At 25 years of age, Imam Jawad (peace be upon him) was the youngest martyred Imam. He was only four years old when his father, Imam Ridha (peace be upon him) under the enforced circumstances by Ma’mun had to leave his child and migrate to Khorasan.

To convince the Shias that he had no hand in the martyrdom of Imam Ridha (peace be upon him) and gaining support, Ma’mun decided to get his daughter Umm al-Fadl married to Imam Jawad (peace be upon him).  Ma’mun believed in the superiority of the Imam compared to everyone else.

Planning to degrade the Imam, the Abbasids set a date for a debate between the young Imam Jawad (peace be upon him) and Yahya ibn Aktham, the greatest scholar and jurist of Baghdad.  When the debate concluded, the superiority of the Imam became even more evident.

After the death of Ma’mun, Mu’tasim took reigns of the usurped throne. Envious of the Imam, his personality, and his popularity he took advantage of his wife Umm al-Fadl, who didn’t bear any child from the Imam and deceived her to poison him. She fell for the trap and poisoned the Imam only to deeply regret her choice later on.

Alas! The poison had done its job and she had her name written in history as a wretched person who martyred the best person and a proof of God on earth.

Whenever one faces a problem, material or spiritual, one of the guaranteed and tested ways prescribed by the scholars is to do entreaty (tawassul) to Imam al-Jawad (peace be upon him).

On this day, we ask Allah to save us from the treacherousness of Satan and ourselves so that we can serve the Imam of our time, Al-Mahdi (may Allah hasten his reappearance).