Ibn Manẓūr has mentioned: Aḥmad ibn Yaḥyā was asked why the Lady Fatimah (‘a) was given the name of Batūl. He answered: (She was named as such) because of her virtue, her modesty, her religion, her personality, and her lineage amongst all of the women of her time, which was superior and distinct. It has also been said that (she was given this name) because of her separation from the matters of this world (worldly matters) and her movement towards the Lord…
A name is typically given as a characteristic that defines the one that it is bestowed upon. From various traditions, it appears that the lady Fatimah (‘a) was given this name by God. From a grammatical perspective, the name Fatimah comes from the root word Faṭama which means to separate a child from its mother’s milk;
Ali bin Yaqtin who acted as Imam Musa al-Kazim’s secret agent in the palace of Harun, would secretly send the Imam his Khums, and occasionally, although extremely dangerous and risky, he would send the Imam financial aid.
The al-Fakhkh revolution was not completely independent of the seventh Imam (as).
Harun was extremely unhappy by the fact that even with all his power and influence, he felt the hearts of the people were still with Imam Musa al-Kazim (‘a). He tried tirelessly and desperately to eradicate this spiritual influence and penetration of the Imam in the people’s hearts.
Musa was son to the sixth Shiite Imam, Jafar al-Sadiq, and Hamidah. He was born in Abuwa, a small city on the outskirts of Medina.
The Abbasid caliph Muhammad, more famously known as Mahdi once came to Medina to visit the grave of the Prophet (s), on this particular visit he went to visit Imam al-Kaẓim (‘a) to test his knowledge. He decided to do this through asking the Imam about the prohibition of alcohol in the Qur’an. He explained to the Imam that most people understand that the Qur’an has asked people to stay away from alcohol, however they do not understand this as being a prohibition, thereafter asking ‘has alcohol been prohibited in the Qur’an?’
The Ghulāt were one of the deviant and misguided groups, which were active during the Imamate of Imam Hadi (‘a). While the Ghullāt considered themselves as being Shia, their ideology and beliefs were utterly deviant and outside the fold of the Shia creed. They had certain exaggerated beliefs in regards to the Imam (‘a) and considered him as a divine being.
Hishām ibn ‘Abd al-Malik, one of the caliphs during the time of Imam al-Baqir (‘a), was always fearful of the Imam’s (‘a) extraordinary rank and the people’s love towards him. Since he also knew that his followers considered him to be the Imam, he was perpetually working to prevent the spread of the spiritual influence of these followers, as well as an increase in their numbers.
Before Imam al-Baqir (‘a) left the city of Damascus, a particularly amazing opportunity presented itself to awaken the minds of the masses. Through this opportunity, the people were also allowed to see a manifestation of the Imam’s (‘a) learning and knowledge.
It was mentioned previously that Imam al-Baqir (‘a) lived contemporaneously with 5 of the Umayyid caliphs. We will mention the particularities of each during their time of rule and their administration of the society. This will make evident the social and political conditions and circumstances which Imam al-Baqir (‘a) lived in during his life.
Hishām ordered the governor of Medina to send for Imam al-Baqir (‘a) and his son, Ja’far ibn Muhammad (‘a) and to tell them to come to Syria. Without having a choice, the Imam (‘a) and his son (‘a) left for Damascus and they soon arrived there. Hishām had decided to set up an archery competition in order to embarrass the Imam (‘a). Hishām assumed that with the defeat of the Imam (‘a) in such a competition, he would be lowered in the view of the people. In addition, even though the Imam (‘a) had arrived in Damascus, he postponed their meeting for three days.
He is famously known for analyzing and explaining various intellectual issues. He brought about an extensive movement in learning and science, and laid the foundations for an Islamic university, which reached its zenith in the time of his son Imam Sadiq (‘a).
Imam Al-Baqir (‘a) was born in the year 57 Hijrī, in the city of Medina. He was 39 years old at the time of the death of his father, Imam Zayn al-‘Abidīn (‘a) (who passed away in 94 Hijrī). His name was Muhammad, while his kunya was Abū Ja’far, and his agnomens were al-Baqir and Baqir al-‘Ūlūm.
We know that one of the important aspects in the lives of our Imams (‘a) was that of their intellectual guidance and education of the society. Each of these leaders trained and educated a great many students during their time and they spread their own knowledge through the medium of these students throughout the society. Still, the individual political situations of the Imams (‘a) were not the same and differed significantly in some cases; for example, the time of Imam Baqir (‘a) and Imam Sadiq (‘a) were quite favorable and for this same reason, they educated a large number of students. The people who narrated traditions from Imam Sadiq (‘a) exceeded 4,000 individuals.
Abū Ḥanīfah has said the following in regards to Imam al-Sadiq (‘a): I have not seen a more knowledgeable jurisprudent than Jaʿfar ibn Muhammad.
Imam al-Sadiq (‘a) was well-known for his positive characteristics amongst his contemporaries.
Abū Ḥanīfah, ‘Abdullah ibn Abī Shubrumah, and Ibn Abī Laylā all went to meet with Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq (‘a).
Ibn Khallakān has mentioned the following in regards to Imam al-Sadiq (‘a): “Imam Jaʿfar al-Sadiq is the sixth Imam from the Imams of the Ahl al-Bayt.
The Late Sayyid ibn Ṭāwūs has written: They brought the family of Imam Husayn (‘a) in to the court of Yazīd while they were tied up with ropes. According to the narration of Muqarram, ropes were placed around the necks of Imam Sajjad (‘a), Zaynab, and the rest of the daughters of the Prophet (saww); they were taken towards Yazīd’s court and whenever any one of them would stop, the guards would beat them until they continued walking again.
The second stage of this movement, which began from the event of ‘Ashura, continued with the sermons of Zaynab (‘a) (the daughter of Amīr al-Mu'minīn (‘a)) in the market of Kūfah, along with the short and simple, yet powerful speeches of Imam Zayn al-’Abidīn (‘a).
When the captives were taken in to Syria, it has been narrated that an old man came close to the caravan and said: I thank God that he destroyed and killed you, and he made the cities safe from your men and he gave Yazīd victory over you! Imam ‘Ali ibn al-Husayn (‘a) said to the old man: Oh old man, have you read the Quran?
At the time of Islam’s revelation, slavery was a prevalent phenomenon, even in empires such as Rome. Since the abolishment of such a widespread and deep rooted phenomenon was not possible all at once, Islam opened various other routes towards its gradual abolishment. From one angle, Islam reduced the ways that people could be taken as slaves, and from the other angle, it made the freeing of slaves an Islamic institution
Unfortunately, some people who are unaware of history, view the 4th Infallible (‘a) as the ‘Sick Imam’. They have a mental image of him as being physically pale and sickly, while psychologically they think of him as being depressed and forever gloomy.
He was the son of Imam Husayn ibn ‘Ali (‘a), the third Imam of the Shia world, and his mother was Shahr Bānūwiyah.
After the tragedy of Karbala, Yazīd’s agents began to use the Jabrīyah ideology, and publicized his apparent victory against Imam Husayn (‘a) as being the will of God. To these ends, ‘Ubaydullah ibn Zīyād gathered the people at Kūfah’s main mosque, so that there, they could be told of what had taken place. He gave himself an aura of religiosity and began to say to the people: ‘I praise God who made the truth victorious and aided Amīr al-Mu’minīn (Yazīd) and his companions, and killed the liar, the son of the liar!’
When Zaynab (‘a) saw the bloodied head of Imam Husayn (‘a) in the gathering that Yazīd had organized, she cried out in a grief stricken voice and said: Oh Husayn, oh beloved of the Prophet of God (ṣ), oh child of Mecca and Minā, oh son of Fatimah Zahra’, the master of all the men of the world, oh son of the daughter of Muhammad Muṣṭafā.
At this point in time, Zaynab (‘a) had lost six or seven of her brothers; her son had been killed, ten of her nephews had been killed, and she and what was left of her family had been taken captive by the forces of Yazīd. In spite of all of this, she was put in a position where she had to defend herself and fight against what had happened to her and her family.