Imam Muhammad b. Ali al
Baqir (AS)
Birth
The fifth Imam Mohammad Baqir (A.S.)
was born on the 1st of the month of Rajab, 57th Hijrah, in the city of
Madina. Because of the resemblance that he had with his grandfather he
was named Mohammad and because of it that he analyzed the knowledge and
made manifest its secrets he became known with the title of "Baqir".
His father was Hazrat Sajjad (A.S.) and
mother Fatimah who was one of the daughters of Imam Hassan (A.S.). He
was the first Imam (A.S.) whose lineage ascended and reached the Prophet
(P.B.U.H.) both from the paternal and maternal sides. His life history
can be divided into two parts.
1. The period before his Imamate which
is nearly 35 years and was the peaceful part of his life, led in Madina.
2. The Period of Imamate, which
stretched, up to twenty years and is counted as the duration of the
propagation and dissemination of Islamic knowledge and wisdom.
Al-Baqir Muhammad b. Ali b.
al-Husayn, peace be on them, was out of (all) his brothers the successor
of his father, Ali b. al-Husayn, his testamentary trustee (wasi), and
the one who undertook (qaim) the office of Imam after him. He surpassed
all of them through his outstanding merit (fadl) in traditional
knowledge (ilm), asceticism and leadership. He was the most renowned of
them, the one among them who was most esteemed by both non-Shia (amma)
and Shia (khassa), and the most able of them. None of the sons of al-
Hasan and al-Husayn, peace be on them, showed the same ability in
knowledge of religion, traditions, the sunna, the knowledge of the
Qur'an and the life of the Prophet (sira), and the techniques of
literature, as Abu- Jafar (Muhammad al-Baqir) showed. The surviving
Companions (of the Prophet), the leading members of the next generation
(tabieun) and the leaders of the Muslim jurists reported the principal
features (ma'alim) of religion on his authority. By virtue of his
outstanding merit he became a signpost (of knowledge) to his family.
Proverbs were coined about him and reports and verses were written to
describe him.
He, peace be on him, was born in Medina, in 57 A.H. (676/7). He died in
114 A.H. (732) at the age of fifty-seven. He was a (leading) member of
the Hashimite family within the Hashimites. He was a (leading)
descendant of Ali among the descendants of Ali. He was buried in (the
cemetery of) al-Baqi'i in (Medina) the city of the Apostle, may God
bless him and his family.
In the testamentary bequest (wasiyya) which the Commander of the
faithful, peace be on him, made to his children, mention was made of
Muhammad b. Ali b. al-Husayn and of his trusteeship. The Apostle of God,
may God bless him and his family, named him and caused him to be known
as the one who split open (religious) knowledge (ulum) as the narrators
of tradition (ashab al-athar) report.
Thus it is reported on the authority of Jabir b. Abd Allah in a direct (mujarrad)
tradition:
The Apostle of God, may God bless him and his family, said to me:
It will happen that you will live until you meet one of my children
descended from al-Husayn, peace be on him, called Muhammad, who will
split wide open knowledge of religion. When you meet him, recite my
greeting to him.
The Shia give an account of the tablet which Gabriel, peace be on him,
brought down to the Apostle of God, may God bless him and his family,
from heaven. (The Apostle) gave it to Fatima, peace be on her. In it are
the names of the Imams after (the Apostle) and in it is Muhammad b. Ali,
the Imam after his father.
The Shia also report that God, the Mighty and High, sent down to His
Prophet, the blessings and peace of God be on him, a document sealed
with twelve seals. He ordered him to give it to the Commander of the
faithful, peace be on him, and to tell him to break the first seal, and
he should act according to what is in (that part of the document). At
the time of his death, he should pass it to his son, al-Hasan, peace be
on him, and tell him to break the second seal and act according to what
is in (that part of) the document. At the time of his death he should
pass it to his brother al-Husayn, peace be on him. He should tell him to
break the third seal and act according to what is below it. Then at his
death, he should pass it to his son, Ali b. al-Husayn al- Akbar (the
elder) and he should instruct him in a similar way. Then Muhammad should
pass it to his son right down to the last of the Imams.
They report also numerous designations (nusus) of him for the Imamate
after his father on the authority of the Prophet, may God bless him and
his family, on the authority of the Commander of the faithful and on the
authority of al-Hasan, al-Husayn and Ali b. al- Husayn, peace be on
them.
The people report (accounts) of his outstanding virtues and
accomplishments which would be too numerous to include. We will mention
what will be sufficient in meaning for our purposes, if God wills.
Abu Jafar, peace be on him, recounted reports of the beginnings of
history (mubtada') and reports of the prophets. Stories of the campaigns
of the Prophet (maghazi) were written on his authority. (Men) followed
the practices of the Prophet (sunan) on his authority and relied on him
with regard to the rites of the pilgrimage which he reported on the
authority of the Apostle of God, may God bless him and his family. They
(also) wrote a commentary of the Qur'an on his authority. Both the Shia
(khassa) and the non-Shia (amma) report traditions on his authority. He
debated with the exponents of individual reasoning (ahl al-ara') and the
people learnt a great deal of theology (ilm al-kalam) from him.
Reports have come down that Nafi b. al-Azraq came to Muhammad b. Ali,
peace be on them, and sat before him to ask him questions about what was
permitted and what forbidden. Abu Jafar, peace be on him, said in the
course of his answer:
Say to these deviators (from the true course): How did you make
separation from the Commander of the faithful (Ali), peace be on him,
lawful when you had earlier shed your own blood on his behalf and in
obedience to him and (you were then close) to God through helping him?
Then they will answer you: He allowed arbitration with regard to the
religion of God. Say to them: God, the Exalted, allowed arbitration in
the law (sharia) of His Prophet, may God bless him and his family,
between two of His creatures. For He said:
Send an arbitrator from his family and an arbitrator from her family if
they want reconciliation (to take place) between them with the agreement
of God [IV 35].
The Apostle of God, may God bless him and his family, appointed Sad b.
Muadh as an arbitrator over the tribe of Qurayza. He judged them
according to what God had accomplished. Did you not know that the
Commander of the faithful, peace be on him, ordered the arbitrators only
to judge according to the Qur'an and not to go beyond it? He stipulated
the rejection of any of the laws of men which opposed the Qur'an. They
said to him: 'You have appointed as arbitrator over yourself, men who
will judge you.' He replied: 'I have not appointed a creature as an
arbitrator. I have only made the Book of God an arbitrator. Therefore
where do the deviators find the wrong-doing in the matter of arbitration
by the Qur'an, when he stipulated the rejection of whatever opposed it,
unless they are persisting in a false accusation?
"By God", said Nafi b. al-Azraq, "these are words which I have never
heard before and which have never occurred to my mind. It is the truth,
God willing."
He, peace be on him, used to say: "The people cause us great trouble. We
summon them but they do not answer us. If we abandoned them, they would
be guided by no one."
He, peace be on him, (also) used to say: "What is it that the people
hate in us who are the family of the House of Mercy, the Tree of
Prophethood, the Source of Wisdom, (the people) frequented by angels and
(those upon whom) inspiration descended?"
He, peace be on him, died and left behind seven sons. Each of his
brothers had great merit, even though they did not attain his merit
because of his position with regard to the Imamate, because of his rank
with God with regard to closeness and love (wilaya), and because of his
position with regard to succession (khilafa) of the Prophet, may God
bless him and his family. The period of his Imamate and of his
undertaking the position of his father in the succession (on behalf of)
God, the Mighty and High, over His servants was nineteen years.
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