Al-Ma'mun debates with Theologians
After al-Ma'mu`n had debated with the traditionalists and overcome them through discussing the traditions which they produced as evidence in support of their beliefs, he turned to the theologians and asked them:
"Shall I question you or you question me?"
"Rather we shall question you," they replied.
A theologian turned to al-Ma'mu`n and asked him: "Wasn't the Ima`mate of 'Ali, peace be on him, (decided) by Allah, the Great and Almighty? Was it reported from Allah's Apostle, may Allah bless him and his family, by him who reported the religious duties such as the four-
rak'a noon prayer, one dirham per five dirhams, and the hajj to Mecca?"
"Yes," replied al-Ma'mu`n.
"Why have the people not differed over all religious duties and differed over the Ima`mate of 'Ali only?"
"Because they do not compete and desire for the religious duties as they do for the succession (khila`fa)," answered al-Ma'mu`n.
Another theologian asked: "Have you not denied that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and his family, ordered the people to elect a man from among them in order to take his place as a sign of mercy and gentleness toward them, without that he himself did not appoint anyone as a successor lest his successor should be disobeyed, so the punishment would befall them?"
Al-Ma'mu`n replied: "I have denied that, for Allah, the Exalted, is more merciful to His creatures than the Prophet, may Allah bless him and his family, and He already sent His Prophet to them and knew that there were obedient and disobedient among them; still that did not prevent Him, the Most High, from sending him.
"Yet there is another reason: If he (the Prophet) had ordered them to elect a man from among them, then either he would have ordered them all or some of them. If he had ordered them all, who
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would have been the elected one? And if he had ordered some of them, then there would have been a sign for this meaning. If you say that (the sign) is the jurists, then there is no escape from specifying the jurist and his qualities."
Another theologian said: "It has been narrated that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and his family, said: 'If the Muslims regard something as good, then Allah regards it as good; and if they regard something as ugly, then Allah regards it as ugly."
Al-Ma'mu`n disproved this corrupt statement which requires correction (
taswïb) which is generally regarded as void, and which is that when Allah decrees a certain event, some people rectify Him and others accuse Him of mistake; and this is the answer of al-Ma'mu`n: "There is no escape from that this statement either concerns all the believers or some of them. If it concerns all (the believers), then this is impossible, for it is not possible for the whole (believers) to be in agreement; and if it concerns some of them, then each (sect) narrates something good concerning its leader (
sahib) just as the narration of the Shï~'ites concerning 'Ali and the narration of the Hashawiya concerning other than him, so when do you establish what you want regarding the Imamate?"
Another theologian asked: "So is it permissible for you to claim that the companions of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and his family, were mistaken?"
Al-Ma'mu`n answered him, saying: "How do we claim that they were mistaken and were in agreement on error while they knew neither a religious duty nor a tradition (sunna), for you have claimed that the Ima`mate is not a religious duty from Allah nor a tradition from the Messenger, may Allah bless him and his family? So how is the Ima`mate wrong while it is neither a religious duty nor a tradition in your viewpoint?"
Another theologian said to al-Ma'mu`n: "You claim that the Ima`mate belongs to 'Ali and not to other than him, then produce evidence in support of what you claim."
"I do not claim that," explained al-Ma'mu`n, "but I acknowledge that; the claimer is he who claims that appointment, deposition, and
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choice belong to him. As for evidence, it is entrusted to his partners, for they are opponents, or it must be produced by other than them, and the others are not available, so how is evidence produced in support of this (matter)?"
Another theologian asked: "What had 'Ali, peace be on him, to do after the death of Allah's Apostle, may Allah bless him and his family?"
"He had done it," replied al-Ma'mu`n. (i.e. 'Ali had done what was obligatory on him).
"Was it not obligatory on 'Ali to tell the people that he was an Ima`m?" asked the theologian.
Al-Ma'mu`n retorted: "Surely the Ima`mate does not occur through an act from him concerning himself; nor does it occur through an act from the people concerning him such as choice or preference or the like; rather it occurs through an act from Allah concerning him just as He said to Ibrahim:
Surely I will make you an Imam of men1. And just as He, the Most high, said to Da`wud:
O Dawud We have made you a ruler in the land.2 And just as He, the Great and Almighty, said to the angels:
I am going to place in the earth a vicegerent (khalifa)3.
"Therefore the Ima`m becomes an Ima`m on the part of Allah, the Exalted, and through His choosing him through good deed in beginning, nobility in ancestry, purity in childhood, and infallibility in the future. If the Ima`mate occurs through an act from him concerning himself, then he who performs such an act is worthy of it; if he performs an act opposite to it and resigns, then he is a vicegerent (
khalifa) on the part of his deeds."
Another theologian asked al-Ma'mu`n, saying: "Why have you regarded the Ima`mate as obligatory for 'Ali after the Messenger, may Allah bless him and his family?"
Al-Ma'mu`n answered: "Because he was faithful when a child just as the Prophet, may Allah bless him and his family was; he
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1. Ibid., 2, 124.
2. Ibid., 38, 26.
3. Ibid., 2, 30.
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renounced the error of his people and refrained from polytheism just as the Prophet, may Allah bless him and his family, did, for polytheism is oppression, and the oppressive cannot be an Ima`m; he ('Ali) was not among those who worshipped the idols according to the unanimous resolution (of the Muslims). He who becomes a polytheist takes the place of the enemies of Allah, the Exalted, so the decision concerning him ('Ali) is the witness to him through that on which the community has unanimously agreed until another unanimous resolution like it comes, and for it is not permissible for one convicted even one time to be a ruler; if the ruler is convicted one time, then there is no difference between him and the convicted."
Another theologian asked al-Ma'mu`n: "Why did 'Ali, peace be on him, not war against Abu` Bakr and 'Umar just as he did against Mu'a`wiya?"
"The matter is impossible," replied al-Ma'mu`n, "for the 'why' (
lima) is requirement, and 'did not do' is denying, and there is no cause for denying; rather the cause is for positiveness; it is obligatory to think about the authority of 'Ali, peace be on him, was it (decided) by Allah or by other than Him? If it is correct that it (was decided) by Allah, then doubt of His direction is unbelief because of these words of Him, the Most High:
But no! by your Lord! they do not believe (in reality) until they make you a judge of that which has become a matter of disagreement among them, and then do not find any straitness in their hearts as to what you have decided and submit with entire submission.1 So the deeds of a doer are a link clinging to him; therefore, if his undertaking (the authority) was from Allah, the Exalted, then his deeds from Him, and it is obligatory on the people to be content and submissive. And Allah's Messenger, may Allah bless him and his family, left a warring against the polytheists on the Day of al-Hudaybiya, on the day when the polytheists prevented his animals for immolation (
haddyahu) from (going to) the House (i.e. the Ka'ba). However, when he found helpers and became strong, he warred (against them) just as Allah, the Most High, has said concerning the
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1. Ibid., 4, 65.
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first (attitude):
So turn away with kindly forgiveness1. Then He, the Great and Almighty, said:
Then slay the polytheists wherever you find them, and take them captives and besiege them and lie in wait for them in every ambush.2 "
Another theologian asked him, saying: "If you claim that the Ima`mate of 'Ali, peace be on him, (was decided) by Allah, the Exalted, and obedience to him was obligatory, then why it was not permissible for the prophets, peace be on them, to leave delivering (their messages) and summoning (men to their Lord), while it was permissible for 'Ali to leave what he was ordered to do such as summoning the people to obey him?"
Al-Ma'mu`n answered: "We do not claim that 'Ali, peace be on him, was ordered to deliver (a message) in order to be a messenger, but he was placed as an Emblem between Allah and His creatures, so he who followed him was obedient, and he who opposed him was disobedient. If he ('Ali) had found helpers through whom he would be strong, he would have waged jihad (against those who deprived him of authority); if he had not found helpers, then the people would have been blamed, not him, for they had been ordered to obey him in all circumstances; he had not been ordered to wage jihad against them except through a force; he was of the same rank with the House (i.e. the Ka'ba), to which it is obligatory on men to make a pilgrimage; if they make a pilgrimage (to it), then they will fulfill what is against them; and if they do not do, they will be blamed, not the House."
Another theologian asked al-Ma'mu`n: "If it is obligatory that there is no escape from that there should be an Ima`m to whom obedience is due through compulsion, then how is it obligatory through compulsion that he was 'Ali apart from other than him?"
He disproved this vague error, saying: "Surely Allah, the Most High, does not impose (something) unknown; the imposed (i.e. the Ima`mate and other religious duties) is not impossible, while the unknown is impossible, for Allah, the Exalted does not impose
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1. Ibid., 15, 85.
2. Ibid., 9, 5.
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(something) unknown, and the imposed is not impossible; therefore, there is no escape from that the Messenger, may Allah bless him and his family, had to demonstrate divine command in order to put an end to the excuse between Allah and His servants. For example, if Allah, the Most High, imposed on the people fasting a month and they did not know which month it was, and the month was not marked with a mark, and it was obligatory on them to find that out through their intellects in order to find what Allah, the Exalted, had willed, then they would be in no need of the Messenger who would explain (it) to them, and of the Ima`m who would convey to them the tradition of the Messenger."
Another theologian questioned al-Ma'mu`n, saying: "Where did you make it obligatory that 'Ali was adult when the Prophet, may Allah bless him and his family, summoned him (to faith)? The people claim that he was a boy when he was summoned to (faith), that it was not permissible for him to perform (the religious) precepts, and that he was not an adult."
He replied: "Surly it cannot be thought that in that time he was among those for whom the Prophet, may Allah bless him and his family, sent in order to summon (them to faith). If he was so, then it would possible that he was responsible and strong enough to perform the religious duties."
The Traditionalists and the Theologians keeps silent
The traditionalists and the theologians kept silent, for al-Ma'mu`n confuted them, established argument against them, and produced evidence in support of the Ima`mate of Ima`m 'Ali, the Commander of the faithful, peace be on him, and then he asked them the following questions:
"Has the community not narrated unanimously that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and his family, said: 'He who fabricates lies against me, then let him occupy his place in the Fire.'?"
"Yes, O Commander of the faithful," they replied.
Then al-Ma'mu`n presented another Prophetic tradition before
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them, saying: "Any they have narrated on his authority that he said: 'He who disobeys Allah through an act of disobedience, whether small or great, then he adopts it as religion and follows it with insistence is immortal among the layers of the Hellfire.'"
The traditionalists and the theologians confirmed and admitted the tradition, so al-Ma'mu`n said to them: "Tell me about a man whom the community chooses: Is it permissible to call him the successor (
khalifa) of Allah's Messenger, may Allah bless him and his family, and (appointed) by Allah, the Great and Almighty, whereas the Messenger had not appointed him as a successor? If you say 'yes', then you have stubbornly contended. And if you say 'no', then it is obligatory that so-and-so is not the successor of Allah's Apostle, may Allah bless him and his family."
After a talk took place between him and the traditionalists and the theologians concerning this matter, al-Ma'mu`n began preaching to them, saying: "Fear Allah; consider your own souls carefully; leave imitation; avoid vague errors. By Allah, Allah does not accept (any deed) except from a servant who does not do (anything) except through that which he understands and does not enter (anything) except concerning that which he regards as true. Suspicion is doubt, and clinging to doubt is unbelief in Allah, the Most High, and its owner (i.e. the doubter) is in the Fire."
After this rebuke, al-Ma'mu`n turned to them and asked: "Tell me about the Prophet, may Allah bless him and his family: Had he appointed (anyone) as a successor before he died or not?"
"He had not appointed (anyone) as a successor," they all replied.
"Was his leaving that (i.e. the succession) guidance or error?" asked al-Ma'mu`n.
"Yes, it was guidance," they answered.
So al-Ma'mu`n produced evidence in refuting their beliefs, saying: "Isn't it incumbent on the people to follow guidance, to leave falsehood and to avoid error?"
"They have done that (i.e. they have followed guidance)," they replied.
Then al-Ma'mu`n established wonderful argument and proof
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against their false statement, saying: "Why did the people appoint (Abu Bakr) as a successor after him (i.e. the Prophet, may Allah bless him and his family) while he left it (i.e. the succession)? So leaving his practice is error, and it is impossible that guidance is the opposite of guidance. And if leaving succession is guidance, then why did Abu` Bakr appoint (someone) as a successor, while the Prophet, may Allah bless him and his family, did not do that? And why did 'Umar regard the authority after him as a consultative council among the Muslims in contrast with his companion (i.e. Abu` Bakr)? That is because you have claimed that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and his family, did not appoint (anyone) as a successor, whereas Abu` Bakr appointed (someone) as a successor, and 'Umar did not leave appointing (someone) as a successor just as Abu` Bakr did, and he brought a third meaning, which is the consultative council which he nominated in order to appoint the successor after him. So tell me which of that do you regard as right? If you regard the practice of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and his family, as right, they you have regarded the practice of Abu` Bakr as wrong, and such is (my) view concerning the rest of the statements. Then tell me: Which is better according to your claim leaving the succession which the Prophet, may Allah bless him and his family, did or the succession which a sect did?"
"Tell me: Is it permissible that leaving it (the succession) by the Messenger, may Allah bless him and his family, is guidance and doing it by other than him is guidance? Is there any guidance the opposite of guidance? So where was then the error?
"Tell me: Has anyone become a ruler through being chosen by the companions since the death of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and his family, up to this day? If you say 'no', then you have made it obligatory that all the people have made error after the Prophet, may Allah bless him and his family.
"If you say 'yes', then you have accused the community of lying, and your statement has disproved the existence which cannot be refuted. Then tell me about these words of Him, the Great and Almighty: Say:
To whom belongs what is in the heavens and the earth?
1 Is this true or false?"
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1. Ibid., 6, 12.
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"Yes, it is true," they replied.
"Isn't that which apart from Allah belongs to Allah if He has created and possessed it?"
"Yes," was the answer.
Accordingly, al-Ma'mu`n became exited and said: "So this disproves your obligatory choosing a successor, your making obedience to him obligatory, and your calling him the successor of Allah's Apostle, may Allah bless him and his family. It is you who appoint him as a successor, remove him (from office) when you become angry with him and he works in contrast with your love, and you murder him when he refuses to resign."
After this speech, he spoke to the people with violence. Then he turned to the
'qibbla (the direction to Mecca), raised his hands, and said: "O Allah I have guided them! O Allah I have explained to them everything obligatory on me!
"O Allah, I believe in seeking nearness to You through preferring 'Ali, peace be on him, to the creatures after Your Prophet Mohammed, may Allah bless him and his family, just as Your Messenger, may Allah bless him and his family, has ordered us (to do).
1 "
The people kept silent; they did not find any way to defend their beliefs. Most al-Ma'mu`n's indications concerning the Ima`mate of Ima`m 'Ali, the Commander of the faithful, peace be on him, were based on logic and proof. I (i.e. the author) think that the Ima`mate of Ima`m 'Ali, the Commander of the faithful, peace be on him, is as clear as the sun, for it has been made obligatory by his talent and geniuses, his strong clinging to Allah, his asceticism, and his renouncing the world. All these qualities made him worthier of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and his family, than other than him. None of the companions or the relatives of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and his family, had such creative qualities of knowledge, honesty, honor, and the like from among the noble qualities and great tendencies; and through this sense he was more entitled than the rest of the people to
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1. 'Uyun Akhbar al-Rida, vol. 2, pp. 184-199. Bihar al-Anwar.
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the office and rank of the Prophet. As for his relationship to the Prophet, it does not make him preferable to the rest of the Muslims, for it is incorrect to give relationship as proof of his right to undertake the caliphate.
Any how, al-Ma'mu`n gave all proofs of the Ima`mate of Ima`m 'Ali, the Commander of the faithful, peace be on him, in order to seek nearness to Ima`m al-Rida`, peace be on him, and to find favor with him; this has been demonstrated by Isha`q b. Hamma`d, who said: "Al-Ma'mu`n preferred Ima`m 'Ali, peace be on him, to all companions (of the Prophet) in order to seek nearness to Ima`m Abu` al-Hasan al-Rida`, peace be on him, who himself would say to his trustworthy companions: 'Do not be deceived by his (al-Ma'mu`n's) statement. By Allah, none will kill me except him, but it is necessary for me to be patient until the moment of death comes.'
1 "
His Entrusting the Imam with Regency
Yet another proof depended by those who believed that al-Ma'mu`n was a Shï~'ite is that he entrusted regency to Ima`m al-Rida`, peace be on him, that he subjected to danger the caliphate the 'Abba`sids undertook and hand it over to the 'Alawides.
These are the most important proofs given by those who say that al-Ma'mu`n was a Shï~'ite and had 'Alawide thought and opinion.
His Shiism is false
Through abundant consideration and research, I (i.e. the author) have come to know that al-Ma'mu`n was not a Shï'ite; nor did he show love for the members of the House
ahl al-Bayt, peace be on them. He took the previous measures for political considerations, not for summoning the people to adopt the Shï'ite doctrines, and this can be proved through the following:
1. Al-Ma'mun belonged to the 'Abbasid family, who is famous for showing detest and enmity toward the members of the House
ahl al-Bayt, peace be on them. This family begot none except tyrannical
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1. 'Uyun Akhbar al-Rida, vol. 2, p. 185.
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persons who wreaked their wrath upon the family and the children of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and his family. They killed them, made them homeless, and punished them severely. They committed crimes toward them, to the extent that even the Umayyad family did not commit them. Rather the Umayyad family thought famous for violent enmity toward the children of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and his family did not treat them as the 'Abba`sid did; the Umayyads had excellences better than those of the 'Abba`sids. In this book we have explained that the 'Abba`sids persecuted the 'Alawides.
Any how, it is very unlikely that al-Ma'mu`n turned away from the line of his fathers, that he changed their program and behavior overnight, that he became an 'Alawide, that he showed love for the opponents of his fathers and subjected his state to danger.
2. As for his disparaging Mu'a`wiya and the rulers before him, and preferring Ima`m 'Ali, the Commander of the faithful, peace be on him, to them, it was not earnest; rather it was formal and for political purposes, for al-Taghlubi, a contemporary of al-Ma'mu`n, has narrated: "Al-Ma'mu`n said: 'And they have thought that it is not permissible to prefer 'Ali except through disparaging the predecessors; I seek sanctuary in Allah from disparaging (anyone) even al-Hajja`jj b. Yusuf, so just imagine how much more are the good predecessors?
1"
He refused to disparage al-Hajja`jj b. Yusuf, the criminal terrorist, who drowned Iraq in the blood of the innocent.
The following poetry lines which confirm that have been ascribed to him:
Love for 'Ali after the Prophet has become my religion in which I believe and because of which I shall not make an apology tomorrow.
I shall not curse (Abu Bakr) al-Sidïq nor 'Umar.
Then Ibn 'Affa`n, who was unjustly killed, is in the Gardens along with the righteous.
Yet I shall curse neither al-Zubayr nor Talha when a sayer treacherously says.
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1. Hayat al-Imam al-Rida, quoted from 'As al-Ma'mum, vol. 1, p. 369.
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And I shall not curse 'A'isha, the mother; we shall disown
him who fabricates lies against her.
1
Yet there are other examples and proofs which indicate that his Shiism was false, and that he had not any relationship with the members of the House
ahl al-Bayt, peace be on them.
3. He assassinated Ima`m al-Rida`, peace be on him, after he had achieved his political aims; he was not satisfied with that, so he ordered his governor over Egypt to wash the pulpits on which he delivered speeches concerning the regency of Imam al-Rida
2, peace be on him; this procedure shows that he had harbored malice against the Ima`m.
The 'Alawide family fully understood that the friendship al-Ma'mu`n showed toward them was false, formal, and unreal. The narrators said that al-Ma'mu`n wrote to 'Abd Allah, Ima`m al-Rida`'s brother, to grant him security and to guarantee him regency after him just as he did toward his brother Ima`m al-Rida`. It has been mentioned in his letter: "I do not think that any of the family of Abu` Ta`lib will fear me after what I had done toward al-Rida`."
So 'Abd Allah answered him in a letter and disclosed therein al-Ma'mu`n's intentions as follows:
"I have received your letter and understood it. You want to deceive me with regard to my own soul just as the hunter does, and you want to trick me with the trick of the assassin intending to shed my blood.
"I have wondered at regency and my undertaking it after you. You think that I have not been informed of what you had done toward al-Rida`; how have you come to know that I crave after kingdom? Do you think that (I crave after) the kingdom whose bloom and sweetness have deceived you? By Allah, if I was thrown into a flaming fire while I was alive, it would be more lovable to me than undertaking an authority over the Muslims or drinking unlawful drink during intense, deadly thirst.
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1. Al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya, vol. 10, p. 277.
2. Al-Kandi, al-Wilat wa al-Qudat.
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"Or (do you think that I crave after) the poisoned grapes through which you had killed al-Rida`? Or do you think that hiding has tired me, and my chess has become strait out of it? By Allah, for that reason I have become tired of life and detested the world. If my religion permitted me to put my hand in yours in order to take your purpose from me, I would do that. However, Allah has made it prohibited for me to risk my blood. Would that you were able, without sacrificing my soul for you, to kill me, and I met Allah, the Great and Almighty, (stained) with my own blood, and I met Him while killed and wronged, so I would get rid of this world.
"Know that I am one who seeks salvation for his own soul; I have done my best concerning that which makes Allah pleased with me and concerning a work through which I seek nearness to Him; I have found no opinion to guide me to any of that, so I have returned to the Qur'a`n in which is guidance and cure; I run over it sura by sura, and verse by verse, but I have found nothing closer to one than martyrdom in seeking His good pleasure.
"I ran over it again considering which kind of jihad was the best and for which class (of people), so I have found Him, the Great and Almighty,
say: Fight those of the unbelievers who are near to you and let them find in you hardness.
1 I asked myself: 'Which kind of the unbelievers is more harmful to Islam and nearer to my place, so I have found that none is more harmful to Islam than you, for the unbelievers have shown their unbelief, and the people have understood their affair, recognized them, and are careful of them. You have deceived the Muslims through (showing) Islam and hiding unbelief; you have killed (people) through doubt and punished them through accusation; you have illegally taken the property of Allah, openly drunk unlawful wine, spent the property of Allah on the amusers, given it to the singers, and deprived the Muslims of it; therefore, you have cheated (them) through (adopting) Islam; you have encompassed Islamic regions just as the Muslims have done; you have decided for the polytheist through Islam, disobeyed Allah and His Messenger just as the stubborn opponent has done.
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1. Qur'an, 9, 123.
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"As a result if the time makes me happy and Allah helps me against you through the supporters of the truth, I will sacrifice my own soul for struggling against you with a struggle which He accepts from me, but if He gave you a respite and delayed you in order to punish you through what you deserved in your return (to Him) or the days chose me before that, then sufficient unto me would be my efforts and my intention which Allah, the Great and Almighty, had known. Greetings!"
This letter displays al-Ma'mu`n's falseness, deception, and unreal friendship toward the members of the House
ahl al-Bayt, peace be on them.
As for the last paragraphs of the letter, they have added al-Ma'mu`n to the caravan of the unbelievers against whom jihad is obligatory, and whom should be toppled. They have also demonstrated that al-Ma'mu`n used a certain policy to kill the people out of doubt and punished them due to accusation, and that he was sinful, for he drank wine and spent the properties of the Muslims on amusement centers, singers, the mischievous, and the dissolute.
This letter was a thunderous outcry in the face of al-Ma'mu`n, the criminal, and it is among the brilliant pages on resisting oppression and tyranny.
It is worth mentioning that another part of this letter or of another letter was sent to al-Ma'mu`n by this great Sayyid. It is as follows: "Let me avenge myself on you and your fathers, who regarded our blood as lawful, took our right, openly declared concerning our affair, and of whom we are cautious; you are the subtlest of them in stratagem toward us through your satisfying us and concealing the ordeals we have received (through you); you have deceived us one by one, but jihad is lovable to me just as it is lovable to everyone you have wronged. I have sharpened my own sword, installed my own spearhead, and chosen my own horse.
"I do not know which enemy is the most harmful to Islam, but I have come to know that Allah's Book contains all things; I have read it and found in it:
O you who believe, fight those of the unbelievers who are near to you and let them find in you hardness."
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Yet another paragraph of this letter is the following: "I had reflected (on you) and suddenly (found) that you were the most harmful enemy to Islam and the Muslims. For the unbelievers have turned aside from it and opposed it, so the people have become cautious of them and warred against them, but you have apparently entered it, so the people have refrained (from fighting against you), and you have begun destroying its handles one by one; therefore you are the most harmful enemy to Islam.
1"
These paragraphs give an account of some sides of the 'Abba`sid policy which was based on wronging the 'Alawides and punishing them severely. Similarly, they give an account of this great Sayyid, the son of Ima`m Mu`sa`, peace be on him, who was eager for waging jihad against the government of al-Ma'mu`n, the mortal enemy of Islam, for he 'demolished its handles one by one,' as it has been mentioned in the letter.
4. Having assassinated Imam al-Rida, peace be on him, al-Ma'mun destroyed the 'Alawides. He ordered his intelligence and his security forces to pursue and uproot them, and they assassinated a group of the children of Ima`m Mu`sa`, peace be on him. He used poison as a weapon in order to put an end to the progeny of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and his family. For example, he assassinated with poison the great, noble 'Alawide Ibrahim, the son of Imam Musa`, peace be on him. When Ibra`him died, Ibn al-Samma`k buried him and composed, saying:
Al-Ima`m al-Murtada` has died of poison, and the time has concealed his excellence and knowledge.
He unjustly died at al-Zawra`' just as his forefather was unjustly killed at Karbela`'.
So the yellow sun is mourning for him, and the sad moon is striking his own face.
2
Surely his assassinating the 'Alawides and pursuing them, to the
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1. Maqatil al-Talibiyyin, pp. 630-631.
2. Hayat al-Imam Musa b. Ja'far, vol. 2, p. 48, quoted from Mukhtasar Akhbar al-Khulafa.
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extent that they escaped out of fear of him and hid themselves in the countries and the cities, disproves his summons to Shiism and indicates that he had no relationship with friendship to the members of the House
ahl al-Bayt, peace be on them, namely, he was like his fathers, who were the mortal enemy of the children of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and his family.
The Reasons for his Pretending Shiism
It is necessary for us to pause in order to discuss the reasons for al-Ma'mu`n's showing friendship toward the members of the House
ahl al-Bayt, peace be on them, and for his announcing his Shiism in the official gatherings. I (i.e. the author) think that he pretended Shiism for the following reasons:
A. He was in disagreement with his 'Abba`sid family, who inclined to his brother al-Amïn, whose mother was Mrs. Zubayda, who belonged to the 'Abba`sid family and spent generously on the 'Abba`sids. As for the mother of al-Ma'mu`n, she was Mara`jil, who was among the female-slaves in the palace. The 'Abba`sids disdained al-Ma'mu`n because of his mother, and he intended to abase them through his showing friendship to the 'Alawides and his designating Ima`m al-Rida`, peace be on him, as a successor after him.
B. Through his pretending Shiism, al-Ma'mu`n intended to please the commanders of his army, who showed tendencies and friendship to the members of the House (ahl al-Bayt), peace be on them.
C. Al-Ma'mu`n intended to display sympathy with the 'Alawides and to announce the outstanding merits of Ima`m 'Ali, the Commander of the faithful, peace be on him, that he might attract the feelings of the pious people whose sentiments and hearts were full of love and friendship toward the members of the House (
ahl al-Bayt), peace be on them, so he was able to use them as a weapon during his war against his brother, al-Amïn.
D. He pretended Shiism and entrusted the office to Ima`m al-Rida`, peace be on him, in order to suppress the violent, Shï'ite revolt headed by the great Sayyids from among the children of Imam Musa
( 840 )
b. Ja'far, peace be on him. It is worth mentioning that this revolt extended to most regions of Islamic world and was about to put an end to the 'Abba`sid government, but with unique slyness al-Ma'mu`n was able to suppress it; that was when he appointed Ima`m al-Rida` as a successor after him, for the latter was the master and leader of the 'Alawides, and large part of this community believed in his Ima`mate.
As a result, al-Ma'mu`n was able to suppress and uproot the revolt through his artificial sympathy with the members of the House (
ahl al-Bayt), peace be on them, his designating Ima`m al-Rida` as his successor, and minting the currency in his name.
D. He pretended Shiism because he wanted to discover the Shï'ites and to make the authorities know their names and places, for they were hidden groups. It is worth mentioning that the previous 'Abba`sid governments were unable to know of them, their secret activities, and their groups. Accordingly, through his kindness to the 'Alawides, his disparaging the caliphs, and his dispraising Mu'a`wiya, and the like, al-Ma'mu`n intended to discover the Shï'ites, that his security forces and his police might pursue them; this can be indicated by some official documents issued by him. These are some reasons for al-Ma'mu`n's showing love for the members of the House (
ahl al-Bayt), peace be on them.
His Policy
During the days of his rule, al-Ma'mu`n followed the policy of Mu'a`wiya b. Hind. The historians mentioned that he was asked to follow the policy of Abu` Bakr and 'Umar, but he refused to accept it. As a result he insisted on following the policy of Mu'a`wiya, the wicked pagan, who took money and spent it according to his desires. Al-Ma'mu`n said: "There is no escape for me from (following) this (i.e. Mu'a`wiya's policy).
1 " Any how, he followed Mu'a`wiya's example, so he intended to kill the innocent through giving them poison to drink, and in this manner he was able to put an end to them just as Mu'a`wiya did toward his opponents when he said: "Surely Allah has soldiers (made) of honey." Cunning and deception were the most prominent of his qualities just as they were of Mu'a`wiya's.
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1. Hayat al-Imam al-Rid, p. 181, quoted from al-Mahasin wa al-Musawi' by al-Bayqahi, p. 295.
