40-27 Some people have narrated that Fadhl ibn Sahl advised Al-Ma’mun to appoint Ali ibn Musa Ar-Ridha’ as the successor to the throne. Among them we can mention Abu Ali Al-Husayn ibn Ahmad Al-Salami who has written about the events in Khorasan in his book. He wrote:“Thul-Riasatayn Fadhl ibn Sahl was Al-Ma’mun’s minister and the master mind of his affairs. He was a Magus. He embraced Islam by means of Yahya ibn Khalid, and became one of his associates. It has been said that Sahl - the father of Al-Fadhl - embraced Islam by means of (the Abbasid) Al-Mahdi. The Barmakite Yahya ibn Khalid appointed Al-Fadhl to serve Al-Ma’mun. However, Al-Fadhl consolidated his position and prevailed over him, too. He carried out all the affairs according to his own opinion and was called Thul-Riasatayn meaningone with two positions being the prime minister and the head of the army. One day when Al-Ma’mun took over the Caliphate, Al-Fadhl asked one of his companions, “How does what I have done compare with what Abi Muslim did?” He replied, “Abi Muslim turned the Caliphate over from one tribe to another, while what you did was turning it over from one brother to another. You know best what the difference is.” Then Al-Fadhl ibn Sahl said, “I will turn it over from one tribe to another one, too.” He then advised Al-Ma’mun to establish Ali ibn Musa Ar-Ridha’ as the successor to the throne instead of his brother al-Mo’taman. Ali ibn Musa Ar-Ridha’ was brought to Khorasan by Raja ibn Abi ad-Dhahhaq in the year 200 A.H. (814 A.D.) by way of Basra and Fars. Al-Ma’mun’s daughter was married off to Ar-Ridha’ . When the news of this reached the Abbasids in Baghdad, it was harsh on them. Thus they pledged allegiance to Ibrahim ibn AL-Mahdi as the Caliph. De’bel ibn Khoza’ee said the following about him:O troops! Do not despairTake your gifts and do not danderSoon will he grant you a beautiful maidenWho has both pleased the beardless youth and the gray-hairedAnd the musical instruments of your pimpsThey will not throw them in a bag and tie it up somewhereThus he provides his companions with the means of subsistenceThe Caliph whose Book is the Barbat”This was because Ibrahim ibn Al-Mahdi was very much interested in playing the lute and was an alcoholic. When the news reached Al-Ma’mun, he realized that Al-Fadhl ibn Sahl had misguided him, and given him bad advice. Therefore, he left Marv heading towards Iraq with a plot to kill Al-Fadhl. He was killed by Qalib - Al-Ma’mun’s maternal uncle - in a bath in Sarakhs in the (Arabic) month of Sha’ban of the year 203 A.H. (818 A.D.). Then Al-Ma’mun plotted to kill Ali ibn Musa Ar-Ridha’ . Finally he poisoned him on an occasion when Ar-Ridha’ had become ill. Then Ar-Ridha’ died. Al-Ma’mun ordered that the Imam be buried in Sanabad next to the grave of Harun Al-Rashid. This happened in the (Arabic) month of Safar in the year 203 A.H. (818 A.D.)when he was 52 years old. Some people have said that this happened to the Imam at the age of 55. This is what Abu Ali Al-Husayn ibn Ahmad al-Salami has narrated in his book. However, what seems right to me is that Al-Ma’mun appointed him as the successor to the throne due to a covenant he had made with God as was mentioned before. However, Al-Fadhl ibn Sahl did not ever stop his animosity. He despised Ar-Ridha’ and did not like him to be the successor to the throne. This was because Al-Fadhl had been raised by the Barmakites. Ar-Ridha’ was forty-nine and a half years old when he died in the year 203 A.H. (818 A.D.) as I have documented in this book.