Holy Imam Hadi (as) Prisoned in Samarra

When the Imam arrived at Samarra and al-Mutawakkil was informed about it, he took no notice of the Imam’s arrival. When asked about where the Imam should stay, he ordered that the Imam should be put up in the inn meant for beggars, destitute and homeless people.

Al-Mutawakkil who was a deadly enemy of the Ahlul-Bayt (A.S.) removed the Imam from this inn and entrusted him to the custody of a stonehearted brute named Zurafah. But, by the grace of Allah, his enmity was, in a short time, transformed into love and devotion for the Imam (A.S.).

When al-Mutawakkil learnt about it, he shifted the Imam into the custody of another cruel man called Sa’ id. The Imam remained under his strict vigilance for a number of years, during which he was subjected to boundless tortures.

But even in this miserable imprisonment, the Imam (A.S.) kept devoting himself at all times to the worship of Allah. The watchman of the prison used to comment that Imam Ali al-Hadi (A.S.) seemed to be an angel in human garb. When Fath ibn Khaqan became the vizier of al-Mutawakkil, he being a Shi`ah could not stand the idea of the Imam’s captivity. He endeavored to have him released from imprisonment and arranged for his comfortable residence in a personally purchased house at Samaraa.