After years of being in power, Haroon began laying the groundwork to keep the Abbasid Caliphate within his own lineage. He selected his son, Amin, as his successor. He then selected his other son, Ma’mun, as Amin’s successor. He was concerned about the social popularity of the Imam and its consequences upon his sons’ future government. Any minor excuse was enough to trigger him to take action against the Imam. One such excuse was given to him by his minister, Yahya ibn Khalid Barmaki, who became jealous of Amin’s selected private teacher. Yahya was afraid of losing influence in Amin’s future government, especially since he had been Haroon’s teacher during his childhood and knew the importance of the position. He frequently talked ill about the selected teacher to Haroon and labeled him as a Shia follower of Imam Kazim. However, he failed to prove his accusation to Haroon. Yahya’s conspiracy instead caused Haroon to investigate the Imam’s whereabouts.
Yahya plotted with Muhammad ibn Isma’il, the Imam’s nephew. Muhammad ibn Isma’il was poor and prone to bad decisions. Yahya brought him from Medina to Baghdad before Haroon. Muhammad ibn Isma’il, who was bribed by Yahya, said to Haroon, “I didn’t think that the world has two Caliphs, you in Baghdad and my uncle, Musa ibn Ja’far (Imam Kazim), in Medina. The Muslims from all over the Islamic territory send their obligatory Islamic dues to him (the Imam) in Medina.” He accused the Imam of collecting large sums of wealth and of establishing his own government by printing his name on the coins of his wealth. At the meeting, Haroon promised Muhammad ibn Isma’il a significant reward, but Muhammad ibn Isma’il died of sudden illness before receiving his reward.
Yahya’s conspiracy triggered Haroon to act against the Imam. Haroon wanted to get the Muslims’ allegiance for his son, Amin’s, nomination as his successor. He called the Muslims to Mecca for Hajj. On his way to Hajj, he stopped in Medina to arrest the Imam. He decided to first justify his action against the Imam to the Muslims. To do this, while he was visiting the tomb of the Holy Prophet, he addressed the Prophet and said loudly, “I am sorry about my decision against Musa ibn Ja’far. I want to imprison him because I am afraid that he would make a riot that would perish the blood of your nation.”
The following day, Haroon ordered the Imam’s arrest. Haroon’s soldiers captured the Imam in the Prophet’s Mosque while he was praying next to the Prophet’s tomb . The soldiers interrupted the Imam’s prayers, forcefully took him outside the mosque, and brought him before Haroon. Haroon insulted and disrespected the Imam. He ordered the preparation of two caravans towards Iraq, one to Basrah and the other to Kufa. His intention was to leave the Imam’s destination unknown and to confront any attempt by the Imam’s followers to have him released. The caravan’s long travel time from Medina to Basrah of around 47 days also shows that the government feared at
Yahya plotted with Muhammad ibn Isma’il, the Imam’s nephew. Muhammad ibn Isma’il was poor and prone to bad decisions. Yahya brought him from Medina to Baghdad before Haroon. Muhammad ibn Isma’il, who was bribed by Yahya, said to Haroon, “I didn’t think that the world has two Caliphs, you in Baghdad and my uncle, Musa ibn Ja’far (Imam Kazim), in Medina. The Muslims from all over the Islamic territory send their obligatory Islamic dues to him (the Imam) in Medina.” He accused the Imam of collecting large sums of wealth and of establishing his own government by printing his name on the coins of his wealth. At the meeting, Haroon promised Muhammad ibn Isma’il a significant reward, but Muhammad ibn Isma’il died of sudden illness before receiving his reward.
Yahya’s conspiracy triggered Haroon to act against the Imam. Haroon wanted to get the Muslims’ allegiance for his son, Amin’s, nomination as his successor. He called the Muslims to Mecca for Hajj. On his way to Hajj, he stopped in Medina to arrest the Imam. He decided to first justify his action against the Imam to the Muslims. To do this, while he was visiting the tomb of the Holy Prophet, he addressed the Prophet and said loudly, “I am sorry about my decision against Musa ibn Ja’far. I want to imprison him because I am afraid that he would make a riot that would perish the blood of your nation.”
The following day, Haroon ordered the Imam’s arrest. Haroon’s soldiers captured the Imam in the Prophet’s Mosque while he was praying next to the Prophet’s tomb . The soldiers interrupted the Imam’s prayers, forcefully took him outside the mosque, and brought him before Haroon. Haroon insulted and disrespected the Imam. He ordered the preparation of two caravans towards Iraq, one to Basrah and the other to Kufa. His intention was to leave the Imam’s destination unknown and to confront any attempt by the Imam’s followers to have him released. The caravan’s long travel time from Medina to Basrah of around 47 days also shows that the government feared at
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LearningTranscript
00:00After years of being in power, Harun began laying the groundwork to keep the Abbasid
00:10government in his own lineage. He selected his son Amin as his successor and his other
00:15son Mahmoun as Amin's successor. He was very concerned about the social popularity of the
00:19Imam and its consequences in his son's future government. Any minor excuse was enough to
00:24trigger him to take an action against the Imam. This excuse was given to him by his
00:28minister Yahya ibn Khalid bin Maqq, who became jealous of Amin's selected private teacher.
00:33Yahya was afraid of losing influence in Amin's future government. This was especially the case
00:38since Yahya himself was the teacher of Harun in the past during his childhood and knew the importance
00:44of this position. Thus, he frequently talked ill about the selected teacher to Harun and labeled
00:49him as a Shia follower of Imam Qaddam. However, he failed to prove his accusation to Harun. Yahya's
00:55conspiracy instead caused Harun to investigate the Imam's whereabouts.
01:15Yahya made a plot with Muhammad ibn Ismail, the Imam's nephew, who was poor and prone to bad decisions.
01:21Yahya brought him from Medina to Baghdad before Harun. Muhammad ibn Ismail, who was bribed by Yahya,
01:28said to Harun that I didn't think that the world has two caliphs, Ibn Baghdad and my uncle Musa ibn
01:33Jafar in Medina. He said that the Muslims from all over the Islamic territory send their obligatory
01:38Islamic dues to the Imam in Medina. He accused the Imam for collecting large wealth. Furthermore,
01:44he accused the Imam of establishing his own government by accusing him to print his name on the coins of his
01:49wealth. In this meeting, Harun promised Muhammad ibn Ismail with a significant reward. However,
01:55Muhammad ibn Ismail died by a sudden illness before receiving his reward.
02:10Yahya's conspiracy triggered Harun to take an action against the Imam. Harun, who wanted to get
02:15the Muslims allegiance for the nomination of his son Amin as his successor, called the Muslims to Mecca
02:20for Hajj. On his way to Hajj, he stopped by Medina to arrest the Imam. He first decided to justify his
02:26action against the Imam in the eyes of Muslims. Thus, when he was visiting the tomb of the Holy Prophet,
02:32he addressed the Prophet and said loudly that, I am sorry about my decision against Musa ibn Jafar.
02:37I want to imprison him as I am afraid that he would make a riot that perish the bloods of your nation.
02:47On the following day, Harun ordered for the Imam's arrest. The Imam was caught by Harun's soldiers in
02:53the Prophet's mosque while he was praying next to the Prophet's tomb. The soldiers broke the Imam's
02:57prayers and forcefully moved the Imam to outside of the mosque and brought him before Harun. Harun
03:03insulted and disrespected the Imam. He then ordered for preparation of two caravans towards Iraq,
03:08one towards Basra and the other to Kufa. His intention was to make the Imam's destination unknown
03:14and confront any attempt by the Imam's followers to release him. Furthermore, the long transfer time
03:19of the Imam from Medina to Basra, which took around 47 days, shows that the government feared from the
03:25attempts to release the Imam from captivity. They must have transferred the Imam from the local roads or
03:30have taken non-straight travel paths. The Imam was finally brought to Basra as a captive and was
03:35received by Harun's cousin and Basra's governor Isa ibn Jafar. Isa ibn Jafar imprisoned the Imam in a cell
03:57inside his own house. The Imam was kept in this prison for around a year. The door of his cell would
04:02open twice in each day, once for delivering food and once to allow him to refresh his evolution. Isa ibn Jafar
04:10was a corrupt character who would hold music and dance parties in his house. The Imam was harassed in
04:15this prison by the loud sounds of these parties. The Imam's activities and prayers were under intense
04:21surveillance by Isa ibn Jafar's agents. One of these agents who had narrated that the Imam would
04:26repeatedly recite the following sentence in his prayers to God. Oh my Lord, I used to ask you
04:32constantly to bless me with a quiet corner to pray, and now I am thankful of you for fulfilling my request.
04:42Harun frequently asked Isa ibn Jafar to kill the Imam. However, he didn't accept Harun's order,
05:04as he didn't want to take the responsibility and the blame for killing the Imam. His friends also advised
05:10him to do the same. After a year, Isa ibn Jafar sent a letter to Harun and complained to him about the
05:16lengthy imprisonment of the Imam in his house. He told Harun that he will not kill the Imam,
05:21and if Harun doesn't transfer the Imam, he would release him. He reminded Harun that he was closely
05:26watching the Imam and had witnessed him in constant prayer. He also told Harun that the Imam had never
05:32cursed nor said anything bad against anyone, including Harun in his prayers. When Harun received the
05:37letter of Isa ibn Jafar, he sent a delegate to transfer the Imam to Baghdad. They transferred
05:42the Imam to one of Harun's loyal politicians, Fazla ibn Rabi, who was the son of Rabi, one of the
05:48most trustees of the Abbasid caliphs.
06:08Fazla ibn Rabi imprisoned the Imam in a cell in his house and secretly monitored all of his activities.
06:13Fazla ibn Rabi witnessed that the Imam fasted every day. He also witnessed that, except for a small
06:19part of the night, the Imam was in constant prayers and long prostrations.
06:43Harun would frequently go to the roof of the Imam's cell to spy on him in person. From the opening of the
06:49roof, he would only see a part of the Imam's dress on the ground. He would then ask where the Imam is
06:54in the cell. He would be responded that the dress is actually the Imam. He is in long prostrations,
07:00continuously from sunrise to noon. When Harun was asked if you know the Imam's conditions,
07:06why do you still keep him in the prison? Harun responded that I don't have any other choice
07:10and the Imam's imprisonment is better for my government.
07:32After a while, Fazla ibn Rabi became influenced by the Imam's character and prayers. He refused Harun's
07:39orders to finish the Imam. Harun, who was disappointed at Fazla ibn Rabi, ordered to transfer the Imam in
07:44Baghdad to the house of Fazla ibn Yahya. He was one of Harun's loyal politicians and the son of his famous
07:51minister, Yahya ibn Khalid Barmaki.
08:09The Imam's character and prayers had a great influence on the heart of his prison keepers.
08:14Although Yahya ibn Khalid Barmaki encouraged Harun
08:17to imprison the Imam, his son Fazla ibn Yahya, who was keeping the Imam in his custody,
08:22was influenced by the Imam's character. Fazla ibn Yahya witnessed the Imam in long prayers,
08:27prostration and constant fasting. He then changed his treatment to the Imam and provided him with
08:33respect and comfort. When Harun received the news that the Imam is in comfort, he became angry and
08:38ordered to punish Fazla ibn Yahya by lashes. He also ordered to transfer the Imam in Baghdad to one of his
08:45most heartless and obedient agents, Asendi ibn Shahak, who is the head of the police in Baghdad.
09:16Imprisonment of the Imam in the house of Sandi ibn Shahak was the hardest among his other imprisonments.
09:22Sandi ibn Shahak was a heartless army leader who would obey Harun's orders blindly. Despite the harsh
09:28treatment from Sandi ibn Shahak, the Imam's presence had influenced anyone who would meet him. Ironically,
09:35Sandi's own family members were among those who were influenced and guided by the Imam.
09:39In the years later, Sandi's grandson Kashawjim became a great Shia poet and scholar who would publicly
09:46recite poetry and the eulogy of the Shia imams.
10:16After a few years of imprisonment, Harun was determined to do anything to defame the Imam
10:22in the eyes of the Muslims. One of his plots was to attract the Imam towards himself to legitimize
10:28his government. He sent a messenger to the Imam in the prison. The Imam completely ignored the
10:33presence of the messenger and continued his long prayers. After a while, the messenger got worried
10:38that his long stay might make Harun suspicious and angry. He then began talking immediately between
10:44the Imam's prayers. He told the Imam that Harun had brought him to Iraq because of ill talks against
10:49him. However, as far as Harun had investigated, he found the Imam innocent and all the rumors against
10:55the Imam is lies. He said that Harun prefers to keep the Imam near him as this will give peace to his
11:01heart. He then said that Harun likes to provide the Imam with any food that the Imam desires.
11:06The Imam responded with just a concise sentence.
11:09My wealth is not with me to benefit me and I am not created to ask. The Imam then immediately started
11:15his next prayer. The Imam's reaction showed Harun that even after years of imprisonment,
11:20the Imam would not surrender to him.
11:30On another occasion, Harun forcefully sent a female slave into the Imam's cell. His ill intention was to
11:37have her as a witness to speak against the Imam's character in the public. However, she was influenced
11:43by the Imam's prayers and divine personality. After a while, Harun was informed that she is a different
11:48person. She was constantly in prostration and was asking forgiveness from God. When she was brought to
11:54Harun, he accused the Imam of doing magic to her. However, she confronted Harun and spoke positively
12:01about the Imam and testified in the Imam's divine character. Harun, who initially wanted to have her
12:06as a witness against the Imam, now had to ask someone from his close ones to hide her from the public.
12:12She was a pious servant of God until her very last breath.
12:15In another occasion, the Imam sent a letter to Harun from the prison. The Imam told Harun that every
12:35hard day that passes on him, the same day also passes from Harun's happy days until an upcoming day,
12:40when both will meet in the hereafter. The Imam continued to say that on that day,
12:45the followers of falsehood will admit to their losses. The Imam's message showed Harun that the
12:50Imam will not beg for his freedom and will resist against all of the inflicted calamities until his
12:54martyrdom.
12:56After around four years of the Imam's imprisonment, Harun, who was completely hopeless to break the
13:12Imam's resistivity against his government, decided to kill the Imam. He left Baghdad to a faraway city
13:18of Raqqa in current Syria to show himself as innocent in the Imam's martyrdom. He sent his minister,
13:24Yahya ibn Khalid Barmaki to Baghdad with a secret mission to poison the Imam. Yahya's motivation for
13:30this mission was to gain Harun's trust as Harun was disappointed from Yahya's son Fazl ibn Yahya due
13:36to how he had honoured the Imam during the Imam's imprisonment in his house. Yahya delivered Harun's
13:42order to Sendhi ibn Shahak and gave him poisonous dates. Sendhi served the poisonous dates to the Imam,
13:48which led to his martyrdom.
14:08Immediately after poisoning the Imam before his martyrdom, Sendhi wanted to portray to the public
14:13that the Imam's martyrdom was a natural death. He moved the Imam to a comfortable setting with nice
14:18carpets. He then gathered a group of around 80 people from the scholars and the elders of Baghdad
14:24and his house. He made them face to face with the Imam and asked them to testify that the Imam was
14:29physically safe and unharmed. He told them that the people think we are hurting Musa ibn Ja'afar,
14:34but as you see he is healthy and in comfort and we have only kept him here until Harun returns to Baghdad
14:41to speak and debate with him. However, the Imam unexpectedly began to talk and told him that he
14:46was just poisoned and would pass away in three days. By the Imam's words, Sendhi became nervous and his
14:52plot failed.
14:55After three days from the Imam's poisoning, his soul ascended. He was martyred on the 25th Rajab
15:05in the year 183 of Hijri in Baghdad at the age of 55.
15:19After the Imam's martyrdom, Sendhi still wanted to complete his previously unsuccessful plot of
15:24portraying a natural death for the Imam's martyrdom for the people. He gathered more than 50 people
15:29in his house who all knew the Imam. He showed the Imam's body to them and asked them to testify
15:34that there is no sign of injury or suffocation on his body.
15:45Sendhi then ordered just four of his soldiers to take the Imam's corpse in the streets of Baghdad to
15:56insult the Imam and his Shia followers. He asked his soldiers to announce loudly in the streets of
16:01Baghdad that anyone who wants to see the body of the vicious son of the vicious come to us as we are
16:06carrying the body of the Imam of Rafadi. The Rafadi was an insulting title they would use for the Shias.
16:13They then placed the Imam's corpse on the bridge over the Tigris River for a part of day.
16:17The people would come to see the Imam's corpse and witness that his body does not have any sign
16:22of torture or injury.
16:29Harun's uncle, Suleiman ibn Abi Ja'far, one of the most influential members of the Abbasid royal family,
16:34was in his palace by the Tigris River when he heard the turmoil and the people's voices.
16:53He inquired and was informed about Sendhi's action of insulting the Imam's corpse. He condemned Sendhi's action and found it politically incorrect and dangerous for Harun's government.
17:02Though he did not believe in the Imamat of Imam Qadam, he was afraid that Sendhi's action could
17:08trigger Shias who were in large number in Baghdad and the other cities to uprise against the government.
17:14Thus, he sent his agents to take the Imam's corpse from Sendhi's soldiers and even advised them to use
17:19enforcement if needed. He himself then came on barefoot for the burial of the Imam. He asked his agents to
17:26announce in the city that anyone who wants to look at the face of the blessed, son of the blessed, come and
17:32look at the face of Musa ibn Ja'far. The crowds of Muslims then came for the Imam's burial in a large number and a
17:38respectful burial ceremony was performed for the Imam. The crowd carried the Imam's corpse towards one of the
17:44city's graveyards that belonged to the Quraysh tribe that the Imam, the Abbasids and Banu Hashim
17:49were belonged to it and respectfully buried the Imam.
18:07While in Raqqa, Harun received the news about the Imam's martyrdom and burial.
18:11To pretend that he was innocent, he sent a letter to his uncle Suleiman ibn Abi Cha'far and praised his
18:17actions of burying the Imam respectfully. In his letter, Harun cursed Sendhi ibn Shah Haq for his
18:22actions during the Imam's burial and said that Sendhi has acted based on his own decision without any
18:28approval from him.