Islamic Scholars & Mystics Codexery

Musa al-Kazim

Seventh Twelver Shia Imam, known for piety and prison endurance.

Last updated

The seventh Imam of Twelver Shia Islam, Musa al-Kazim, was a descendant of Muhammad and took over the imamate from his father Ja'far al-Sadiq.[1] Al-Kazim's birth occurred around 745 CE in Medina, and for two decades following that he was under his father's tutelage.[1] Harun al-Rashid is broadly considered the main party responsible for al-Kazim's death, which took place around 799 CE while he was in a Baghdad prison during his final incarceration.[2]

Life and work

Musa al-Kazim was probably born on 8 November 745, either in Medina or nearby al-Abwa'.[3] His mother was Hamida Khatun, a Berber slave-girl who taught Islamic jurisprudence to women in a seminary in Medina.[4] The Abbasid caliphs were generally hostile to the Shia imams, and al-Kazim spent much of his adult life in Abbasid prisons in Iraq.[5] Following al-Sadiq's death, al-Kazim chose to instruct followers in religious sciences from Medina and avoided political involvement.[6]

To manage the affairs of his followers and gather religious contributions, al-Kazim created a covert system of deputies.[6] Caliph al-Mahdi detained al-Kazim on at least one occasion, holding him for a short time in Baghdad around 780.[7] Under Harun's rule, the Shia experienced their worst persecution; Harun arrested al-Kazim and apparently meant to kill him.[8] In 799, al-Kazim was poisoned on Harun al-Rashid's orders while imprisoned in Baghdad's al-Sindi ibn Shahak facility.[9]

Certain followers after al-Kazim's death would not acknowledge his demise, instead maintaining he was the Mahdi and had gone into occultation.[2]

What the cited sources add

Algar explains that persecution of al-Kazim began under al-Mansoor and became more intense under al-Hadi, who placed him under house arrest in Madinah.[10] Harun al-Rashid brought about the poisoning and martyrdom of al-Kazim, according to this lecture.[10] The lecture also reports that al-Kazim became known among the poor in Baghdad as 'Bab al-Hawa'ij', meaning 'the gate of needs'.[10] A lecture points out that Hamida, al-Kazim's mother, is referred to as al-Barabariyyah, a term indicating someone from the Horn of Africa.[10]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Musa al-Kazim" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani, Maqatil al-Talibiyyin; Ahmad ibn Abi Ya'qub al-Ya'qubi, Tarikh al-Ya'qubi. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Musa al-Kazim" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "شجره نسب سادات", Syed/Sadat Family tree; "Imam Musa al-Kadhim (a) [Lecture 12]", ICIT Digital Library (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Musa al-Kazim" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kohlberg 2012; Momen 1985, p. 239; Adamec 2017, p. 309; Momen 1985, p. 239; Kohlberg 2012; Kohlberg 2012; Jafri 1979, p. 180 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Musa al-Kazim" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Donaldson 1933, p. 152; Kohlberg 2012 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Musa al-Kazim" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Daftary 2008; Momen 1985, p. 239; Amir-Moezzi 1994, p. 65; Tabatabai 1977, p. 181; Rahim 2004; Hulmes 2008; Dakake 2007, p. 211; Sachedina 1981, p. 25; Sachedina 1981, p. 25 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Musa al-Kazim" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Adamec 2017, p. 309; Donaldson 1933, p. 152; Amir-Moezzi 1994, p. 65; Kohlberg 2012; Rahim 2004; Daftary 2013, p. 59 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Musa al-Kazim" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Momen 1985, p. 239; Rahim 2004; Kohlberg 2012; Kohlberg 2012; Rahim 2004; Donaldson 1933, p. 152; Kohlberg 2012; Amir-Moezzi 1994, p. 65 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Musa al-Kazim" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Momen 1985, p. 239; Momen 1985, p. 239; Donaldson 1933, p. 152 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Musa al-Kazim" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Rahim 2004; Tabatabai 1977, p. 181; Momen 1985, p. 239; Kohlberg 2012; Hussain 1986, p. 34; Kohlberg 2012; Kohlberg 2012; McHugo 2017, p. 107; Pierce 2016, p. 45; Kohlberg 2012; Kohlberg 2012; Momen 1985, p. 239 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  10. "Imam Musa al-Kadhim (a) [Lecture 12]", ICIT Digital Library. facts only, no text reused. icit-digital.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Musa al-Kazim (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

Related entries

Named in this entry

IsmailismAl-MansurIslamic worldSunni IslamSufismMuhammad al-JawadMeccaProphets and messengers in Islam

Also in the Codexery

Musa al-Kazim · Islamic Scholars & Sages

More in Islamic Scholars & Mystics

Husayn ibn AliIbn AbbasIbn AbidinIbn ArabiIbn Hajar al-AsqalaniIbn HazmIbn KathirIbn Qayyim al-JawziyyaIbn TaymiyyaIbn TumartJa'far al-SadiqJabir ibn Zayd

Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

Spotted an error? Know more?

Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced

Comments

Loading…
Open in the interactive codex →