I wanted to help, he said, ‘There are some with me who would help.

I wanted to help, he said, ‘There are some with me who would help.’ Then he said, Go inside bring the coffin and the shroud and balm.’ He clad his father’s body in shroud and performed the burial prayer over it.’ Then, he said, ‘Bring in the coffin.’ I said, ‘Shall I go to the carpenter to have a coffin made?’ He said, ‘No, go to the inner house, there is a coffin!’ When I went inside, I saw a coffin that I had not seen there before.

He laid the body in the coffin and performed two rak‘a s of prayer; then, all of a sudden the ceiling opened up and the coffin ascended through the ceiling! I said, ‘O son of the Apostle of Allah! Soon, Ma’mun will come and ask me for Ridha, what shall I do?’ he said, ‘Silence! He will come back. O Aba Salt!

There is no Prophet who would die in the East and his successor is in the West, unless God would call their souls and bodies together (i.e., his holiness has been taken to the Prophet).’ No sooner had his holiness stopped talking than the ceiling reopened and the coffin descended. Imam al-Jawad took the body of his father out of the coffin and laid it on the bed as if no funeral ablution and shrouding had been performed for it. Then, he said, ‘O Aba Salt!

Get up and open the door for Ma’mun.’ I opened the door and saw it was Ma’mun along with his retainers. That cursed devil (who had made sure of the Imam’s martyrdom) entered while crying and tearing his clothes and beating on his head and saying: ‘O my master, you pained my heart by your tragedy.’ And it happened as Imam al-Ridha (a.s.) had predicted.”[^5] According to more renowned traditions, the martyrdom of his holiness took place in the month of Safar/September of 203/818. [^1]: Ibid, p. 14.

[^2]: Harthama b. Aʿyan was a governor of the Abbasid period, a native of Khurasan. Fadhl b. Sahl, who had been described by Harthama as a majus accused him of committing acts of tyranny, had him arrested and imprisoned, with the caliph's approval and put him to death in Dhu 'l-Qaʿda 200/June 816. Thus the above mentioned Harthama must be someone other than this famous Harthama b. Aʿyan. (trans.) [^3]: Uyun Akhbar al-Ridha (a.s.), vol. 2, p. 248. [^4]: Ibid, p. 253.