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The Childhood and Adolescence Period of Imam al-Reza(A.S.)
History has largely kept silent about the Imams (A.S.) in their childhood and adolescent period, as the historians are more interested in the illustrious events and popular people, rather than the unpretentious people and those who are far from being boisterous and raucous, especially in relation to the Ahl al-Bayt (A.S.) who were intended by the state to be isolated; and the scholars of the time, out of their religious dissidence, tried to underestimate their role. This has caused the latter generations to remain uninformed of the life of the Ahl al-Bayt (A.S.) before their appointment to Imamate and most probably of the period after their Imamate.
Concerning what is related in history about how greatly his holiness al-Reza(A.S.) was loved by his noble father, one of the companions of Imam Mūsā b. Ja‘far (A.S.) named al-Mufaddal is quoted as saying: “I went to visit his holiness, I saw his son ‘Alī was sitting on his lap; the Imam was kissing him and caressing his face, raising him up to his shoulder, and pressing him to his bosom and saying: “May my father be your ransom! How sweet is your scent! How immaculate is your temperament and how evident your excellence!”
I said, “May I be your ransom! I feel such a love for this child that I have never felt for anyone else but you.”
His holiness said, “O Mufaḍḍal, he is to me like I am to my father; children, ﴾some of whom are descendants of the others, and Allāh is All-hearing, All-knowing.﴿Qur'an: 3/34”
I asked: “Will he possess this position after you?” He said, “Yes, whoever obeys him will attain Truth, and whoever disobeys him will become an infidel.”
And sometimes he would say: “My eldest son, ‘Alī, is most of all others submissive and obedient to me. He looks upon Jafr and Jāmi‘a (which are two significant source books of the Ahl al-Bayt [A.S.]’s knowledge) along with me, upon which no one but the Holy Prophet and his successors would look.”
Imam al-Reza's (A.S.) Religious Authority in His Youth
In his youth, Imam al-Reza(A.S.) enjoyed such an outstanding virtue and scholarship that people referred to him as a religious authority. Imam al-Kazim(A.S.) referred people to him, saying: “My son’s writing is as my writing; his words are as my words, and his envoy is as my envoy; whatever he says is the very truth.”
One day someone said to Imam al-Kazim(A.S.): “I have a question.” His holiness said, “Ask it from your Imam.” The man asked: “Who do you mean? I know no Imam except you!” His holiness said, “That is my son, ‘Alī, I have given my nickname – Abū al-Ḥasan – to him!”
Ibn Ḥajar, a Sunnī scholar, said, “Hadrat Reza(A.S.), when only twenty and some years old, would give fatwā (legal judgments) in the Mosque of Rasūl Allāh (S.A.W.).”
Dhahabī, another Sunnī scholars said, “Hadrat Reza(A.S.) would give fatwā in his youth during the lifetime of Mālik b. Anas – one of the four Sunnī jurists.”
Reference:
Story of the Sun
A Look at Imam al-Reza's Life
Author: Sayyid Muhammad Najafi Yazdi
Translated by: Ahmad Rezwani
Published by: Islamic Research Foundation, Astan Quds Razavi, Mashhad - I.R. Iran
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