Imam Ali an-Naqi was born in 827 (?) in Medina during the reign of Abbasid Caliph Mu’tasim. He was very young when his father Imam at-Taqi died. His mother Samaana, who was well known for her piety, brought him up in Medina. He lived a quite life in Medina up until year 847. That year Mutawakkil rose to power and things started to change for the Imam.

The new Caliph summoned Imam an-Naqi to Samarra, which was the capital at the time. Though he was received as a “guest” of the caliph and was given a house to live, he was virtually under “House Arrest”. Imam an-Naqi lived his remaining life in Samarra under the constant supervision of the caliph’s spies. Mutawakkil died in 861 and the Imam left this world in the year 868 during the reign of Caliph Mu’tazz. By that time the Abbasid Caliphs were reduced to ceremonial monarchs as the real power shifted to the Seljuk.

Imam Ali an-Naqi and his son Imam Hasan Askari are buried in the twin shrines known as Askarayn in Samarra, Iraq.

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