Rafed English
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The Imam (A.S.) foiled his attempt to achieve his goal in either possibility, and Imam al-Rida's assertion to al-Mamoon that al-Fadl was quite serious about his offer is a strong reason added to the other reasons which caused al-Mamoon to eliminate al-Fadl at a later time. Having absorbed all the above, we can be easily satisfied that the regency concept was due to al-Mamoon's conviction of the persisting need for it in order to achieve some political gains the government was concerned about achieving.

We can also be satisfied that the publicity al-Fadl ibn Sahl awarded that arrangement cannot be proven even when many historians insist it could, for attributing Shi'aism to him was due to the rumours which said that al-Fadl was the one who offered al-Mamoon the most encouragement to name al-Rida (A.S.) as his successor, but we opt for the opposite due to the lack of evidence after having analyzed all situations as stated above.

Adapted from: "Imam al-Ridha (a.s.), A Historical and Biographical Research" by: "Muhammad Jawad Fadlallah"