Imam Ali al-Rida

Birth

11 Dhu al-Qi'dah, 148 AH (Medina)

Martyrdom

end of Safar, 203 AH (Tus/Mashhad; by poisoning, per Shia narration)

Kunya

Abu al-Hasan

Relation

Son of Imam Musa al-Kazim; the eighth Imam

Summoned from Medina to Khorasan by the Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun and appointed crown prince in a politically contentious arrangement, he died in Tus (present-day Mashhad), where his shrine is visited by millions of Shia pilgrims annually.

His recorded theological debates defending the faith against various religious and doctrinal positions.