Day 6

The lesson

1. Al-Mahdi first had him brought from Medina to Baghdad (Tadhkirat al-Khawass). Harun imprisoned him twice; the second time he was arrested in Medina on 20 Shawwal 179 AH (al-Kafi) and held in Basra in the house of Isa ibn Ja'far from 7 Dhu al-Hijja ('Uyun Akhbar al-Rida). In 180 AH Harun wrote to Isa to kill him; Isa refused (al-Irshad). He was then held by al-Fadl ibn al-Rabi', al-Fadl ibn Yahya and al-Sindi ibn Shahik (al-Anwar al-Bahiyya). His ziyara greets him as the one tortured in the depths of the prisons, المعذب في قعر السجون (Bihar al-Anwar).
2. The sources give the slander of Yahya al-Barmaki and of Ali ibn Isma'il ibn Ja'far as causes of his arrest (al-Irshad; Kashf al-Ghumma; Maqatil al-Talibiyyin), and Harun's fear that the Shia's belief in his Imamate would undo his rule ('Uyun Akhbar al-Rida).
3. In al-Sindi ibn Shahik's prison in Baghdad, al-Sindi poisoned him at Harun's command, and he died three days later, on 25 Rajab 183 AH (799) (al-Irshad). Most historians say Yahya ibn Khalid and al-Sindi poisoned him; another account says he was smothered in a carpet (Maqatil al-Talibiyyin). Other dates and places are also reported.

Questions

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