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Ahmad, son of Imam Musa al-Kazim عليه السلام, is described by al-Mufid as generous, noble and pious, and as a son his father loved and favoured. Tradition holds that he was killed in Shiraz by Abbasid forces, and his shrine there, known as Shah Cheragh, is one of the most visited in Iran.
In the words of al-Mufid
Al-Mufid writes that Ahmad was generous, noble and pious, that Imam al-Kazim عليه السلام loved him and preferred him, and that he gave him his estate known as al-Yasira; he adds that Ahmad is said to have freed a thousand slaves. Later works relate that when people gathered around him after his father’s death he directed them to his brother, Imam al-Rida عليه السلام.
Shiraz
According to tradition Ahmad travelled to Iran and was killed in Shiraz by the forces of the Abbasid government. His grave was rediscovered centuries later and a shrine built over it; the name Shah Cheragh, “king of the lamp”, is of later origin.
Differing reports
- The reason for his journey, the date and circumstances of his death, and the date when his grave was discovered are all reported differently; the early sources give no details.
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 Musa ibn Ja‘far
- Bihar al-Anwar — al-Majlisi, Muhammad Baqir (d. 1110 AH / 1699 CE)