Fateful journey of Imam Reza (AS) from Madinah to Khorasan

Compiled By: Syed Ali Shahbaz
On 24th of the Islamic month of Zil-Qa’dah in 201 AH, Imam Reza (AS), the 8th Infallible Successor of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), started his fateful journey from his hometown Medina in Hejaz to the Khorasani city of Marv in northeastern Iran – currently in the republic of Turkmenistan – under pressure from Mamoun, the self-styled caliph of the usurper Abbasid regime.
The intention of Mamoun was to kill two birds with one stone. Thus, he forced the Imam – twenty years his senior – to become his heir apparent, so that the Prophet\'s Heir would be isolated from the Ummah by being confined to the court, while the masses would either praise Mamoun for bestowing such an honour on the Imam, or would become disenchanted with the Ahl al-Bayt by saying court life had tainted the purity of the Prophet\'s Household.
He, however, miserably failed, and two years later poisoned his venerable guest to death, when the sanctity and popularity of the Imam increased manifold. Today the golden-domed mausoleum of Imam Reza (AS) in Mashhad attracts pilgrims from all over the world, while there is no trace of the graves of the Abbasids.