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PUBLISHER’S PREFACE
Some years ago, while I was paying a visitation to the
Holy Shrine of the eighth Imām, my master, ‘Ali b. Mūsā al-Ridā, peace be on
him, I asked myself: “Is it possible for me to find favor with my Imāms, the
guides and rightly-guided ones who have said in their traditions: ‘May Allah
have mercy on him who enlivens our affairs,’?” So it came to my mind that I
had to find a book on the life of the eighth Imām in order to translate it
into English. After I had asked the advice of some professors, I chose the
book entitled the Life of Imām al-Ridā by Shaykh Bāqir Sharif al-Qarashi. Then
I gave the book to Mr. Jāsim al-Rasheed in order to translate it into English,
and he agreed to this suggestion; I thank him, and praise belongs to Allah.
After an arduous effort and diligent striving, this great
book has been translated into English, that it may be an important reference
before those who desire to study and to inquire into the lives of the Imāms of
the ahl al-Bayt, peace be on them. We ask Allah, the Great and
Almighty, to help us enliven more works about the ahl al-Bayt, peace be
on them, and on Tashayyu‘; surely He is powerful over
everything.
