Al-Ma'mun: Difference between revisions

When al-Ma'mun achieved his goals of designating Imam al-Rida (a) as his successor, he was under the impression that the Imam's (a) presence was no longer in the interest of his government. Al-Ma'mun's worries about the continued succession of Imam al-Rida (a) were rooted in some issues: the superiority of Imam al-Rida (a) to scholars of other religions in their debates, the increased popularity of Imam al-Rida (a) among people,<ref>Ṭaqūsh, ''Dawlat-i ʿAbbāsīyān'', p. 144-145.</ref> and the Imam's (a) explicit criticisms of some of al-Ma'mun's policies.<ref>Ṣadūq, ''ʿUyūn akhbār al-Riḍā'', vol. 2, p. 241.</ref> Thus, like previous Abbasid caliphs who had killed Imams, al-Ma'mun plotted a conspiracy to martyr Imam al-Rida (a) on his way to Baghdad early in 203/818.<ref>Ibn Ṣabbāgh al-Mālikī, ''al-Fuṣūl al-muhīmma fī maʿrifat al-aʾimma'', p. 350; Yaʿqūbī, ''Tārīkh al-yaʿqūbī'', p. 471.</ref>