Martyrdom of Imam Mohammad Baqer (AS)

Today is the 7th of the month of Zi’l-Hijjah, coinciding with the annual Hajj in holy Mecca, on which the enemies of humanity, which had usurped rule of the Islamic state, martyred the direct great-great-grandson of Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny).

He was in fact the 5^th Infallible Imam of the Ahl al-Bayt, and despite the deviation of those in powers, spared no efforts to guide the people, including pilgrims to the symbolic House of God Almighty, the holy Ka’ba. Before we present you an exclusive feature on his life and times, here is a mind-stimulating statement from him concerning the Hajj pilgrimage and its benefits:

“The Hajj and the Umrah are two markets for (profits of) the Hereafter. The person who performs the Hajj and the Umrah very often is Allah’s guest; if Allah keeps him alive, he is kept forgiven and if Allah takes away his life, he will enter Paradise.

We are clad in black, and are in the state of mourning for the person who gave us the tidings of the benefits of pilgrimage to the Symbolic House of God, the Holy Ka’ba in Mecca – the first ever edifice built on Planet Earth by the Father of the human race, Adam. He did not coin these phrases, but was expounding to the faithful the Hadith of his illustrious ancestor, the Prophet of Islam, from whom he was descended on both sides. If his mother Fatema (peace upon her) was the daughter of the Prophet’s elder grandson, Imam Hasan Mujtaba (AS), his father Imam Zain al-Abedin (AS) was the son of the Prophet’s younger grandson, the Martyr of Karbala, Imam Husain (AS). His name should be obvious by now. He was none other than the Prophet’s namesake and his 5^th Infallible Heir, Imam Mohammad (AS) whose epithet “Baqer al-Uloum”, which means Splitter and Spreader of Sciences, was prophesied by the Prophet himself. Every year on the 7^th of Zil-Hijhah we commemorate his martyrdom, since it was the day on which he was forced to depart from the world. In fact, a dose of poison sent by the so-called caliph from Damascus, made him physically ill in Medina, on the eve of the Hajj pilgrimage – an obligatory act of worship for those who can afford the journey. It would be interesting to note that regarding the Hajj ritual, such as the “talabiyya” or the pilgrims’ expression of response to the Call of the Almighty, he had said:       “Whoever says “Labbayk” seventy times out of faith and conviction, Allah will assign thousands of angels to bear witness to his immunity from the Fire (of Hell) and schism.”

Among the many Hadith on the significance of the Hajj and its rites narrated by Imam Baqer (AS) from the Prophet, is the following:

“The supplications of every person, whether pious or impious, who stays in Arafat and at Mash’ar al-Harram, will definitely be answered (by Allah). The supplications of a pious person will be of benefit in both this world and afterlife, while the supplications of an impious person will be of benefit only in matters of this (transient) world.”

A beautiful statement from the 5^th Imam to contemplate upon. Alas the heretical Wahhabi cult which is presently in occupation of the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, similar to the Omayyad occupation of the Haramayn Sharifayn in the time of Imam Baqer (AS), have this year barred Iranian Muslims from performing the Hajj and then paying respects, with tearful eyes, at the Jannat al-Baqie Cemetery of Medina, where the 5^th Imam rests in peace in his grave which the Saudi criminals desecrated and demolished in 1925.   

 Imam Baqer (AS) had also said regarding the merits of Masjid al-Haraam or the Sacred Grand Mosque housing the Holy Ka’ba:

“One raka’ah of prayer in the Masjid al-Haraam is better than a hundred thousand Raka’ahs of prayer in other mosques.”

Another narration from the 5^th Imam reads:

“Whoever reads the whole Qur’an in Mecca within a week, less or more, and finishes it on Friday, Allah will write for him as many rewards as Fridays in this world…”

Imam Baqer (AS) was not a mere narrator of hadith. In fact, he punctually practiced whatever he preached. He set lofty precedents for the faithful regarding the sanctity of the Holy Ka’ba and its inviolable precincts – which unfortunately have been violated at will by the Godless who masqueraded as caliphs in the past and who style themselves Custodian of the Two Holy Shrines in our own times.       According to a person named Aflah, whom the 5^th Imam had bought from an Arab and freed from enslavement:

“I was accompanying Imam Baqer (AS) during the Hajj pilgrimage, when on entering the Masjid al-Haraam and sighting the Holy Ka’ba, he started weeping incessantly. I said, ‘my parents be sacrificed for you; people are watching you; can you not lower your voice to a whisper?’ The Imam answered: “O Aflah, this is the House of Allah; why should I not weep? I will certainly be of esteem in His Sight and attain salvation in the Hereafter.”

Aflah says the Imam then circumambulated the Holy Ka’ba, performed the Special Prayer for Tawaf in its proper place, and fell into prostration. When he raised his head, his forehead was wet with tears.

May Allah curse the Omayyad tyrant, Hisham ibn Abdul-Malik, who fearful of the popularity of the Prophet’s Righteous Heir among the Muslims, ordered the governor of Medina, Ibrahim bin Waleed, to present a saddle fitted with poisoned nails to the 5^th Imam, who succumbed to the fatal bait when he mounted the horse, as the Hajj neared! May divine curse also fall upon the misled Saudi regime, which demolished the grand mausoleum over the tombs of the Prophet’s 2^nd, 4^th, 5^th and 6^th Infallible Heirs, and continues to prevent faithful Muslims from either visiting their dilapidated grave sites, or performing the Hajj pilgrimage in peace!  

Before departing from the mortal world, at the end of his 19-year imamate, Imam Baqer (AS) set aside a sum of money and willed that at Mena during the Hajj where Muslims from various lands converge for the climax to the annual pilgrimage, the sufferings of the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt, including his own, and that of his tragically martyred grandfather, Imam Husain (AS), should be narrated, in order to arouse the consciousness of the pilgrims.

Peace unto the Imam, who as a 4-year child was imprisoned by the ungodly Yazid and whipped by his hordes in Karbala; the marks of which were visible on his 57-year old body at the time of the funeral bath and burial this day in 114 AH in the Sacred Jannat al-Baqie Cemetery.

Since Iran and the Iranians are commemorating the anniversary of last year’s brutal massacre at Mena during the Hajj rituals by the Godless Saudi clan, whose mismanagement and mischief triggered a horrible stampede that resulted in the killing of over 2,000 pilgrims, including some 500 Iranian Muslims, here is a hadith from the 5^th Imam on the sufferings of the faithful and the seizure of their rights by the enemies: 

“There is no single Eid al-Fitr or Eid al-Adha in which Muslims do not renew their sorrows for the household of the Holy Prophet —the Ahl ul-Bayt (as)… because they see their rights in the hands of others.”

AS/MG