The Tenth Holy Imam, like his father, was also elevated to the rank of Imam in his childhood. He was six years old when his father Imam Muhammad al-Jawad died. After the death of al-Ma'mun' al-Mu`tasim succeeded him, and was later followed by the caliph al-Wathiq. In the first five years of the reign of al-Wathiq, Imam ` Ali al-Hadi (an - Naqi) lived peacefully. After al-Wathiq, al-Mutawakkil came to power. Being too occupied in state affairs' al-Mutawakkil did not get any time to harass the Imam and his followers for four years. But as soon as he freed himself from state affairs' he started to molest the Imam. The Holy Imam devoted himself to the sacred mission of preaching in Medina and did thus earn the faith of the people as well as their allegiance and recognition of his great knowledge and attributes. This reputation of the Imam evoked the jealousy and malice of al-Mutawakkil against him.

The governor of Medina wrote to al-Mutawakkil that Imam `Ali al-Hadi had been maneuvering a coup against the government and a multitude of shi'ites were pledged to his support. although enraged by this news al-Mutawkkil still preferred the diplomacy of not arresting the Holy Imam" Under the garb of pretended respect and love towards the Imam, he planned to put him under life imprisonment after inviting him to his palace. prior to his imprisonment, in a series of correspondence with the Imam , he expressed the view that he was convinced of all the claims of the Imam and was ready to settle them amicably. He wrote to the Imam that having been acquainted with his great personality, his matchless knowledge and his peerless attributes, he was impatiently looking forward to the honour of seeing him, and he most cordially invited him to Samarra'.

Although the Imam was well aware of al-Mutawakkil's treacherous intentions, he anticipating the fatal consequences of refusing the offer, reluctantly decided to leave Medina. But when the Imam arrived at Samarra'' and al-Mutawakkil was informed about it, he took no notice of the Imam's arrival. when asked about where the Imam should stay, he ordered that the Imam should be put up in the inn meant for beggars, destitutes and homeless people. al-Mutawakkil who was a deadly enemy of the Ahlu'l-Bayt, removed the Imam from this inn and entrusted him to the custody of a stone-hearted brute named zurafah. But , by the grace of Allah, his enmity was, in a short time, transformaed into love and devotion for the Imam. when al-Mutawakkil learnt about it, he shifted the Imam into the custody of another cruel man called Sa`id. The Imam remained under his strict vigilance for a number of years, during which he was subjected to boundless tortures. But even in this miserable imprisonment, the Imam kept devoting himself at all times to the worship of Allah, The watchman of the prison used to comment that Imam` Ali al-Hadi seemed to be an angel in human grab. When Fath ibn Khaqan become the vizier of al-Mutawakkil, he being a shi`ah could not stand the idea of the Imam's captivity. He endeavourd to have him released from imprisonment and arranged for his comfortable residence in a personally purchased house at Samarra'. Still al-Mutawakkil could hardly refrain from his antagonism to the Imam and he appointed spies to watch the Imam and his connections. but , through all these attempts, his hope of creating some fabrication to prove the Imam's activity against himself could not be realized. In the time of al-Mutawakkil there was a woman named Zaynab who claimed to be a descendant of Imam Husayn al-Mutawakkil sought the confirmation of Zaynab's claim from the Imam and said: " That as the beasts are prohibited to eat the flash of the descendants of Imam Husayn he would throw Zaynab to the beasts and test her claim." On hearing this , Zaynab began to tremble and confessed that she was a fake. al-Mutawakkil then ordered the Imam to be thrown to the beasts to test the claim. To his great surprise, he witnessed the beasts prostrating their heads before the Imam. once al-Mutawakkil happened to suffer from a serious malady which was eventually declared incurable by his physician, When the Imam was approached for some a spontaneous cure.

Once al-Mutawakkil was informed that the Imam was preparing a revolt against him. Thereupon, he ordered a detachment of the army to launch a raid on the Imam's residence . When the soldiers entered his house, they found him sitting on a mat, reciting the Holy Qur'an. Not only al-Mutawakkil, but his successors' opposition to the Imam was fierce. After the death of al-Mutawakkil, al-Mustansir, al-musta`in and al-Mu`tazz carried on the some mission of harassment against the family of the Imam. al-Mu`tazz, understanding the uncontrollable and intense devotion of the people towards the Imam, eventually contrived the Imam's assassination. He got him poisoned through an ambassador which resulted in the Imam's death within a few hours .

The martyrdom occurred on 26th Jumada' th -thaniyah 254 AH, and his funeral prayer was conducted by his son, Imam Hasan al-` Askari. The Imam was only forty - two years old at the time of death . the period of his Imamate was thirty- five years. He was buried in Samarra`, Iraq.

Al-Imam al-Hadi, peace be Upon him, said to al-Mutawakkil,the `Abbasid caliph:

Do not expect honesty and purity of intention from someone who has suffered from your malice; do not expect loyalty from one to whom you have been disloyal do not expect goodwill from someone whom you regard with ill-will : his heart towards you is the some as your heart towards him.

Imam Ali al-Hadi (as) assumed the official role of Imamate at a very young age of 7 or 8 years. At that tender age, he (as) had become a point of reference for the Muslims. People would refer to him and seek his guidance in almost everything pertaining to their lives. When the enemies of Ahlul-Bayt (as) saw this, they were displeased with the situation. So, in conjunction with the government of the time, which was in opposition of Ahlul-Bayt (as), they began looking for a person who was the most knowledgeable of the time yet a sworn enemy of Ahlul-Bayt (as) so that Imam al-Hadi (as) is put under his care for training and the Muslims, particularly the Shia’hs do not get any access to him.

Finally, ‘Ubaydullah Junaydi, a prominent scholar from ‘Iraq and a sworn enemy of Ahlul-Bayt (as) was appointed for the task. ‘Ubaydullah took our Imam (as) into his care and did not allow any Shia’h to visit him. This way, the guidance of Imam al-Hadi (as) was suspended for his Shia’hs.

One day a person came to ‘Ubaydullah Junaydi and asked him, “How is the Hashimite servant doing?” Junaydi, a sworn enemy of Ahlul-Bayt (as) became extremely furious with the man and said to him, “Do not call him a Hashimite servant for he is not a servant but a leader of Banu Hashim. By Allah! Despite his young age, he is more knowledgeable than I am. People think that I am disciplining him but the truth is that he is disciplining me. I swear by Allah! He is not only the Hafidh of Quran but also possesses its knowledge. To be precise, he is the best of all on the face of this earth”.

                                                                         (Al-Dam’ah al-Saakibah)

The people of Madayin wrote to Imam Ali ibn Muhammad al-Hadi (as) inquiring from him about the period of Mutawakkil’s rule. Imam (as) responded through the following verse of the Holy Quran: “You will sow for seven consecutive years. The leave in the ear whatever (grain) you harvest, except a little you eat. Then after that there will come seven hard years which will eat up whatever you have set aside for them – all except a little which you preserve (for seed). Then after that will come a year wherein the people will be granted relief and provided with rains therein”. (12:47-49) Therefore, Mutawakkil was killed in 115 AH.

                                                                                         (Quran-o-‘Itrat)

Once Mutawakkil, the Abbasi ruler was poisoned, so he kept a vow that: “Should I recover, I will give MAALUL-KATHEER in the cause of Allah (SWT).” MAALUL-KATHEER in Arabic means ‘plenty of money’. Mutawakkil vowed to give plenty of money but he did not specify the amount. Eventually, when he recovered, Mutawakkil invited some scholars to his court; mentioned to them about his vow sought their guidance on the amount that could be considered by Islam as MAALUL-KATHEER. He got different answers from them. One scholar said, “It is 1000 dirhams.” The other said, “It is 10,000 dirhams.” The third scholar said, “It should be 100,000 dirhams.”

Mutawakkil was in a dilemma and did not know whom to follow. In the end, one of the courtiers said,  “O Mutawakkil! If you allow me, I will get you a correct answer for your question.” Mutawakkil looked at him with surprise but he saw his courtier appeared quite confident of himself. After thinking for a while, he said, “Alright then! Go and fetch me a correct answer. If you satisfy me, I will gift you 10,000 dirhams otherwise I shall have you whipped.”

The man left the court of Mutawakkil and arrived at the doorstep of the Ulil-Amr of his time, who was no other than Imam Ali ibn Muhammad al-Hadi (as). At that time, our Imam (as) was under surveillance. As soon as he saw this man, the Imam (as) said to him: “You have come to ask me about MAALUL-KATHEER. Go and tell Mutawakkil that it amounts to (only) 80 dirhams.” When Mutawakkil heard this, he was not convinced. He therefore asked for a proof from the Holy Quran. Imam (as) told the man: “(Tell Mutawakkil) that Allah (SWT) tells His prophet in the Holy Quran: “Allah has certainly rendered you victory in many situations”. (9:24)

When we counted those situations, they were 80 in number. This, therefore, shows that the meaning of KATHEER is 80!” Mutawakkil was so pleased with this reply that he rewarded the person with 10,000 dirhams as promised. (Ahsanul-Muqaal)

There was a great Shia’h Scholar in the days of our 10th Imam (as). Once a Nasibi (a person who curses the Ahlul-Bayt) had a debate with this scholar and the scholar defeated him through Quranic verses and Prophetic traditions.

One day this scholar came into a gathering, which consisted mostly of Alavids and people of Banu Hashim; and Imam al-Hadi (as) was also present. In the centre of that gathering, Imam (as) was seated and there was a huge pillow placed at that spot. As soon as the Imam (as) saw this scholar, he (as) rose from his place and asked the scholar to come forward until the Imam (as) made him sit next to him and offered him the pillow to relax.

One old man from Banu Hashim did not like this, so he complained saying, “O Son of the Prophet! How can you give preference to an ordinary person over a Sayyid who belongs to the progeny of Abu Talib and Abbas?”

When the Imam (as) heard this, he (as) was extremely furious with the old man and started quoting verses from the Holy Quran to prove the supremacy of a scholar over everyone else.

Imam (as) asked the people present there: “Do you believe the commands of Allah in the Quran?”

They all said, “Yes!”

Then the Imam (as) said, “Hasn’t Allah (SWT) said: ‘Allah will raise those who have faith and those who have been given knowledge in rank…’? (58:11) Then know that just as Allah loves a Mumin over a non-Mumin, similarly, He loves a Mumin with knowledge over a Mumin without knowledge. (Now tell me) Hasn’t Allah (SWT) also said, ‘Say (O Muhammad): Can those who know and those who do not know be equal? Verily only the men of understanding take the heed’.? (39:9) Then why are you people trying to stop me from giving preference to one who has been preferred by Allah (SWT)?? This Scholar has utilized his knowledge, which Allah (SWT) has blessed him and defeated our enemy with it. This act is better than any family ties and relation in my eyes”.