Imam Ali un-Naqi (A.S.) known as Hazrat Hadi was born in the mid of ZilHajj, 212 Hijrah in the vicinity of Madina, at a place known as Surya.
His father is Imam Jawad (A.S.) his mother Samana was with excellence, virtue and piety. Imam (A.S.) got the Imamate after the martyrdom of his father in the year 220 Hijrah. Although he was not more than 8 years of age, yet he was the focus of the attention of Shias and the Abbasade caliphs were extremely scared and afraid of him. They set their hand to his exile and torture. Such as “Mutawakkil” brought Imam (A.S.) from Madina to Samarra and he stayed then till the end of his life.
The continuation of combat and opposition of Imams (A.S.) to the tyrants and the brutal rulers is one of the pride and passions of the history of Islam and Shiite school. They, by their un-comprising attitude toward tyranny and siding with the poor and desperate flared up the anger of the tyrants and cruel to the extent that they deprived them off their sleep and comfort.
Although Imam’s (A.S.) period of life was coincident with seven of the Abbasade Caliphs, yet the hardest and toughest period of his life as that of the caliphate of “Mutawakkil” because he was a fame fan, wicked and faithless person. If he posed to be religious that was only in view of promoting his political causes.
Following the terrible crime of martyring the Imam (A.S.) Mutawakkil never had peace of mind and remained continuously sad and gloomy till the Turks killed him.
Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) turned his back on all pleasures of this worldly life and lived absolutely an ascetic life. He kept to worship, piety, and asceticism. He paid no attention to worldly pleasures and preferred the obedience of Allah to everything else. His house in Yathrib and his house in Surra Man Ra’a had no furniture. Once, the policemen of al-Mutawakkil broke into his house and searched it but found nothing of worldly furniture. They also searched his House in Surra Man Ra’a and found him wearing a wool garment and sitting on sand and pebbles. Nothing was between him and the ground.
As-Sibt bin al-Jawzi said, ‘‘Ali al-Hadi had no interest in this worldly life. He kept to the mosque. When they searched his house, they did not find in it save copies of the Holy Qur'an, books of du’a, and scientific books.’
He lived in the light of the noble life his fathers had lived; in asceticism and turning away from the material pleasures of this life except that which concerned the truth. His grandfather Amir’ul- Mu’minin (a.s.) was one of the most ascetic men in this life. During his rule as the caliph of Muslims his shoes were from the fibers of palm tree and he himself mended them with his hands.
Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) was free of every material tendency. He was free from any kind of selfishness and he did not submit to any pleasure or fancy. Historians say that he worked in his farm to secure the living of his family. ‘Ali bin Hamza said, “Once, I saw Abul Hasan the third (Imam al-Hadi) work in a farm while his feet were soaked with sweat. I said to him, ‘May I die for you! Where are the men?’
He said, ‘O ‘Ali, one, who was better than me and my father, worked with a spade in his farm.’
I said, ‘Who was he?’
He said, ‘The messenger of Allah (SwT), Amir’ul- Mu’minin, and all my fathers worked with their hands. It was the work of prophets, apostles, and good saints…”
Work was the sign of prophets. Every prophet worked in some field. We have quoted this holy tradition in our book “Work and the rights of workers in Islam” to prove the importance and honor of work and that it was from the conducts of the holy prophets.