Imam Reza and Gift of Pleasing All

 Zahra Motaghi

The eighth Imam of Shia had reached the imamate, after the death of his father, based on the divine command and the decree of his forefathers. The period of his imamate coincided with the caliphate of Harun al-Rashid and then his sons Amin and Ma’mun.

Imam Mohammad Taqi al-Jawad (AS) was once asked why his father in articular was called “al-Reza” while all the other Imams were technically also “al-Reza.” Imam Jawad replied, “Because both his opposing enemies and obedient supporters were pleased with him, while this did not happen to any of his fathers, so only he was called al-Reza”, (Bihar al-Anwar).

After the death of his father, Ma’mun fell into conflict with his brother Amin, which led to bloody wars and finally the assassination of Amin, after which Ma’mun became caliph.

The Shiites of those days who comprised a considerable population, continued to consider the Imams as their religious leaders to whom obedience was obligatory and believed in them as the real caliphs of the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H). They considered the caliphate to be far from the sacred authority of their Imams, for the caliphate had come to seem more like the courts of the kings and Roman emperors and was being run by a group of people more interested in worldly rule than in the strict application of religious principles.

The continuation of such a situation was dangerous for the structure of the caliphate and was a serious threat to it. Ma’mun thought of finding a new solution for these difficulties which the seventy-year old policy of his Abbasid  predecessors had not been able to solve. To accomplish this end he chose the eighth Imam as his successor, hoping to overcome two difficulties: first of all to prevent the descendants of the Prophet from rebelling against the government since they would be involved in the government themselves, and secondly, to cause the people to lose their spiritual belief and inner attachment to the Imams.

This would be accomplished by having the Imams become engrossed in worldly matters and the politics of the caliphate itself, which had always been considered by the Shiites to be evil and impure. In this way their religious organization would crumble and they would no longer present any dangers to the caliphate. Obviously, after accomplishing these goals, the removal of the Imam would present no difficulties to the Abbasids.

In order to have this decision put into effect, Ma’mun asked the Imam to come to Marw from Medina. Once he had arrived there, Ma’mun offered him first the caliphate and then the succession to the caliphate. The Imam made his apologies and turned down the proposal, but he was finally induced to accept to be his successor, with the condition that he would not interfere in  overnmental affairs or in the appointment or dismissal of government agents. This event occurred in 200/814. But soon Ma’mun realized that he had committed an error, for there was a rapid spread of Shi’ism, a growth in the attachment of the populace to the Imam and an astounding reception given to the Imam by the people and even by the army and government agents.

Ma’mun sought to find a solution for this difficulty and had the Imam poisoned and martyred. After his death the Imam was buried in the city of Tus in Iran, which is now called Mashhad.

Imam Reza (AS) elaborated upon the characteristics of good people, “They are those who are delighted when they do good, seek Allah’s forgiveness when they do evil, offer gratitude when they receive Allah’s favors, are patient when they are tried, and pardon (others) when they are angry.” (Tuhaf al-Uqool)