ThecaliphlikedtheansweroftheImamandorderedthatthefourfin-
gers of the thief be cut.
This extraordinary event, in the public’s view at Mu‘tasim’s court,
provedthe superiorityof the Imams of Ahlu’l-Bayt. It,however, also
createdanextremefeelingofjealousyandhatredintheheartofIbnAbi
Da’ud.
Onfinding anappropriatemoment,IbnAbiDa’udcautionedthe ca-
liphagainstinadvertantlypromotingImamMuhammadat-Taqi(a.s.)by
publiclyfollowinghisviewandrejectingthoseoftheotherscholars.He
filledthecaliph’searstotheextentthatthecaliphstartedlookingatthe
Imam as a threat to his own caliphate.
DuringthelastdaysofDhulQa‘dah 220 A.H.,theImamwaspoisoned
byhiswife, theniece of Mu‘tasim,andhe diedasa martyr. Hisbody
wasburiednexttohisgrandfather’sgraveinthe Qurayshicemetaryin
Baghdad which is now known as Kādhimayn.
* * *ThislessonhasbeenwrittenandcompiledbySayyidM.Rizvibyus-
ing the following sources.
1.Shi’a Islam’of Allamah Sayyid Muhammad Husayn at-
Tabataba’i.
2.Pishway-e Nahum: Hazrat Imam Muhammad al-Jawad (a.s.)
by Dar Rah-e Haq, Qum.
Themainsources havebeenextensivelyedited inordertofit the re-
quirementsofourcourse.Also,forthesake ofbrevity,we havenot in-
cludedthereferencesquotedbyoursources.Thosewhoareinterestedto
know the sources may refer to those mentioned above.