In this year, the caliph Hādī sought to remove his brother Hārūn al-Rashīd from the position of heir apparent (walī al-ʿahd) and appoint his own son Jaʿfar in his place. Hārūn submitted to this and did not object. Hādī summoned some of the commanders and disclosed his intention to them; they found it agreeable. However, the mother of Hārūn and Hādī, Khayzurān, opposed this. She was more inclined toward her son Hārūn than Hādī. Hādī, for his part, was displeased with his mother’s previous intervention in governance and the administration of state affairs through her, and so he curtailed her authority. He said, “If any commander or officer goes to my mother’s door, I will have him beheaded and will accept no intercession for him.” Thereupon, Khayzurān refrained from speaking further on the matter and swore never to speak again with her son Hādī. She left his house and moved to another residence.
After these events, Hādī persisted in urging his brother Hārūn to renounce his claim to the succession. He sent for Yaḥyā b. Khālid b. Barmak, one of the great commanders and a supporter of Hārūn, and summoned him to his presence. He asked him: “What do you say about removing Hārūn from the succession and appointing my son Jaʿfar in his place?” Khālid replied: “If you do so, I fear that people will cease to respect their covenants. But in my view, the best course is to appoint Jaʿfar as heir apparent after Hārūn. Moreover, I fear that most people will not pledge allegiance to Jaʿfar as heir apparent, for he has not yet reached maturity. If you proceed thus, matters will become difficult, discord will increase, and people will become divided.”
Upon hearing this answer from Yaḥyā, Hādī lowered his head and remained silent for a long time. It was night. Then he ordered that Yaḥyā be imprisoned, but later released him.
One day, his brother Hārūn al-Rashīd came into Hādī’s presence. Hādī was seated, and Hārūn sat to his right, a little distance away. Hādī looked at him for a long time and then said:
– O Hārūn! Do you truly desire to be the heir apparent?
– Yes, by Allah, I do desire it. If I become the heir apparent and then succeed to the caliphate, I will win the hearts of those whom you have alienated. I will act justly toward those whom you have wronged. I will marry your daughters to my sons.
– Indeed, this is what I expect from you.
After Hādī said this, Hārūn rose to kiss his hand, but Hādī swore an oath that he should sit beside him on the throne. Hārūn sat with him on the throne. Then Hādī ordered that one million dinars be given to him, and that he be allowed to enter the treasury and take whatever he wished. He commanded that, when the revenue arrived, half of it should be given to Hārūn. He fulfilled all these promises and was pleased with Hārūn al-Rashīd.
After this reconciliation, Hādī went to Ḥadīthatu’l-Musul. Upon his return, in the middle of the month of Rabīʿ al-Awwal of this year, on a Friday night, he died at Isābād. According to another narration, he died at the end of this year. At the time of his death, he was twenty-three years old. His caliphate lasted six months and twenty-three days. He was tall, fair-skinned, and handsome. His upper lip was somewhat raised and short.
On the night of his death, one caliph died, another caliph (Hārūn al-Rashīd) ascended the throne, and yet another caliph (al-Maʾmūn) was born. The mother of Hādī and Hārūn, Khayzurān, said in the early hours of that night: “According to a report I have received, on this night a caliph will be born, another caliph will die, and another caliph will ascend the throne.”
It is related that Khayzurān heard this report from al-Awzāʿī some time before Hādī’s death and kept it as a secret.
Al-Awzāʿī said: “Khayzurān poisoned her son Hādī because she feared he would harm her other son, Hārūn al-Rashīd. For when Hādī was caliph, he had removed his mother from the head of state affairs, taken her favorite, Khalīsa, into his own circle and honored her. Allah knows best the truth.”