[5] The Shahadat of 7 th Imam -asws and burial by 8 th Imam -asws ...

[5] The Shahadat of 7 th Imam -asws and burial by 8 th Imam -asws : The narrator of the Hadith says that when Harun Ar-Rashid got worried about the noble characteristics of Musa -asws Ibn Ja’far -asws and the news he received from the followers of Imam Musa -asws Ibn Ja’far -asws regarding his -asws Divine Leadership, and their secret associations with him -asws in the daytime and at night, Harun got worried for himself and his rule. Then he thought of killing the 7 th Imam -asws with poison.

Then Harun asked for some dates and ate some. Then he placed twenty dates on a tray, dipped a piece of thread in poison, and placed the date on a needle. He then thoroughly poisoned one of the dates with that thread until he was sure that the poison has penetrated it. Harun did this several times and then placed the date among the other dates.

He called in his servant and told him: “Take this tray of dates to Musa -asws Ibn Ja’far -asws and tell him -asws : “I have eaten dates, and have left some for you -asws . Please I beg you -asws to eat them all since I have handpicked them for you -asws myself.”’ Harun also told the servant to make sure that no dates were left and that no one else should eat any of the dates. The servant delivered the dates and the message.

The Imam -asws said: ‘Bring me some toothpicks.’ The servant brought him -asws toothpicks and stood in front of him -asws while the Imam -asws ate dates. Harun Ar-Rashid had a female dog which was very dear to him. The dog exerted an effort to free itself from the golden chains and jewels and went to Imam Musa Ibn Ja’far -asws . The Imam -asws put the poisoned date on the toothpick and threw it for the dog.

The dog ate the date and immediately fell down on the ground and died while its meat was falling off its bones piece by piece. The Imam -asws ate the rest of the dates. The servant took the tray back to Ar-Rashid. Harun asked him: ‘Did he -asws eat all the dates?’ The servant said: ‘O commander of the faithful (Harun)! Yes.’ Harun asked: ‘How did you find him -asws ?’ The servant said: ‘O commander of the faithful!

I saw nothing wrong with him -asws .’ Then the news of the female dog and how it had fallen down with its meat being separated from its bones piece by piece and its death reached Harun. This was hard on him. He went to see the dog. He saw how the dog’s meat had separated from its bones and died. He called in the servant, asked for a sword and a rug.