Birth
Ali b. Musa (a), the eighth Imam, was born in Madinah on 11 Dhu l-Qa'da 148 AH, the year in which his grandfather Imam al-Sadiq (a) was martyred; a minority of sources give 153. His mother Najma, a freedwoman, was also the mother of his sister Fatima al-Ma'suma (a). He grew up under his father's guidance through the years of Abbasid persecution and became Imam at thirty-five on his father's martyrdom in prison in 183 AH.
The scholar of the family
Called the Scholar of the Family of Muhammad, he taught in the Prophet's (s) mosque in Madinah and later, in Marv, defeated the Christian, Jewish, Zoroastrian and Sabian scholars whom al-Ma'mun set against him in debate. The hadith of the Golden Chain, which he recited to the crowds at Nishapur — the confession of God's unity as a fortress, entered by acknowledging the Imam — is the most famous saying of his journey. He was made heir to the caliphate against his will and martyred by poison in Tus in 203 AH.
Observance
His birthday closes the ten days of honour that begin with his sister's; Mashhad, the city around his shrine, fills with pilgrims, and Iranian Shia everywhere celebrate the only Imam buried in their country. He is also honoured as the stranger of strangers, dying far from his home.
Written for Shia Online Community. Dates and facts are checked against the references listed under Research & books; where the tradition records more than one date, all are given.
