Imam al-Hadi (peace be upon him), the tenth Imam of the Shia, lived during the Abbasid caliphate under constant pressure and surveillance by the ruling authorities. He spent most of his life in the city of Samarra, where he was forced to reside by the Abbasid caliphs.

Eventually, Imam al-Hadi (PBUH) was martyred on the 3rd of Rajab in the year 254 AH, by poisoning on the order of al-Mu‘tazz al-‘Abbasi. His blessed body was buried in his own house in Samarra, the same place where the holy shrine of Imam al-Hadi and Imam Hasan al-Askari (peace be upon them) stands today.

His martyrdom is a symbol of the oppression faced by the Ahl al-Bayt and their steadfast resistance against injustice and deviation.