Imam Ali ibn Musa al-Reza (AS), the eighth Shi’ite Holy Imam was born on 11th Zee al-Qa’adah 148 A.H. in the holy city of Madinah.

He was the son of Imam Musa al-Kazem, while his mother was the pious lady, Hazrat Najma.

Imam Reza (AS) holds a special position among Iranians since he spent his last years in Iran.

Iranians attach importance to the status of Imam Reza on all special occasions and in their everyday life.

Pilgrims, for instance, from across Iran visit the holy shrine of Imam Reza (AS) in Mashhad ahead of the Nowruz holidays every year.

Also every year, the dust-cleaning ceremony of the shrine of Imam Reza (AS) is done ahead of the holy month of Ramadan and the new Iranian year (Nowruz).

His name is (Ali), but according to the custom among the Arabs, he was called Abul Hassan. Such names are called nicknames.

In addition to names and nicknames, people are sometimes given another name called a title.

The eighth Imam has several titles. Among the most famous of these titles are Reza, Alem Al-Muhammad, Gharib Al-Ghoarba, Shams Al-Shomous, and Moin Al-Zoafa.

The whole life of Imam Reza (PBUH), whether when he had not yet reached the position of Imamate or after the martyrdom of his noble father Imam Musa Kazem (PBUH), he was responsible for the leadership of Shiites, during the rule of the Abbasids.

The period of the imamate of Imam Reza (AS) after his father was twenty years which was contemporary with the caliphate of Harun al-Rashid, Muhammad al-Amin (approx. five years) and al-Ma’mun [twenty years; of which, the first five years was contemporary with Imam Reza (AS).

After al-Ma’mun brought Imam al-Rida (a) to Merv, held many scientific meetings with the presence of different scholars. In these sessions, many discussions were made between Imam (a) and others which were mostly about ideological and jurisprudential issues. Al-Tabrisi has brought a part of these discussions in his al-Ihtijaj.

Al-Ma’mun wanted to draw Imam al-Rida (a) into debate and ruin people’s belief about Imams (a) having special knowledge including al-‘ilm al-ladunni (God-given knowledge).

Regarding this issue, al-Shaykh al-Saduq said, “al-Ma’mun brought high-level scholars of different schools against Imam (a) to devalue Imam’s (a) reasoning and this was out of his envy towards Imam (a) and his scientific and social position. However, none of those scholars met Imam al-Rida (a) except they admitted to his scientific superiority and accepted the proofs Imam (a) brought against them.

Reported by Tohid Mahmoudpour