Islamic Scholars & Sages Codexery

Musa al-Kazim

Seventh Twelver Shia Imam, known for piety and imprisonment.

Last updated

Harun al-Rashid is widely considered the main party responsible for al-Kazim's death, which took place around 799 CE while he was imprisoned in Baghdad.[1]

Last updated 2026-10-05 from the source article.

Life and work

Musa was probably born on 8 November 745, either in Medina or nearby al-Abwa'.[2] His mother was Hamida Khatun, a Berber slave-girl who taught Islamic jurisprudence to women in a seminary in Medina.[3] He is buried in the Quraysh cemetery in northwest Baghdad, now located in Kazimayn.[4] To manage the affairs of his followers and gather religious contributions, al-Kazim created a secret network of deputies (wukala).[5]

The Abbasid caliphs imposed severe restrictions on al-Kazim, and he passed the majority of his adult years incarcerated in Abbasid prisons located in Iraq.[6] Caliph al-Mahdi detained al-Kazim on at least one occasion, holding him for a short period in Baghdad around the year 780.[7] In 799, al-Kazim died inside Baghdad's al-Sindi ibn Shahak prison, having been poisoned pursuant to Harun's directive.[8]

What the cited sources add

The ICIT Digital Library lecture notes that al-Kazim's mother Hamida is described as al-Barabariyyah, referring to someone from the Horn of Africa region.[9] According to the lecture, al-Kazim became known among the poor in Baghdad as "Bab al-Hawa'ij," meaning the gate where needs are fulfilled.[9] Harun al-Rashid ultimately brought about the poisoning and martyrdom of al-Kazim, according to the ICIT Digital Library.[9] Al-Kazim cautioned his nephew about traveling to Baghdad and emphasized the importance of practicing taqiyyah.[9]

The lecture states that al-Kazim's persecution started under al-Mansoor and grew more severe under al-Hadi, who confined him to house arrest in Madinah.[9]

References

  1. 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
  2. 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
  3. 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
  4. Wikipedia, "Musa al-Kazim" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Donaldson 1933, p. 152; Momen 1985, p. 239; Momen 1985, p. 239; Kohlberg 2012; Buyukkara 2000, p. 82; Rahim 2004; Tabatabai 1977, p. 181; Daftary 2013, p. 59; Halm 2001, p. 33; Kohlberg 2012; Rahim 2004; Momen 1985, p. 239; Momen 1985, p. 239; Algar 1990, p. 2; Yavari 2004; Rizvi 2006b (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. 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
  6. 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
  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: 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
  9. "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.

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Twelve ImamsTwelver Shi'ismJa'far al-SadiqShia IslamIsmailismAl-MansurIslamic worldSunni Islam

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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.

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