Name. Ali

Title: al- Hadi or an- Naqi

Agrnomen: Abu al- Hasan

Father’s name: Muhammad al Jawad( at-Taqi)

Mother’s name: Sumanah.

Birth: In Suryah( in the environs of Medina), on Friday, 2^nd Rajab,212 AH.

Death: Martyred at the age of 42,in Samara, on Monday 26^th Jaumada’th-thaniyah 254 AH; poisoned by al- Mutazz the Abbsid caliph; buried in Samarra; North of Baghdad( Iraq).

he 10^th Holy Imam like his father, was also elevated to the rank of Imam in his childhood. he was 6 years old when his father Imam Muhammad al-Jawad (a.s) was died. In first 5 years of the reign of al-Wathiq he lived peacefully. After al-Wathiq, al-Mutawakil came to power . The Holy Imam devoted himself to the sacred mission of preaching in Medina. This reputation of Imam evoked the jealousy and malice of al-Mutawakil against him.

Al-Mutawakil who was the deadly enemy of Ahlu’l-bayt invited the Imam (a.s) to Samara but knew about his treachours intentions. al-Mutawakil entrusted him to custody of stonehearted brute named Zurafah. But help of Allah in a short time, transformed his enmity into love and devotion for the Imam. Caliph shifted him to custody of another cruel man called Said. The Imam remained under his strict vigilance for a number of years. The watchman of the prison used to comment that Imam Ali al-Hadi seemed to be an angel in human grab. Vizier of Mutawakil Fath bin Khaqan being a Shia could not stand the idea of the Imam’s captivity and after released arranged residence in a personally purchased house at Samara.

In the time of Mutawakil there was a woman named Zaynab who claimed to be a descendent of Imam Hussain. Imam (a.s) said “ that as the beasts are prohibited to eat the flash of the descendent of Imam Hussain, he would throw Zaynab to the beasts and test her claim’’. Zaynab began to tremble and confessed that she was a fake. Then Imam was thrown to the beasts to test the claim but beasts prostrating their heads before the Imam(a.s).

After the death of al-Mutawakil , al-Mustansir, al-Mustain and al-Mutazz carried on the mission of harassment against the family of the Imam. Al-Mutazz got him poisoned through an ambassador that resulted in the Imam’s death within a few hours. His son, Imam Hasan al-Askri, conducted funeral prayer. The period of his Imamate was thirty-five years and buried in Samara, Iraq.