Imam Ali bin Musa: Transmitter of Prophetic Knowledge

One of the lights from the descendants of Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) is Imam Ali Ar-Rida (SA).

Imam Ali Ar-Rida was born in Al-Madinah during the rule of Bani Abbas.  His father was Imam Musa Al-Kathim bin Ja’far As-Sadiq bin Muhammad Al-Baqir bin Ali As-Sajjad bin Al-Husayn As-Sibt bin Ali Al-Murtada bin Abi Talib (SA).  Like his father, the majority of historians described him as having dark brown skin just as his father was described.

Scholars of hadith including Ahmad bin Hanbal narrated from the chain of Imam Ali Ar-Rida as well as from one of his most notable students Ma’ruf Al-Karkhi (QR).  He is considered to be an imam of knowledge for madhhab Zaydi and is in the spiritual chains of At-Tariqah Al-Qadiriyyah and At-Tariqah An-Naqshabandiyyah.  He is also known to be the 8th imam protected from error of madhhab Ja’fari.

Imam Ali Ar-Rida was known for his good character, austerity and knowledge.  Among his scholarship which exists among us today are Sahifah Ar-Rida, a book of ahadith from the Prophet (SAWS) and sayings of Imam Ali bin Abi Talib (KW) as well as Ar-Risalah Adh-Dhahabiyyah, the 1st book compiled regarding Prophetic medicine.  Among the knowledge from Imam Ali Ar-Rida which has reached us is the hadith qudsi that the Prophet (SAWS) said that Allah (SWT) said, “There is no deity except Allah is My fortress, so whoever enters My fortress, (s)he will be safe from My punishment.”

Abdullah bin Harun, the Abbasi khalifah also known by his self-appointed title “Al-Ma’mun,” publically declared that Imam Ali Ar-Rida would be his successor.  Imam Ali Ar-Rida eventually went to Tus in modern day Iran where he died due to poisoning before Abdullah Al-Abbasi.

Imam Ali Ar-Rida was buried in Tus, which is currently known as Mashhad.  The masjid where he is buried is currently the largest masjid in the world, even larger than Al-Masjid Al-Haram in Makkah and Al-Masjid An-Nabawi in Al-Madinah.

DawudWalid

Dawud Walid is currently the Executive Director of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI), which is a chapter of America's largest advocacy and civil liberties organization for American Muslims and is a member of the Michigan Muslim Community Council (MMCC) Imams Committee. Walid has been interviewed and quoted in approximately 150 media outlets ranging from the New York Times, Wall St Journal, National Public Radio, CNN, BBC, FOX News and Al-Jazeera. Furthermore, Walid was a political blogger for the Detroit News from January 2014 to January 2016, has had essays published in the 2012 book All-American: 45 American Men on Being Muslim, the 2014 book Qur'an in Conversation and was quoted as an expert in 13 additional books and academic dissertations. He was also a featured character in the 2013 HBO documentary "The Education of Mohammad Hussein." Walid has lectured at over 50 institutions of higher learning about Islam, interfaith dialogue and social justice including at Harvard University, DePaul University and the University of the Virgin Islands - St. Thomas and St. Croix campuses as well as spoken at the 2008 and 2011 Congressional Black Caucus Conventions alongside prominent speakers such as the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Congressman Keith Ellison. In 2008, Walid delivered the closing benediction at the historic 52nd Michigan Electoral College in the Michigan State Senate chambers and gave the Baccalaureate speech for graduates of the prestigious Cranbrook-Kingswood Academy located in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Walid was also a featured speaker at the 2009 and 2010 Malian Peace and Tolerance Conferences at the University of Bamako in Mali, West Africa. He has also given testimony at hearings and briefings in front of Michigan state legislators and U.S. congressional representatives, including speaking before members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in Washington, D.C. Walid has studied under qualified scholars the disciplines of Arabic grammar and morphology, foundations of Islamic jurisprudence, sciences of the exegesis of the Qur’an, and Islamic history during the era of Prophet Muhammad through the governments of the first 5 caliphs. He previously served as an imam at Masjid Wali Muhammad in Detroit and the Bosnian American Islamic Center in Hamtramck, Michigan, and continues to deliver sermons and lectures at Islamic centers across the United States and Canada. Walid was a 2011 - 2012 fellow of the University of Southern California (USC) American Muslim Civil Leadership Institute (AMCLI) and a 2014 - 2015 fellow of the Wayne State Law School Detroit Action Equity Lab (DEAL). Walid served in the United States Navy under honorable conditions earning two United States Navy & Marine Corp Achievement medals while deployed abroad. He has also received awards of recognition from the city councils of Detroit and Hamtramck and from the Mayor of Lansing as well as a number of other religious and community organizations.

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