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Shia Islam: Imam al-B\u0101qir \/26\u00a0 Imam al-B\u0101qir
\nImam al-B\u0101qir, the son of Imam al-Sajj\u0101d, was born in Medina 676 AD and died in 743 in the same city. He was 36 when his father passed away. His mother was the daughter of Imam \u1e24asan. He was the first of the Imams to have parents who were both descendants of Imam \u02bfAl\u012b and F\u0101\u1e6dima.
\nHis virtuous mother breast-fed him, a mother whom Imam al-S\u0101diq heaps praise on for her virtues. (K\u0101f\u012b) From the time of his adolescence, Imam al-B\u0101qir was famous for being knowledgeable, pious and virtuous. He regularly found solutions to the intellectual problems of Muslims. During his eighteen years of Imamate, the following Umayyad rulers were in power: Wal\u012bd b. \u02bfAbd al-Malik, Sulaym\u0101n b. \u02bfAbd al-Malik, \u02bfUmar b. \u02bfAbd al-\u02bfAz\u012bz, Yaz\u012bd b. \u02bfAbd al-Malik and Hish\u0101m b. \u02bfAbd al-Malik.
\nAside from \u02bfUmar b. \u02bfAbd al-\u02bfAz\u012bz, all were dreaded dictators and always caused problems for Imam al-B\u0101qir.
\nWal\u012bd b. \u02bfAbd al-Malik took power in 86 AH and died ten years later. He expanded his territories, but he owed these conquests to the concept of jih\u0101d which the Prophet had introduced to the Muslim community. Wal\u012bd had named corrupt figures as governors to rule over the Muslims and these governors had tightened the noose around people\u2019s necks. One of these governors was \u1e24ajj\u0101j b. Y\u016bsuf al-Thaqaf\u012b, a butcher and a tyrant. He was appointed governor of Iraq where he massacred innocent people and tortured many others harshly.
\nSulaym\u0101n b. \u02bfAbd al-Malik took over from his brother. He died in 99 AH. During his reign, Muslims conquered some other territories. In the beginning of his rule, he showed some flexibility and released some innocent prisoners. But he was not unfamiliar with oppression and he purged some of his governors. (T\u0101r\u012bkh Siy\u0101s\u012b-i Isl\u0101m) He was also a self-indulgent hedonist who promoted decadence; he used to pass most of his time with his harem of wives. This attitude spread to his governors and the state gradually slid into decadence. (Ibid)
\n\u02bfUmar b. \u02bfAbd al-\u02bfAz\u012bz succeeded Sulaym\u0101n. He managed to fight the corruption and discrimination of his predecessors to some extent. He banned the shameful custom of cursing the Sh\u012b\u02bf\u012b Imams from the pulpit. This practice dated back to the time of Mu\u02bf\u0101wiya. He died in 101 AH. After his death, Yaz\u012bd b. \u02bfAbd al-Malik came to power. This man openly flouted religious and moral principles, and had no other goal but personal enjoyment. The reign of Yaz\u012bd b. \u02bfAbd al-Malik marks one of the darkest periods of Umayyad rule in history; his predecessors used to recount ancient stories of Arabs to pass their leisure time, but Yaz\u012bd institutionalized singing and dancing. He invited singers and entertainers from remote regions to Damascus. He also promoted gambling and games of chance in the Arab society. (Ibid)
\nStories of Yaz\u012bd b. \u02bfAbd al-Malik and his two favourite wives, Sall\u0101ma and Habb\u0101ba, are famous (Ibid). He finally died in 105 AH. He was succeeded by Hish\u0101m b. \u02bfAbd al-Malik who was greedy, violent and utterly ruthless. He was an extremely unpopular ruler and faced uprisings against his rule. He quelled Zayd b. \u02bfAl\u012b\u2019s uprising and had him hanged. He died in 125 AH.
\nDespite the cruel rule of these caliphs, Imam al-B\u0101qir pursued an intellectual path and laid the groundwork for the establishment of an Islamic school. His efforts came to fruition during the Imamate of his son, Ja\u02bffar S\u0101diq.
\nThe Sh\u012b\u02bf\u012b Imams have all safeguarded Islam through guiding the ordinary people. Every Imam had his own method for this depending on the conditions in which he lived. The difficult conditions which Imam al-B\u0101qir faced did allow him to do more than spread Islamic teachings. Imam Sajj\u0101d and Imam al-B\u0101qir were mostly active underground because government repression was so harsh. The caliphs were outraged to hear that the Imam was secretly active, so Imam al-B\u0101qir and his son were summoned by the caliph of their time to be questioned about their activities.
\nAt a time the Prophet\u2019s a\u1e25\u0101d\u012bth were banned, the Imam familiarized Muslims with Islamic teachings. He nurtured Companions who went on to become \u1e25ad\u012bth collectors or jurists; Mu\u1e25ammad b. Muslim, Zurara b. A\u02bfyan, Ab\u016b Bas\u012br and Bar\u012bd b. Mu\u02bf\u0101wiya amongst them.
\nImam al-S\u0101diq has praised these four individuals, saying: \u2018Four people revived the school and traditions of my father.\u2019 (Rij\u0101l Kashsh\u012b)
\nMu\u1e25ammad b. Muslim, a jurist, learnt 30,000 traditions from Imam al-B\u0101qir and 16,000 traditions from Imam al-S\u0101diq.
\nAnother disciple of Imam al-B\u0101qir was J\u0101bir al-Ju\u02bffi who recorded 70,000 traditions from the Imam. (A\u02bfy\u0101n al-Sh\u012b\u02bfa)
\nHish\u0101m feared the popularity of Imam al-B\u0101qir and his son, Imam al-S\u0101diq. He ordered the governor of Medina to invite them both to come to Syria. Hish\u0101m sought a lot to humiliate them, but a debate between Imam al-B\u0101qir and a Christian archbishop ended in success for the Sh\u012b\u02bfa Imam. The people of Syria became aware of the event and Hish\u0101m had no option but to let both return to Medina. (Bi\u1e25\u0101r al-Anw\u0101r)
\nImam al-B\u0101qir was poisoned by agents of Hish\u0101m b. \u02bfAbd al-Malik and died in 743 AD. He was laid to rest near his father in the Baq\u012b\u02bf Cemetery in Medina.<\/p>\n