¿ALÈ AL-HAÚDÈ, ABU÷L-H®ASAN, B. MOH®AMMAD B. ¿ALÈ B. MUÚSAÚ AL-¿ASKARÈ, the 10th imam of the Ema@m^ Shi¿ites (d. 254/868). Besides Ha@d^, his most common epithet is Naq^; in Shi¿ite sources he is often referred to as Abu÷l-H®asan al-T¨a@let¯. He was born, according to the best authenticated report, on 16 D¨u÷l-háeèèa 212/7 March 828 in Sáorayya@ (?), a village three miles from Medina founded by his great-grandfather, Mu@sa@ al-Ka@záem. Other dates given for his birth are in Raèab or D¨u÷l-háeèèa, 213 or 214/September, 828/January, 830. His mother was a concubine named Sama@na or Su@san, probably of Mag@reb^ origin. When his father, Imam Moháammad al-Ôawa@d, died in Baghdad on 6 D¨u÷l-háeèèa 220/30 November 835, he was still a minor. According to his father's will, he was to receive his estates, property, and slaves after reaching majority to the exclusion of his brother Mu@sa@. The followers of his father generally recognized him as imam. Later a small group broke away under unexplained circumstances, claiming that Mu@sa@ was the imam; they soon returned to allegiance to ¿Al^, since Mu@sa@ dissociated himself from them. After the accession of Motawakkel (r. 232-47/847-61) to the caliphate, the governor of Medina, ¿Abdalla@h b. Moháammad b. Da@÷u@d Ha@Þem^, wrote the caliph, warning about the activity of ¿Al^ and his followers. The imam in turn sent a letter to Motawakkel defending himself against the accusations and complaining about the governor. Motawakkel replaced the governor and, in a letter, assured ¿Al^ of his highest regard and trust but requested that he move to the caliph's residence, together with those members of his family, clients, and servants whom he might wish to bring along. He sent Yaháya@ b. Hart¯ama b. A¿yan to Medina to provide the imam with a military escort. Motawakkel's letter as quoted by Kolayn^ and Shaikh Mof^d may well be authentic, though its date was evidently wrongly transmitted to Mof^d as Ôoma@da@ II, 243/October, 857, instead of 233/January, 848. When the imam reached Baghdad, many people gathered to see him, and the governor, the Taherid Esháa@q b. Ebra@h^m, rode out to meet him and stayed with him for part of the night. He arrived in Sa@marra@÷ on 23 Ramazµa@n 233/1 May 848. The caliph did not immediately receive him but, on the next day, assigned a house for his residence. The imam remained in Sa@marra@÷ for the rest of his life; he is quoted as stating that he had come there involuntarily but would leave only against his will, since he preferred the quality of its air and water. Though under constant observation, he was free to move in the town and shared in the life of high society. He was evidently able to maintain contact with his representatives among his followers, sending them his instructions and receiving through them the financial contributions of the faithful from the kòoms and religious vows. He later bought several houses in Sa@marra@÷. According to T®abar^ and Kolayn^, he died on 26 Ôoma@da@ II 254/21 June 868. Other dates mentioned in the sources fall within Ôoma@da II and Raèab 254/June-July, 868. The caliph Mo¿tazz sent his brother Abu@ Ahámad Mowaffaq to lead the funeral prayer for him. When large crowds gathered to lament him, his corpse was returned to his house, which he had bought from the Christian Dolayl b. Ya¿qu@b, and was buried there. His son Abu@ Ôa¿far Moháammad, who had originally been expected to succeed him in the imamate, had died before him in Sa@marra@÷. Two other sons survived him—H®asan, who became his successor, and Ôa¿far.

Ema@m^ tradition relates many miracles of Imam ¿Al^ al-Ha@d^; he is described in particular as endowed with the knowledge of the languages of the Persians, Slavs, Indians, and Nabateans, as foreknowing unexpected storms and as accurately prophesying deaths and other events. Thus he is reported to have cursed Motawakkel and to have correctly predicted his death within three days after the caliph had either humiliated him (by ordering him, together with other Hashimites and dignitaries, to dismount and walk in front of himself and Fathá b. K¨aqa@n) or had imprisoned him. In the presence of Motawakkel, he unmasked a woman falsely claiming to be Zaynab, the daughter of Imam H®osayn, by descending into a lions' den in order to prove that lions do not harm true descendants of ¿Al^ (a like miracle is also attributed to his grandfather ¿Al^ al-Rezμa@). He brought a lion pictured on a carpet to life and made it swallow an Indian juggler who had, on the order of Motawakkel, tried to put him to shame by his tricks; and he turned a handful of sand and stones into gold for a needy follower. According to Ebn Ba@bu@ya, he was poisoned by Motawakkel or Mo¿tamed (r. 256-79/870-92), neither of whom, however, was caliph at the time of the death of the Imam. A theological treatise on human free will and some other short texts and statements ascribed to him are quoted by Ebn ˆo¿ba H®arra@n^ (Toháaf al-¿oqu@l, Beirut, 1389/1969, pp. 338-58).

Bibliography : See also Ya¿qu@b^, II, pp. 591f., 614. Nawbakòt^, Feraq al-Þ^¿a, ed. H. Ritter, Istanbul, 1931, pp. 77-79. AÞ¿ar^ Qom^, al-Maqa@la@t wa÷l-feraq, ed. M. Ô. MaÞku@r, Tehran, 1963, pp. 99-101. T®abar^, III, pp. 1379, 1697. Kolayn^, al-Ka@f^, ed. ¿A. A. GÚaffa@r^, Tehran, 1381/1961, I, pp. 323-25, 497-502. Mas¿u@d^, Moru@è VII, pp. 206-09, 379-83. Idem (?), Et¯ba@t al-wasá^ya, Naèaf, 1958, pp. 187-97. Mof^d, al-ErÞa@d, ed. K. Mu@saw^ Meya@mav^, Tehran, 1377/1957-58, pp. 307-14. Ta÷r^kò Bag@da@d XII, pp. 56f. Sebtá b. Ôawz^, Tadòkerat al-kòawa@sásá, Naèaf, 1383/1964, pp. 359-62. Ebn K¨alleka@n (Beirut), III, pp. 272f. Maèles^, Beháa@r al-anwa@r, Tehran, 1335 ˆ.-/1956-, I, pp. 113-232. D. M. Donaldson, The Shiite Religion, London, 1933, pp. 209-16. A¿ya@n al-Þ^¿a IV/2, pp. 252-78. EI² I, p. 713.

(W. Madelung)