Imam Reza (AS) and the Politics of Intelligent Resistance

The political conduct of Imam Reza (AS) is filled with subtle strategies of struggle against oppressive rulers—a struggle that combined firm adherence to principles with prudence and intelligence. At a time when the Abbasid Caliph Ma’mun faced a severe crisis of legitimacy and sought to exploit Imam Reza’s social and spiritual stature, the Imam responded with what can be described as a policy of intelligent resistance, systematically neutralizing Ma’mun’s schemes.