Congratulations to all of you on the birth anniversary of Imam Reza (AS). How are you today? How is everything going on? Hope you are enjoying the blessings of Allah in this blessed day.
Fortunate are the ones who happen to be in Mashhad this day, enjoying the spiritual atmosphere of the holy shrine of the 8th Imam. Mashhad is the rendezvous of the faithful this week. People from all over Iran flock to this city for paying homage to the 8th infallible successor of Prophet Muhammad (SAWA).
For your information, Imam Reza (AS) was the eight infallible successor of Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) and son of Imam Musa al-Kazem (AS). The eight bright star of Imamate appeared on the horizons of the sky of Medina on 11th of Zil-Qa’adah, 148 A.H. and was named Ali and was called Abul Hasan. The Imam (AS) spend his 34 years of under the guardianship of his father, Imam Musa al-Kazem (AS), but during the last 7 years of his father’s life (in which Imam Kazem (AS) spend in prison and died in the dungeons of Baghdad), the Imam (AS) used to guide and lead the Muslim Ummah. Imam Reza (AS) was 34 years old when he lost his father and the responsibilities of the Imamate devolved on him.
After Harun’s death, his two sons, Amin and Ma’mun, divided the Abbasid Empire. But 4 years later, his half-brother, Ma’mun, the ruler of the Persian side of Abbasid Empire, killed Amin and proclaimed himself as the sole ruler. He realized that the majority of Persians favored the teachings of Ahl-ul-Bait and if somehow he could persuade the Imam Reza (AS) of the Ahl-ul-Bait in Medina to side with him, he could confirm his rule there. Once he felt secure on that side of the Empire, he would then rise against his brother and easily depose him. So the orders were send out for the Imam to leave his home in Medina and go to the Abbasid ruler in Merv (presently in Turkmenistan).
While Imam Reza was with Ma’mun in Merv, his Prime Minister Fazl b. Sahl arranged a debate on religions to which he invited the leaders of different sects, including Zoroastrians and Christians and Jews, that they might hear what the Imam of the Ahl-ul-Bait had to say to impress them of their spiritual abilities and excellences. It was in these discussions with leaders of other faiths that the Imam clarified the position of sinless ness of the Prophets and of the guided Imams. These debates were so successful that Ma’mun became fearful of the increasing influences of the Imam on the people as a whole.
Imam Reza (AS) died in the city of Tus (presently Mashhad) on 17th Safar 203 A.H. by the hands of Ma’mun. There is a famous hadith from Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) about Imam Reza (AS), who said: “A piece of me will be buried in the land of Khorasan. If a believer visits it, Allah, the Almighty, will make the Paradise obligatory to him, and his body will be prevented from (touching) the Fire.”
Yes, dear friends, let us all join together and entrust our dear country, the Islamic Republic of Iran, to the only Infallible Heir of the Prophet who reposes in peace on Iranian soil, so that for the sake of Imam Reza (AS), God Almighty will protect us and our dear leaders from the plots of the enemies and the evil of the Great Satan (the US).