Martyrdom of Imam Ali al-Rida (a)

From Madinah to Khurasan

Ali b. Musa al-Rida (a), the eighth Imam, was born in Madinah in 148 AH and led the Shia for twenty years. In 201 AH the caliph al-Ma'mun summoned him to Marv and, against the Imam's wishes, proclaimed him heir apparent — a political move to win over the Alids and their supporters. The debates the caliph staged between the Imam and scholars of other religions, and the crowds that followed the Imam to the Eid prayer, only showed al-Ma'mun how much authority his prisoner held.

Martyrdom at Tus

Travelling with the caliph towards Baghdad, the Imam fell ill at Tus and died within days; the Shia sources report that al-Ma'mun had him given poisoned grapes or pomegranate juice. Al-Ma'mun buried him in the house of Humayd b. Qahtaba in the village of Sanabad, beside the grave of his own father Harun al-Rashid, and walked bareheaded in the funeral. Al-Tabrisi and most later Shia scholars date the martyrdom to the last day of Safar 203 AH; other reports give 17 Safar or 23 Dhu l-Qa'da.

Mashhad

The village grave became Mashhad — "the place of martyrdom" — and the Imam's shrine is the largest in Iran, visited by many millions each year. Because Safar sometimes has only twenty-nine days, this event is observed on whichever day is the last of the month.