Al-'imam Al-rida [a] and the Heir Apparency

Supplement

The conditions laid down by al-Rida (A) had frustrated al-Ma'mun's plan. We believe that al-Ma'mun did not expect these conditions, for the success of his plan depended on the Imam entering the network of the alliances of power and becoming entangled in its problems and hostilities. This would result in people making accusations against him and directing their anger towards him, thus tarnishing his pure and sacred image among them. In this way al-Ma'mun would achieve his aim of transforming the formula of nass, if he could not be included in it, into a mere political formula, and he would display the Imam as a worldly person and political maneuverer. Al-'Imam al-Rida (A) had avoided falling into this trap by setting these conditions, which transformed him from being a partner of al-Ma'mun - as the heir apparency made necessary - to being a witness against him and one of his victims.

  1. In his speech made before al-Ma'mun and important state officials, influential people, notables from among the leaders of public opinion, and others after the Imam was paid allegiance to as heir apparent, the Imam (A) confined himself to saying: We have a right over you through the Messenger of Allah, and you have a right over us through him; so if you have fulfilled that (our right) towards us, we must (fulfil) the right towards you.

The substance of this statement was repeated in many of his replies and discussions, like his comparison of his own and al-Ma'mun's positions to those of the Prophet Joseph and the king of Egypt, and like his statement:

Whosoever follows the Messenger of Allah is entitled to receive from him.

  1. His many letters and discussions in which he constantly affirmed the formula of nass, of which is a letter about the articles of faith which he had written in answer to a request from al-Ma'mun:

The Imam is the proof of Allah over His creation and the source of His knowledge, and obedience to him is incumbent.

These are some examples of his statements and actions with which he confronted al-Ma'mun's plan, and a researcher will certainly come across many others. In order to clarify this and other issues in the life of al-'Imam al-Rida (A), it would be very useful to examine, classify and analyze all the legislative and instructive texts which originated from him during the heir apparency, and to compare them with those which pertain to the period before it. That will reveal new aspects of this luminous and noble life.

The statements and actions with which the Imam (A) confronted al-Ma'mun's plan in order to achieve his strategic aim, together with the reasons for acceptance, led to the following results:

a. They firmly established the formula of nass in the mind of the Ummah. b. They created an opposition within the regime on an ideological, political and popular level (we can regard the popular sentiments, expressed during the incident of the prayer of the festival ( 'Id ) as an indication of this phenomenon). c. They led al-Ma'mun to adopt a defensive attitude, for he felt that the principle of nass would have a popular reaction in society.

We will give an important example of the extent of actual influence that al-'Imam al-Rida (A) had on a public level. During the public outburst following the death of al-Fadl ibn Sahl and the attack of the commanders and troops on al-Ma'mun's residence, the latter took refuge from them and asked the Imam (A) to intervene and save him. The Imam came out to meet them and instructed them to disperse, which they did. A historical report describes this scene: "He approached the people and by Allah, they fell over each other, and he did not signal to anyone except that he ran and continued (running) and did not stop."

This incident shows the strong influence which the Imam had over the commanders and troops and those who were with them, despite the fact that in accordance with the conditions that he had laid down he did not intervene in any matter related to political authority so that he might be an object of hope or fear on that account. Thus, he was influential due to a cause which was not political or governmental but ideological, i.e., the belief in the nass and the obedience which that entailed.

Al-Ma'mun realized through his political experience that the appearance of these reactions demanded an end of this experiment, the experiment of heir apparency. He discovered that he had failed to realize his strategic aim as regards nass and that it was the Imam who had been victorious in this field. So he preferred to be content with the achievements of his immediate and urgent aims, before there was a reaction to the Imam's victory regarding nass . This would have created an irredeemable situation, in which the caliphate of al-Ma'mun and the 'Abbasids would have fallen into turmoil and swept away in a revolution which upheld the banner of nass in its purity.

Thus, he ended the allegiance of death by poisoning al-'Imam al-Rida (A).

In this way, al-'Imam al-Rida (A) became another one of those for whom Allah seeks retaliation (tha'r) in the battlefield between Islam and error. Tears were shed for him, hearts grieved for him, and he became an excellent model for those striving in the way of Allah and the oppressed.

When we see the similarity between al-'Imam al-Rida's acceptance of the heir apparency and al-'Imam al-Hasan's (A) acceptance of it, and then the similarity between al-'Imam al-Rida's acceptance of the allegiance of death and the decision to embrace martyrdom by al-'Imam al-Husayn (A), we are in the final stage of the study. When estimating the effects on Islamic society during the era of al-'Imam al-Rida (A), of its immediate and urgent aims, and the greater goals of the Islamic movement in the history of the Imams of the Ahl al-Bayt (A), we also see a resemblance between the acceptance of heir apparency by the Imam and the treaty of Hudaybiyyah. The Messenger of Allah (S) complied with the offer of the Quraysh - just as al-Rida (A) accepted al-Ma'mun's offer - which amazed many of his companions, angered others, and was accepted by those among them who possessed awareness. Some saw in the action of the Messenger of Allah (S) a granting of undeserved concessions to the Quraysh, but the outcome of the treaty of Hudaybiyyah was a victory, in the near future, of the strategic objectives of Islam. The acceptance of the heir apparency resulted in a victory, in the near future, of immediate and urgent aims, and of the strategic objective of al-'Imam al-Rida, in view of his being the guardian of Islam.

The former was one of the battles of Islam against disbelief (kufr) on the level of revelation (tanzil), and the latter was one of the battles of Islam against disbelief on the level of interpretation (ta'wil).

May Allah's blessing be on al-'Imam al-Rida (A) and his fathers and his descendants, the pure, among the former people and the latter. Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.