Imam Baqer, Recipient of the Prophet's Greetings
Mar 19, 2018 06:42 UTC
Salaam and heartiest congratulations to you on a very special occasion. Today is the 1st of Rajab, the month when God Almighty showers His blessings on the seekers of truth, the seekers of forgiveness, the penitents, the worshippers, and all those who strive in His path.
The first day of Rajab also happens to be the auspicious birth anniversary of a very special person. He was none other than the namesake of the Prophet of Islam, and in fact, the 5th Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). Stay with us for a special feature on the life and times of Imam Mohammad Baqer (AS), who was descended on both sides, that is, father and mother, from the Almighty's Last and Greatest Messenger to all mankind.
"O Jaber, you will have a long life, and although you will go blind, but you will meet the 5th in line of my descendants whose name will be my name, who will walk like me and who will be the 5th Imam of the time. When you meet him, give my salaams to him".
What you heard were the immortal words of the Prophet of Islam to his famous companion, Jaber ibn Ahdullah al-Ansari, who asked the Messenger of Mercy the names of his Infallible Heirs, the offspring of his Immaculate Daughter, Hazrat Fatema Zahra (SA).
As prophesied by the Seal of Messengers, Jaber, the first person to visit the grave of the Prophet's grandson, the Martyr of Karbala. Imam Husain (AS), on the Arba’een or the 40th day of the heartrending tragedy of Ashura (10th Muharram 61 AH), lived a long life and although he lost his eyesight, he patiently awaited the time he would meet the 5th Imam.
As years passed, it was his habit every morning to come out of his house and sit by the roadside to hear the sound of the footsteps of the Prophet's namesake, the grandson of both the grandsons of the Mercy unto the creation.
The day finally dawned when in the street of Medina he heard the sound of footsteps that reminded him of the way the Prophet used to walk. To his delight, the footsteps neared him and a youth approached him. Jaber immediately stood up, and asked the person his name, and to his excitement, the reply was: "Muhammad" the son of Ali ibn al-Husain (AS).”
Jaber kissed him and reverently conveyed to him the greetings of the Prophet of Islam, entrusted to him over half-a-century ago. The excited Jaber called his family member and friends to assemble in the house, and narrated to them what had transpired between him and the Prophet.
Jaber then recited to gathering the names of seven more Imams that would descend from Imam Mohammad al-Baqer (AS), as foretold by the Prophet, up to the 12th and Last One, who after a lengthy occultation would rise in the end times as Mahdi al-Qa’em to establish the global government of peace, prosperity, and justice on Planet Earth.
Today, the 1st of Rajah is that blessed day when the 5th Imam, whose epithet “Baqer al-Uloum”, which means “Splitter and Spreader of Sciences”, was given by the Prophet, was born in the Prophet's city in 57 AH, 46 years after the passing away of the Prophet.
If, as the son of Imam Ali Zain al-Abedin (AS), he was the paternal grandson of the Martyr of Karbala, his descent from the Prophet from both sides is evident, since his mother Fatema (SA) was the daughter of the Prophet's elder grandson, Imam Hasan al-Mujtaba (AS).
In 95 AH, the mantle of imamate that the Prophet had conferred on his great-grandfather, the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS), by the command of God Almighty at the historic plain of Ghadeer-Khom on 18th Zilhijja 10 AH, came to rest on his shoulders.
In those dark days of Omayyad tyranny, the 5th Imam spared no effort to enlighten Muslims about Islam, about God’s Revealed Word, the holy Qur’an, and about the infallibility and divine knowledge possessed by the Best of creation, that is his illustrious ancestor Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).
On the 5th Imam authority, the Sunnah and Seerah (or practice and behaviour) of the Prophet was recorded by scribes, to whom he also narrated accounts of the prophets of the past, since knowledge and wisdom were household affairs for him.
The 5th Imam explained to the seekers of truth a wide variety of topics, including the nature of the soul and Nafs, as well as the attributes of God.
Once, when the Mu’tazilite chief, Wasel bin Ata, thinking himself to be rationalistic, asked the 5th Imam about the anger of God as mentioned in the Qur’an, Imam Baqer (AS) explained that this refers to divine punishment and cannot be compared to the anger of human beings, because the Nature of the All-Merciful, All-Wise, and the Most Just Creator, does not change. It is the obstinate disbelievers and unrepentant sinners, who bring upon themselves divine punishment despite being granted by God lengthy respite for repentance and reform, and ample opportunities to avail of His Forgiveness.
It was during the 5th Imam’s time that Omar IBN Abdul Aziz briefly became the Omayyad caliph for three years, during which he ordered the stopping of the blasphemous practice of curses from the pulpits of mosques on the Commander of the Faithful Imam Ali ihn Abi Taleb (AS) that were initiated by the accursed Mu’awiyya ibn Abu Sufyan.
Omar ibn Abdul-Aziz, aware of the injustice done to the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt by the caliphs wanted to rectify the wrongs done by his predecessors. The Imam admonished him with bezels of wisdom till the caliph wept, and decided to return the vast orchard of Fadak which was seized from Hazrat Fatema Zahra (SA) by Omar ibn Khattab, despite the fact that the Prophet had given it to her in his lifetime on the commandment of God Almighty, as a small compensation for the proverbial wealth of her mother, Omm al-Momineen Hazrat Khadija (SA), that was spent on providing food, clothing, and shelter to the persecuted neo Muslim community of Mecca.
Imam Baqer (AS), who was martyred in 114 AH at the age of 57 through a dose of poisoning on the orders of the tyrannical Omayyad caliph, Hisham ibn Abdul-Malik, always enlightened the rulers on the Imamate of the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali (AS).
Once Imam Baqer (AS) fearlessly told Hisham in his in his court that the ayah 3 of Surah al-Ma’edah was revealed to Prophet Muhammad on the Day of Ghadeer-Khom after he had proclaimed Imam Ali (AS) as his vicegerent:
“This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed by My favour upon you and decreed Islam to be your religion.”
When the caliph asked for more proofs, the Imam recounted many more hadith and indisputable events from the Prophet's lifetime regarding the prime position of Imam Ali, making the wicked and crafty Hisham speechless.
This was in brief, the wisdom of the 5th Imam, some of whose aphorisms we present you for further enlightenment:
“The faithful does not become coward, greedy and miser.”
“The scholar whose existence is fruitful and useful his worth is more than seventy thousand silly, witless ascetics (worshipers).”
“God does not like the scurrilous.”
“Avoid languidness (extenuation) because it is the key to every indecency and ruins and spoils the religion and the world (worldly affairs) of man.”
“Avoid envying and being jealous of each other keep away from selfishness (egotism), do not adopt cruelty, be vigilant and watchful about your prayers, be the friend of oppressed ones.”
AS/MG
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