Imam Abū al-Riḍā al-Kaysamī
Imam Abū al-Riḍā al-Kaysamī
Peace Be Upon Him
Imam Abū al-Riḍā al-Kaysamī, ibn Mahdī ibn Muḥammad ibn Khalīfa ibn Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan ibn Jaʿfar ibn Imam al-Nāṣir li-l-Ḥaqq al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī al-Uṭrūsh (may God be pleased with them). He called to God after the death of Imam al-Hādī al-Ḥuqaynī (peace be upon him). His supplication was answered, and he gained dominion over all the regions of Daylamān and Jīlān as far as Ṭabaristān, contending for the carrying-out of the rulings of God an ʿAlid contending.
There occurred between him and Imam al-Hādī al-Ḥuqaynī some talk that the slanderers had stirred up, so the two came together for reconciliation. Between them was a valley over which lay a bridge; but some who feared the mingling of the two parties hastened and demolished it, making crossing impossible for horseman or foot-traveler. So the two noble lords beheld one another from opposite banks — and each called across to the other with the speech of the Messenger ﷺ:
The Messenger of God ﷺ said: “Hold fast to mutual connection, mutual support, and hastening to one another; and beware of mutual severance, mutual turning-away, and mutual envy; and be, O servants of God, brethren.”
The Messenger of God ﷺ said: “The Muslim is the brother of the Muslim: he does not betray him, nor forsake him, nor wrong him, nor hold him in contempt, nor accept against him the word of the talebearer. And the foundation of piety is here” — and he pointed to his chest — “It is enough of evil for a man that he hold the believer in contempt. His blood is inviolable, his wealth is inviolable, his honor is inviolable, and it is forbidden to harbor evil suspicion of him.”
Then the two parties departed. This is among the hidden gems of the prophetic legacy, the treasured stores of the ʿAlid legacy — and these are the traits of the lords of mankind.
He died a short period after Imam al-Hādī al-Ḥuqaynī at Kaysam. May God’s mercy and peace be upon him.
He has no given name other than his kunya (laqab) Abū al-Riḍā — peace be upon him.