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Imam Muhammad al-Baqir عليه السلام, a grandson of both Imam Husayn and Imam Hasan, witnessed Karbala as a small child and went on to lead a great flowering of scholarship in Medina. His title, Baqir al-‘Ilm, describes one who splits knowledge open, and his students laid much of the foundation of Shia law and hadith.
Lineage and childhood
The zahoor of Muhammad ibn Ali was in Medina in 57 AH. His father was Imam Zayn al-Abidin and his mother Fatima bint al-Hasan, daughter of Imam Hasan — so he descends from both grandsons of the Prophet. He was about four years old at Karbala and shared in the captivity that followed.
Al-Mufid reports that the elderly Companion Jabir ibn Abd Allah al-Ansari sought him out to convey a greeting from the Prophet, who had foretold that Jabir would live to meet a descendant of his named Muhammad who would “split open knowledge”.
Historical context
His Imamate (95–114 AH) fell in the later Umayyad period. The brief rule of Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz (99–101 AH) brought relief: reports state he ended the public cursing of Imam Ali from pulpits and returned Fadak to the descendants of Fatima. Under Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik pressure returned; Shia reports describe the Imam being summoned to Damascus.
Scholarship
Relative calm allowed him to teach openly in the mosque of the Prophet. His circle trained the leading Shia transmitters and jurists of the age — among them Zurara ibn A‘yan, Muhammad ibn Muslim, Burayd ibn Mu‘awiya al-Ijli, Abu Basir and Jabir ibn Yazid al-Ju‘fi — and he was also cited by many Sunni scholars, appearing as a narrator in the major Sunni collections.
He taught Qur’anic exegesis, law, theology and ethics, and articulated the principles of Imamate: designation (nass) by the previous Imam and a knowledge inherited from the Prophet.
Martyrdom
He died in Medina in 114 AH. Twelver sources report that he was poisoned during the reign of Hisham. He was buried in al-Baqi beside his father and his great-uncle Imam Hasan.
Significance in Twelver Shia belief and Fiqh-e-Jafariya
He is the fifth Imam. A very large share of the legal narrations in the Four Books goes back to him and to his son al-Sadiq, which is why Ja‘fari jurisprudence regards their era as its foundation. His students compiled many of the early notebooks (usul) later drawn upon by al-Kulayni, al-Saduq and al-Tusi.
Significant dates
- 1 Rajab 57 AH (677 CE)Zahoor in Medina
- 61 AH (680 CE)Present at Karbala as a child
- 95 AH (713 CE)Beginning of his Imamate
- 99–101 AHRule of Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz
- 7 Dhu al-Hijja 114 AH (733 CE)Martyrdom in Medina; burial in al-Baqi
Narrations and texts
Jabir ibn Abd Allah al-Ansari conveyed to him the Prophet’s greeting, as the Prophet had instructed him to do should he live to meet him.
Sources: Kitab al-Irshad fi Ma‘rifat Hujaj Allah ‘ala al-‘Ibad (chapter on al-Baqir); al-Kafi (Kitab al-Hujja)
Narrations are given as careful paraphrases, not verbatim translations. See the Editorial Methodology
Differing reports
- Zahoor: 1 Rajab 57 AH is commonly commemorated; 3 Safar 57 AH is also reported.
- Year of martyrdom: 114 AH (al-Mufid) is most common; 116 or 117 AH are also reported.
Sources
- Kitab al-Irshad fi Ma‘rifat Hujaj Allah ‘ala al-‘Ibad — al-Mufid, Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Nu‘man (d. 413 AH / 1022 CE). chapter on Muhammad ibn Ali al-Baqir
- al-Kafi — al-Kulayni, Muhammad ibn Ya‘qub (d. 329 AH / 941 CE)
- Early Shi‘i Thought: The Teachings of Imam Muhammad al-Baqir — Lalani, Arzina R.
- Crisis and Consolidation in the Formative Period of Shi‘ite Islam — Modarressi, Hossein
- An Introduction to Shi‘i Islam: The History and Doctrines of Twelver Shi‘ism — Momen, Moojan
- Kitab al-Irshad fi Ma‘rifat Hujaj Allah ‘ala al-‘Ibad — al-Mufid, Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Nu‘man (d. 413 AH / 1022 CE). chapter on al-Baqir