Ahlulbayt (A.S.) for Kids: The 14 Ma'soomeen

The Holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.W.)

مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ (ص)

حضرت محمد مصطفیٰ صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم

A blessed birth

The Holy Prophet (S.A.W.W.) was born in Makkah on 17 Rabi al-Awwal, the date most Shia scholars follow, in the year known as the Year of the Elephant. That year Abraha, a ruler from Yemen, marched on Makkah with elephants to destroy the Holy Kaaba, and Allah destroyed his army with flocks of birds, as Surah al-Fil tells us. His father Abdullah had passed away before he was born, so he came into the world an orphan, and his grandfather Abd al-Muttalib, the leader of Makkah, named him Muhammad, “the one who is praised”.

The Truthful, the Trustworthy

Long before he was a Prophet, the people of Makkah called him al-Sadiq al-Amin: the truthful and the trustworthy. He never told a lie, never broke a promise and never worshipped idols. People who did not share his faith still left their valuables with him for safekeeping. When he was about 35, the tribes of Makkah argued over who would place the Black Stone back in the wall of the Kaaba, and they were close to fighting. They agreed to accept the judgement of the first person to enter, and it was him. He spread a cloth, placed the stone on it, asked a leader from each tribe to hold an edge and lift it together, then set the stone in place with his own hands. Everyone was satisfied, and a war was avoided.

Who cared for him and protected him

His mother Amina passed away when he was six, and his grandfather Abd al-Muttalib looked after him until he passed away two years later. From the age of eight he was raised by his uncle Hazrat Abu Talib (A.S.), father of Imam Ali (A.S.), and Abu Talib's wife Fatima bint Asad (S.A.), who loved him like her own child. When he began calling people to Islam, Abu Talib shielded him from the Quraysh for the rest of his life, and according to the Shia belief Abu Talib was a true believer. Lady Khadija (S.A.), whom he married at the age of 25, believed in him from the first day and spent all her wealth for Islam.

The first revelation

The Prophet (S.A.W.W.) often went to pray and reflect in the Cave of Hira on the mountain near Makkah. There, at the age of 40, on 27 Rajab (the day we mark as Eid al-Mab'ath), the angel Jibrail (A.S.) brought him the first verses of the Quran:

How Islam spread

For three years he invited people quietly. Lady Khadija (S.A.) and Imam Ali (A.S.) were the first to believe. Then Allah commanded him to warn his close relatives, and at a meal for the family of Abd al-Muttalib, known as Da'wat Dhul-Ashira, the young Ali (A.S.) was the only one who stood up to support him. The Quraysh mocked and tortured the believers and boycotted the Banu Hashim, who spent three hard years in the valley of Shi'b Abi Talib. When Abu Talib (A.S.) and Lady Khadija (S.A.) both passed away in the same year, the Prophet (S.A.W.W.) called it the Year of Sorrow. People from Yathrib pledged to protect him, and in the 13th year of his mission he migrated there, while Imam Ali (A.S.) slept in his bed to deceive the men who had come to kill him. Yathrib became Madinat al-Nabi, the City of the Prophet, and the Islamic calendar begins from this Hijrah. He made the Muslims brothers to one another, sent letters inviting the rulers of Rome, Persia, Abyssinia and Egypt to Islam, and in 8 AH entered Makkah with ten thousand believers. He forgave the very people who had fought him for twenty years, saying, “Go, you are free.”

Teachings that surprise people even today

Many people who are not Muslim are surprised to learn what Islam taught fourteen centuries ago:

• All people are equal. In his Farewell Sermon he declared that no Arab is better than a non-Arab, except by piety. The Quran says: “The most honoured of you with Allah is the most God-conscious of you” (49:13).
• Learning is a duty. “Seeking knowledge is an obligation on every Muslim” (Usul al-Kafi).
• One life is worth all of humanity. Whoever kills one innocent person is as if he has killed all people, and whoever saves one life is as if he has saved all people (5:32).
• No force in faith. “There is no compulsion in religion” (2:256).
• Daughters are a blessing. Islam ended the Arab custom of burying baby girls alive (81:8–9), and gave women the right to own property, earn, inherit and consent to their marriage.
• Justice even against yourself. Stand firm for justice, even against yourselves, your parents or your relatives (4:135).
• Kindness to all creation: to parents (17:23), neighbours, orphans, travellers, and even animals and trees.

The major battles

The Prophet (S.A.W.W.) never wanted war, but the idol-worshippers of Makkah and their allies attacked the young Muslim community again and again. The main battles were:

Ghadir and farewell

On his last Hajj in 10 AH, at the pond of Ghadir Khumm on 18 Dhul Hijjah, he raised the hand of Imam Ali (A.S.) before the pilgrims and declared him their master and leader after him. He passed away in Madinah on 28 Safar 11 AH, at the age of 63. Imam Ali (A.S.) washed his blessed body and buried him in his house, beside which the Prophet's Mosque now stands.

Main sources: al-Irshad, Shaykh al-Mufid; Usul al-Kafi, al-Kulayni; Bihar al-Anwar vols 15–22, Allama Majlisi; Tuhaf al-Uqul (Farewell Sermon).

Lady Fatima Zahra (S.A.)

فَاطِمَةُ الزَّهْرَاءُ (ع)

حضرت فاطمہ زہرا سلام اللہ علیہا

Her life

Lady Fatima (S.A.) was born in Makkah while the Muslims were few and under pressure. She lost her mother, Lady Khadija (S.A.), as a young girl, and from then on she cared for her father so lovingly, cleaning his wounds when the Quraysh hurt him, that he called her Umm Abiha, “the mother of her father”. In Madinah she married Imam Ali (A.S.) in a simple ceremony; he sold his armour to pay her dowry. Their house was small and they often went hungry, yet they gave away what they had. When she asked her father for help with the hard work of grinding grain, he taught her instead a tasbih to recite after every prayer: Allahu Akbar 34 times, Alhamdulillah 33 times and Subhanallah 33 times. Ever since, believers have called it the Tasbih of Lady Fatima (S.A.). You can count it with the tasbih counter in our book on the rules of Namaz and Roza.

Her status in the eyes of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.W.)

Whenever she entered, the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.W.) stood up for her, kissed her hand and gave her his own seat. She is one of the People of the Cloak in the verse of purification, and Shia scholars explain that Surah al-Kawthar, “We have given you abundant good”, refers to her, because the Prophet's family continued through her children.

The story of Mubahila

In 9 AH a group of Christian leaders came from Najran to Madinah to debate with the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.W.) about Prophet Isa (A.S.). When they would not accept the truth, Allah revealed the verse of Mubahila, asking both sides to bring their sons, their women and their own selves, and to pray that Allah's curse fall on whoever was lying (3:61). On 24 Dhul Hijjah the Prophet (S.A.W.W.) came out with only four people: Imam Husain (A.S.) in his arms, Imam Hasan (A.S.) holding his hand, Lady Fatima (S.A.) walking behind him, and Imam Ali (A.S.) behind her. Their sons were Hasan and Husain, their women was Fatima alone, and their selves was Ali. When the Christian leader saw their faces, he told his people that if these faces asked Allah to move a mountain, He would move it. The Christians refused to go ahead and made a peace agreement instead.

Her stand on Fadak

Fadak was a farming land near Khaybar that came to the Prophet (S.A.W.W.) without any battle. Shia books of tafsir narrate that when Allah revealed, “And give the near relative his right” (17:26), the Prophet (S.A.W.W.) gave Fadak to Lady Fatima (S.A.) as a gift, and her workers managed it in his lifetime. After he passed away, the new government took Fadak from her. Lady Fatima (S.A.) did not stay silent. She went to the Prophet's Mosque and delivered a powerful sermon, known as Khutba Fadakiyya, in which she proved from the Quran that the children of prophets inherit (27:16 and 19:6), and she brought Imam Ali (A.S.) and Umm Ayman as witnesses. Her claim was rejected. She stood for her right not for the sake of land, but to defend the truth and the position of the Ahlulbayt (A.S.).

Her martyrdom

The days after her father's death were the hardest of her life. Shia books, such as Kitab Sulaym ibn Qays and al-Ihtijaj of al-Tabrisi, narrate that when Imam Ali (A.S.) did not give allegiance to the first caliph, men sent by the new government, led by Umar ibn al-Khattab, came to her house to force him out. The door was pushed in upon her; she was badly injured and lost the baby she was carrying, whom the Prophet (S.A.W.W.) had named Muhsin. She never recovered. She passed away 95 days after her father (or 75 days, in another narration), at about the age of 18. In her will she asked to be washed and buried at night, and that those who had wronged her should not attend. Imam Ali (A.S.) buried her secretly, and to this day no one knows exactly where her grave is. It is a silent sign of how she was wronged.

Main sources: Bihar al-Anwar vol. 43; al-Amali and Ilal al-Shara'i, Shaykh al-Saduq; al-Ihtijaj, al-Tabrisi (Khutba Fadakiyya); Kitab Sulaym ibn Qays; Tafsir al-Qummi.

Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (A.S.)

الْإِمَامُ عَلِيُّ بْنُ أَبِي طَالِبٍ (ع) · أَمِيرُ الْمُؤْمِنِين

امام علی ابنِ ابی طالب علیہ السلام

Born in the House of Allah

Fatima bint Asad (S.A.) was praying beside the Holy Kaaba when the wall opened for her, and she entered. Three days later she came out holding her son, Ali (A.S.). No one before or after him was born inside the Kaaba. The Holy Prophet (S.A.W.W.) took him into his own home as a small child and raised him, and Imam Ali (A.S.) later said that he followed the Prophet as a baby camel follows its mother. He was the first man to believe in the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.W.) and pray with him.

Loyalty to the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.W.)

At the meal of Da'wat Dhul-Ashira, when no one else answered the Prophet's call, the young Ali (A.S.) stood up three times to support him, and the Prophet (S.A.W.W.) declared him his brother, his successor and his deputy. On the night of the Hijrah he slept in the Prophet's bed while armed men waited outside to kill him, and Allah praised this sacrifice in the Quran (2:207). The Prophet (S.A.W.W.) left him behind in Makkah to return the valuables people had entrusted to him, because he trusted no one more. In Madinah, when the Prophet paired the Muslims as brothers, he chose Ali (A.S.) as his own brother. When Surah al-Bara'a was revealed, Allah commanded that only the Prophet or a man from him could deliver it, and Imam Ali (A.S.) was sent to announce it in Makkah.

Champion of every battle

Imam Ali (A.S.) carried the Prophet's flag in almost every battle. At Badr he defeated some of the strongest fighters of Quraysh. At Uhud, when many ran away, he stayed and defended the Prophet (S.A.W.W.) until he was covered in wounds, and a voice from the heavens was heard: “There is no young man like Ali, and no sword like Dhul-Fiqar.” At Khandaq the champion Amr ibn Abd Wudd crossed the trench and challenged the Muslims, and no one answered except Ali (A.S.), who defeated him. At Khaybar, after the fortress could not be taken, the Prophet (S.A.W.W.) gave him the flag and he pulled off the heavy gate of the fort. Yet he never fought out of anger: Shia narrations tell that when an enemy spat at him in battle, he stepped back until his anger had passed, so that he would strike only for Allah.

His knowledge, justice and kindness

He was the most knowledgeable of the companions in the Quran and its meaning. His sermons, letters and sayings, collected by Sharif al-Radi in Nahj al-Balagha, are still studied for their wisdom. While praying, he gave his ring to a beggar in ruku, and Allah revealed the verse of Wilayah (5:55). When he became the ruler, he gave the same share of the treasury to everyone, Arab or not, and lived on barley bread. At night he secretly carried food to orphans and widows in Kufa. In the five years of his rule he faced three wars started against him: Jamal (36 AH), Siffin against Muawiya (37 AH) and Nahrawan against the Khawarij (38 AH).

His martyrdom

On 19 Ramadan 40 AH, while he was leading the dawn prayer in the Mosque of Kufa, a Khariji named Abd al-Rahman ibn Muljam struck his head with a poisoned sword. As he fell, Imam Ali (A.S.) said, “By the Lord of the Kaaba, I have succeeded.” He even asked his sons to give his attacker food and not to punish anyone else. He was martyred on 21 Ramadan, and Imam Hasan (A.S.) and Imam Husain (A.S.) buried him secretly at Najaf.

Main sources: al-Irshad, Shaykh al-Mufid; Nahj al-Balagha; Bihar al-Anwar vols 35–42; Tafsir al-Qummi.

Imam Hasan al-Mujtaba (A.S.)

الْإِمَامُ الْحَسَنُ الْمُجْتَبَى (ع)

امام حسن مجتبیٰ علیہ السلام

Imam Hasan (A.S.) was the first grandson of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.W.), who named him himself. He grew up on the Prophet's lap, and the Prophet (S.A.W.W.) would lengthen his sujood when little Hasan climbed on his back, rather than disturb him. He was one of the People of the Cloak and stood with his grandfather at Mubahila. He was so generous that he gave away all his wealth for the sake of Allah twice in his life, and three times shared half of everything he owned with the poor. He went for Hajj many times, walking on foot from Madinah.

After the martyrdom of Imam Ali (A.S.), the people of Kufa pledged allegiance to Imam Hasan (A.S.). Muawiya marched against him with a large army, and used money and promises to win over many of the Imam's commanders, even the commander of his advance army. Seeing that his followers were divided and that a war would only lead to the killing of the true believers without any gain for Islam, Imam Hasan (A.S.) made a peace treaty in 41 AH. Its conditions included that Muawiya must rule by the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Prophet, must not name anyone as ruler after himself, must stop the cursing of Imam Ali (A.S.), and must leave the followers of Imam Ali (A.S.) in safety.

Muawiya broke every condition. The peace exposed his true face to the whole Muslim world, preserved the small community of believers, and prepared the ground for the stand of Imam Husain (A.S.) at Karbala. For this reason Shia scholars say that the peace of Imam Hasan (A.S.) and the uprising of Imam Husain (A.S.) were two parts of the same mission.

His martyrdom: Muawiya wanted to make his son Yazid ruler, and Imam Hasan (A.S.) stood in his way. Shaykh al-Mufid records in al-Irshad that Muawiya sent a large sum of money to Ja'da bint al-Ash'ath, the Imam's wife, and promised to marry her to Yazid if she poisoned him. She did, and the Imam (A.S.) suffered for forty days before he was martyred. He had wished to be buried beside his grandfather, but Marwan ibn al-Hakam and others blocked the way, and to prevent bloodshed, as the Imam had asked, Imam Husain (A.S.) buried him in Jannat al-Baqi.

Main sources: al-Irshad, Shaykh al-Mufid; Bihar al-Anwar vols 43–44.

Imam Husain (A.S.), Sayyid al-Shuhada

الْإِمَامُ الْحُسَيْنُ سَيِّدُ الشُّهَدَاءِ (ع)

امام حسین سید الشہداء علیہ السلام

When Imam Husain (A.S.) was born, the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.W.) recited the adhan in his ear and wept, because Jibrail had told him what would happen to this child. He loved Hasan and Husain so much that he would carry them on his shoulders and call them his two flowers. For ten years Imam Husain (A.S.) lived under Muawiya's rule, patiently keeping the agreement his brother had made, while guiding the believers and speaking out against injustice.

In 60 AH Muawiya died and his son Yazid, a man who drank wine openly and mocked the religion, demanded that Imam Husain (A.S.) give him allegiance. The Imam refused, saying that someone like him could never give allegiance to someone like Yazid. He left Madinah on 28 Rajab for Makkah, where many letters arrived from Kufa inviting him to lead them. He sent his cousin Muslim ibn Aqil ahead, but Yazid sent Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad as governor, who terrorised the people and killed Muslim. Imam Husain (A.S.) explained the purpose of his journey: “I have only set out to reform the nation of my grandfather; I want to enjoin good and forbid evil.”

On 2 Muharram 61 AH his caravan was stopped at Karbala. Ibn Ziyad sent an army under Umar ibn Sa'd and cut off the water of the Euphrates. On the night of Ashura the Imam told his companions they were free to leave, but they all chose to stay. On 10 Muharram his 72 companions and family members were martyred one by one: Hurr, who left Yazid's army to join him; his son Ali al-Akbar; his nephew Qasim ibn Hasan; his brother Hazrat Abbas (A.S.), who went to bring water for the children; even his six-month-old son Ali al-Asghar, struck by an arrow in his father's arms. Last of all Imam Husain (A.S.) was martyred, and Shimr ibn Dhil-Jawshan cut off his blessed head. Yazid's army looted the tents and took the women and children, with the ill Imam Zain al-Abideen (A.S.), as captives to Kufa and Damascus.

Yazid thought he had won, but in his own court Lady Zainab (S.A.) and Imam Zain al-Abideen (A.S.) delivered sermons that turned the people against him. Karbala woke the Muslim world. Every year, in Muharram and on Arbaeen, millions remember Imam Husain (A.S.) and learn from him that truth and dignity are worth more than life.

The whole story, from the day Jibrail brought the news to the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.W.) to Arba'een and beyond, is told chapter by chapter in our book Karbala: The Story of Imam Husain (A.S.).

Main sources: al-Irshad, Shaykh al-Mufid; al-Luhuf, Sayyid Ibn Tawus; Kamil al-Ziyarat; Bihar al-Anwar vols 44–45.

Imam Ali Zain al-Abideen (A.S.)

الْإِمَامُ عَلِيُّ بْنُ الْحُسَيْنِ زَيْنُ الْعَابِدِينَ (ع)

امام زین العابدین علیہ السلام

Imam Zain al-Abideen (A.S.) was at Karbala on the day of Ashura, but he was so ill that he could not fight, and so Allah kept him alive to carry on the line of Imamate. He was taken in chains with the women and children to Kufa and Damascus. In the court of Yazid, when Yazid's preacher praised Yazid and insulted Imam Ali (A.S.), the young Imam asked to speak and introduced himself and his family so movingly that the people wept, and Yazid ordered the call to prayer to interrupt him.

In those dangerous years, when people were too afraid to speak about the Ahlulbayt (A.S.), the Imam taught Islam through dua. His supplications, collected in al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya, are called the “Psalms of the family of Muhammad”. They teach how to talk to Allah, how to be thankful, how to repent and how to treat parents, children and neighbours. He also wrote Risalat al-Huquq, the Treatise of Rights, which explains around fifty rights: the right of Allah, of our own body, of parents, of teachers, of neighbours, and even of those who do wrong to us.

He bought many slaves, taught them Islam and set them free, especially on the night of Eid al-Fitr. Every night he secretly carried sacks of bread to the poor families of Madinah, his face covered. Only after his martyrdom did they learn who had been feeding them, and those who washed his body found the marks of those sacks on his back. For the rest of his life he wept whenever he saw water or food, remembering the thirst of his father at Karbala.

His martyrdom: Shia sources record that the Umayyad ruler Walid ibn Abd al-Malik had the Imam poisoned in 95 AH. He was buried in Jannat al-Baqi beside his uncle, Imam Hasan (A.S.).

Main sources: al-Irshad, Shaykh al-Mufid; al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya; Tuhaf al-Uqul (Risalat al-Huquq); Bihar al-Anwar vol. 46.

Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (A.S.)

الْإِمَامُ مُحَمَّدٌ الْبَاقِرُ (ع)

امام محمد باقر علیہ السلام

Imam al-Baqir (A.S.) was the first Imam whose mother and father were both descendants of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.W.): his father came from Imam Husain (A.S.) and his mother from Imam Hasan (A.S.). He was about three or four years old at Karbala and saw the tragedy with his own eyes.

Many years before his birth, the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.W.) told his companion Jabir ibn Abdullah al-Ansari that he would live to meet a child of his named Muhammad, who would split open knowledge, and asked Jabir to give him his salaam. Jabir lived to old age, became blind, and kept asking for this child. When he finally met the young Imam, he kissed him and conveyed the salaam of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.W.).

In his time the Umayyad rulers were busy with wars and revolts, which gave the Imam (A.S.) a chance to teach more openly. He gathered students in the Prophet's Mosque and explained the Quran, the rules of Fiqh, the history of the prophets and the true beliefs about Allah. Great narrators such as Zurara ibn A'yan and Muhammad ibn Muslim learned from him, and a large part of the hadith in Shia books comes from him and his son. During his Imamate the Umayyad ruler Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz stopped the cursing of Imam Ali (A.S.) from the pulpits and returned Fadak to the children of Lady Fatima (S.A.).

His martyrdom: Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik grew afraid of the Imam's influence, summoned him to Damascus to humiliate him, and failed. Shia sources record that he was later poisoned by order of Hisham. He was buried in Jannat al-Baqi beside his father.

Main sources: al-Irshad, Shaykh al-Mufid; Usul al-Kafi; Bihar al-Anwar vol. 46.

Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (A.S.)

الْإِمَامُ جَعْفَرٌ الصَّادِقُ (ع)

امام جعفر صادق علیہ السلام

Imam al-Sadiq (A.S.) shares his birthday with the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.W.): 17 Rabi al-Awwal. He lived at a turning point of history. The Umayyad dynasty was collapsing and the Abbasids were rising to power, and while the two sides fought each other, the Imam (A.S.) had more freedom than any Imam before him to teach.

He turned the Prophet's Mosque and his own home into a great school. Shaykh al-Mufid writes that scholars recorded the names of around 4,000 trustworthy narrators who learned from him. He taught Quran, Fiqh, belief, ethics and even the sciences of nature. His students included Hisham ibn al-Hakam, Zurara, Muhammad ibn Muslim, Aban ibn Taghlib and Mufaddal ibn Umar, to whom he explained the signs of Allah in creation in the book known as Tawhid al-Mufaddal. He answered atheists and debaters with patience and clear proofs.

Because so much of our Fiqh was explained and taught by him, the Shia school of Islamic law is known as Madhhab al-Ja'fari or Fiqh Jaffari, named after Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (A.S.). He did not create a new religion; he taught the pure Islam of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.W.) that he had received from his fathers. Its rules for prayer and fasting are explained in our interactive guide to Shia Namaz and Roza rules.

His martyrdom: The Abbasid caliph al-Mansur saw how people loved the Imam and repeatedly summoned and threatened him. In 148 AH al-Mansur had him poisoned. He was buried in Jannat al-Baqi.

Main sources: al-Irshad, Shaykh al-Mufid; Usul al-Kafi; Bihar al-Anwar vol. 47.

Imam Musa al-Kazim (A.S.)

الْإِمَامُ مُوسَى الْكَاظِمُ (ع)

امام موسیٰ کاظم علیہ السلام

Imam Musa (A.S.) became Imam at the age of twenty, at a time when the Abbasid rulers were watching the family of the Prophet (S.A.W.W.) very closely. He is called al-Kazim because he controlled his anger: when people insulted him, he answered with kindness and even sent them gifts, until many of his enemies became his friends.

He spent his nights in long prayer and sujood. Because so many people who came to him in need, or asked Allah through him, had their needs fulfilled, he became known as Bab al-Hawa'ij, the Door of Needs. He also guided the believers through trusted companions. One of them, Ali ibn Yaqtin, served as a minister in the court of Harun al-Rashid, and on the Imam's instruction used his position to protect and help the believers in secret.

Prison and martyrdom: Harun al-Rashid feared the Imam's influence. In 179 AH he had him arrested beside the grave of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.W.) and kept him in prison for years, first in Basra and then in Baghdad, moving him from jailer to jailer. Some of the guards were so moved by his worship that they refused to harm him. Finally he was handed to Sindi ibn Shahak, who, on Harun's order, poisoned him. The Imam (A.S.) was martyred in prison on 25 Rajab 183 AH, and his body was laid on the bridge of Baghdad. He was buried in Kazimain, where his grandson Imam al-Jawad (A.S.) was later buried beside him.

Main sources: al-Irshad, Shaykh al-Mufid; Uyun Akhbar al-Ridha; Bihar al-Anwar vol. 48.

Imam Ali al-Ridha (A.S.)

الْإِمَامُ عَلِيُّ بْنُ مُوسَى الرِّضَا (ع)

امام علی رضا علیہ السلام

Imam al-Ridha (A.S.) led the believers for twenty years, the first seventeen in Madinah. In 200 AH the Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun, who had killed his own brother for the throne, forced the Imam to travel to Merv in Khurasan. Al-Ma'mun wanted to calm the many people who loved the Ahlulbayt (A.S.), and to keep the Imam under his eye. He first offered him the caliphate, which the Imam refused, and then forced him to become his crown prince. The Imam (A.S.) accepted only under threat and only on the condition that he would take no part in governing, appointing or dismissing anyone.

On the way to Merv, in the city of Nishapur, thousands of scholars gathered and asked him for a hadith. From his camel-litter he narrated, through his fathers, back to the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.W.) and Jibrail, that Allah says: “The word La ilaha illallah is My fortress; whoever enters My fortress is safe from My punishment.” As the camel moved on, he added: “With its conditions, and I am one of its conditions.” Because every narrator in its chain is a Ma'soom, it is called Hadith Silsilat al-Dhahab, the Hadith of the Golden Chain.

Al-Ma'mun held debates between the Imam and the leading scholars of the Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians and other groups, hoping the Imam would be embarrassed. Instead the Imam (A.S.) answered each of them from their own scriptures, in their own languages, and many were left with nothing to say. When al-Ma'mun asked him to lead the Eid prayer, the Imam set out barefoot, saying the takbir as his grandfather did, and the whole city followed him weeping; al-Ma'mun grew frightened and called him back.

His martyrdom: Seeing that the Imam's popularity only grew, al-Ma'mun poisoned him, according to Shia sources with poisoned grapes, at Tus in 203 AH. He was buried in the place now called Mashhad, “the place of martyrdom”, which millions of pilgrims visit every year.

Main sources: Uyun Akhbar al-Ridha, Shaykh al-Saduq; al-Irshad, Shaykh al-Mufid; Bihar al-Anwar vol. 49.

Imam Muhammad al-Taqi al-Jawad (A.S.)

الْإِمَامُ مُحَمَّدٌ التَّقِيُّ الْجَوَادُ (ع)

امام محمد تقی الجواد علیہ السلام

Imam al-Jawad (A.S.) became Imam at about the age of eight, when his father was martyred in Khurasan. Some people wondered how a child could be the Imam, so the Imam's knowledge became a proof in itself, just as Allah gave Prophet Yahya (A.S.) wisdom as a child and made Prophet Isa (A.S.) speak in the cradle.

Al-Ma'mun wanted to marry his daughter Umm al-Fadl to the young Imam, and the Abbasid family objected. To prove the Imam's knowledge, they arranged a debate with Yahya ibn Aktham, the chief judge of Baghdad. Yahya asked: what is the ruling for a pilgrim in ihram who hunts an animal? The Imam (A.S.) replied with a set of questions: was he inside or outside the Haram, did he know the ruling or not, did he do it on purpose or by mistake, was he free or a slave, a child or an adult, was it his first time or had he done it before, was the animal a bird or another kind, small or large, and was he sorry or did he insist? Yahya was speechless, and the Imam then explained the ruling for every case. Everyone present recognised his knowledge.

He was famous for his generosity, which is why he is called al-Jawad. He guided the believers through trusted representatives in different cities and wrote many letters answering their questions.

His martyrdom: After al-Ma'mun died, his brother al-Mu'tasim summoned the Imam to Baghdad. Shia sources record that Umm al-Fadl, who was jealous and had no children with the Imam, poisoned him with the encouragement of al-Mu'tasim. He was martyred at only 25 years old, the youngest of the Imams, and buried in Kazimain beside Imam Musa al-Kazim (A.S.).

Main sources: al-Irshad, Shaykh al-Mufid; Usul al-Kafi; Bihar al-Anwar vol. 50.

Imam Ali al-Naqi al-Hadi (A.S.)

الْإِمَامُ عَلِيٌّ النَّقِيُّ الْهَادِي (ع)

امام علی نقی الہادی علیہ السلام

Imam al-Hadi (A.S.) also became Imam as a child, at about the age of eight, and lived for about twenty years in Madinah teaching and guiding. The Abbasid caliph al-Mutawakkil hated the Ahlulbayt (A.S.). He ordered the shrine of Imam Husain (A.S.) in Karbala to be destroyed and flooded, and punished people who visited it. In 233 AH he forced Imam al-Hadi (A.S.) to move to Samarra, the Abbasid capital, where he kept him under watch in a military district for the rest of his life. His soldiers searched the Imam's house at night and found him alone, praying and reciting the Quran.

Even under this pressure the Imam (A.S.) kept the Shia community alive. He organised a network of trusted representatives (wukala) in many regions to collect religious dues and answer questions, preparing the believers for a time when they would not be able to see their Imam. He taught the great visit known as Ziyarat al-Jami'a al-Kabira, one of the most complete explanations of the station of the Ahlulbayt (A.S.), and Ziyarat al-Ghadir, which describes the virtues of Imam Ali (A.S.).

His martyrdom: Shia sources record that he was poisoned on the orders of the Abbasid government during the rule of al-Mu'tazz. He was martyred in Samarra on 3 Rajab 254 AH and buried in his house there, where his son Imam al-Askari (A.S.) was later buried beside him.

Main sources: al-Irshad, Shaykh al-Mufid; Usul al-Kafi; Man la Yahduruhu al-Faqih (Ziyarat al-Jami'a); Bihar al-Anwar vol. 50.

Imam Hasan al-Askari (A.S.)

الْإِمَامُ الْحَسَنُ الْعَسْكَرِيُّ (ع)

امام حسن عسکری علیہ السلام

Imam al-Askari (A.S.) came to Samarra as a small child with his father and spent almost his whole life there under the watch of the Abbasid army. That is why both he and his father are called al-Askariyain, the two Imams of Askar. His Imamate lasted only six years, and for much of it he was in prison or under house arrest.

The Abbasid rulers knew from the hadith that the twelfth Imam, the Mahdi, would be the son of the eleventh Imam, and they watched his house closely to stop that child from being born, or to kill him. For this reason the Imam (A.S.) kept the birth of his son hidden and showed him only to a few trusted believers.

He knew that a long period was coming in which the Shia would not be able to meet their Imam, so he trained them to follow trusted representatives and scholars. He communicated mostly through letters and through his deputy Uthman ibn Sa'id al-Amri, who would later become the first special deputy of Imam al-Mahdi (A.T.F.S.). A tafsir of the Quran is also narrated from him.

His martyrdom: Shia sources record that the Abbasid caliph al-Mu'tamid had him poisoned. He was martyred on 8 Rabi al-Awwal 260 AH, at only 28 years old. When his brother Ja'far stepped forward to lead the funeral prayer, a young boy came out of the house, pulled his robe and said, “Step back, uncle; I am more entitled to pray over my father.” This was Imam al-Mahdi (A.T.F.S.), and from that day his Imamate began.

Main sources: al-Irshad, Shaykh al-Mufid; Kamal al-Din, Shaykh al-Saduq; Bihar al-Anwar vol. 50.

Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi (A.T.F.S.)

الْإِمَامُ مُحَمَّدٌ الْمَهْدِيُّ (عَجَّلَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فَرَجَهُ الشَّرِيف)

امام مہدی عجل اللہ تعالیٰ فرجہ الشریف

Imam al-Mahdi (A.T.F.S.) was born in secret in Samarra on the night of 15 Sha'ban 255 AH. Lady Hakima, the aunt of Imam al-Askari (A.S.), was present at his birth and narrated it. He has the same name as the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.W.), and his father showed him to trusted believers so that they could bear witness that the twelfth Imam had been born.

After his father's martyrdom in 260 AH began the Minor Occultation (al-Ghaybat al-Sughra). For about 69 years the Imam (A.T.F.S.) did not appear in public but answered the believers through four special deputies, one after another: Uthman ibn Sa'id al-Amri, his son Muhammad ibn Uthman, Husain ibn Ruh al-Nawbakhti and Ali ibn Muhammad al-Samuri. A few days before al-Samuri died in 329 AH, the Imam sent a letter saying there would be no special deputy after him, and the Major Occultation (al-Ghaybat al-Kubra) began.

During the Major Occultation the Imam (A.T.F.S.) has told us whom to follow: “As for events that happen, refer in them to the narrators of our hadith, for they are my proof upon you, and I am the proof of Allah upon them.” That is why the believers follow a qualified Marja' (mujtahid) in matters of Fiqh. The Imam is alive, he knows our deeds, and his blessings reach the world like the light of the sun from behind the clouds.

When Allah permits, he will reappear in Makkah. Prophet Isa (A.S.) will come down and pray behind him, and he will fill the earth with justice as it had been filled with injustice. While we wait, our duty is to know him, pray for his early reappearance, recite Dua al-Ahd and Dua al-Faraj, avoid sin and become good, useful people, so that we are ready to be among his helpers.

Main sources: Kamal al-Din, Shaykh al-Saduq; al-Ghayba, Shaykh al-Tusi; al-Irshad, Shaykh al-Mufid; Bihar al-Anwar vols 51–53.