Fountainhead of Divine
Knowledge
The 3rd of Safar,
which according to a narration is the birth anniversary of the Prophet’s
5th infallible successor, Imam Mohammad Baqer (AS). Although
a blessed occasion we do not celebrate the 5th Imam’s
birthday since we are in passing through the period of mourning for his
grandfather, the Chief of Martyrs, Imam Husain (AS).
Birthdays are normally
occasions to rejoice, but the 5th Imam who witnessed the
blood-curdling tragedy of Karbala as a small boy and despite his young
age was taken prisoner along with his father Imam Zain al-Abedin (AS)
and the other children and womenfolk of the Prophet’s Household, had to
mark his 4th birthday in captivity. Nonetheless, Imam
Mohammad Baqer (AS) was not an ordinary boy to be subdued or feel
despondent. Upon the release of the blessed household after a year’s
imprisonment in Damascus, he assisted his father for 34 years in
building the base of the Islamic society in those turbulent days of
Omayyud tyranny and after his passing away, was entrusted by God with
the divine authority of Imamate at the age of 38 years. For the next 19
years, the 5th Imam strove to guide the faithful and never
missed an opportunity to highlight the tragic martyrdom of his
grandfather. In fact, like his father, he was the carrier of the
immortal message of Imam Husain (AS) and made it a point to hold the
life-inspiring mourning ceremonies for the Martyrs of Karbala.
His epithet, Baqer al-Uloum,
which means the splitter and spreader of knowledge, was prophesied
several decades before his birth by his ancestor Prophet Mohammad
(blessings of Allah upon him and his progeny). He lived up to his
reputation and actually split open the molecules of knowledge,
benefiting one and all. He did not do it for curiosity’s sake, neither
did was his intention to monopolize the energy of wisdom that was
released, nor to direct it for destructive causes, as modern scientists
do. The 5th Imam charted a dynamically different part that
acts as a catalyst to the intellect, sets in motion an unstoppable and
irresistible flow of knowledge and helps human beings to discover the
enlightened path towards the higher realms of manifest truth. Thus when
we speak of Imam Mohammad Baqer (AS), we become aware of mankind’s
immense inner potential, the ability to gaze at the wonderful world of
creation, and the insight to recognize God the Almighty Creator. The
result of such wisdom is promotion of peace, piety and justice in
society and achievement of salvation in afterlife. The 5th
Imam left no stone unturned to keep aloft the torch of guidance. He was
and continues to be an authority on a myriad of topics although
physically he is not amongst us. He was among the select group that
showed humanity the correct interpretation of the ayahs of God’s last
and final revelation to mankind. Islamic texts are full of reference to
his aphorisms, his expounding of the facts of life and his rational
discourses with whomever that came into contact with him.
Once during a visit to Syria,
the 5th Imam, visited incognito the leading Christian hermit
of that place for a dialogue. The Christian whose knowledge was a byword
in Syria soon recognized that he was not dealing with any ordinary
person but with a scholar on a higher plane of wisdom than himself. The
dialogue and debate turned interesting and to the amazement of the
audience, the Hermit pleaded with the Imam to inform him of his true
identity. Imam Mohammad Baqer (AS) smiled and said he was a descendant
of Prophet Muhammad (blessings of Allah upon him and his progeny). After
further enquiry the Christian priest learned that this was not a mere
descendant of the Prophet but the 5th infallible successor
and subsequently the repository of divine knowledge entrusted by God
Almighty to the prophets of the past including Jesus (peace upon him).
At once the Hermit along with his Christian flock embraced the truth of
Islam. But this demonstration of truth horrified retarded minds, unable
to differentiate between pitch-black darkness and glorious sunlight. The
Umayyud caliphate, fearful of its flimsy claims to rule the Islamic
world, hastily sent the 5th Imam back to Medina with express
instructions to the escort not to let him contact people on the way,
despite the fact that it was upon the advice of the Imam that the regime
had set up the first mint in the Islamic realm that saved the drain of
the bullion from the treasury to the Byzantine Empire and its monopoly
on the supply of coins.
Truth and knowledge, however,
cannot be enchained. Today nothing is left of the Umayyuds and their
blood-curdling tyranny against humanity while Imam Mohammad Baqer (AS)
continues to reign supreme. The vistas of wisdom that he opened for
humanity is enough cause to celebrate, especially today on his blessed
birthday. Here are some thought provoking pieces of advice from the 5th
Imam to one of his disciples named, Jaber al-Ju’fi, please listen:
“O Jaber!
The faithful believer should not incline and feel secure with the
adornment of the world. You should know that the seekers of worldly
affairs are persons of inadvertence, deception and ignorance, while the
seekers of the life to come are the faithful believers, who work and
abstain from the pleasures of this world. They are persons of knowledge,
wisdom, thought and probation. They never tire of the remembrance of
Allah
“O Jaber! It is the
God-fearing persons who are really rich. They are content with little
worldly means. Their burdens are light. They remind you of doing good if
you forget and help you do it. They have overcome lusts and desires and
prefer acts of obedience to their Lord. They are occupied with the way
of benevolence and follow the wilaya or authority of the persons chosen
of Allah, by having affection for them, obeying their authority and
following them.
“Consider
this world as a halting place where you got down for a time before
leaving, or as wealth you got in your dream and felt overjoyed but when
you woke up it was nothing…
“Retain O
Jaber, these matters of religion and the words of Allah’s wisdom that I
am entrusting to you. Do soul-searching and take account of what Allah
has given you in your life…”
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