He was thirty-one years and ten months old when he died. His complexion was a delicate, lustrous brown; his hair was straight and jet-black. Short in stature and slight of build, he had a somewhat long face, the forepart of his beard was full while its hair was fine. Such is the description given by those who saw him.

Al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī said:
Al-Rāḍī possessed many virtues and, in several respects, was the seal of the caliphs. Among these were the following: he was the last caliph to compose poetry; the last caliph to manage the armies and the finances himself; the last caliph to preach from the pulpit on Friday; the last caliph to mingle with men of letters and admit boon-companions into his presence; and the last caliph whose expenses, donations, stipends, treasuries, kitchens, gatherings, servants, chamberlains, and all his other affairs proceeded according to the order observed by the early caliphs (1).

Another scholar said: He was eloquent, articulate, generous, open-handed, and widely praised. Among his fine sayings—heard from him by Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyā al-Ṣūlī—are the following:

“There are people whom Allah has made keys to goodness, and people who are keys to evil. Whoever Allah intends good for, He directs to the people of good and makes him reach us; we then fulfill his need, and he shares with us in the reward and gratitude. Whoever Allah intends evil for, He turns away from us toward others; such a one shares in the burden and sin. Allah is the One from Whom help is sought in every circumstance.” (2)

One of the most delicate apologies is the note al-Rāḍī wrote to his brother al-Muttaqī when they were both in the elementary school—al-Muttaqī had wronged him, and al-Rāḍī was the elder of the two. He wrote:

Bi-smi Allāh al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm (In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful).

I acknowledge to you, as a duty, my servitude, while you acknowledge to me, as a favor, our brotherhood. The servant is liable to sin, and the master is apt to pardon.

The poet has said:
O you who flare in anger for no cause,
Accept reproach—your reproach is dear to me.
Though you have wronged me,
You remain the dearest of all Allah’s creation to me.

He (the narrator) said: His brother al-Muttaqī then came to him, threw himself upon him, kissed his hands, and the two embraced and were reconciled (3).

Among his graceful verses, as cited by Ibn al-Athīr in al-Kāmil, are:
My face turns pale whenever my eye contemplates him,
While his face reddens in bashfulness,
As though the blood in my own body
Had been transferred to the blush upon his cheek. (4)

And among the lines with which he mourned his father al-Muqtadir are:
Had it been possible for a living body to serve as a tomb for the dead,
I would have made my very entrails a grave for his bones.