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Shia Islam: Imam al-H\u0101d\u012b \/30<\/p>\n
Imam al-H\u0101d\u012b
\nImam \u02bfAl\u012b al-Naqi, the tenth Sh\u012b\u02bfa Imam, was born in 827 AD (Muf\u012bd, Irsh\u0101d; Kashf al-Ghamma) and died in 868 AD. His teknonym was Ab\u016b al-\u1e24asan, and his epithet, al-H\u0101d\u012b (\u2018The Guide\u2019). He served as the Imam for 33 years in which he faced six Abbasid caliphs:
\nMu\u02bfta\u1e63im
\nW\u0101thiq
\nMutawakkil
\nMunta\u1e63ir
\nMusta\u02bf\u012bn
\nMu\u02bftazz
\nImam al-H\u0101d\u012b was poisoned on the orders of Mu\u02bftazz and buried in his own home.
\nDue to historical crises and the destruction of evidence by unjust persons, there is scan information about the political life of the later Imams. In particular, the political activities of the tenth and eleventh Imams are vaguer than others due to this lack of evidence. What evidence we have suggests that they were both kept under house arrest in the new Abbasid capital and military encampment in Samarra.
\nWhen Mu\u02bfta\u1e63im was in power, slaves, Turks, Berbers and Byzantines caused problems for the people of Baghdad. The Caliph had to move its army to another point and he constructed Samarra as the new base of caliphate in 220 AH (T\u0101r\u012bkh al-Kulaf\u0101\u02be).
\nThe people were relieved that the caliphate had shifted from Baghdad to Samarra, but the Caliphs were undermined their generals who were no longer obedient to them. These had become so powerful that they could easily dismiss any Caliph and install another one. They were even ready to kill any Caliph. As well as the six aforementioned caliphs, two other caliphs \u2013 Muhtad\u012b and Mu\u02bftamid \u2013 also ruled in Samarra. But in the face of Berbers, Turks and Byzantines, they had to move back to Baghdad. Samarra was a sprawl of some 50 kilometres when it served as the capital and it was one of the most beautiful cities in the world. However, after the capital shifted back to Baghdad, Samarra fell into ruin and disrepair. (T\u0101r\u012bkh Samarr\u0101\u02be)
\nFeatures of Imam al-H\u0101d\u012b\u2019s era
\nDuring this period, the Abbasid caliphate is distinguished by the following features:
\nDegradation of the caliphate: The caliphate, both under Umayyad and Abbasid reign, had built itself a glorious image. But it lost its status following the dominance of Turks, slaves and Byzantines over the caliphate. The Caliph had become a decorative post as he exercised little or no authority.
\nRevelry: The Abbasid caliphs organized soir\u00e9es in which they frequently got drunk. The court had plunged into corruption. History books have recorded details of these night parties. The Caliph Mutawakkil invited Imam al-H\u0101d\u012b to a party and offered him wine. But the Imam recited poems for the revellers that made them cry and leave the event.
\nEmergence of Alid Movements: The Abbasid caliphate had embarked on a smear campaign against the Prophet\u2019s Household in order to incite hatred against them and it did not miss an opportunity to suppress pro-Alid sentiments. The caliphate was vulnerable and afraid of these movements.
\nThese movements did not mention the name of any leader in particular, but rather raised the slogan of the Prophet\u2019s Household in general. The Sh\u012b\u02bf\u012b Imams were held in a military base in Samarra and any mention of their names would have ended in their death.
\nThe following movements had gathered under the umbrella of the Prophet\u2019s Household:
\nMu\u1e25ammad b. Q\u0101sim \u02bfAlaw\u012b: He rose up in Taliqan against Mu\u02bfta\u1e63im. He was arrested in 219 AH by \u02bfAbd All\u0101h \u1e6c\u0101hir.
\nYa\u1e25y\u0101 b. \u02bfUmar \u02bfAlaw\u012b: He rose up from Kufa in 250 AH. He seized the public treasury and released prisoners, but his movement was defeated and he was hanged.
\n\u1e24asan b. Zayd \u02bfAlaw\u012b: He launched his revolt in 250 AH in Tabaristan and brought Tabaristan and Gurgan under his control. He died in 270 AH.
\nMu\u1e25ammad b. Ja\u02bffar \u02bfAlaw\u012b: He revolted in Khorasan in 251 AH.
\nThese movements along with nearly 14 others are specific to that period of caliphate. The movement leaders rose up against the caliphs and many of them paid for this with their lives. The number of detainees and those who were sent into exile is much more than in previous eras. The historian Mas\u02bf\u016bdi has mentioned more details in his book, Mur\u016bj al-Dhahab.
\nThese movements reveal the tough pressure on the Islamic community of that time.
\nThe politics of the Tenth Imam\u2019s time
\nImam al-H\u0101d\u012b\u2019s life coincided with the reign of six Abbasid caliphs. Two of them in particular were much more ruthless than others in their repression of supporters of the Prophet\u2019s Household. They were Mutawakkil and Mu\u02bftazz.
\nMutawakkil came to power in 232 AH. (T\u0101r\u012bkh al-Kulaf\u0101\u02be) He feared the Alids and was convinced that their movements were in support of Imam al-H\u0101d\u012b. The Caliph decided to follow the example of his predecessors and summoned Imam al-H\u0101d\u012b from Medina to Samarra. In that way, he could exercise control over the Imam. The presence of the Imam in Media posed a great threat to the security of the Abbasid caliphate.
\nMutawakkil wrote a letter to Imam al-H\u0101d\u012b in 234 AH and ordered one of his associates, Ya\u1e25y\u0101 b. Harthama, to take the Imam to Samarra. (Man\u0101qib)
\n\u2018When I arrived in Medina, people started protesting because they knew I was there to do something against the Imam. I swore to them I will do nothing to harm him. I searched the Imam\u2019s home and I found nothing but Qur\u2019an and prayers manuals,\u2019 Ya\u1e25y\u0101 says.
\nThese remarks show the extent to which people cared for the Imam, who finally made the journey to Samarra with his son.
\nYa\u1e25y\u0101 never disrespected the Imam on his way to the caliphal capital. When the Imam arrived in Samarra, Caliph Mutawakkil refused to receive him and ordered that he stay in a caravanserai of the poor.
\nInviting the Imam to Samarra and accommodating him near a military base provided Mutawakkil with a chance to destroy the tomb of Imam \u1e24usayn and the surrounding houses and make them into farmlands. People in Baghdad got very angry and they scrawled strongly-worded and abusive slogans against the caliph on the walls of the city. Poems were also recited on that issue. One of them was as follows: \u2018The Umayyad family killed the Prophet\u2019s grandchild; the Prophet\u2019s cousins destroyed his tomb. They regretted they had not been involved in his murder so they ruined his memory instead.\u2019 (T\u0101r\u012bkh al-Kulaf\u0101\u02be)
\nMutawakkil was afraid of the personality of the Imam. Imam al-H\u0101d\u012b was held near his military base, but he still could not tolerate his continued existence. The Caliph ordered his agents one night to ransack the Imam\u2019s house and take him to the court. When the agents entered the Imam\u2019s residence they found him praying. The agents took the Imam in the middle of his prayers to the Caliph who was drinking. The Caliph offered the Imam to drink. The Imam said: \u2018My flesh and blood have never been contaminated with wine.\u2019 Then Mutawakkil asked him to recite poems. The Imam said: \u2018I don\u2019t remember too many.\u2019 The Caliph insisted the Imam recited the following verses:
\n\u2018They settled upon the mountains protected by armed men, but none of this spared them death,
\nThey were taken down from the summits of dignity to the depths of their graves,
\nThose who descended into this dark house were asked where their crowns and adornments had gone.
\nWhere are those faces that did not see any searing sun and were always in safety?
\nTheir tomb said: These faces have become the home of insects and worms.
\nThey ate and drank for a long time, but now they are food for insects and worms.
\nThey built houses to live in protection, but they left these houses and families.
\nThey stocked treasures which fell into hands of enemies after their death.
\nTheir houses and palaces were reduced to rubble and their residents were put in graves.\u2019
\nWhen the Imam finished these lines, Mutawakkil wept, and so did other guests. Wine was removed and Mutawakkil returned the Imam to his residence. (Mur\u016bj al-Dhahab)
\nImam al-H\u0101d\u012b used to show deference to Mutawakkil in all their encounters and always supported the righteousness of the path of his ancestors. That explained Mutawakkil\u2019s determination to hold him in Samarra. Mutawakkil\u2019s enmity with the family of the Prophet can be seen in Mutawakkil\u2019s killing of the scholar Ibn al-S\u0101kit for his love for \u1e24asan and \u1e24usayn. The scholar used to teach Arabic to Mutawakkil\u2019s two children. One day, he asked him: \u2018Who do you love more: My two children or \u1e24asan and \u1e24usayn?\u2019
\nAl-S\u0101k\u012bt replied frankly: \u2018I even love Qanbar, \u02bfAl\u012b\u2019s servant, more than your two children, not to mention the two grandchildren of the messenger of God.\u2019 Mutawakkil was infuriated and ordered his agents to pummel him to death. There were even reports that his tongue had been cut out. (Al-Kulaf\u0101\u02be)
\nMutawakkil was killed in 247 AH at a night party in a plot designed by his own son Munta\u1e63ir. His minister Fat\u1e25 b. Kh\u0101q\u0101n was killed at the same time.
\nMutawakkil was succeeded by Munta\u1e63ir and Musta\u02bf\u012bn. Both were more reasonable to some extent. However, when Mu\u02bftazz, who was Mutawakkil\u2019s son, came to power in 252 AH, he poisoned Imam al-H\u0101d\u012b. The Imam was buried in his own residence in Samarra.<\/p>\n