Ali ibn Mahziar al-Ahvazi (Persian: علی ابن مهزیار اهوازی) was an early and prominent Shia religious judicial scholar, narrator and scholar. Mahziar was a ninth-century scholar and companion of Ali al-Rida (Reza), Muhammad al-Jawad, Ali al-Hadi, and Hasan al-Askari, the eighth, ninth, tenth, and eleventh of the Twelve Imams. Also, he was their agent in some areas particularly Ahvaz. Mahziar learned Islamic jurisprudence from these Shia Imams. Shia scholars accepted his religious narrates about the Fourteen Infallibles with complete confidence. Al-Ahvazi is noted for his writings, including a Kitab al-malahim [Book of Prophecies], as well as a Kitab al-qa'im.^[1][2][3]

Mahziar was born in Hendijan but owing to the fact that Hendijan was Doraq (today known as Shadegan) city suburban he was known as Doraq resident. His father was Christian, but in his youth along with his father converted to Islam. Later he stayed in Ahvaz.^[1]

The time of his death is unknown, but presumably he died during Hasan al-Askari'a era. There is holy shrine of Ali ibn Mahziar in Ahvaz.^[1][4]

Ali al-Ridha, the eighth Shia Imam, entered Ahvaz on his way to Khorasan and stayed in the city, since Al-Ma'mun, Abbasid caliph, commanded to transfer Ali al-Ridha to Khorasan from Medina. A few days later, on Ali al-Ridha's accommodation, a mosque named Masjed Al-Redha was built which Ali ibn Mahziar's body buried in it according to his will. There is a salon, in the western part next-door to the grave. It's supposed to be the mosque that mentioned before.^[1][5]

Ali ibn Mahziar Ahvazi was the agent of al-Jawad and later al-Hadi in Ahwaz.^[6][7] The two sons of Ali ibn Mahziar, named Ibrahim and Muhammad, later served in Ahwaz as the representatives of Muhammad al-Mahdi.^[8] Bihar describes a visit to al-Hadi by Ali and his brother Ibrahim in 228 AH (842-3), which signals that the Imam had finally emerged by this time from his isolation under hostile Abbasid caretakers.^[9] Ali and his brother likely continued to represent al-Hadi afterward because Ibrahim's son Muhammad reported the instructions of his father on his deathbed to deliver some money to Hafs ibn Amr, another representative in Baghdad.^[10]

He wrote two books, namely, Kitab al-Malahim and Kitab al-Qa'im, both about occultation,^[6] which is the Twelver belief that al-Askari has a son Muhammad al-Mahdi, who has been miraculously concealed from the public since 874 and would return as the eschatological Mahdi at the end of time.^[11]

Other works of Ali ibn Mahziar Ahvazi's are as follows: "Ablution", "Salah", "Zakat", "Fasting", "Hajj", "Divorce", "Virtues", "Examples", "Prayer", "Luxury and Marwah", "Shrine", "Rejection "On the grain", "wills", "inheritance", "khums", "martyrdom", "virtues of the believers", "taqiyyah", "hunting", "drinking", "vow of faith" and "atonement", "limits", " Diyat "," Ataq and Tadbir "," Trades and Rents "," Makaseb "," Tafsir ".^[12]

Among the teachers of Ali Ibn Mahziar Ahvazi:

Muhammad ibn Abi Umayr, Ahmad ibn Ishaq Abhari, Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Nasr, Hassan ibn Ali ibn Fadhal, Hamad ibn Isa, Safwan ibn Yahya, Hassan ibn Mahbub, Hussein ibn Saeed Ahwazi, Abdullah ibn Yahya, Muhammad ibn Hassan Qomi, Muhammad Ibn Ismail Ibn Bazi, Musa Ibn Qasim, ...^[13]

The letter of the 9th Imam of the Shia Islam (Muhammad ibn Ali al-Jawad (Arabic: محمد بن علي الجواد), about Ali bin Mahziyar Ahwazi:

"O Ali, may God reward you well and make you dwell in his paradise, and protect you from humiliation in this world and the hereafter, and may he gather you with us... If I say that I have not seen anyone like you, I hope that I have spoken the truth "^[14]