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Imām al-Riḍā's (a) designated succession of Ma'mūn is the event of Imam al-Rida (a) being appointed as al-Ma'mun al-'Abbasi's successor for caliphate. It occurred after Imam al-Rida (a) was summoned to Merv upon al-Ma'mun's insistence.
According to early sources, Imam al-Rida (a) moved from Medina to Basra. However, according to some later sources, the Imam (a) first went to Mecca; on this trip, he was accompanied by Imam al-Jawad (a). Imam al-Rida (a) said farewell to the Ka'ba, and then embarked on his journey. It is said that the Imam (a) departed to Basra on Muharram 15, 201/August 13, 816. At the command of al-Ma'mun, Raja' b. Abi Dahhak, a relative of Fadl b. Sahl—al-Ma'mun's minister—, accompanied Imam al-Rida (a) from Medina to Khurasan. According to al-Shaykh al-Mufid, al-Ma'mun's agent was Jaludi. Al-Ma'mun selected a specific direction for Imam al-Rida's (a) journey so that he would not cross places populated by Shi'as, since he was afraid of Shiite assemblies around Imam al-Rida (a). Particularly, he ordered that the Imam (a) should not cross Kufa, and should instead travel from Basra, Khuzestan, and Fars to Neyshabur.
According to the book, Atlas Shi'a, Imam al-Rida's (a) direction was as follows: Medina, Naqra, Hawsija, Nabaj, Hufr Abu Musa, Basra, Ahvaz, Behbahan, Istakhr, Abarkuh, Dehshir (Farashah), Yazd, Kharanaq, Rubat Pusht-i Bam, Nayshabur, Qadamgah, Deh Sorkh, Tous, Sarakhs and Merv.
The most important event on the way occurred in Nayshabur, where Imam al-Rida (a) cited the well-known Hadith Silsilat al-Dhahab or the Golden Chain Hadith....
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