Lecture summary:
His birth (he was one of 37 children of the 7th Imam and was born to a North African mother).
His early years in Medina where he preached on many aspects, but especially on the essence of the Muslim Community.
The death of his father and the short lived movement of Al Waqafiya (earlier Khums collectors from the time of Imam Musa Al-Kadhim who refused to accept the 8th Imam and conveniently decided that the 7th Imam went into Ghaybat – all for the lure of money which they had collected and did not want to give to the 8th Imam).
Imam Ridha (as)’s move to Khurasan on the death of his father upon being summoned by Mamum-al Rashid. The 8th Imam was forced to become his “heir apparent”. Mamun had killed his brother, Al-Amin, so that he could become the King.
The difficult circumstances he went through under the tyrant rulership of Mamun – being subjected to torture and embarrassment. Coincidentally, and most famously perhaps, Imam Ali Ridha (as) displayed his brilliance in a famous debate against other Schools of Thoughts which the Tyrant had organized in order to outwit the Imam. Imam Ridha (as) also wrote a famous book of medicine which, because of its precision of the human anatomy, was written in gold ink.
The advice of the Golden Chain – that La Illaha Ilallah is my fortress and whoever enters my fortress will be secure from punishment but that I am the condition of that La Illaha Ilallah.
His martyrdom: he was poisoned by Mamun because Mamun felt the Imam was becoming too powerful.
The Ziyarat of the 8th Imam is highly recommended and, in fact, Ayatullah Sistani’s paralysis was also cured by the will and mercy of Allah (swt) in his formative years from the shafa’at of this intercession.
