One of the worst Abbasid caliphs was Mutawakkil, who left no stone unturned in his attempt to harass and torment Imam Hadi (a.s.), the descendants of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.), the Shiites and the pilgrims of Imam Husain (a.s.).
The governor of Madinah, A’bdullah Ibn Muhammad, acting on Mutawakkil’s instructions, troubled Imam Hadi (a.s.) to such an extent that the Imam (a.s.) was compelled to write a letter of complaint to Mutawakkil.
Later on, Mutawakkil forced the Imam (a.s.) to move from Madinah to Saamarra. Here, he initiated a fresh wave of persecution and harassment, some instances of which follow:
One night, Mutawakkil called Sa’eed, his doorkeeper, and instructed him to climb into Imam’s house and snoop around with a view to finding wealth or weapons. If they were found, he should confiscate them.
On another occasion, relying on a false accusation, he ordered a group of Turks to rush into the Imam’s house, take possession of everything they could find and bring him to the court. When the Imam (a.s.) was brought to the court, Mutawakkil was busy consuming wine and (out of mockery) offered it to the holy Imam (a.s.) and said: “Recite poetry for me!”
On yet another occasion, he had the Imam (a.s.) brought before him and ordered four Khazar Jilfi slaves to attack him with swords, but the Imam (a.s.), utilizing the power of Imamate, miraculously repulsed this attack.
In the year 237 A.H., Mutawakkil ordered the grave of Imam Husain (a.s.) and the houses in its vicinity to be destroyed and wanted the area to be used for farming and cultivation.
He decreed that a hand or a leg of anyone who came for the pilgrimage of Imam Husain (a.s.) should be amputated.
U’mar Ibn Faraj, who was made the governor of Makkah and Madinah by Mutawakkil, was ordered to prevent the people from helping or showing kindness to the descendants of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.). The people, out of fear, refrained from assisting these descendants whose condition became so miserable and adverse that they did not even have proper garments to wear. This harassment and torture reached such a stage thatMuntasir, Mutawakkil’s son, out of love for Amirul Mu’mineen (a.s.) was eventually promptedto murder his own father.( Muntahal Aa’maal, vol. 2, pgs. 378 – 384.)