<\/p>\n
Shia Islam: Imam al-K\u0101\u1e93im \/28 Imam al-K\u0101\u1e93im
\nImam M\u016bs\u0101 b. Ja\u02bffar, the seventh Sh\u012b\u02bfa Imam, was born in 745 AD in Medina. He died in Baghdad in 799 AD. Yaz\u012bd b. Wal\u012bd b. \u02bfAbd al-Malik, Ibr\u0101h\u012bm b. Wal\u012bd b. \u02bfAbd al-Malik and Marw\u0101n b. Mu\u1e25ammad of the Umayyad dynasty were in power during the Imam\u2019s childhood.
\nAfter the death of Imam al-S\u0101diq, Imam al-K\u0101\u1e93im succeeded him. The Abbasids had taken over from Umayyads. The Abbasids \u1e62aff\u0101h, Man\u1e63\u016br, his son Mahd\u012b and his grandsons, H\u0101d\u012b and H\u0101r\u016bn al-Rash\u012bd also ruled during his lifetime.
\nImam al-K\u0101\u1e93im first assessed the social conditions and the power of rulers before taking any action. Each the Imam had his own policy depending on the conditions, but the objective was to safeguard Islam.
\nMan\u1e63\u016br, the bloodthirsty Abbasid Caliph, could not tolerate the presence of Imam al-S\u0101diq in Medina and had him poisoned. When he found that Imam al-S\u0101diq had died, he saw the conditions ripe to quash any opposition to his rule. He wrote a letter to the governor of Medina, Mu\u1e25ammad b. Sulaym\u0101n, ordering him to decapitate any successor named to Imam al-S\u0101diq. In response, the governor noted that Imam al-S\u0101diq has recommended five people to succeed him:
\nMan\u1e63\u016br
\nMu\u1e25ammad b. Sulaym\u0101n, governor of Medina
\n\u02bfAbd All\u0101h b. Ja\u02bffar
\nM\u016bs\u0101 b. Ja\u02bffar
\nHis wife, \u1e24am\u012bda
\nThe governor asked in the letter who he must behead! Man\u1e63\u016br was infuriated and said: \u2018Forget about their killing.\u2019
\nBy writing such a will, Imam al-S\u0101diq managed to prevent the death of Imam al-K\u0101\u1e93im. Otherwise, he would have been murdered. Imam al-K\u0101\u1e93im was 20 when he succeeded his father and Man\u1e63\u016br\u2019s letter to the governor of Medina describes how precarious the conditions were at this time. After evaluating the conditions, the Imam found that the best solution was to follow the intellectual revolution initiated by his father. To that end, he decided to train companions; the Imam had to be prudent because Man\u1e63\u016br had hired many spies to find and kill anyone attaining prominence among Sh\u012b\u02bfa. (Rij\u0101l Kashsh\u012b)
\nThe Imam had no option but to push ahead with his mission through spreading Islamic teachings. Those who attended his courses wrote down whatever the Imam said. \u2018In 148 after Hegira, the Imam Ja\u02bffar S\u0101diq passed away in Medina, but his school never closed and it preserved its blossoming under the leadership of his son, M\u016bs\u0101 al-K\u0101\u1e93im.\u2019 (Mukhta\u1e63ar T\u0101r\u012bkh al-\u02bfArab)
\nHowever, the Abbasid rulers used scholars in their employ to counter the views of Imam al-K\u0101\u1e93im, whose companions did not even dare to mention the name of the Imam in public. They used to refer to him as Ab\u016b Ibr\u0101h\u012bm, \u02bfAbd Salih, al-\u02bf\u0100lim (\u2018The Learned One\u2019), al-Sabir (\u2018The Patient One\u2019) and al-Am\u012bn (\u2018The Trusted One\u2019).
\nDespite all these problems, the Imam never abandoned his struggles and took great strides in training hundreds of scholars, some of whom are as follows:
\n\u02bfAl\u012b b. Yaqtin
\nMu\u1e25ammad b. Ab\u012b \u02bfUmayr
\nHish\u0101m b. \u1e24akam
\nHish\u0101m b. S\u0101lim
\nYunis b. \u02bfAbd al-Ra\u1e25m\u0101n
\nMu\u1e25ammad b. Ab\u012b \u02bfUmayr authored 49 books based on the teachings of Imam al-K\u0101\u1e93im. The ruler of the time, H\u0101r\u016bn al-Rash\u012bd, was sure that the secrets political activities of Sh\u012b\u02bfa and their connections with the seventh Sh\u012b\u02bfa Imam were all under the control of Mu\u1e25ammad b. Ab\u012b \u02bfUmayr. He hired spies to keep tabs on him. The spies finally reported to H\u0101r\u016bn that Mu\u1e25ammad b. Ab\u012b \u02bfUmayr knew the names of all the leaders of the Iraqi Sh\u012b\u02bfa. He was arrested and tortured to disclose the names. He refused to reveal the names. He was stripped and received 100 lashes of the whip. (Rij\u0101l Naj\u0101sh\u012b)
\nBy adopting the correct policies, Imam al-K\u0101\u1e93im managed to survive the reigns of Man\u1e63\u016br, Mahd\u012b and H\u0101d\u012b. The Imam was jailed under H\u0101r\u016bn, who was convinced that his efforts would fail as long as the leader of the Sh\u012b\u02bfa remained at large. After deciding to order the arrest of Imam al-K\u0101\u1e93im, H\u0101r\u016bn went to the Prophet\u2019s Mosque and said: \u2018O prophet! I apologize for the decision I have taken. I intend to arrest and imprison M\u016bs\u0101 b. Ja\u02bffar and I fear that it may cause rift in the Muslim community and trigger bloodshed.\u2019
\nThe following day, H\u0101r\u016bn\u2019s agents arrested the Imam while he was praying in the mosque. In order to keep the Imam\u2019s imprisonment secret, H\u0101r\u016bn ordered two howdahs to travel to Kufa and Basra. In this way, people did not know which howdah was carrying the Imam to prison. The Sh\u012b\u02bfa Imam served one year in the prison of Basra. H\u0101r\u016bn ordered the governor Issa b. Ja\u02bffar to kill the Imam. The governor refused and said he will set him free if H\u0101r\u016bn did not send anyone to take the Imam from there. H\u0101r\u016bn sent one of his agents to take the Imam from Basra to Baghdad. The Imam was jailed for four years before being poisoned in prison in Baghdad.<\/p>\n
Shia Islam: Imam al-S\u0101diq \/27<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n