Ismāʿīl, Hārūn, Jaʿfar, Ḥasan, Aḥmad, Muḥammad, ʿUbaydallāh, Ḥamzah, Zayd, Isḥāq, ʿAbdallāh, Ḥusayn, al-Faḍl, Sulaymān, and several daughters—al-Zubayr lists them all in his Book of Genealogy (1).

It is said that this same brother, Zayd, rose up in Basra against al-Maʾmūn, committing violence and oppression. Al-Maʾmūn therefore dispatched ʿAlī ibn Mūsā, his own brother, to bring him back.

ʿAlī set out to meet him, it is reported, and said: “Woe to you, Zayd! You have done to the Muslims what you have done, yet you claim to be a son of Fāṭimah? By Allah, the one who will press you hardest is the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him. Whoever gains anything by invoking the Messenger of Allah ought, for his sake, to give it back.”

When these words reached al-Maʾmūn he wept and said, “This is exactly how the People of the Prophetic Household ought to be—just like this!” (2)

ʿAlī al-Riḍā was, in truth, of great standing and fully qualified for the caliphate. Yet the Rāfiḍah fabricated lies about him, extolled him with impermissible claims, attributed infallibility to him, and went to extremes. Allah, however, has appointed a proper measure for everything.

He himself is blameless with regard to those forged compilations attributed to him. Among them is a chain that runs: from his father, from his grandfather, from his forefathers, traced back to the Prophet, stating,
“Saturday is ours, Sunday is for our partisans, Monday for the Umayyads, Tuesday for their followers, Wednesday for the Abbasids, Thursday for their supporters, and Friday for all people.”

Another fabrication claims: “When I was taken on the Night Journey, some of my perspiration fell and roses sprouted from it.”

Another says: “Apply violet oil, for it is cooling in summer and warming in winter.”

And yet another: “Whoever eats a pomegranate with its rind, Allah will illuminate his heart for forty nights.”