ভূমিকা

He is the tenth Imam; ‘Ali al-Hadi (a.s.) whose name is the same as his grandfather’s: Amir ul-Mu’mineen (a.s.), the pioneer of wisdom and social justice in the earth. Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) was similar to his grandfather in asceticism and in renouncing material pleasures. It was never said about him that he had followed any fancy or submitted to any desire that was away from the truth. He had preferred the obedience of Allah to everything else.

He was so fond of his Lord that he spent his nights worshipping, supplicating, and invoking Allah the Almighty. His faith in Allah permeated his innermost essence until it was one of his most prominent qualities and constituents. Many exalted supplications, wise invocations, and wonderful maxims of monotheism were related from him, showing that he was one of the first leaders who raised the torch of guidance and faith on Earth.

Allah had endowed the Imams of the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) with knowledge, wisdom, and virtues to an extent which He never endowed anyone else of His creation. The great knowledge and sciences that were transmitted from them are a source of pride. The young and old of the infallible Imams (a.s.) have been distinguished with this phenomenon. Imam al-Jawad (a.s.) assumed the religious leadership and the general authority of the nation since his early years. He was just seven years and some months old.

He was asked about the most complicated philosophical, theological, and jurisprudential questions and he answered them all as if he was an expert scholar though he was a child yet. Of course, there is no explanation for this except that which the Twelver Shi’a believe, that Allah has endowed the infallible Imams (a.s.) with extraordinary powers of knowledge and sciences, just as He had endowed His Arch-Prophets.

As Imam al-Jawad (a.s.) was the wonder of the world with his talents and intellectual abilities, and so was his son Imam ‘Ali al-Hadi (a.s.). Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) was yet too young when he was afflicted with the death of his father.