Name :	Musa.
Title:	Al-Kazim.
Agnomen :	Abu Ibrahim.
Father’s name :	Ja’far as-Sadiq.
Mother’s name :	Hamida al-Barbariyya.
Birth :	In Abwa’ (between Mecca and Medina) on Sunday, 7th safar 128 AH.
Death :	Died at the age of 55, in Baghdad, on 25th Rajab 183AH; poisoned by Harun ar-Rashid; buried in al Kazimiyyah, Baghdad.

The Holy Imam Musa al-Kazim is the seventh is the Seventh Apostolic Imam. His epithet was Abu’l-Hasan and his famous title was al-Kazim. His matchless devotion and worship of God has also earned him the title of “Abdu’s-Salih” (virtuous slave of God). Generosity was synonymous with his name and no beggar ever returned form his door empty handed. Even after his death, he continued to be obliging and was generous to his devotees who came to his holy tomb with prayers and behest’s which were invariably granted by God. Thus, one of his additional titles is also “Babu’l-Hawaij” (the door to fulfilling needs).

Parents

The Holy Imam Musa al-Kazim was son of Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq, the Sixth Imam. The name of his mother was Hamida, the daughter of a noble man hailing from the State of Barbary.

Childhood.

Imam Musa al-Kazim passed twenty years of his sacred life under the gracious patronage of his holyfather. His inherent genius and gifted virtues combined with the enlightened guidance and education from the Holy Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq, showed in the manifestation of his future personality. He was fully versed with the Divine knowledge even in his childhood.

Al-‘Allamah al-Majlisi relates that once Abu Hanifa happened to call upon the holy abode of Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq to ask him about some religious matters (masa’il). The Imam was asleep and so he kept waiting outside till the Imam’s awakening. Meanwhile, Imam Musa al-Kazim, who was then five years old, came out of his house. Abu Hanifa, after offering him his best compliments enquired:

“O the son of the Holy Prophet! What is your opinion about the deeds of a man? Does he do them by himself or does God make him do them?”

“O Abu Hanifah”, the five years old Imam replied at once, in the typical tone of his ancestors, “the doings of a man are confined to three possibilities, First, That God alone does them while the man is quite helpless. Second, that both God and the man do equally share the commitment. Third, that man does them alone. Now, if the first assumption is true, it obviously proves the unjustness of God who punishes His creatures for sins which they have not committed. And if the second condition be acceptable, even then God becomes unjust if He punishes the man for the crimes in which He is equally partner. But the undesirability of both these conditions is evident in the case of God. Thus, we are naturally left with the third alternatives to the problem that men are absolutely responsible for their own doings.

Imamte.

The Holy Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq breathed his last on 25th Shawwal 148 AH, and with effect from the same date Imam Musa al-Kazim succeeded the holy office of Imamate as the Seventh Imam. The period of his Imamate continued for thirty-five years. In the first decade of his Imamate, Imam Musa al-Kazim could afford a peaceful execution of the responsibilities of his sacred office and carried on the propagation of the teachings of the Holy Prophet. But soon after, he fell a victim to the ruling kings and a greater part of his life passed in prison.

Political Condition.

Imam Musa al-Kazim lived under the most crucial times in the regimes of the despotic ‘Abbasid kings who were marked for their tyrannical and cruel administration. He witnessed the reigns of al-Mansur ad-Dawaniqi, al-Mahdi and Harun ar-Rashid, al-Mansur and Harun ar-Rashid were the despotic kings who put a multitude of innocent descendants of the Holy Prophet to the sword. Thousands of these martyrs were buried alive inside walls or put into horrible dark prisons during their lifetime. These depraved caliphs knew no pity or justice and they killed and tortured for the pleasure they derived from human sufferings.

The Holy Imam was saved from the tyranny of al-Mansur because the king, being occupied with his project of constructing the new city of Baghdad, could not get time to turn towards victimizing the Imam. By 157 AH the city of Baghdad was built. This was soon followed by the death of its founder a year later. After al-Mansur, his son al-Mahdi ascended the throne. For a few years he remained indifferent towards the Imam. When in 164 AH he came to Medina and heard about the great reputation of the Imam, he could not resist his jealousy and the spark of his ancestral malice against the Ahlu’l-bayt was rekindled. He somehow managed to take the Imam along with him to Baghdad and got him imprisoned there. But after a year he realized his mistake and released the Imam from jail. Al-Mahdi was succeeded by al-Hadi who lived only for a year. Now, in 170 AH, the most cruel and tyrannical king Harun ar-Rashid appeared at the head of the’Abbasid Empire. It was during his reign that the Holy Imam passed the greater part of his life in a miserable prison till he was poisoned.

Moral and Ethical Excellence.

As regards his morality and ethical, Ibn Hajar al-Haytami remarks: “The patience and forbearance of Imam Musa al-Kazim was such that the he was given the title of ‘al-Kazim’ (one who swallows down his anger). He was the embodiment of virtue and generosity. He devoted his nights to the prayers of God and his days to fasting. He always forgave those who did wrong to him.”

His kind and generous attitude towards the people was such that he used to patronize and help the poor and destitutes of Medina and provide for them cash, food, clothes and other necessitities of sustenance secretly. It continued to be a riddle for the receivers of gifts throughout the Imam’s lifetime as to who their benefactor was, but the secret was not revealed until after his death.

Literary Attainments.

Time and circumstances did not permit the Holy Imam Musa al_Kazim to establish institutions to impart religious knowledge to his followers as his father, Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq and his grandfather, Imam Muhammad al-Baqir had done. He was never allowed to address a congregation. He carried on his mission of preaching and guiding people quietly.

Death.

In 179 AH, Harun ar-Rashid visited Medina. The fire of malice and jealousy against Ahlu’l-bayt was kindled in his heart when he saw the great influence and popularity which the Holy Imam enjoyed amongst the people there. He got the Imam arrested while he was busy in prayer at the tomb of the Holy Prophet and kept him in prison in Baghdad for a period of about four Years on the 25th Rajab 183 AH, he got the Imam martyred by poison. Even his corpse was not spared humiliation and was taken out of the prison and left on the Bridge of Baghdad, His devotees, however, managed to lay the Holy body of the Imam to rest in al-Kazimiyyah (Iraq).

Hazrat Imam al-Kazim, peace be on him said:

No charity is superior to giving a helping hand to the weak.

Never bother to learn something not knowing which does not do you any harm, and never neglect to learn something whose negligence will increase your ignorance.

THE EIGHT IMAM ‘ALI MUSA AR-RAZA (peace be on him)

Name :	‘Ali.
Title :	Ar-Raza
Agnomen :	Abu’l-Hasan
Father’s name :	Musa al- Kazim
Mother’s name :	Ummu’l-Banin Najma.
Birth :	In Medina, on Thursday, 11th Zilqad 148 AH.
Death :	Died at the age of 55, in Mashad (Khorasan), on Tuesday, 17th Safar 203 AH; poisoned by al-Ma’mun, the ‘Abbasid caliph; buried in Mashad, (Iran).

Imam ‘Ali ar-Reza was brought up under the holy guidance of his father for thirty-five years. His own insight and brilliance in religious matters combined with the excellent training and education given by his father made him unique in his spiritual leadership. Imam ar-Reza was living example of the piety of the great Prophet and the chivalry and generosity of Imam ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib.

Succession.

Imam Musa al-Kazim was well aware of the aggressive designs of the government in power against the imamate and therefore during his lifetime he declare Imam ar-Reza as his successor in the presence of hundred and seventy-one prominent religious divines and called upon his sons and his family to submit to him and refer to him in all matters after him. He also left behind a written document declaring the succession of Imam ar-Reza duly signed and endorsed by not less than sixteen prominent persons. All these necessary steps were taken by the great Imam to avoid any confusion that may have arisen after his death.

Imamate:

Imam Musa al-Kazim was poisoned while he was still in prison and expired on 25th Rajab 183 AH, and on the same day Imam ar-Reza was declare as the eight Imam of the Muslim world, Imam ar-Reza had the great task before him of coming out with the correct interpretation of the Holy Qur’an; specially under the most unfavourable circumstances prevailing under the government of Harun ar-Rashid. Many belonging to the faith were imprisoned and those who were free and could not be jailed faced untold atrocities and sufferings. Imam ar-Raza, of course, stamped his impression upon his age by carrying on the mission of the Great Prophet in a peaceful manner even during the most chaotic periods, and it was mostly due to his efforts that the teaching of the Holy Prophet and his descendants became widespread.

Imam ar-Reza had inherited great qualities of head and heart from his ancestors. He was a versatile person and had full command over many languages, Ibnu’l-Athir al-Jazari penned very rightly that Imam ar-Reza was undoubtedly the greatest sage, saint and scholar of the second century (AH) Once, on his way to khurasan, when he (the Imam) was brought by force by the guards of al-Ma’mun from Medina, he arrived on horseback at Nishapur. Myriads of people gathered round him and all roads were overcrowded as they had come to meet and see their great Imam. Abu Dhar’ah ar-Razi and Muhammad ibn Aslam at-Tusi, the two great scholars of the day, stepped out of the crowd and begged the Imam to halt there for a moment so that the faithful may be able to hear his voice. They also requested the Imam to address the gathering. The Imam granted the request and in his brief address told the mammoth gathering the real interpretation of laa ilaaha illallah. Quoting Allah, he continued to say that the kalimah is the fortress of Allah and whoever entered the fortress saved himself from His wrath.

He paused for a moment and continued that there were also a few conditions to entitle the entrance to the fortress and the greatest of all conditions was sincere and complete submission to the Imam of the day; and very boldly and frankly explained to the people that any disloyalty to the Prophet and his descendants would withdraw the right of the entrance to the fortress. The only way to earn Almighty Allah’s pleasure was to obey the Prophet and his progeny and that was the only path to salvation and immortality.

The above-mentioned incident speaks clearly of the great popularity of Imam ar-Raza, and the love, loyalty and respect the Muslims gave their beloved Imam. Ma’mun, the king was conscious of the fact that he would not survive for long if he also did not express his loyalty to the great leader and his intelligence department had made it clear to him that the Iranian people were truly and sincerely loyal to the Imam and he could only win them over if he also pretended to give respect and sympathetic consideration to Imam ‘Ali ar-Reza. Ma’mun was a very shrewd person. He made a plan to invite Imam ar-Reza and to offer him the heirship to the throne. The Imam was summoned by a royal decree and was compelled, under the circumstances, to leave Medina- where he was living a quite life- and present himself at the royal court of Ma’mun.

On his arrival Ma’mun showed him hospitality and great respect, then he said to him: “I want to get rid of myself of the caliphate and vest the office in you.” But ar-Reza refused his offer. Then Ma’mun repeated his offer in a letter saying: “If you refuse what I have offered you, then you must accept being the heir after me.” But again ar-Reza refused his offer vigorously. Ma’mun summoned him. He was alone with al-Fadl ibn Sahl, the man with two offices (i.e. military and civil). There was no one else in their gathering. Ma’mun said to Imam ar-Reza, “I thought it appropriate to invest authority over the Muslims in you and to relieve myself of the responsibility by giving it to you”. “when again Imam ar-Reza refused to accept his offer, Ma’mun spoke to him as if threatening him for his refusal. In his speech he said. “Umar ibn al-Khattab made a committee of consultation(shura) (to appoint successor). Among them was your forefather, the Commander of the faithful, ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib. (Umar) stipulated that any of them who opposed the decision should be executed. So there is no escape for you from accepting what I want from you., I will ignore your rejection of it.” In reply, Imam ar-Reza said: “ I will agree to what you want of me as far as succession is concerned on condition that I do not command, nor order, nor give legal decisions, nor judge, nor appoint, nor dismiss, nor change anything from how it is at present.” Al-Ma’mun accepted all of that.

On the day when al-Ma’mun ordered to make the pledge of allegiance to ar-Reza, one of the close associates of ar-Reza, who was present, narrates, “On that day I was in front of him. He looked at me while I was feeling happy about what had happened. He signaled to me to come closer. I went closer to him and he said so that no one else could hear, ‘Do not occupy your heart with this matter and do not be happy about. It is something which will not be achieved.’

Quoting Allamah Shibli from his book Ma’mun, we get a very clear picture of how Ma’mun decided to offer his leadership to Imam ar-Reza. Imam ar-Reza was the Eighth Imam and Ma’mun could not help holding him in great esteem because of the Imam’s piety, wisdom, knowledge, modesty, decorum, and personality. Therefore, he decided to nominate him as the rightful heir to the throne. Earlier in 200 AH he had summoned the ‘Abbasids. Thirty-three thousand ‘Abbasids responded to the invitation and were entertained as royal guests. During their stay at the capital he very closely observed and noted their capabilities and eventually arrived at the conclusion that not one of them deserved to succeed him. He therefore spoke to them all in assembly in 201 AH telling them in categorical terms that none of the ‘Abbasids deserved to succeed him. He demanded allegiance to Imam ar-Reza from the people in this very meeting and declared that royal robes would be green in future, the colour which had the unique distinction of being that of the Imam’s dress. A royal decree was published saying that Imam ar-Reza will succeed al-Ma’mun.

Even after the declaration of succession when there was every opportunity for the Imam to live a splendid worldly royal life, he did not pay any heed to material comforts and devoted himself completely to imparting the true Islamic conception of the Prophet’s teachings and the Holy Qur’an. He spent most of his time praying to God and serving the people.

Taking full advantage of the concession given to him by virtue of his elevated position in the royal court, he organized the majalis (meetings) commemorating the martyrdom of the martyrs of karbala. ‘These majalis were first held during the days of Imam Muhammd al-Baqir and Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq, but Imam ar-Reza gave the majalis a new impetus by encouraging those ports who wrote effective poems depicting the moral aspects of the tragedy and the suffering of Imam Husain and his companions.

Ma’mun had been very sacred of the growing popularity of the Imam and he had appointed him as his heir to the throne only for the fulfillment of his own most ambitious and sinister designs and getting the Imam’s endorsement to his tricky plans. But the Imam naturally refused to give his endorsement to any such plans which were against the teaching of Islam. Al-Ma’mun therefore became very disappointed with him and decided once and for all to check his growing popularity and ensuring his own survival by acting according to the old traditions of killing the Imam. Wanting to do it in a more subtle manner, he invited the Imam to dinner, and fed him poisoned grapes. The Imam died on 17th Safar 203 AH, he was buried in Tus (Mashad) and his Grand shrines speaks well for the great personality the Imam possessed. Myriads of Muslims visit his shrine every year to pay their homage to this Imam.

Hazrat Imam ar-Raza, peace be on him, said:
• Doing seven things without doing the seven other things is self-mockery
• Asking for forgiveness from Allah verbally without repenting with the heart;
• Asking for Allah’s help without undertaking any effort; making a firm resolution to do something without taking due precautions;
• Asking Allah for paradise without enduring the related hardship; beseeching deliverance from the Hell-fire without refraining from lusts, remembering Allah without anticipating to encounters Him.