40-3 Al-Husayn ibn Ibrahim ibn Tatana - may God be pleased with him - narrated that Ali ibn Ibrahim ibn Hashem quoted on the authority of his father Ibrahim ibn Hashem, on the authority of Abi Salt al-Harawi, “Indeed Al-Ma’mun told Ar-Ridha’ , ‘O son of the Prophet of God! I recognized your knowledge, nobility, abstinence, piety and servitude. I have realized that you deserve to be the Caliph more than I do.’ Then Ar-Ridha’ told him, ‘I am proud of servitude to God the Honorable the Exalted. I seek protection against the evils of this world through abstinence. I hope to attain prosperity and Divine Profit by practicing piety regarding the forbidden things. I hope to attain a high rank before God the Honorable the Exalted by being humble in this world.’ Al-Ma’mun told him, ‘I am planning to dismiss myself from the post of the Caliphate and assign you to that post and pledge allegiance to you.’ Then Ar-Ridha’ told him, ‘If this Caliphate is yours, then God has established it for you and it is not proper for you to relieve yourself of it and place someone else in that position. But if it is not yours, you are not authorized to give what is not yours to me.’Al-Ma’mun told him, ‘O son of the Prophet! You are forced to accept this order.’ Ar-Ridha’ said, ‘I will never accept this willingly.’ Al-Ma’mun kept insisting on this issue day after day until he lost all hope. Then he said, ‘Now that you do not accept the Caliphate and do not let me pledge allegiance to you as the Caliph, you must accept the succession to the throne (to be the caliph after me).’ Then Ar-Ridha’ told him, ‘I swear by God that my father narrated that his forefathers quoted on the authority of the Commander of the Faithful , on the authority of God’s Prophet (S) that I will leave this world before you by being oppressively poisoned. The angels of the heavens and the Earth will cry for me. I will be buried in the land of loneliness next to Harun Al-Rashid.’ Then Al-Ma’mun cried. Then he asked, ‘O son of the Prophet of God! Who will kill you? Who will be able to or dare do such a thing to you for as long as I live?’ Then Ar-Ridha’ said, ‘I will only introduce my murderer if I please.’ Al-Ma’mun said, ‘O son of the Prophet of God! Do you want to relieve yourself from accepting the succession to the throne with these words, so that the people say to themselves how greatly you abstain from the world?’ Ar-Ridha’ said, ‘By God, I have never lied from the day God the Honorable the Exalted created me. I have not abstained from the world to attain this world. I know very well what it is that you are after.’ Al-Ma’mun asked, ‘What am I after?’ Ar-Ridha’ replied, ‘Will you grant immunity for an honest answer?’ Al-Ma’mun said, ‘You are immune.’ Ar-Ridha’ said, ‘You wish for the people to say: Ali ibn Musa (ar-Ridha’) has not abstained from the world. Rather it is the world that has abstained from him. Don’t you see how he accepted the succession to the throne in greed for the post of Caliphate?’ Then Al-Ma’mun became angry and said, ‘You constantly treat me in the way that I do not like, as if you are immune from my power. I swear by God that you must accept the succession to the throne yourself, or else I will force you to do so. If you accept it yourself it is fine. However, if you do not, I will chop off your head.’ Then Ar-Ridha’ said, ‘Indeed God the Highest has admonished me against getting myself killed. If the situation is as you say, then do as you please. I will accept it under the condition that I do not interfere in dismissals or appointments, nor change any practices or traditions. I will just be a distant advisor.’ Al-Ma’mun accepted these conditions and established Ar-Ridha’ as the successor to the throne, even though the Imam disliked it.