Day 7

The lesson

1. Reports of his martyrdom differ: the last day of Safar, 17 Safar, 21 Ramadan and other days, in 202, 203 or 206 AH. Most scholars give 203 AH (818); al-Kulayni gives Safar 203, at the age of fifty-five (al-Kafi), and al-Tabrisi the last day of Safar (I'lam al-Wara).
2. Al-Shaykh al-Mufid narrates that al-Ma'mun had Abd Allah ibn Bashir let his nails grow, gave him a poison like tamarind to work into them, and had him press pomegranate juice for the Imam, who died two days later (al-Irshad). Al-Ya'qubi says he died near Tus, in the village of Nawqan, after three days' illness, and that Ali ibn Hisham gave him a poisoned pomegranate (Tarikh al-Ya'qubi); al-Saduq's reports name grapes, or grapes and pomegranate ('Uyun Akhbar al-Rida). The Sunni Ibn Hibban wrote that he was martyred by the poison al-Ma'mun gave him, on a Saturday in 203 AH (al-Thiqat).
3. Al-Ma'mun buried him in the house of Humayd ibn Qahtaba al-Ta'i in the village of Sanabad (al-Irshad), where his shrine in Mashhad now stands and is visited by millions every year. Ibn Hibban wrote that he visited the grave many times while in Tus, and whenever a difficulty came upon him he prayed there and it was removed (al-Thiqat). Ibn Khuzayma, a leading Sunni traditionist, showed such reverence and humility at the grave that those with him were astonished (Tahdhib al-Tahdhib of Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani).

Questions

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