Al-Huda
Foundation, NJ U. S. A
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Newsletter for April 2017
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The Seventh Imam: Musa Ibna
Ja'far (AS)
Name: Musa
Title: al-Kazim
Epithet: Abu
Ibrahim
Father: Ja'far
ibne Muhammad
Mother: Hamida
Khatoon
Date of Birth: Safar
7th. 128 AH (October 28, 746 AD)
Place of Birth: Abwa near Madinah
Progeny: from Umma hat Awlad
Four sons: Ali, Ibrahim, Abbas, Qassim
He had many other children from other wives
Date of Death Rajah
25,'183 AH (September 1, 799 AD)
He lived to an age of 53 years
Place of Death: Baghdad
Place of Burial: Kazimain,
near Baghdad
THE
LIFE AND TIMES OF IMAM MUSA AL-KAZIM
Imam Musa Al-Kazim was
born during the waning glow of the Umayyad
dynasty. He
was only three years of age when the Abbasids
established themselves in a new dynasty. Before
his death, Imam Ja'far asSaadiq appointed his
son Musa as the next Imam. Musa
took up the responsibility of the Imamate at the
age of twenty years, and carried it out through
a troubled period of thirty-five years. He
endured about ten years of the remaining rule of
the Abbasid caliph al-Mansoor Dwaneeqi, about
ten years of the caliph al-Mahdi, about one year
of al-Hadi and the initial thirteen years of the
caliph Haroon ar-Rashid.
The caliphs kept their stem watch over the
Aliyyids and their followers for their refusal
to accept the caliphs as their religious leaders
in addition to being their kings. Whereas
during the Umayyad dynasty, the Aliyyid and
their followers had gone underground to safe
guard their survival, they were no longer hidden
from the Abbasids. In
fact, the Abbasids had achieved their success
with assistance from the Aliyyids and their
Shiite followers. The
caliphs knew the strength of the Shiites, and
took every opportunity to keep them under check
in the empire. They
did not grant the Imams any immunity against
this policy.
Imam Musa Kazim spent fourteen years of his life
in the darkness of several of the Abbasid jails
of Basra and Baghdad, interspersed with only
brief periods of
reprieve in his native Madinah. Because
of the handless nature of the Imam who spent his
time either in payers or preaching other intenis,
many of the jail wardens were unable to carry
out the caliph's orders to kill the Imam
while under in captivity.
As regards the conduct of the leaders of the
Muslims, the Abbasid caliphs were no better than
their Umayyad predecessors. The
reign of Haroon ar-Rashid is regarded in history
as the golden era of the Abbasid dynasty
regarding larning, trade and stability, but for
the Imam and his followers, the same era was
that of darkness and gloom.
During the brief periods of reprieve that the
Imam had from his internships in the jails, he
used to be called back to Baghdad from Madinah
to the court of the caliphs for debates that
were in fact intended to slight his personality. The
scope of this book makes it impossible to
describe these debates here, but suffice it to
say that the caliphs were unsuccessful in their
attempts due to the vast knowledge and the wit
of the Imam.
Haroon ar-Rashid became increasingly impatient,
and became determined either to have
unconditional submission from the Imam, or have
him killed. As
the Imam could not submit to the demands of the
caliph, he was ultimately given poisoned dates
in the jail in 183 AH. As
a result, the Imam died while he was still tied
in chains and shackles. To
further show his spite, the caliph ordered the
body of the Imam be left on the main bridge
leading in and out of Baghdad for all to see. This
was intended to show to the people that the
caliph wielded absolute power, and that the
Alkyds were just ordinary human beings. However,
some devotees took the body of the Imam away and
buried it in Kaziznain, near Baghdad.
At his last summons to Baghdad, the Imam knew
that his time had come, and that he would never
return to Madinah alive. He
was so certain that the
caliph would have him lolled in that trip that
he wrote a will appointing his son Ali to
succeed him after his death. In
order to make his decision reach wide
circulation among his followers, the Imam wrote
his will in the presence of seventeen of his
chosen companions, and had it witnessed by sixty
others. This
is an example of extreme foresight and caution
the Imam had exercised in order to prevent
confusion among his friends and foes alike.
REFLECTIONS ON THE LIFE
AND CONDUCT OFIMAM MUSA BIN JA'FAR
While surrounded by wealth of the new Abbasid
regime, the Imam spent a life
of simplicity and piety. In
his personality, he manifested a living example
of tolerance and forbearance. Even
when he was in jails, he never missed his devout
worship of Allah. Many
of his supplications were recorded by his
devotees and are available to the supplicant
today.
There were many instances from his daily life
that illustrated his nature and popularity among
the people of Hijaz. The
poor and needy of Madinah badly missed the Imam. Among
many other things he did, he used to get
involved with the people in their daily lives,
and help fulfill their needs in the matter of
Faith and in the ritual practice of Islam. People
particularly remembered the little pouches of
money he used to hand out to those who asked for
monetary assistance or to those whom he felt to
be in need.
Many of the letters he wrote to his followers
and companions, contained a world of wisdom and
advice, which can still guide the seekers of the
Truth. He
addressed his sons when giving general advice
towards an ideal conduct in life. There
is a large collection of his sayings which,
if followed today, would mold any human being
into a picture of virtue.
The contents of his replies to complicated
questions and the debates held in the court of
the caliphs further provides glimpses of the
wisdom and sagacity of Imam Musa bin Ja'far. He
used a sweet and poetical language in his
conversation, and his written word had a
haunting rhyme in it.
Selected Sayings:
1. The
status of your understanding can be judged from
four things:
(i) recognition
of the Beneficent Allah;
(ii) recognition
of the your benefactor;
(iii) recognition
of what is expected of you;
(iv) recognition
of the things that would throw you out of your
faith.
2. Try
and divide your time into four portions:
(i) one
portion for prayers and supplications;
(ii) one
portion for livelihood;
(iii) one
portion for social activities between friends
and family;
(iv) one
portion for the permissible indulgences while
you maintain control over your other portions.
3. When
good deeds seem to be large in number, consider
them to be not enough; but when bad deeds seem
to be just a few, consider them far too many. Bad
deeds, even if trivial, tend to accumulate fast.
4. If
one who was born poor acquires wealth and
plenty, it would tends to make him arrogant and
headstrong. 5. It is not that people throw abuses at the one who rises high by ill begotten means, but that he would also see his downfall.
6. The
pain and suffering of tyranny is felt worst by
the one who has been targeted for it.
7. The
one who invalidates three things with three
others, has wasted his gift of intelligence:
(i) one
who has extended his expectations but does not
ponder on the ways and means for himself,
(ii) one
who loses sagacity by wile talk; |
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