12) Imam al-Hadi

Abu l-Hasan ʿAli b. Muḥammad al-Hadi, (b. 212/828 – d. 254/868) was the son of Imam al-Jawad (a) and he was the tenth of the twelve Imams of the Shia. He is also known as al-Naqi  and al-Hadi. He was the Imam between 220/835 and 254/868 for a period of thirty-four years.

Many years of the imamate of Imam al-Hadi (a) took place in Samarra under direct surveillance of the rulers of his time. His imamate was contemporary with the rule of some Abbasid caliphs including al-Mutawakkil al-‘Abbasi.

Different hadiths are narrated from Imam al-Hadi (a) about ideological issues, interpretation of the Qur’an, fiqh, and ethics,  Al-Ziyarah al-Jami’a al-Kabira.  Some of his students and companions are as follows: ‘Abd al-‘Azim al-Hasani, ‘Uthman b. Sa’id, Ayyub b. Nuh, al-Hasan b. Rashid and al-Hasan al-Utrush.

His shrine is in Samarra. The dome and some minarets of his shrine were destroyed by terrorist attacks in 2006; and again, in 2008 other minarets of the shrine were also destroyed by another bombing.