Muhammad al-Baqir

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Muhammad al-Baqir
5th Imam of Twelver and 4th Imam of Ismaili Shia
Baghi tomb.jpg
The historical tomb of Al-Baqi' was destroyed in 1925. Imam Muhammad al-Baqir is one of four Shiite Imams buried here.
Native name محمد بن علي الباقر  (Arabic)
Born c. 676 CE[1]
(1 Rajab 57 AH AH)
Medina, Umayyad Empire
Died c. 31 January 733(733-01-31) (aged 57)
(7 Dhul Hijja 114 AH)
Medina, Umayyad Empire
Cause of death
Death by poisoning
Resting place
Jannatul Baqi, Saudi Arabia
Other names Muhammad ibn ‘Alī ibn Husayn
Ethnicity `Arab (Quraysh)
Term 712 – 733 CE
Predecessor Ali ibn Husayn
Successor Ja'far al-Sadiq
Religion Islam
Spouse(s) Farwah bint al-Qasim
Umm Hakīm bint Usayd ibn al-Mughīrā al-Thaqafī
Parents `Ali ibn Husayn
Fatimah bint Hasan

Muḥammad al-Bāqir (Arabic: محمد الباقر ‎) (676-733 AD),[3] also called abu Ja'far was Known as al-Baqir (the one who splits open knowledge). His full name was Muhammad bin 'Ali bin al-Husayn bin Ali bin Abi Talib and was the fifth Shiite Imam after his father zayn al-Abidin and before his son Ja'far al-Sadiq. He was the first Imam for whom the birth of Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali, the grandsons of Muhammad came together. Many traditions and abundant knowledge were reported on his authority. He is respected by Shiite Muslims for his religious leadership and highly respected by Sunni Muslims for his knowledge and Islamic scholarship as a leading jurist of Medina.[5][6]

Birth and early life[edit]

Al-Baqir had a prominent lineage in that both his paternal and maternal grandfathers, Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali, were Muhammad's grandsons. His mother, Fatima Umm Abd Allah, was a daughter of al-Hasan the son of Ali. He was born in Medina, around 56/676 when Muawiyah I was trying to make safe the pledge of allegiance for his son Yazid I. While he was still a child, his family was troubled by the tragedy of Karbala and have been three or four years old when his grandfather, Husayn, was killed. According to Ya'qubi, al-Baqir was in fact present at Karbala. In his youth he witnessed the struggle for power among the Umayyads, Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr and different Shiite parties, while at the same time he saw his father remained aloof from political activity.[7][8]


Al-Baqir is a reduced form of al-Baqir al-'ilm, which means he who split open knowledge. Muhammad al-Baqir is said, therefor, to have been famous for his heritage of knowledge. According to Ibn Khallikan, he received the nickname al-Baqir (the Ample) due to the "ample fund of knowledge" he collected. However, Ya'qubi believe that he was called al-Baqir because he "split open knowledge", meaning he examined into the depths of it.[a][8] For the Shiite, however, Baqir al-'ilm was not an ordinary title, for they believe it was given to him by Muhammad. According to al-Kulayni, Jabir ibn Abd Allah, the only living companion of Muhammad, used to sit in the mosque and call out: Ya baqir al-ilm, Ya baqir al-ilm. Medinans thought that Jabir was insane, however he assured them that he had heard from Muhammad who said: "O Jabir! You will meet a man from my family who will have the same name and the same characteristics as mine. He will split open knowledge extensively."[7] As for how Jabir ibn Abd Allah met Muhammad al-Baqir, al-Kulayni relates that once while al-Jabir was passing a Quran school which al-Baqir attended as a child, saw the Imam who was still a child and examined him to see if he has the features he had heard from Muhammad. Then Jabir explained: "Characteristics of the Messenger of Allah; by Him in whose hands is my soul, O boy, what is your name".[7] When Muhammad answered that he was Muhammad ibn Ali ibn al-Husayn, Jabir "approached him, kissed his head and swore by his father and mother that Muhammad had recited greeting upon him."[7][8]


During the Imamah of Muhammad al-Baqir, and due to the oppressive manner of the Umayyads, riots broke out everywhere in the Islamic world. Besides, there were disagreements among the Umayyad party itself which kept them busy among themselves so that they left members of the household alone for some time. On the other hand, the tyranny placed on the members of household in the Battle of Karbala had drawn many people to the Imams. These conditions had permitted people, particularly the Shiite to travel to Medina in large groups and to go to the Imam's presence freely. Possibilities for spreading Islam, which had not existed for the previous Imams, were, thus, available for the fifth Imam. Numerous traditions related from the Imam and the numerous scholars who were trained under him obviously shows this. [b][6]


After the death of Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin, the fourth Imam, the majority of the Shiites agreed on his son al-Baqir, as the next Imam, while a minority followed another son of the fourth Imam, Zayd ibn Ali, and became known as Zaidiyyah. According to Ibn Khallikan,[c] Zaid, the brother of Muhammad al-Baqir called for people on his own behalf to back his cause. Al-Masudi, however, says that he first got advice of Muhammad al-Baqir who advised him not to rely on the people of Kufa, explaining how they had behaved toward the members of household formerly. Zaid, however, did not listened to his brother's advice and led the people of Kufa in a useless riot. Al-Shahrastani[d] states that a dispute had come up between Muhammad al-Baqir and Zaid for Zaid had been following the lessons of the Mu'tazilite, Wasil ibn Ata. Zaid had also announced that the position of an Imam was conditional on his appearing publicly to claim his rights. And in answer, Muhammad al-Baqir said to Zaid, "Your faith then is merely in your father, as such, for according to your theory he was not an Imam, for he certainly never came forth to assert his claims."[6][8]

Under the Umayyad Rulers[edit]

Despite not being involved in political activitis, the Umayyad rulers bothered Muhammad al-Baqir. For, they knew that a large number of Shia individuals and deputations which were coming from Kufa to Medina, had no intend but to attend al-Baqir's teaching, and to ask him specific questions;[9] among which was the question of who had the right to rule.[10] Moreover, the uprising of his brother, Zayd ibn Ali and his other relatives made them distrust him. it is related that once Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik, the caliph made a pilgrimage to Mecca where Imam Mohammed al-Baqir and his son Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq were also present. There was a gathering where imam Baqir delivered a sermon saying: "We are the favorite and chosen servants of God, and His vicegerents on the face of the earth. One who obeys us is successful and one who opposes would be evil and wretched."[5] Someone conveyed these statements to Hisham. When he returned to his court in Syria, he wrote to his Governor of Medina instructing him to send Imam al-Baqir and his son Jafar al-Sadiq to Damascus. When they reached, to humiliate them, he kept them waiting for three days, without allowing people to meet them. On the fourth day he called them to his court where he was practicing archery with his officials.[5]



In Ma'athiru'l-Baqir the Imam discussed many topics from the nature of the soul, and the qualities of the Ulama to the attributes of God and the divine nature explaining that it was not possible for men to understand it. To illustrate; one day a man asked him: "Should I think of anything (to understand Allah)?" The Imam replied: "Yes, but you have to imagine a thing which the mind cannot contain and which is without limit. He is unlike whatever comes into your mind. Nothing resembles Him nor can any thought reach Him."[5] It is also among his saying that: "Talk about the creation of Allah, but do not talk about Allah Himself, for that increases the owner of the talk nothing except perplexity."[5] He defines a Rasul as a prophet who both hears the voice of the angel of revelation and sees the angel in a bodily form or in a dream. As for Nabi, he says, it is a prophet who hears the voice of the angel, but does not see him; and 'the Imam's condition, he says, is like that of the Nabi. [e] The Imam was frequently referred to explain particular teachings concerning the Imamate, which is also explained in Ma'athiru'l-Baqir, a summery of which is translated into English in Canon Sell's Ithna ʻAsharíyya or The Twelve Shiʻah Imams. [f][5][8][11]

Umm al-Kitab[edit]

Umm al-Kitab or The Archetype of the Book is in the form of a discussion between the Imam and three of his companions. It resembles the Gospel of the Infancy, and shows how Imamology is similar to gnostic Christology. Among major ideas of this work are the numinous science of letters. The central motif of the work is the psychological-philosophical explanation of spiritual symbols, and the believers are instructed to involve themselves in acts of self purification and renovation. A large number of colors are presented to symbolize different theories and the consistent levels of consciousness that one must recognize in himself.[12]

Tafsir al-Baqir[edit]

Tafsir al-baqir or Tafsir Abul Jaroud is al-Baqir's exegesis of the Quran. Ibn al-Nadim remarked on this book in his work Kitab al-Fihrist when he named the books written on the exegesis of the Quran. He says:Abul Jaroud Ziyad ibn Abi Ziyad, the head of the Jarudiyya, reported the book of al-Baqir. According to Sayyd Hasan al-Sadr "A group of the reliable Shiites reported the book from him(Abul Jaroud) from the days of his righteousness", among them was Abu Basïr Yahya b. al-Qasim al-Asadi. Ali b. Ibrahï~m b. Hashim al-Qummi has also mentioned it in his book al-Tafsïr on the authority of Abu Basïr.[5]

Selected Sayings[edit]

  • "The virtue of knowledge is more lovable with Allah than the virtue of worship."[5]
  • "Whoever has three qualities or one of them will be in the shade of the throne of Allah: He should treat people with justice. He should do no thing till he knows that (his deed) pleases Allah or angers Him. He should find no fault with his Muslim brother till he frees himself from that fault. For when he frees it from a fault, he finds another fault in it. It is enough for the person that his soul diverts him from the people."[5]


Imam's desecrated grave at Al-Baqi' in Saudi Arabia

There are doubts about both the reason and the time of the death of the fifth Imam. According to some accounts he was poisoned by the nephew of Hisham, Ibrahim ibn Walid ibn Abdallah, however, according to ordinary account, another Zaid, Imam's cousin (the son of al-Hasan) disputed with the Imam over the question of his lagacy, however they agreed that they should go to the judge. When the judge gave his decision against Zaid, he referred the case to the Caliph Hisham. Provoked by Zaid's false complaint, Hisham sent a present to the Governor of Medina, with instructing him to obtain the Imam's heritage (or the document) and send it to him. It is said that the Imam was ready for such an emergency for he gave the Governor a box containing fake documents. However, when the Caliph received the box, he showed it to Zaid and Zaid recognized that it was spurious. According to the Shiite account, the Caliph gave Zaid a saddle treated with poison, and Zaid arranged matters so that it be given to the Imam, who used it and died from the effects of the poison. He was laid to rest underneath the same dome in Jannatul Baqee where Imam Hasan ibn Ali and Imam Zayn al-Abidin were buried.[6][8]

See also[edit]




  4. ^ a b c d e f al-Qarashi, Baqir Shareef. "3". The life of Imam Mohammad al-Baqir. Qum: Ansariyan Publications. 
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Sharif al-Qarashi, Baqir (1999). The Life of Imam Mohammed al-Baqir; Chapter VI & VIII. Translated by Jasim al-Rasheed. Qum, Islamic Republic of Iran: Ansariyan Publications. ISBN 964-438-044-4. 

External links[edit]

Shia Islam titles
Preceded by
Zayn al-‘Ābidīn (‘Alī ibn Ḥusayn)
5th shiite Imam
Succeeded by
Jaʿfar ibn Muhammad al-Sādiq