Muhammad al-Jawad

Lore & Background

Muhammad al-Jawad was born in Medina around 810, the only child of Ali al-Rida, the eighth Imam. When al-Rida was summoned to Khorasan by the Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun to become heir apparent, al-Jawad was only four years old and remained in Medina, spending most of his childhood away from his father. After al-Rida died mysteriously in Tus in 818, likely poisoned by order of al-Ma'mun, al-Jawad succeeded him at about age seven. Some Shia turned to his uncle Ahmad ibn Musa or joined the Waqifites, but the succession did not cause permanent splits; Shia sources justify his young imamate by parallels with Jesus and John the Baptist, who received prophetic missions in childhood.

Titles

Muhammad ibn Ali, the ninth of the Twelve Imams, is commonly called al-Jawad in Shia sources due to his generosity, and also al-Taqi. In Shia hadith literature he is referred to as Abu Ja'far al-Thani, since the title Abu Ja'far is used for his predecessor Muhammad al-Baqir. His kunya is Abu Ali, and his contemporaries knew him as Ibn al-Rida because he was the only child of Ali al-Rida. He was born in Medina or a nearby village founded by his grandfather Musa al-Kazim in 195 AH (810–811), though the exact date is disputed.

Most Twelver sources record mid-Ramadan 195 AH (mid-June 811), while Ibn Ayyas favors 10 Rajab 195 AH (8 April 811), a date supported by a supplication attributed to Muhammad al-Mahdi and celebrated annually by Shia. His father Ali al-Rida was a descendant of Ali ibn Abi Talib and Fatima. His mother was a freed slave from Nubia, named Sabika or Durra (sometimes Khayzuran), possibly from the family of Maria al-Qibtiyya.

Personal life

Al-Jawad lived modestly and gave generously to the poor, according to Dwight M. Donaldson. Baghestani adds that he gave charity at the beginning of every month and interceded with officials on behalf of the people. His arranged marriage in 215 AH (830) to Umm al-Fadl produced no children and was reportedly unhappy; she complained to al-Ma'mun about her husband taking a concubine, but the caliph rejected her complaint. Shia sources commonly hold Umm al-Fadl responsible for poisoning al-Jawad in 220 AH (835).

His successor Ali al-Hadi was born to Samana, a freed slave of Maghrebian origin, circa 212 AH (828). Other children were Musa al-Mubarraqa and two or four daughters, named differently in sources: al-Mufid lists Fatima and Amama, while Dala'il al-imama lists Khadija, Hakima, and Umm Kulthum. Fakhr Razi adds Behjat and Barihe, noting none left descendants. All his children were born to Samana.