The solution was brilliant...

The solution was brilliant, for it revived the 'Abbasid da'wah and restored effectiveness and credibility to the slogan "al-rida min aal Muhammad" by embodying it in the person who represented that slogan in the mind of the Ummah. Thus the slogan remained no longer vague or obscure; rather it was now portrayed in a particular person who represented the principle of nass in its complete purity.

The brilliance of the idea was that it presented an exemplary solution to the problem, which realized the goal of al-Ma'mun's greatest desire. On the one hand, it gave legitimacy to the leadership, thus putting an end to the political and ideological problem and legitimating all military and political confrontations with the revolutionary movement. On the other hand, it deferred returning the right (to the Imam of the [A]), for it was succession and not a transfer of power that was offered.

It was doubtful that the heir apparency offered would result in sovereign rule, since al-'Imam al-Rida (A) was twenty-two years older than al-Ma'mun. The idea was also brilliant since, apparently, it completely altered the balance in al-Ma'mun's favour, for the ideological problem which was earlier than the problem of al-Ma'mun and the 'Abbasid regime now became the problem of the followers of the principle of nass and the figure who was its embodiment: al-'Imam al-Rida (A). Previous…