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THE
Holy Imam Muhammad al - Baqir is the Fifth Apostolic Imam . His
epithet
was Abu
Ja`far and he was populary titled " al - Baqir " . His mother was
the daughter of Imam Hasan . Thus , he was the only Imam who was
connected with Hadrat Fatimatu 'z - Zahra' , both from his paternal
and maternal sides .Imam Muhammad al - Baqir was brought up in the
holy lap of his grandfather Imam Husayn , for three years . For
thirty - four years he was under the gracious patronage of his
father , `Ali Zaynu 'l - `Abidin .
The Holy Imam was present in Karbala' at the time of the gruesome
tragedy of the wholesale massacre of his grandfather Imam Husayn and
his companions . He also suffered with his father and the ladies of
the House of the Prophet ( Ahlu 'l - bayt ) the heartless captivity
and imprisonment at the hands of the devilish forces at the command
of Yazid ibn Mu`awiyah . After the tragedy of Karbala' , the Imam
passed his time peacefully in Medina praying to Allah and guiding
the people to the right path .The downfall of the Umayyads had begun
since Yazid , the son of Mu`awiyah , had slaughtered Imam Husayn .
Yazid himself had completely realized the evil consequences of his
deeds even during the short period of his rule . His son Mu`awiyah ,
the second , refused to accept the caliphate saying : cannot favour
such a throne which has been erected on the basis of oppression and
tyranny .
Ibn Hajar al - Haytami , a famous scholar belonging to the Sunnite
School says : " Imam Muhammad al - Baqir has disclosed the secrets
of knowledge and wisdom and usfolded the principles of spiritual and
religious guidance .
Nobody can deny his exalted character , his God - given knowledge ,
his divinely - gifted wisdom and his obligation and gratitude
towards spreading of knowledge . He was a sacred and highly talented
spiritual leader and and for this reason he was popularly titled `al
- Baqir' which means 'the exponder of knowledge' . Kind of heart ,
spotless in character , sacred by soul and noble by nature , the
Imam devoted all his time in submission to Allah ( and in advocating
the teachings of the Holy Prophet and his descendants ) . It is
beyond the power of a man to count the deep impression of knowledge
and guidance left by the Imam on the hearts of the faithful .
His sayings in devotion and abstinence , in knowledge and wisdom ,
and in religious exercise and submission to Allah are so great in
number that the volume of this book is quite insufficient to cover
them all . " ( as -Sawai`qu 'l - muhriqah , p . 120 )The Holy Imam
managed to collect the teachings and reforms of the Holy Prophet and
his Ahlu 'l - bayt in the form of books . His pupils compiled
books on different branches of science and arts under his
instructions and guidance .
In the excellence of his personal purity and godly traits , the Holy
Imam Muhammad al - Baqir was a model of the Holy Prophet and his
great grandfather , Ali ibn Abi Talib . His admonitions created a
spiritual sensation among the Muslims in general . He was not only
hospitable even to his worst enemies but also used to continually
exhort them to the right path .He urged people to earn their
livelihood by their own hard work .The Holy Imam gave much
importance to convening majalis ( meetings ) in commemoration of the
martyrdom of Imam Husayn.Kumayt ibn Zayd al - Asadi ,one of the most
famous and highly talented poets of that time , used to recite the
elegy of Imam Husayn in those majalis . Such type of majalis were
also greatly encouraged by Imam Ja`far as - Sadiq and Imam `Ali ar -Rida
, the Sixth and the Eighth Imams .
Imam Muhammad al - Baqir continued his preaching peacefully till 114
AH . On the 7th Dhi 'l - hijjah when he was fifty - seven years old
, Hisham ibn `Abdi 'l - Malik ibn Marwan , the then ruler , got him
martyred through poison . The funeral prayers for this Holy Imam
were conducted by his son Imam Ja`far as - Sadiq , the Six Imam ,
and his body was laid to rest in jannatu 'l - Baqi` in Medina .
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Imam
Muhammad ibn `Ali al - Baqir ( the word `baqir meaning he who cuts
and dissects , a title given to him by the Prophet ) was the son of
the Fourth Imam and was born in 57/675 . He was present at the event
of Karbala' when he was four years old . After his father , through
Divine Command and the decree of those who went before him , he
became Imam . In the year 114/732 he died , according to some
Shi`ite traditions , he was poisoned by Ibrahim ibn al - Walid ibn `Abdillah
, the nephew of Hisham , the Umayyad caliph .
During the Imamate of the Fifth Imam , as a result of the injustice
of the Umayyads , revolts and wars broke out in some corner of the
Islamic world every day . Moreover , there were disputes within the
Umayyad family itself which kept the caliphate busy and to a certain
extent left the members of the Household of the Prophet alone . From
the other side , the tragedy of Karbala' and the oppression suffered
by the Household of the Prophet , of which the Fourth Imam was the
most noteworthy embodiment , had attracted many Muslims to the Imam
. These factors combined to make it possible for people and
especially the Shi`ites to go in great numbers to Medina and to come
into the presence of the Fifth Imam . Possibilities for
disseminating the truth about Islam and the sciences of the
Household of the Prophet ,which had never existed for the Imams
before him , were presented by the Fifth Imam . The proof of this
fact is the innumerable traditions recounted from the Fifth Imam and
the large number of illustrious men of science and Shi`ite scholars
who were trained by him in different Islamic sciences. These names
are listed in books of biographies of famous men in Islam .( Shi`ite
Islam ) |