“Was he in the state of ihrām for the minor pilgrimage or...

“Was he in the state of ihrām for the minor pilgrimage or for the major pilgrimage?” Yahya bin Aktham was dumbfounded by this thorough analysis of the question by the ten year old Imam Muhammad at-Taqi! He could not even utter a word, and the audience clearly saw the signs of defeat on his face!

Ma’mun broke the silence by saying, “Praise be to Allāh who proved me right in my estimation of this young man.” Then he faced the elders of the ‘Abbāsids and rebuked them: “Now do you realize what I was saying?” Then he proposed the marriage of his daughter to the Imam, and the Imam accepted it. The young Imam also recited the khutba (sermon) before the actual marriage which has become a common khutba in the Shi‘a marriage ceremonies.

The khutba is as follows: “All praise is due to Allāh, in recognition of His blessings. [I declare that] there is no god but Allāh, in sincere belief in His oneness. And may Allāh send His blessings upon Muhammad, the leader of His creatures, and upon the chosen one of his family. “It is Allāh’s grace upon the people that He has made them free from the forbidden [means of fulfilling sexual urge] by the permissible [institution of marriage].

He, the Exalted, said: ‘And marry the single among you (those who are good ones from among your slaves and maids)—if they are poor, Allāh will make them free from need from His grace; Allāh, indeed, is Generous, All-Knowing.’” After the marriage ceremony, when only a few people had remained in the gathering, Ma’mun requested the Imam to provide the answer for the various situations that he had derived from Yahya’s single question. The holy Imam gave a detailed answer to all those situations.

Then Ma’mun proposed that now the Imam should ask a question to Yahya bin Aktham. The latter replied, “If I know the answer, I will reply; otherwise, I will learn from you.” Imam Muhammad at-Taqi (a.s.) asked: “Can you describe the situation in which a man looked at a woman at dawn while it was forbidden ( harām ) for him to do so; but then at sunrise, it was permissible ( halāl ) for him to look at her?

Then at noon hour, it became harām for him to look at that woman; but in the afternoon, it became permissible for him to look at her? Then at sunset, it became harām for him to look at that woman; but at night, it became halāl for him to look at her? Then at midnight, it became harām for him to look at her; but at dawn, it became halāl for him to do so?” Yahya bin Aktham said, “By Allāh!