Summons to Samarra
Al-Mutawakkil, who was known for hostility to Alid and Mu’tazilite positions, summoned Ali al-Hadi from Medina to the garrison city of Samarra around 848 CE. The move was not imprisonment in the formal sense — he was given a house — but he was under constant surveillance, unable to travel, and monitored by Abbasid intelligence.
He lived in Samarra for approximately twenty years, until his death in 868 CE. During this period he transmitted legal opinions and spiritual guidance through his wakils (agents) scattered across the Muslim world.
The Wikala System
The wikala (agency) system — a network of trusted representatives who collected religious dues, transmitted questions, and carried the Imam’s responses — was significantly developed under Ali al-Hadi and his son Hasan al-Askari. This administrative infrastructure allowed the Imam’s religious authority to function even under house arrest and later became crucial during the occultation.
The wikala represented an institutionalization of the Imam-community relationship: rather than direct access to the Imam, followers learned to work through designated channels — a shift that prepared the community for the eventual total inaccessibility of the Imam.
His Death
Ali al-Hadi died in Samarra in 868 CE, reportedly poisoned. He is buried in Samarra, alongside his son Hasan al-Askari — the twin shrines (Askariyyan) that became one of the most important Shia pilgrimage sites in Iraq, subsequently destroyed and rebuilt multiple times.
See also: Ahl Al Bayt, Seerah Muhammad Jawad, Seerah Hasan Askari, Quran Sciences, Tafsir Overview, Fitna Islamiyya