Imam Reza (peace be upon him) was under immense pressure and constant harassment during his time as the crown prince under Mamun. The situation had become so difficult for him that he would pray: “O Allah, if my deliverance from this state is through death, then hasten it.” Allah accepted the prayer of His chosen servant, Ali ibn Musa al-Reza (peace be upon him), and thus, as described, He took him from the painful world to the eternal and peaceful abode.
One day, Mamun summoned the Imam. When the Imam entered, Mamun went to greet him, and after sitting, he began a conversation and instructed one of his servants to bring grapes and pomegranates. When the grapes arrived, Mamun offered a bunch to the Imam and said: “O son of the Messenger of Allah! I have never tasted grapes more delicious than these.” However, the Imam refused and said: “There are grapes in paradise that are even better than these.” Mamun continued to insist, but when he faced the Imam’s refusal, he suddenly became enraged and shouted: “Are you implying that we are being accused of something?”
When this happened, the Imam accepted his offer. After eating three of them, the Imam discarded them and stood up. Mamun asked: “Where are you going?” The Imam looked at him and said: “To the same place you sent me.”[1]
Then, the Imam hurried back to his house. Mamun had injected poison into the grapes, and now the poison was spreading through the Imam’s body, causing increasing pain. The Imam knew that his meeting with his Lord was inevitable, so he began reciting the Quran, engaging in heartfelt prayers, and praying for the believers. In the midst of this severe physical condition, he asked one of his companions, named Yasir: “Has the family eaten anything?” Yasir, with a sorrowful voice, replied: “Who can eat when your condition is like this?”
The Imam then got up and said: “Spread the table.” The food was laid out, and all the servants gathered around it. As usual, the Imam inquired about the well-being of each one of them. After that, he went to sit with his close family members.[2]
That night, the Imam’s condition worsened further. In the darkness of the night, the Imam began reciting the Quran, and he came across the following verse, which was the last verse he recited:
“If you had been in your homes, those for whom death had been decreed would certainly have gone forth to the places of their death” [3], and Allah’s command follows a precise plan [4][5].
Then, the pure soul of the Imam, surrounded by angels, departed for the Lord, and the spirits of the prophets and the successors came to greet him in Paradise. Thus, the world became dark with his loss, but the Hereafter was illuminated by his arrival, and the calamity of the earth enveloped those who had benefited from his knowledge, as well as the people who had lost a great personality who had tirelessly worked for the reform of their affairs.
Despite Mamun’s wishes, the next day Khorasan witnessed a funeral procession like none it had seen before in its history. The people, from all walks of life, rushed to follow his bier. Businesses were closed, black flags of mourning were raised, and cries of grief filled the air, as they had lost the greatest merciful refuge on earth.
The leader of the righteous, Imam Reza, had not participated in any of Mamun’s governmental matters and had refrained from offering any assistance to him, thereby undermining the legitimacy of his government until Mamun eventually caused his martyrdom.
(Adapted from The Life of Imam Reza, written by the late Baqir Sharif al-Qurashi, with minor changes and additions)[6].
Islamic – Shia Website: Roshd
Footnotes:
[1] Uyoon Akhbar al-Reza, Volume 2, Page 243
[2] Uyoon Akhbar al-Reza, Volume 2, Page 241
[3] (Surah Aal-e-Imran, verse 154)
[4] (Surah Al-Ahzab, verse 38)
[5] Uyoon Akhbar al-Reza, Volume 2, Page 240
[6] This text is excerpted from the Persian translation of the author’s work, translated by Mr. Seyed Mohammad Salehi.