 | Ali al-Rida: Encyclopedia - Ali al-Rida
Ali al-Rida
Islam
History of Islam
Oneness of God
Profession of Faith
Prayer • Fasting
Pilgrimage • Charity
Muhammad
Ali • Abu Bakr
Companions of Muhammad
Household of Muhammad
Prophets of Islam
Qur'an • Hadith • Sharia
Jurisprudence • Theology
Biographies of Muhammad
Sunni • Shi'a • Sufi
Art • Architecture
Cities • Calendar
Science • Philosophy
Religious leaders
Women in Islam
Political Islam • Jihad
Liberal Islam
Vocabulary of Islam
Index of articles on Islam
Imam Ali al-Rida (Arabic: الإمام علي بن موسى الرضا) (January 1, 766 - May 26, 818) was the Eighth Shia Imam. His given name was Ali ibn Musa ibn Jafar. He is also known as Imam Reza.
Ali al-Rida - Birth and family life
Ali al-Rida was born in Medina to the seventh Shia Imam, Musa al Kazim and Ummul Baneen Najma. He was born one month after the death of his grandfather, Jafar al-Sadiq. Like his father and grandfather, his education came at the hands of his father.
His father died in 799, when Ali was 35, and he was given the responsibility of the Imamate. Ali was not looked upon favorably by Harun Rashid, and the people of Medina were disallowed from visiting Ali and learning from him. After the death of Harun Rashid, his two sons began fighting for control of the Abbasid empire. One son, Al-Amin, had an Arab mother and thus had the support of Arabs, while his half-brother Al-Ma'mun had a Persian mother and the support of Persia. Al Ma'mun believed that Persia was sympathetic to the Hashemites and asked for Ali to meet him in Persia. Ali left his only son, Muhammad al-Taqi and his wife, and set out for Merv.
After defeating his brother, Al Ma'mun named Ali al-Rida his successor. He hoped to win Shia support through this move, but the passage of caliphate would only occur if Ali outlived Al Ma'mun. Al Ma'mun even changed the black Abbasid flags to green, the traditional color of the house of Ali.
Ali al-Rida - Death
Ali would not outlive Al Ma'mun, and he died on May 26, 818 in Iran while accompanying Al Ma'mun at Tus. He was poisoned by Al Ma'mun, Ali al-Rida is buried in Mashhad, and the city grew up around his shrine. It is one of the most important shrines to the Twelver Shia.
Ali al-Rida - Attack on shrine
The Imam al-Rida shrine was a target of a terrorist bombing attack in 1992 which killed twenty-six pilgrims and injured two hundred. Iranian officials pointed People's Mujahedin of Iran for responsibility. While it is said that Ramzi Yousef and his Sunni terrorist friends carried out the bombing.
Other related archives766, 799, 818, Abu Bakr, Al-Amin, Al-Ma'mun, Ali, Arab, Arabic, Architecture, Art, Biographies of Muhammad, Calendar, Charity, Cities, Companions of Muhammad, Eighth Shia Imam, Fasting, God, Hadith, Harun Rashid, Hashemites, History of Islam, Household of Muhammad, Index of articles on Islam, Islam, Jafar al-Sadiq, January 1, Jihad, Jurisprudence, Liberal Islam, Mashhad, May 26, Medina, Merv, Muhammad, Muhammad al-Taqi, Musa al Kazim, Oneness, People's Mujahedin of Iran, Persia, Persian, Philosophy, Pilgrimage, Political Islam, Prayer, Profession of Faith, Prophets of Islam, Qur'an, Ramzi Yousef, Religious leaders, Science, Sharia, Shi'a, Sufi, Sunni, Theology, Tus, Twelver, Vocabulary of Islam, Women in Islam
 Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Ali al-Rida", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki |
