Little is written about Shi'a Imams in English, especially the Imams after al-Sadiq (a) with the exception of the Twelfth Imam, al-Mahdi. This short work sheds some light on the early life of Imam Ali ibn Muhammad al-Hadi from his birth to his appointment and to his displacement to Samarra. It explores some less known aspects of the historical context of his life and especially tries to shed some new light on the topic of Inquisition (al-Mihnah).