Imam Reza's (AS) Scientific Contributions in Merv

The Imam’s stay in Merv was the golden period of his Imamat, as he had an exceptional opportunity to spread his knowledge, as well as Shia theology. The Imam’s role as Crown Prince had officially made him the second top person in the government. After around 160 years from the time of Imam Ali and Imam Hasan, who had both been able to publicly speak as Muslim caliphs, only Imam Reza from the Shia Imams spoke from a governmental position. Many of the Imam’s speeches, his responses to the questions, and his debates with the scholars had been witnessed by the people and are recorded in history. These records are currently regarded as precious resources in the Islamic seminaries. Many of these records are available in the book named ‘Oyoun Akhbar al-Reza’.
There were multiple documents written by Imam Reza during his stay at Merv, and they are still available today. For example, ‘Javaame’ al-Shariah’ was written by the Imam in response to Ma’mun asking him for an abstract about pure Islam. In this document, with no fear of Ma’mun, the Imam explicitly reviewed the main principles of the Islamic faith, including the Shia belief of the Imamat. The Imam’s response also contained the answer to tens of questions regarding various aspects of the Islamic law. In a letter, the Imam also responded to questions asked by Muhammad ibn Sinan, one of his companions, about the logical reasoning behind various Islamic laws including the ritual bath (ghusl), ablution, zakat, Hajj, fasting, trading laws, and halal meat.
Another document that is attributed to the Imam is ‘Al-Risalah al-Dhahabiah’ or ‘The Golden Treatise’” in medicine. The Imam wrote this Risalah in response to Ma’mun asking the Imam to document his recommendations in medicine. When Ma’mun received the Imam’s Risalah, he became delighted and ordered for it to be written in golden ink.