Salutations to the Splitter & Spreader of Sciences
By: Seyyed Ali Shahbaz
"Indeed the number of months with Allah is Twelve months in Allah’s Book, the day when He created the heavens and the earth. Of these, Four are sacred. That is the upright religion. So do not wrong yourselves during them…” (Holy Qur’an 9:36)
The above words of God Almighty – like the rest of the final heavenly scripture in all its entirety – are indeed food for thought.
They provide a clear picture of the Upright Religion for the seekers of truth, that similar to the number of months that the All-Wise Creator has divided the year into, He has designated Twelve Infallible Heirs for Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) to hold aloft the torch of the genuine teachings of the universal mission of Islam till the Resurrection Day.
Today is the first of Rajab, the first of the Four sacred months mentioned in the above Ayah, and which day happens to be the birthday of one of the Four (of the Twelve) Infallible Heirs of the Messenger of Mercy who repose in the sacred Jannat al-Baqie Cemetery of Medina, whose sanctity has been wronged by the heretical Wahhabi cult currently in occupation of Hijaz, the land of Divine Revelation.
The person who graced Planet Earth on this day by the Will of the Almighty Creator in 57 AH, was none other than the Prophet’s namesake, Imam Muhammad al-Baqer (AS), the Fourth in lineal descent from the Messenger of Mercy and the Fifth in serial order to be entrusted with the Imamate or leadership of mankind.
Descended on both sides from the Prophet – his father Imam Zain al-Abedin (AS) was the son of the Prophet’s younger grandson Imam Husain (AS), while his mother Fatema (SA), was the daughter of the Prophet’s elder grandson, Imam Hasan al-Mujtaba (AS) – he was inheritor of the celestial knowledge bequeathed by the Prophet, on the commandment of God, to his great-grandfather, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS).
Volumes, not a brief newspaper column, are required to pen the virtues of this worthy great-grandson of the Noblest Lady of all times, the Prophet’s Immaculate Daughter Hazrat Fatema Zahra (SA).
He lived in an era when imposters masqueraded as caliphs to distort the teachings of the Prophet and the image of Islam. He was less than four years old when he witnessed the heartrending tragedy of Karbala, where his grandfather Imam Husain (AS), was most cruelly martyred, along with his small group of faithful followers by the forces of the tyrant Yazid.
In such a tender age, he suffered imprisonment along with his parents, aunts, and grandaunts, Hazrat Zainab (SA) and Hazrat Omm Kulthoum (SA), but even in this state, he proved his future greatness on many a occasion that astounded his cruel captors.
The 5th Imam, whose epithet "Baqer al-Uloum” (Splitter and Spreader of Sciences) was foretold half-a-century earlier by the Prophet, who had also conveyed his greetings through his loyal companion of long age, Jaber ibn Abdullah al-Ansari, guided the ship of Islam through the stormy waters of Omayyad tyranny.
For 34 years after the tragedy of Karbala, he was beside his father Imam Zayn al-Abedin (AS) in safeguarding the teachings of Islam, and then during his 19-year mission as the Representative of God on earth, he had the opportunity of promoting in society the genuine teachings of the Prophet of Islam including his unsullied "Sunah wa Seerah” (Practice & Behaviour).
On his authority, the Ayahs of the Holy Qur’an were explained, the legal code of Islam defined, and accounts of the prophets of the past penned down.
He thus strengthened the foundations of the School of the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt, which would flower and reach its peak under his son and successor, Imam Ja’far as-Sadeq (AS), at whose over 4,000 scholars and students learned different branches of sciences, ranging from theology and jurisprudence to medicine and astronomy.
Imam Baqer (AS), who despite his grooming of scholars, would at times love to toil under the blazing sun of Arabia by personally engaging in farming in order to set the practical example of dignified labour for earning of legal and lawful subsistence bread, has said the following:
"There is no job better than farming and there is no benefit better than the benefit of farming, because benevolent and malevolent grazing animals and birds benefit from it and pray for the farmer.”
Yet at the same time, he warned against being deceived and trapped by the glamour of transient life, as is evident by the following statement:
"A person who seeks the world is like the silk-worm which becomes more and more incarcerated inside the cocoon the more silk it wounds around and dies inside it.”
On this blessed occasion, the faithful humbly request God the All-Merciful, to make them adhere to the letter and spirit of the Holy Qur’an, in order to firm up their faith, enlighten their minds, illuminate their hearts, purify their souls, strengthen their spirits, and make them worthy recipients of the bezels of knowledge bequeathed by the Prophet and the Infallible Ahl al-Baty, including Imam Muhammad Baqer (AS). Amen
"Indeed the number of months with Allah is Twelve months in Allah’s Book, the day when He created the heavens and the earth. Of these, Four are sacred. That is the upright religion. So do not wrong yourselves during them…” (Holy Qur’an 9:36)
The above words of God Almighty – like the rest of the final heavenly scripture in all its entirety – are indeed food for thought.
They provide a clear picture of the Upright Religion for the seekers of truth, that similar to the number of months that the All-Wise Creator has divided the year into, He has designated Twelve Infallible Heirs for Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) to hold aloft the torch of the genuine teachings of the universal mission of Islam till the Resurrection Day.
Today is the first of Rajab, the first of the Four sacred months mentioned in the above Ayah, and which day happens to be the birthday of one of the Four (of the Twelve) Infallible Heirs of the Messenger of Mercy who repose in the sacred Jannat al-Baqie Cemetery of Medina, whose sanctity has been wronged by the heretical Wahhabi cult currently in occupation of Hijaz, the land of Divine Revelation.
The person who graced Planet Earth on this day by the Will of the Almighty Creator in 57 AH, was none other than the Prophet’s namesake, Imam Muhammad al-Baqer (AS), the Fourth in lineal descent from the Messenger of Mercy and the Fifth in serial order to be entrusted with the Imamate or leadership of mankind.
Descended on both sides from the Prophet – his father Imam Zain al-Abedin (AS) was the son of the Prophet’s younger grandson Imam Husain (AS), while his mother Fatema (SA), was the daughter of the Prophet’s elder grandson, Imam Hasan al-Mujtaba (AS) – he was inheritor of the celestial knowledge bequeathed by the Prophet, on the commandment of God, to his great-grandfather, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS).
Volumes, not a brief newspaper column, are required to pen the virtues of this worthy great-grandson of the Noblest Lady of all times, the Prophet’s Immaculate Daughter Hazrat Fatema Zahra (SA).
He lived in an era when imposters masqueraded as caliphs to distort the teachings of the Prophet and the image of Islam. He was less than four years old when he witnessed the heartrending tragedy of Karbala, where his grandfather Imam Husain (AS), was most cruelly martyred, along with his small group of faithful followers by the forces of the tyrant Yazid.
In such a tender age, he suffered imprisonment along with his parents, aunts, and grandaunts, Hazrat Zainab (SA) and Hazrat Omm Kulthoum (SA), but even in this state, he proved his future greatness on many a occasion that astounded his cruel captors.
The 5th Imam, whose epithet "Baqer al-Uloum” (Splitter and Spreader of Sciences) was foretold half-a-century earlier by the Prophet, who had also conveyed his greetings through his loyal companion of long age, Jaber ibn Abdullah al-Ansari, guided the ship of Islam through the stormy waters of Omayyad tyranny.
For 34 years after the tragedy of Karbala, he was beside his father Imam Zayn al-Abedin (AS) in safeguarding the teachings of Islam, and then during his 19-year mission as the Representative of God on earth, he had the opportunity of promoting in society the genuine teachings of the Prophet of Islam including his unsullied "Sunah wa Seerah” (Practice & Behaviour).
On his authority, the Ayahs of the Holy Qur’an were explained, the legal code of Islam defined, and accounts of the prophets of the past penned down.
He thus strengthened the foundations of the School of the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt, which would flower and reach its peak under his son and successor, Imam Ja’far as-Sadeq (AS), at whose over 4,000 scholars and students learned different branches of sciences, ranging from theology and jurisprudence to medicine and astronomy.
Imam Baqer (AS), who despite his grooming of scholars, would at times love to toil under the blazing sun of Arabia by personally engaging in farming in order to set the practical example of dignified labour for earning of legal and lawful subsistence bread, has said the following:
"There is no job better than farming and there is no benefit better than the benefit of farming, because benevolent and malevolent grazing animals and birds benefit from it and pray for the farmer.”
Yet at the same time, he warned against being deceived and trapped by the glamour of transient life, as is evident by the following statement:
"A person who seeks the world is like the silk-worm which becomes more and more incarcerated inside the cocoon the more silk it wounds around and dies inside it.”
On this blessed occasion, the faithful humbly request God the All-Merciful, to make them adhere to the letter and spirit of the Holy Qur’an, in order to firm up their faith, enlighten their minds, illuminate their hearts, purify their souls, strengthen their spirits, and make them worthy recipients of the bezels of knowledge bequeathed by the Prophet and the Infallible Ahl al-Baty, including Imam Muhammad Baqer (AS). Amen