Muhammad al-Baqir Fifth imam of Twelver and fourth imam of Ismaili Shia |
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Native name | محمد بن علي الباقر |
Born | 10 May, 677 01 Rajab 57 AH Medina, Umayyad Empire |
Died | 28 January, 733 (aged 56) 07 Dhu al-Hijjah 117 AH Medina, Umayyad Empire |
Cause of death | Poisoning by Ibrahim ibn al-Walid according to most Shi'a Muslims |
Resting place |
Jannatul Baqi, Saudi Arabia 24°28′1″N 39°36′50.21″E / 24.46694°N 39.6139472°E |
Other names | Muhammad ibn ‘Alī ibn Husayn |
Years active | 680-733 |
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Term | 712–733 CE |
Predecessor | Ali ibn Husayn |
Successor | Ja'far al-Sadiq |
Spouse(s) |
Farwah bint al-Qasim Umm Hakīm bint Usayd ibn al-Mughīrā al-Thaqafī |
Children |
List
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Parent(s) | `Ali ibn Husayn Fatimah bint Hasan |
Muḥammad al-Baqir, full name Muhammad bin 'Ali bin al-Husayn bin Ali bin Abi Talib, also known as Abu Ja'far or simply al-Baqir (Arabic: محمد الباقر, translit. al-Bāqir, lit. 'the one who opens knowledge') (677-733) was the fifth Shia imam, succeeding his father Zayn al-Abidin and succeeded by his son Ja'far al-Sadiq. He was the first imam descended from both grandsons of Muhammad: Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali. He is revered by Shiite Muslims for his religious leadership, and respected by Sunni Muslims for his knowledge and Islamic scholarship as a jurist in Medina.
Al-Baqir had a prominent lineage, his paternal and maternal grandfathers, Husayn ibn Ali and Hasan ibn Ali, were Muhammad's grandsons: His father was Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin (son of Husayn, the second son of Ali) and his mother, Fatima Umm Abd Allah, was a daughter of al-Hasan (the first son of Ali).
Al-Baqir was born in Medina around 56 AH (676 AD), when Muawiyah I was trying to ensure that his son Yazid I could inherit the caliphate. When Al-Baqir was a child, his family was affected by the Battle of Karbala; he was three or four years old when his grandfather, Husayn, was killed.