[17] Isa Mu'tam al-Ashbal, along with Muhammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya and his brother Ibrahim, took part in the anti-Abbasid uprisings and it was from this period that he was persecuted.
[23][24][25] According to Ya'qubi, Harun al-Rashid imprisoned Ahmad in Rafaqa (a palace in Raqqa Governorate) in 804 AD (188 AH).
[29][30][31] However, Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani mentioned a narration that indicates the connection between Ahmad and Hazer in Basra and the surrounding areas of Ahvaz.
[32] Al-Dhahabi[33] quoted Al-Mada'ini as saying that Harun al-Rashid was informed in 801 AD (185 AH) that Ahmad began an uprising in Ibadan.
He narrated that in 801 AD (185 AH), Harun al-Rashid ordered the arrest of Ahmad, who was launching an uprising against the caliph in Ibadan, and at that time Ahmad was active in Basra and the surrounding areas of Ahvaz along with the son of Idris ibn Abd Allah al-Mahad.
Harun al-Rashid's envoy, named Abu al-Saj, cunningly captured Ahmad and Idris' son, but the two fled and hid in Basra,[35][36][37][38] after which they went to Kufa.
At this time, Ahmad explained that he had been living secretly for many years in the area of Varzanin in the Ray County, changing his name to 'Abu Hafas Jassaas' and marrying a woman.
Ahmad's son, Muhammad, also married a woman from Banu Abd al-Qays tribe there and had a child named Ali.
Based on these, it can be said that Ahmad spent a long time in Ray and other areas during the years when he was thought to be hiding in Basra.
[51][52][53] In the book Tarājim al-Rijāl (تراجم الرجال المذكورة فی شرح الازهار) by Jandari, quoted from Zaydi sources, it is written that Ahmad performed Hajj pilgrimage 30 times on foot.
[13][54] The hadiths that transferred by Ahmad, have been narrated by Al-Hadi ila'l-Haqq Yahya in the books "Al-Nikah" (النکاح) and "Al-Amali" (الامالی), as well as by the five elders of Zaydiyyah, namely Muhammad ibn Mansur al-Muradi,[10] Abu al-Hasan Haruni, Abu Talib Haruni, Al-Muwaffaq Billah Jorjani and his son Murshid Billah[57] in their writings.
[58] He believed that Imamate is also permissible for non-descendants of Ali ibn Abi Talib, provided they have justice.
This book, which was called "Amaali Ahmad ibn Isa wa Ulume Aal Muhammad" (امالی احمد بن عیسی و علوم آل محمد(ص), The prospects of Ahmad ibn Isa and the sciences of the family of Muhammad), was also called "Badae'e al-Anwar fi Mahaasin al-Aathaar" (بدائع الانوار فی محاسن الآثار), by the famous Zaydi Imam, Al-Mansur Abdallah.
In the contemporary period, Badreddin al-Houthi, one of the prominent scholars of Zaidiyyah and the spiritual leader of Houthi movement, wrote a commentary on this book entitled "Sharh Amaali al-Imam Ahmad ibn Isa" (ﺷﺮﺡ اﻣﺎلی ﺍلإﻣﺎﻡ اﺣﻤﺪ ﺑﻦ ﻋﻴﺴﻰ, Description of the prospects of Ahmad ibn Isa).