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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Islam: Faith, Practice & History Lesson 42: The Fifth Imām (Muhammad ibn ‘Alī) Name: Muhammad. Agnomen: Abu Ja’far. Title: Al-Bāqir. Father: ‘Ali ibn al-Husayn bin ‘Ali. Mother: Fātimah daughter of Hasan bin ‘Ali. Birth: 1st Rajab, 57 AH in Medina. Death: 7 Dhu ‘l-Hijjah 114 AH in Medina.

Birth & Early Life Imam Muhammad bin ‘Ali’s lineage is unique in the sense that he is the only Imam whose was connected to Fatimatu ’z-Zahrā’ through his father as well as his mother: his father was son of Imam Husayn bin ‘Ali, and his mother was daughter of Imam Hasan bin ‘Ali. Hence he was known as “Ibnu ’l-Khayaratayn — the son of two virtues”. He was also known as “al-Bāqir — the digger [of the knowledge of the prophets]”.

The first years of his life were blessed with the presence of his grandfather Imam Husayn bin ‘Ali. He was four years old when the massacre of Karbala took place; and the childhood memories of that tragic event stayed with him forever. He witnessed the thirty-four years of his father’s imāmate and his contribution in furthering the education of the Muslims in general and the Shi’as in particular.

Continuation of Jihād by Knowledge During the imamate of the fifth Imam, as a result of the injustice of the Umayyads, revolts and wars broke out in some parts of the Islamic world every day. Moreover, there were disputes within the Umayyad family itself which kept the government occupied and, to a certain extent, the Ahlu ‘l-Bayt of the Prophet were left alone.

From the other side, the tragedy of Karbala and the oppression suffered by the Ahlu ‘l-Bayt, of which the fourth Imam was the most noteworthy embodiment, had attracted many Muslims to the Imams. These factors combined to make it possible for people and especially the Shi’as to go in great numbers to Medina and to come into the presence of the fifth Imam.

Possibilities for disseminating truth about Islam and the sciences of the Ahlu ‘l-Bayt, which had never existed for the Imams before him, were presented to the fifth Imam. The proof of this fact is the innumerable traditions recounted from the fifth Imam and the large number of illustrious men of science and Shi’a scholars who were trained by him in different Islamic sciences. These names are listed in books of biographies of famous men in Islam.