Ali al Ridha

Al ibn Ms alRez , also called abu alHasan, Ali alReza or in Persia as Imam Reza , was a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad and the eighth Shia Imam after his father Musa alKadhim and before his son Muhammad alJawad. He was an Imam of knowledge according to the Zaydi Shia school and Sufis. He lived in a period when Abbasid caliphs were facing numerous difficulties, the most important of which was Shia revolts. The Caliph AlMamun sought out a remedy for this problem by appointing AlRidha as his successor, through whom he could be involved in worldly affairs. However, according to the Shia view, when AlMamun saw that the Imam gained even more popularity, he decided to correct his mistake by poisoning him. The Imam was buried in a village in Khorasan, which afterwards gained the name Mashhad, meaning the place of martyrdom.

On the eleventh of Dhu alQidah, 148 AH , a son was born in the house of Imam Musa alKadhim in Medina. He was named Ali and titled alRidha, however in the Shia sources he is commonly called Abulasan aln so as not to be confused with his father, Imam Musa alKadhim. His father was known as Abulasan alAwwal. He was born one month after the death of his grandfather, Jafar asSdiq, and brought up in Medina under the direction of his father. His mother, Najmah, was also a distinguished and pious lady. It is said that the boy alRidha required a great deal of milk, so that when his mother was asked whether her milk was sufficient, she answered, it is not because my milk is not sufficient, but he wants it all the time, and consequently I am falling short in my prayers. She was originally a Berber . She was purchased and freed by Bibi Hamidah Khatun, the wife of Imam Jafar alSadiq, and like Bibi Hamidah was a notable Islamic scholar.

Source: Wikipedia