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(Madina 827- Samarra 868) The tenth
Imam of the Twelver Shi'i Islam
(833- 868), Ali l-Hadi was born to a Moroccan slave called Samana, and,
like his father, Muhammadu t-Taqi, was only seven when he received the
Imamate. At the beginning conditions were fairly good for the Shi'is, but
once again their fortunes took a dramatic down turn. Brought to Samarra
by the Caliph Mutawakil in 848, Ali l-Hadi was
to spend the rest of his life under house arrest in the military district
of the city. He and his son, Hassan are known
as Askari because of the military (askar) quarter in which they lived.
During this period the Shi'i were severely persecuted and communication
was limited severely between the Imam and his followers. |