Place of birth: Medina
 was born in Medina on the eleventh of Zi al-Qadah (the eleventh month in the Islamic calendar) in 148 Anno Hegira. His respected mother said, “When I was pregnant with him, I felt no heavy embryonic stage inside and when I was asleep I frequently heard his prayers saying “There is no God save Allah” inside me! But when I was awake, I could never hear his prayers! When I gave birth to him, his hands were raised towards the sky as if he was saying prayers to God!”
Divine Leadership of Imam Reza (PEACE BE UPON HIM)
Imam Reza (PEACE BE UPON HIM) was appointed as Imam after his respected father’s martyrdom. His Imamate (divine leadership) was lasted twenty years so that the half was lasted during the Haroun al-Rashid’s reign. This period is considered the relative freedom of Imam Reza (PEACE BE UPON HIM) in spreading cultural and scientific activities; since Haroun had did not constrain Imam Reza (PEACE BE UPON HIM) from getting involved in such activities. 
 Imam Reza (PEACE BE UPON HIM) could train many students and develop the Islamic doctrines and sciences during this period. Finally, the secret of Haroun’s heinous crime was revealed and people found out about his devilish scheme to martyr Imam Kazem (PEACE BE UPON HIM) – the father of Imam Reza (PEACE BE UPON HIM); consequently, people detested Haroun and Imam Reza (PEACE BE UPON HIM) seized this opportunity to reveal his Imamate.
Fight for Caliphate 
Haroun al-Rashid appointed his son – Amin – as his successor and appointed his second son – Abdullah Mamoun whose mother was an Iranian handmaiden – as Amin’s crown prince. After Haroun’s death, Amin came to the throne and ruled for 5 years and dethroned his brother. Mamoun who was living in Khorasan, rose and led a rebellion with the help of Iranian people against Amin and sent Tahir Ibn-e Husain zol-Yaminin to Baqdad and he killed Amin and carried his head to Marv. From that time forward, the Abbasside Caliphate was given to Mamoun. 
After the Murder of Amin   
Mamoun established his caliphate and sent many letters to Imam Reza (PEACE BE UPON HIM) asking him to come to Khorasan with Alavid elders but Imam Reza (PEACE BE UPON HIM) refused and Mamoun sent a messenger to Medina to take him to Khorasan. In the meanwhile, Mamoun ordered his men to take Imam Reza (PEACE BE UPON HIM) to take him to Marv through Basra, Ahwaz and Fars routes because he was afraid of people’s support for Imam Reza (PEACE BE UPON HIM) if he would pass through Kufa, Jabal and Qum. Nevertheless, Imam Reza’s (PEACE BE UPON HIM) considered a forced political journey set by order of Mamoun’s in 200 Anno Hegira. 
Mamoun’s Devilish Trick
Mamoun sought many purposes behind about inviting Imam Reza (PEACE BE UPON HIM) to come to Khorasan such as turning revolutionary uprisings of Muslims to harmless political activities, invalidating the claims made by the Shiites about the absolute Umavid and Abbasid caliphates and legislating the mentioned dynasties, controlling Imam Reza (PEACE BE UPON HIM) as his main opposition, and finally abusing Imam Reza’s (PEACE BE UPON HIM) position to validate his caliphate but he could not achieve his devilish goals by martyring Imam Reza (PEACE BE UPON HIM).   
Martyrdom
Mamoun ordered one his servants to get his nails long in order to treat with a deadly poison when seeding a pomegranate to entertain Imam Reza (PEACE BE UPON HIM). Then, the servant urged Imam Reza (PEACE BE UPON HIM) to eat the pomegranate but Imam Reza (PEACE BE UPON HIM) refused so that Mamoun threatened to take his life and finally Imam Reza (PEACE BE UPON HIM)  was forced to eat some. After some hours, the poison worked and Imam Reza (PEACE BE UPON HIM) was martyred on the twenty-ninth of Safar (the second month in the Islamic calendar) in 203 Anno Hegira.
 
Imam Reza (PEACE BE UPON HIM) said, “The sentence There is no God save Allah is my fort and if you say it, you can enter my fort to be safe from divine retribution provided that you observe the terms ;verily, I am one of the terms.”