Al-Huda
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Newsletter for October 2011
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THE TIMES AND LIFE OF IMAM MUHAMMAD TAQI (a)
By Dr Syed Haider Hussain Shamsi
(excerpt from his book, " The Lives of Imams of Ahlul Bayt ")
Muhammad (Taqi) was only about five years of
age when his father was called away from Madinah by the Caliph
Mamoon ar-Rashid, never to return home alive.
He was only eight years of age when he received the sad news of
the martyrdom of his father at the hands of the Caliph.
Although, by having Imam All ar-Reza killed, Mamoon was able to
win back the confidence of his Abbasid kinsmen, he lost his
trust among the followers of the Imam. He succeeded to play his
cards again, and summoned the young Imam Muhammad Taqi to
Baghdad but he did not seethe youth for a long period of time.
The Imam's first contact with the Caliph:
Once, on his way to a hunting trip, Marnoon passed through that
part of the city where the young Imam was staying. He saw some
children playing in the street with his peers. When they saw the
callph's entourage, all but the Imam ran away. The caliph
approached the Imam and asked Imam why he was not one of those
who had run away from there. The Imam was cool in his demeanor.
He said that the street was wide, and that he was not making it
any narrower; and that he had not committed any crime for which
he would be afraid; and that he believed that the Caliph would
take the path of justice and not harm an innocent bystander.
The reply impressed the Caliph. He asked the Imam who he was.
When the Imam told him who he was, the Caliph felt ashamed. He
suddenly remembered having sent for him but not having granted
him audience for such a long time.
The Imam's Second contact with the
Caliph:
On his way back from the hunting trip, the Caliph hid a fish in
his hands and asked the Imam what he was carrying. The Imam said
that his hawk flew in the skies, but found his prey in the
waters. He had a fish in his hand and was now testing the Imam
for his knowledge. The Caliph was dumb founded at both these
encounters with the Imam and took him along with him to his
palace.
He declared his intentions to his kinsmen that he was so
impressed with the child. He decided to give his daughter Unnne
Fadhl in marriage to him. They were unhappy at the possibility
of repetition of the story of his father Imam Ali ar-Reza.
Mammon said that the youth was no ordinary person and that they
all had already seen his courage, knowledge and mannerism which
was no match with any one of them. In order to obtain an upper
hand over Mamoon's decision,
they proposed that a contest be held with the chief Kadhi Yahya
bin Aktham.
The Imam's Contest with the Chief Kadhi
of Baghdad:
In the contest, Yahya bin Aktharn asked the Imam on the penalty
for man who hunted while in ahram, (the state of purity, also
applied to a body wrap of white cloth used by the pilgrims). The
Imam said that his question was incomplete and that he should
complete it before the correct answer could be given. Yahya
requested that the Imam complete the question for him. The Imam
asked:
(i) Was the hunting done within the holy precinct or outside it?
(ii) Was the hunter aware of the religious law concerning the
hunt?
(iii) Was the hunting done with intention or was it an accident?
(iv) Was the hunter a free man or a slave?
(v) Was the hunter of age or was he under-age in the religious
law?
(vi) Was the hunting done for the first time or was a repeated
act?
(vii) Was the prey a bird or was it some other animal?
(viii) Was the prey young of age or was it of an age allowed for
hunting?
(ix) Was the hunter repentant on his act or was he defiant?
(x) Was the hunting done at night or was it an act of the day?
(xi) Was the ahram for Haj or was it for Umra?
The Imam then further elaborated the significance of these
circumstances concerning the question to qualify for an
appropriate answer! They all were flabbergasted at the details
offered by the Imam, and accepted his completion of the
question, followed by his answer. Mamoon was very pleased to see
his own arrogant kinsmen being beaten in the contest.
Mamoon then asked the Imam to pose his question. Even before the
Imam could pose his question, Yahya apologized. He said that he
would try to answer Imarn's question, but if he could not find
an answer, he would have to ask the Imam to answer it himself.
The Imam asked, on what four conditions would one woman be legal
and illegal for marriage for the same individual. Neither Yahya
nor any one else in the audience had any answer to this
question. The Imam then detailed the four conditions concerning
his question and made the puzzle seem easy to solve:
(i) The woman was a slave-girl of another man, so it was illegal
for this man. When he paid her price to her master, she became
legal for him;
(ii) When he freed her she was no longer legal for him. However
he got married to her, and thus she became legal for him. (iii)
He reckoned her like his mother, making her illegal for him
again, but on paying the penalty for such an act, she became
legal for him again. (iv) He then divorced her, making her
illegal for him, but before saying the third talaq, they made up
again, making her legal again.
They acknowledged the uncommon depth of the Imam's knowledge,
and agreed on Mamoon's decision to give his daughter in marriage
to the Imam. Mamoon offered the Imam to stay in Baghdad and be
declared his successor, but the Imam declined to have any thing
to do with the heir ship to the Caliphate, or on staying in the
palace in Baghdad. He requested the Caliph to allow him to
return home to Madinah. Mamoon did not force the Imam to stay,
and allowed him to leave
with his wife.
Umme Fadhl was a princess. She had lived a life of luxury. She
had no concept of what her life style would be in Madinah with
material deprivation compared with the luxury of her father's
palace. She was miserable and made it no secret to the Imam. She
wrote letters to her father complaining bitterly about her
predicament, but he took no action.
Furthermore, there was no progeny issued from this relationship.
When the Imam manied Sumana Khatoon, the jealousy of Umme Fadhl
reached its heights, but her father still did nothing.
Mamoon died in 218 AH, and his brother Mu’tasim Billah succeeded
to the throne. Umme Fadhl started writing letters to her uncle,
the new caliph in Baghdad to get her back to Baghdad. Since the
Abbasids were no friends of the Alkyds, and with the constant
complaints of Umme Fadhl, the Imam was summoned to Baghdad and
put in jail. Finally,he was given poison in jail and killed in
220 AH at the young age of only twenty-five years.
The Imam appointed his son Ali Hadi to follow him as the next
Imam before he left for his second and last trip to Baghdad. Ali
Hadi was also only eight years of age when he was appointed to
the position of leadership of Islam.
REFLECTIONS FROM THE LIFE OF IMAM MUHAMMAD TAQI
The Imam was deprived the patronage of his father at a tender
age of five, and when he learnt of his martyrdom he was only
eight years of age. He was the youngest Imam who was also killed
at the youngest age compared with the others. He was only
twenty-five years when he was killed by poisoning.
As detailed above, the Imam, at a very young age demonstrated
unusual courage, knowledge and presence of mind in the circle of
his aristocratic adversaries in the court of Marnoon ar-Rashid.
In addition to the constant pressures from the government, he
had a considerable trouble at home from his wife, the Abbasid
princess. Despite these difficulties, the Imam made his lasting
impression with examples of exceptional tolerance, superior
conduct, and advice to his followers and many sagacious sayings.
Selected Quotes:
1. Bolster your conduct with forbearance, be content during
deprivation, refrain from lust, and antagonize temptation.
Remember that you are neither far nor hidden from your Lord.
2. Refrain from friendship of the mischievous, for his likeness
is that of a sharp dagger: beautiful to behold but deadly in
action.
3 . Do not show animosity to someone until you have assessed
his, relationship with the Lord, for if the person is good, the
Lord will not hand him over to you; and if he is bad, then
suffice it for him that you do not be his enemy.
4. Make early an amendment of a matter before it deteriorates,
for then you would repent. Beware, lest years add to your life
and your heart hardens.
5 . Do not pretend to be a friend of the Lord in the open while
you have doubts about Him in your heart.
6. Be thankful to the Lord for what He has granted you, lest you
desire for something that would drag you towards temptation.
7. Do not delay in repentance, for the delay in doing so is
equivalent to defiance.
Offering excuses to justify a bad deed would make you lose fear
of the Lord and invoke His anger.
Selected Sayings:
1. Dependence on the Gracious Lord is the true value in all the
precious things and in all heights of achievement.
2. The respect of a believer is in his independence from others.
3. All believers need three things:
(i) Help from the Lord;
(ii) Awakened conscience;
(iii) Ability to listen to good advice given by others.
4. Obedience and remembrance of the Lord from the depths of your
heart is
superior to the toils of rituals.
5. How can that (thing) go waste whose guarantor is the Lord,
and how can that (person) escape who is sought by the Lord. One
who sells himself to other (deity) than the Lord, the Lord
relinquishes that to his chosen deity.
6. One who falls for his desires, fulfills the alms of his sworn
enemy (Satan), and cannot escape from wrongdoing.
7. One who takes an action without prior knowledge, could do
more damage than good.
8. The tyranny of the rulers forestalls their downfall.
9. When the hour (i.e. death) comes, the environs tend to
shrink.
10. There is no additional danger in the anger of the tyrant.
Dr. Haider Shamsi's book, " The Lives of Imams of Ahlul Bayt "
can read online on this site. To read, go to the Home Page, them
click on The Books Section and enjoy.
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