Ali ibn Musa al-Ridha (Arabic: عَلِيّ ٱبْن مُوسَىٰ ٱلرِّضَا‎, romanized: Alī ibn Mūsā al-Riḍā; c. 1 January 766 – 6 June 818), also spelled Rida or Reza in Persian, also known as Abu al-Hasan, was a descendant of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, and the eighth Shia Imam, after his father Musa al-Kadhim, and before his son Muhammad al-Jawad.
He was an Imam of knowledge according to the Zaydi (Fiver) Shia school and Sufis.
He lived in a period when Abbasid caliphs were facing numerous difficulties, the most important of which was Shia revolts.
The Caliph Al-Ma'mun sought out a remedy for this problem by appointing Al-Ridha as his successor, through whom he could be involved in worldly affairs.
However, according to the Shia view, when Al-Ma'mun saw that the Imam gained even more popularity, he decided to correct his mistake by poisoning him.
The Imam was buried at the Imam Reza shrine in a city in Khorasan, which afterwards gained the name Mashhad, meaning "the place of martyrdom".
Ali ibn Musa al-Ridha (Arabic: عَلِيّ ٱبْن مُوسَىٰ ٱلرِّضَا‎, romanized: Alī ibn Mūsā al-Riḍā; c. 1 January 766 – 6 June 818), also spelled Rida or Reza in Persian, also known as Abu al-Hasan, was a descendant of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, and the eighth Shia Imam, after his father Musa al-Kadhim, and before his son Muhammad al-Jawad. He was an Imam of knowledge according to the Zaydi (Fiver) Shia school and Sufis. He lived in a period when Abbasid caliphs were facing numerous difficulties, the most important of which was Shia revolts. The Caliph Al-Ma'mun sought out a remedy for this problem by appointing Al-Ridha as his successor, through whom he could be involved in worldly affairs. However, according to the Shia view, when Al-Ma'mun saw that the Imam gained even more popularity, he decided to correct his mistake by poisoning him. The Imam was buried at the Imam Reza shrine in a city in Khorasan, which afterwards gained the name Mashhad, meaning "the place of martyrdom".
Ali al-Ridha