Uyun Akhbar Ar-Ridha Volume 2

Chapter 41: On Ar-Ridha’ (a.s.) Praying for Rain On the Request of Al-Ma’mun, Display of the Honorable the Exalted God’s Power by Fulfilling His Request and the Destruction of Those who Denied This

41-1 The commentator Abul Hassan Muhammad ibn Al-Qasim - may God be pleased with him - narrated that Yusuf ibn Muhammad ibn Ziyad and Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Sayyar quoted on the authority of their fathers, on the authority of Al-Hassan ibn Ali Al-Askari (a.s.), on the authority of his father Ali ibn Muhammad (a.s.), on the authority of his father Muhammad ibn Ali (a.s.) that when Ali ibn Musa Ar-Ridha’ (a.s.) was appointed as the successor to the throne by Al-Ma’mun, it did not rain

41

1 - حَدَّثَنا أَبُو الحَسَن مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ القاسِم المفسر رَضِىَ اللهُ

for some time. Some of the people close to Al-Ma’mun and those biased against Ar-Ridha’ (a.s.) said, “See that God has withheld rain from us since Ali ibn Musa (a.s.) came to us and was designated as the successor to the throne.” The word got around to Al-Ma’mun and it was unpleasant for him. He told Ar-Ridha’ (a.s.), “It has not rained. Please pray to God the Honorable the Exalted to send down rain for the people.” Ar-Ridha’ (a.s.) said, “Fine.” Al-Ma’mun asked, “When will you do that?” It was Friday. Ar-Ridha’ (a.s.) replied, “On Monday. I saw my grandfather - God’s Prophet (S) - in my dreams along with the Commander of the Faithful (Imam Ali (a.s.)). The Prophet (S) said, O my son! Wait until Monday. Then go to the desert and pray for rain. God the Highest will send down rain. Inform the people regarding your rank among them which God shows you but the people are unaware of. Thus they will be able to recognize you and become more knowledgeable about you; and recognize your rank and credibility near your Lord - the Honorable the Exalted.”

On Monday, Ar-Ridha’ (a.s.) went to the desert. The people came out to watch. He climbed up the pulpit, praised God and glorified Him. Then he (a.s.) said, “O God! O Lord! Thee glorified the rightfulness of us - the Members of the Holy Household, so that the people ask us for help according to Thy decree hoping to receive Thy Nobility and Thy Mercy. They expect Thy Kindness and Blessings. Then please send them rain - a bountiful rain, with extensive coverage, immediately and unharmful. After they leave, please let it start to rain where they are watching from, and from the time they get back home.”

The narrator added, “By the One who rightfully appointed Muhammad (a.s.) to the post of Prophethood! At once the wind started to blow, clouds appeared, there was a storm of thunder and lightening, and the people started to move as if they were trying to escape from the rain. Ar-Ridha’ (a.s.) said, ‘O people! Be calm. These clouds are not for you. They are going towards such and such a town.’ The clouds disappeared and it did not rain. Then another cloud appeared along with thunder and lightening. Again the people moved. Ali ibn Musa Ar-Ridha’ (a.s.) said, ‘Be calm. This one is not for you either. It is going to such and such a town to rain.’ Many clouds came and disappeared until the tenth. And for each of them Ali ibn Musa Ar-Ridha’ (a.s.) said, ‘This is not for you. It is for such and such a town. Do not move. Stay calm. Do not cause any disturbance.’ Then the eleventh cloud appeared. This time the Imam (a.s.) said, ‘This is

the cloud which God the Honorable the Exalted has appointed for you. Therefore, praise Him for the Nobility He has granted to you. Stand up and go home. This cloud will stay above your head. It will not rain until you reach home. Then it will rain with so many blessings that is expected of God’s Mercy, and according to His Nobility.’ He came down from the pulpit and the people left. The cloud remained there and it did not rain until all the people got close to their homes. Then came the downpour and the valleys, the pools, the lagoons and the waterless deserts all got filled up. Then the people began to congratulate the son of God’s Prophet (S) for the dignities bestowed upon him by God the Honorable the Exalted.

Then Ar-Ridha’ (a.s.) went back amongst them with a large crowd present. He said, “O people! Fear God regarding God’s Blessings. Do not drive away His Blessings from yourselves by committing sins, but make them extended by obeying Him. Thank Him for His bounties and consecutive grants. Make them continuous and know that you thank none but God the Highest.

And after belief in God and confessing to the righteousness of the friends of God from amongst the Members of the Holy Household of Muhammad - the Prophet of God (a.s.), God likes it more that you help other believers in their worldly affairs, since this world is a passage-way to reach their Lord’s Paradise. Whoever does so is amongst the especial servants of God the Blessed the Sublime. God’s Prophet (S) said that it is not proper for the intelligent to deny the nobility of God, not to ponder over this fact and to not act accordingly. One should think about it and act upon it. They told God’s Prophet (S), “So and so was ruined since he had committed such and such a sin.” The Prophet (S) replied, “No. It is not so. He was saved. God will end his deeds up with a good ending, forgive all his sins and convert them all to good deeds since once he was going somewhere and noticed that a believer’s private part was visible, but he did not realize it himself. He covered him up in such a way that the man himself did not notice that, fearing that he might get shy if he notices it. They went along together until they reached a valley where the man realized what his companion had done for him. Then he said, “May God grant you a plentiful reward! May God make you end up in honor. May He not hold a serious Reckoning for you!” And God fulfilled his prayer. That is how God granted that servant a good ending due to the

prayers of the above-mentioned believer. This is what God’s Prophet (S) said about someone who was said to have been ruined. He repented and did good deeds. Not even seven days had passed, when some people attacked the vicinity of Medina and stole some things. God’s Prophet (S) sent a group of people to pursue them. This person was among those sent and got martyred.”

Imam Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Musa (a.s.) said, “God the Blessed the Sublime increased the blessings of the towns due to the prayers of Ar-Ridha’ (a.s.). One of Al-Ma’mun’s companions was hoping to be appointed as the successor to the throne instead of Ar-Ridha’ (a.s.). There was a group of people around Al-Ma’mun who were all jealous of Ar-Ridha’ (a.s.). One of them told Al-Ma’mun, “O Commander of the Faithful! Take refuge in God! Don’t end the era of the Caliphate of the Abbasids in this way, and be known in history as the one who terminated the Abbasid dynasty. Ruling is a source of honor and great pride for the Abbasids. You will be the cause of its termination in this family and its continuation in the family of Ali. Thus you yourself will harm yourself and your family. Although this magician who is born of a witch (referring to Ar-Ridha’ (a.s.)) was not known, you yourself have made him famous and dear. He was forgotten, but you have granted him fame. He was nothing, but you made him famous all over the world due to the rain that fell due to his prayers. I am really afraid that he and his magic might take away the blessing of the Caliphate from you, get in power and turn the people against you. If so, can you find anyone who has committed a similar crime against himself and the rule as you have?”

Then Al-Ma’mun said, “This man is secretly inviting the people to himself, while I have appointed him as my successor to the throne so that he would invite the people to follow me and attest to my Caliphate and ruling by his acceptance of the post of the successor to the throne; so that those who had believed in him would doubt him and realize that whatever he had claimed - whether a little or a lot - was false. They should realize that the rule is for me. I was afraid to leave him alone, since he might have created such a gap that I could not fill. I thought that Ar-Ridha’ (a.s.) might bring about a calamity for me which I could not tolerate. Now that I have established him as the successor to the throne, I realize that I have made a mistake. I have raised him up to such a high position that I have placed myself at the verge of destruction. Now it is

not proper to neglect his case. We must lower his rank in the eyes of the masses in such a way that they think he does not deserve to hold this rank. Then we will make plans to remove the afflictions from us.”

That man said, “O Commander of the Faithful! Please leave arguing with him (Ar-Ridha’ (a.s.)) to me. I will shut him and his followers up in such a way that they will stutter. If I have no fear of Your Majesty myself, I will reduce his rank and make his inadequacy as your successor to the throne that you have established for him publicly known.” Al-Ma’mun said, “Nothing is better than this for me.” The man said, “Gather together a group of the people from all over the country including the heads of the army, the judges and the chosen jurists, and I will make his shortcomings apparent in their presence. This is like taking back the position that you have placed him in, and they have recognized it properly and blamed you for doing so.”

Al-Ma’mun gathered together all the elite among the people in a meeting and seated Ar-Ridha’ (a.s.) in the post of the successor to the throne in front of himself which he had prepared for him. Then the commissionaire who had promised to humiliate Ar-Ridha’ (a.s.) said to him, “Much is said by the people about you. They boast about you so much that you yourself would denounce it, if you heard what they say. The first thing I would like to consider is the praying for rain. You prayed and it rained. However, even if you did not pray, it always rains a few times each year. This is a common happening, while they have considered it to be a miracle done by you. With this miracle they have proved that you are unique and there is no one else like you. It, however, was the Commander of the Faithful (Al-Ma’mun) - may God reward him - and whom no one is superior to who is the one who granted you the post of successor to the throne, and has placed you in the position that you know of. Thus it is not right for you to acknowledge the lies they have spread around about you, while its burden will be upon the Commander of the Faithful.” Then Ar-Ridha’ (a.s.) said, “I will not hinder God’s servants from expressing the blessings that God has granted them. I do not express happiness over my characteristics. And when you said that the ruler Al-Ma’mun has established me in this position you should know that it is not him, rather it was God who established the honest Joseph (a.s.) as the treasurer of the king of Egypt. And you well know the story of those two.[^1] When the man heard this, he became angry and said, “O son of Musa! You have

gone beyond your limits and have exceeded your rank. God has destined a time for it to rain. It rains at that time without any delay. You have considered it to be your miracle, and are proud of it. You consider it to be a sign of your power as if you have done something like what Abraham (a.s.) - the friend of God - did when he held the heads of the birds in his hands and placed their parts that were all mixed up atop the mountain. They rushed flying away to join up with their heads, and flew away by God’s permission. Then bring these two lions[^2] to life and make them overcome me, if you can and if you are telling the truth. If you do this, then it can be considered a miracle, since it often rains. You do not deserve to claim that it rained since you prayed since others also prayed along with you.” The man was pointing at the picture of two lions which were on the design across from Al-Ma’mun’s couch.” Then Ali ibn Musa (a.s.) became angry, yelled at the two lions and said, “Tear up this bastard! Do not leave any traces of him.” The picture of the lions turned into two live lions, attacked the man, broke his bones, ate him all up and licked up his blood. All who were present were watching and not believing their eyes. When the lions got finished with him, they turned to Ar-Ridha’ (a.s.) and pointing at Al-Ma’mun asked, “O Friend of God on His earth! Do you order us to do what we did to him?” Al-Ma’mun fainted when he heard this. Then Ar-Ridha’ (a.s.) told the lions, “Stay where you are.” They stopped. Then Ar-Ridha’ (a.s.) said, “Bring some rose water and spray it on him.” The servants brought some rose water and sprayed it on him. Then he regained his consciousness. Again the lions said, “Let us finish him up and send him near his friend.” Ar-Ridha’ (a.s.) said, “No. Indeed God the Honorable the Exalted has plans for him which will be completed by Himself. They asked, “Then what do you order us to do?” He said, “Return to your place and get back as you were.” The two lions returned to where they were before and again became pictures of lions on the design.[^3]

Al-Ma’mun said, “Praise be to God who sufficed me against the evils of Homayd ibn Mehran - that is the man who was destroyed.” Then he told Ar-Ridha’ (a.s.), “O son of the Prophet of God! This rule belongs to your grandfather - the Prophet of God (a.s.). Do you want me to resign and turn it over to you?” Ar-Ridha’ (a.s.) said, “If that is what I wanted, I would not have asked you for it since God the Highest has designated other creatures to obey me as you saw in the case of the two lions. And there is

only a group of those who have gone astray who rebel. Although they have only been at loss in what they gained, there is a reason for what the Honorable the Exalted has planned. And He has ordered me not to object to you and be at your service no matter what you say, just as He appointed Joseph (a.s.) to act according to the will of the Pharaoh of Egypt. Thereafter, Al-Ma’mun humbled himself before Ar-Ridha’ (a.s.) until Al-Ma’mun did to Ar-Ridha’ (a.s.) what he did (i.e. poisoned the Imam (a.s.)).”

[^1]: That is the king of Egypt was a pagan while Joseph (a.s.) was a Prophet

[^2]: He was referring to the picture of the two lions on the wall across from Al-Ma’mun’s couch.

[^3]: Even though we believe in miracles, Allameh al-Hilli has said that the commentator who has narrated this tradition is weak and lies at times. This has been expressed in Kholasatul Rijal.