Memorable Anniversaries of the 6th of Ramadhan

Today(on 16 July) is the 6th of Ramadhan, which happens to be the anniversaries of two special occasions. The first is the revelation of the Torah to Prophet Moses by God Almighty for the guidance of the ever-rebellious Israelites.
The second is the anniversary of the day on which Imam Reza (AS) – the 8th Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) – was proclaimed as heir apparent of the Abbasid caliphate, against his will, and coins were minted in his name, in what could be called a very crafty move to deceive the Muslims by Mamoun, the self-styled caliph of the usurper regime. First let us recite to you the special supplication of the 6th of Ramadhan, before presenting to you interesting details.
“O Allah, forsake me not this day by letting me venture to disobey You, and strike me not with the lash of Your vengeance! Keep me away from the causes of Your displeasure; with Your favour and support, O Ultimate Refuge of those who crave (for help)!
According to hadith, it was in the blessed month of Ramadhan that God Almighty revealed His scriptures to the Law-Giving Prophets for the guidance of human societies. For instance, it was on the 4th of the month of fasting that Prophet Abraham (PBUH) was granted the heavenly book. A narration from the Prophet’s 6th Infallible Heir, Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (AS) says:
“The Torah was sent down on the 6th of Ramadhan, the Evangel on the 12th, the Book of Psalms on the 18th, and the Fur qan (that is, the Qur’an) on the Grand Night.”
We find in authoritative works, even of Judaism, that after fasting for forty days the Lord granted Prophet Moses (PBUH) the Law. This is mentioned in verse 18, chapter 24 of the Book Exodus, which relates to events on Mount Sinai, after Prophet Moses (AS) had brought out the Israelites from captivity in Pharaonic Egypt and the miraculous parties of the sea waters for him. It is another thing that except for a few, most of the Israelites were intransigent to the commandment of God, and deviated from the teachings of Moses, who prophesied the advent of the Last and Greatest Messenger, Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), as is evident in passages in the Book of Deuteronomy of the Toran, which sadly has been tampered with by interpolators.
Another important event of the 6th of Ramadhan was in 201 AH, exactly 1231 lunar years ago, when it appeared as if a 180-degree transformation was underway in the vast Abbasid realm, especially in its capital Merv and the large province of Khorasan of which it was a part. Not only the state colour of the Abbasids, that is, black, had been replaced with the green of the Alawis or descendents of the Prophet’s righteous successor, the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS), but a new series of coins were in circulation proclaiming the Prophet’s 8th Infallible Successor, Imam Reza (AS), as the heir-apparent of the caliph Mamoun. Was it a transformation or yet another deception, considering the fact that over 70 years ago Abbasid agents had resorted to a similar ruse in Khorasan, Iraq, Hejaz, Yemen, Egypt, and other parts of the Islamic world, by raising the slogan of Support for the Prophet’s Progeny, to exploit the natural sentiments of the Muslims for the Ahl al-Bayt in order to sieze the caliphate from the equally undeserving Omayyads? From the way the pompous ceremonies were being conducted in the lavishly decorated court and the city, with poets being showered with pearls and jewels for singing praises of the caliph and his decision, it was clear to anyone blessed with insight that the vital elements most conspicuously absent at this pageantry, were faith, piety, sincerity and honesty. The more so, when it was obvious that Imam Reza (AS) had been forcibly brought all the way from distant Medina and was being made heir apparent against his will, and under threats, as was the case in 23 AH with his illustrious forbear, Imam Ali (AS), who was forcibly included in the dubious shura or council that the 2nd caliph had appointed on his deathbed 178 years ago. These are the thoughts that flash across our minds while fasting in blessed Ramadhan, so as to discern between truth and falsehood.
Earlier, on his arrival in the Iranian city of Merv – which is presently in Turkmenistan – Imam Reza (AS) had frustrated Mamoun’s devilish design of pretensions to abdicate the caliphate in his favour by giving the polite reply: “If the caliphate is really yours, you ought not give to others what God has given you as a trust; and if it does not belong to you, how can you give to others what is not yours.”
Another glaring discrepancy in the strange scenario being unfolded was the age gap of 22 years between the young 31 year old ruler and the 53-year old heir apparent, who might not be expected to outlive the person he was supposed to succeed. It was clear that an intricate political ploy was underway to try to gain legitimacy for the Abbasid usurpers, whose claim to the Prophet’s mantle – as was the case with their predecessors the Omayyads – was never accepted by the ummah. This was evident by the constant uprisings that used to rock the realm from North Africa to Central Asia as Muslims flocked to the banner of an Alawi whenever a direct descendant of the Prophet decided to challenge the despotic caliphs. In short, Mamoun and his advisors thought they were very smart in deceiving the people by outwardly declaring Imam Reza (AS) to be the heir apparent, by minting coins in his name and changing the state colour from the Abbasid black to the Hashemite green. As the Imam of the Age, the Prophet’s 8th Infallible Heir clearly saw through their plot, fully aware that soon, within a space of two years, he would be martyred through poisoning when Mamoun and his minions realize what a big blunder they had made by axing their own feet and unwittingly contributing to the popularity of the Ahl al-Bait.
Today, Mamoun and the other claimants to the caliphate have long vanished from the scene. No one knows where the rotten bones of the Abbasid rulers lie, let alone the ruins of their palaces and pleasure dens where they used to commit the oldest sins in the newest ways. As for the Ahl al-Bayt, their prestige and glory continues to shine brightly with each passing day. No wonder, God Himself has vouched the pristine purity of these chosen ones in ayah 33 of Surah Roum of the holy Qur’an. In other words, when a long line of caliphs that terrorized the Islamic world for centuries by persecuting and martyring the Ahl al-Bayt, failed in their elaborate plots, how could the Salafis and their backers in certain Arab states and the West succeed in their seditious designs? Imam Reza (AS), as one of the possessors of Wilayat-al-Mutlaqa or divinely-decreed authority reigns supreme from his sprawling golden-domed shrines in Mashhad, drawing pilgrims from all over the world and showing the penitents the path to paradise and God’s infinite mercy, as could be gauged by his saying: “God forgives the sins of whoever asks for forgiveness seventy times during the month of Ramadhan even if his sins are as numerous as the stars.”