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Newsletter for February 2017
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The Fifth Imam: Muhammad ibne
Ali (AS)
Name: Muhammad
Title: al-Baqir
Epithet: Abu Ja'far
Father: Ali bin Husain
Mother: Fatima daughter
of Imam Hasan
Date of Birth: Rajab 1,
57 AH (December 16, 676 AD)
Place of Birth: Madinah
Progeny from Umm Farwa binte
Qassim bin Muhammad bin Abu Bakr:
Two sons: Ja'far,
Abd Allah
He had other
children from other wives
Date of Death: Zilhaj
7, 114 AH (January 28, 733 AD)
He live to an age
of 57 years
Place of Death: Madinah
Place of
Burial: Jannatul-Baqi
THE LIFE AND THE
TIMES OF
Imam Muhammad (Baqir) had the blessings and the nurture of his
grandfather, Imam Husain. He
witnessed the tragedy of Karbala
at the tender age of about three
and a half years. He had
sustained the thirst of three
days when the Umayyad army had
cut off the water supply to the
camp of Imam Husain in
Karbala. He was among the
survivors of the massacre, and
had endured the toil some
journey from Karbala to
Damascus, followed by the year
of captivation in the Umayyad
prison along with his father and
other members of the Able Bait.
In Madinah he lived a life of peace and piety, and remained under
the patronage of his father Imam
Ali Zain al-Abideen for
thirty-four years. Imam Baqir
grew under the care of his
father and was appointed Imam by
him before his martyrdom by
poisoning in 95 AH by the Caliph
Walid bin Abd al-Malik.
The reign of the Umayyad Caliph Walid bin Abd al-Malik ended at his
death in 96 AH, and was
succeeded by his brother
Salaaming bin Abd alMalik. However,
the rule of Sulayman lasted for
only three years until 99 AH.
Umar bin Abd al-Aziz became the next ruler of the Muslim world. He
was the only just ruler the
people saw in a long chain of
Umayyad tyrants. He is
popularly known as Umar, the
pious. It was during his reign
that the long standing claim of
the fertile groves of Faddak,
originally launched by Fatima
binte Muhammad was finally
recognized by a ruler of the
land, and was returned to the
family of the rightful
claimants. It was also by his
orders that the ignoble
tradition of throwing abuses on
Imam Ali during the
congregational prayers (started
by Muawiyah bin Abu Sufyan) was
finally discontinued.
The rule of Umar bin Abd al-Aziz was also short- lived and lasted
for only two years. He was
succeeded by Yazid bin Abd
al-Malik who ruled the land
between the years 1O1 AH and 105
AH. After him, a relatively
longer reign of Hisham bin Abd
al-Malik followed from the year
105 AH to 125 AH. The Umayyad
rulers came and went, and did
what pleased them, but the Imam
continued his services to the
believers and to the faith of
Islam. He gathered a sizeable
galaxy of students and learned
disciples who took his message
to the far comers of the Muslim
world.
The jurist Abu Hanifa attended the school of leaming under the Imam
in Madinah before returning to
Iraq. Abu Hanifa left Madinah
with a tremendous respect and
acclaim to the Imads knowledge
of the Wan and the Sunnah. The
Imam disagreed with Abu Hanifa
on his method of resolving
issues of Shatiyah (canonic
law) by Raai (individual
personal logic) or Qiyas (speculative
derivation).
Hishain bin Abd al-Malik could not see the growing popularity of
the Imam and had him martyred
with poison in the year 114
AH. The Imam appointed his son
Ja'far to take charge of the
duties of the Imamat to serve
the faith and the faithful.
By the time of his martyrdom, he had spent twenty years of his life
as the Imam of his time. A
wealth of quotes and
interpretations were collected
by his followers.
REFLECTIONS ON THE LIFE OF IMAM MUHAMMAD BAQIR
Imam Baqir was a complete reflection of the life of his father in
sincerity, piety, knowledge and
worship. His superlative
conduct is considered to be the
criterion for these fine
qualities in the human being.
The greatest of the learned are dwarfed by the grandeur of his
wisdom and knowledge. He earned
the title of al-Baqir as a
result of the depth of his
knowledge.
He is well known for his depth of knowledge and for the vastness of
his quotes and interpretations
of the Qur'an and the
Sunnah. This material was
collected by his students and
companions and is available for
guidance today.
Abu Hanifa, a famous jurist of his time and an Imam to a large
sector of the Sunni Muslims, was
a student of Imam Baqir. He
acknowledged the superior
knowledge of the Imam on the
Qur'an and the Sunna.
THE INSTITUTION OF MAJALIS
The majalis (religious
gatherings specifically intended
to educate masses about the
mission of Imam Husain) are the
tradition of Zainab binte Ali
who held her first majalis while
the captives were still in
Damasus. Although they were
continued by Imam Ali Zain
al-Abideen during his times,
Imam Muhammad Baqir formalized
them into an institution of
leaming. Since then they have
served as a unique method of
propagating the Truth to the
masses throughout the ages.
As the followers and the devotees of Ahle Bait visited the Imam
they enquired about the tragedy
which the members of Ahle Bait
had to sustain. The Imam took
the opportunity to retell the
causes of the conflict, the
events of the suffering, and in
the process, was able to teach
and preach Islam to them. Since
the people came already
receptive to listen and to learn
the Imam was able to spread the
Message of Islam with case and
continuity. This institution ofmajalis has
evolved with time, and has
continued to be an effective
vehicle for the dissemination of
the teachings of the school of
the Ahle Bait.
Selected Sayings
1. The
best combination is knowledge
with forbearance.
2. Three things
are counted the best of deeds in
the world and hereafter:
(i) forgiveness
over someone's cruel behavior;
(ii) kindness to
someone who has broken relations
with you;
(iii) tolerance to
someone's foolish behavior.
3. One who does listen to the call of his conscience cannot
benefit from advice from
others.
4. There are many who say, "may Allah see the down fall of
your enemies," although Allah
may Himself be that person's
enemy!
5. To seek help from the newly made rich is like retrieving
a coin from the snake's mouth:
that there is need for it but
not without danger!
6. There is
vast wealth in four things:
(i) keeping
your deprivation a secret to
yourself,
(ii) giving
charity without announcing it;
(iii) not
making your pain apparent to
others;
(iv) not
making your troubles public.
7. The best of public behavior is to sit at a lower level
than your status, wish well to
one you see ahead of you, and
not indulge in wasteful
arguments even when you know you
are right.
8. Modesty and Faith are two intertwined jewels. If you
lose one, the other goes with
it.
9. Keep away from laziness and impatience. A lazy person
cannot deliver the dues of
others, and the impatient person
lacks the elements of
forbearance.
IO.
To give sadaqa (a form of
charity) in the morning is to
protect you from the mischief
of shaitan (devil). |
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