divinely-designated successor Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS), and to his sons, Imam Hasan and Imam Husain (peace upon them), as well as to Prophet’s Immaculate Daughter, Hazrat Fatema Zahra (peace upon her), who was the Pride of Mary.

During the stay of Imam Reza (AS) in Basra, the Christian priest embraced the truth of Islam and decided to travel to Medina to become more familiar with Islamic teachings, specially the classes that the 8^th Imam uses to hold in Medina. The Jewish Rabbi, after debating with Imam Reza (AS), was full of admiration for the Imam’s deep knowledge, eloquence, and rational interpreting of what was mentioned about the Last Prophet and his blessed household, the Ahl al-Bayt in the scriptures revealed by God to Prophet Moses and other prophets.

He said: “By Allah, O (grand)son of Mohammad (SAWA), were it not for the presidency which I attained over all the Jews, I would have believed in the mission of Ahmed, i.e. Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). I have never seen anyone better than you in reciting the Torah, the Bible, and the Zabur; nor have I seen anyone better than you in interpreting these Books."

Several years later, when Imam Reza (AS) came to Khorasan, Mamoun also tried to test the knowledge of the Prophet’s righteous successor, by assembling scholars of the Jews, Christians, Zoroastrians, Sabians, Hindus, and atheists. Needless to say that the Imam not only triumphed in these debates, but made most of them become Muslim.

These and other developments unnerved Mamoun, and he decided to return to Baghdad, by taking the Imam with him. While halting at Tous, he deceitfully made the Imam eat a few grapes from a poisoned bunch. The result was the martyrdom of Imam Reza and his being laid to rest in Khorasan.

Today there are no signs of even the graves of the Abbasid tyrants, let alone their palaces, while Imam Reza (AS) reigns supreme over the hearts of people from all over the world.

AS/ME