By: Seyyed Ali Shahbaz
     "Indeed Allah chose Adam and Noah, and the progeny of Abraham and the progeny of Imran above all the nations.” (Holy Qur’an 3:33)
    The words of God Almighty are proof of divine guidance for mankind to avoid the pitfalls of disbelief and satanic temptations, by proceeding on the straight and unwavering path of those who have been chosen by the All-Wise Creator to lead the faithful to perfection of belief in life and the bliss of paradise in afterlife.
     If Adam is the Father of the human race, the majority of the children of Adam trace their lineage to Noah in whose era three-fourth of all mankind was wiped out by the Great Deluge because of the grave sins of those who had deviated from the path of the Chosen of God.
     Prophet Abraham was a towering monotheist and the All-Merciful after testing him through various tribulations from which he emerged with flying colours every time (whether the huge blaze lit by Nimrod, whether the sacrifice of his firstborn son Ishmael, whether the rebuilding of the holy Ka’ba), granted him imamate or leadership of mankind, with clear emphasis that this divine trust will not be the prerogative of the unjust.
     It is obvious that of the hundreds of Prophets that emerged from the offspring of Abraham, the pride of place goes to Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) as the Last and Greatest Messenger with the universal message of Islam.
     At the end of his 23-year mission the Seal of Messengers, on the express commandments of God, proclaimed his dear cousin and son-in-law, Imam Ali (AS) as vicegerent.
     Here an important point worth noting is that the real name of Imam Ali’s (AS) father, who is famous through his agnomen (kunya) of Abu Taleb, was Imran, which was also the name of the father of the Virgin Mary (SA).
     Now we understand the emphasis of the above-mentioned ayah on the "progeny of Imran”.
     If Prophet Jesus (AS) as the Israelite Imran’s only grandson did not marry nor leave any offspring, the Ishmaelite Imran (Abu Taleb), who was also a direct descendant of Prophet Abraham, was granted by God Almighty Twelve Divinely-Designated Imams.
      Since today, the 3rd of Safar, according to a narration, is the birth anniversary of Imam Muhammad al-Baqer (AS), the 5th of the Twelve Infallible Successors of Prophet Muhammad (SAWA), here we present a famous hadith from this great personality, whose birthday we do not celebrate, as a mark of respect for the tragic martyrdom Imam Husain (AS) in Karbala on the Day of Ashura (10th Muharram 61 AH).
      Imam Baqer (AS) who says: "My grandfather was killed while I was four years of age. Indeed, I remember his martyrdom and what befell us during that time,” has explicitly informed the faithful through the Prophet’s companion Jaber ibn Abdullah al-Ansari of an important narration.
      The narration says that when Imam Husain (AS) was born and Jaber went to the Prophet’s daughter to offer felicitations, he saw a scroll in the hands of Hazrat Fatema Zahra (SA), the Noblest Lady of all times. When he asked her about the scroll he was told, "In it are the names of the leaders and Imams from among my offspring.”
      In another version of this ?adith, she is quoted as saying: "This is a tablet that the Almighty and Glorious Allah gave to His Messenger, and there are in it the names of my father, my husband, two sons, and the names of the successors from among my offspring. My father gave it to me to make me delighted.”
      Jaber says when he was allowed to have a glance he found the exact names of all Twelve Infallible Imams, beginning with Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS) and ending with the Awaited Saviour of humanity, Imam Mahdi (AS), along with the names of their mothers.
     Now we better understand the position of Imam Baqer (AS) and his 19-year mission, during which he bequeathed to the faithful the keys of faith.
    As part of the lasting legacy of the 5th Imam, who was born in 57 AH and was descended on both sides from the Prophet, is the famous Ziyarat Ashura, which the faithful punctually recite and in which he expresses the following phrases.
      "O Allah, this day (Muharram 10) was celebrated as an auspicious occasion by the Omayyads and the son of her (Hind) who ate the livers of the martyrs, the accursed son of the one cursed by You and Your Prophet (SAWA)… O Allah, curse Abu Sufyan, Mu'awiyah, and Yazid son of Mu'awiyah; may Your curse be on them forever and ever.”