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Imam Musa al-Kazem (A.S.), the Holy Prophet’s Seventh Infallible Heir
Compiled By: Syed Ali Shahbaz
On 25th of the sacred month of Rajab, the day on which in the year 183 AH a most venerable descendent of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) was martyred through poisoning in the dungeon of Baghdad on the orders of the tyrannical Abbasid caliph, Haroun Rashid.
He was none other than Imam Musa al-Kazem (AS), the Prophet’s 7th Infallible Heir who has left a lasting legacy including a statement on momentous events in the far distant future that is attributed to him in books such as Bihar al-Anwaar and which reads: “A man from Qom will rise and invite people towards truth. Around him will gather people like slabs of iron (of iron-resolve), who will not be shaken by strong winds and storm, and will neither get tired of war nor will they back down; and they have trust in Allah. The outcome is for the pious.”
Although this prophecy pronounced over thirteen centuries ago does not name the revolutionary leader and his followers of iron-resolve, it appears to be a remarkable reflection of the events that happened in the closing years of the 14th century and the start of the 15th century AH. To be more specific, no such events had occurred in the history of the city of Qom and the region before the uprising of 15th Khordàd in Iran, that is, the June 5, 1963 Islamic movement of the Iranian people under the leadership of the 7thImam’s noble descendent, Seyyed Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini, whose anniversary today coincides with the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Musa Kazem (AS). Please stay with us for a special feature on the Prophet’s 7th Infallible Successor.
"To You belongs all praise if I obey You, and Yours is the justification (for punishing me) if I disobey You. Neither I nor anyone else can do any good except with Your favour! O You who pre-exist all things, O You who bring all things into existence, You have indeed power over all things…
"So I beseech You to bless Muhammad and the Family of Muhammad and to make my life a life of purity, my death a death of integrity and my place of return one of sublimity, not one of humiliation and shame!
"O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Family, the Imams, the fountains of wisdom, the mediators of Divine blessings, the mines of infallibility, and preserve me for their sake from all harm, and do not take me away in the state of delusion and neglect, and do not make the consequences of my deeds a cause of regret, and be pleased with me, for indeed Your forgiveness is meant for wrongdoers…”
What you just heard was part of a highly recommended supplication which the faithful recite on the eve of the first night of the month of Rajab in the state of prostration after the "Tajahhud" or late midnight prayer. The contents speak for themselves. They unravel the realms of divine mercy; remove the feeling of despondency; strengthen the spirit of repentance and self-reform; and inspires communion with the Almighty Creator. Alas, today on the 25th of Rajab we mourn the person who taught us this unique supplication which determines both the course of our life in this world and the journey of the soul in the Hereafter towards the bliss of paradise. He was Imam Musa (AS), the namesake of Prophet Moses, and he waged a unique jihad against the Pharaohs of his days. Born in 128 AH in Abwa between the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, he was only 55 years, when he was martyred by the Abbasid tyrant, Haroun Rashid, in the dungeon of Baghdad through a fatal dose of poisoning. He had spent the last two years of his life in imprisonment – first in Basra and then in Baghdad. Of the 35 years of his imamate or divinely-decreed authority, a total of 14 intermittent years were spent in the prisons of the tyrants Mansour Dawaniqi, Mahdi al-Abbasi, Hadi al-Abbasi, and Haroun. Now since he was no more, the wardens, acting upon the orders of the debauched caliph, placed his coffin on the bridge across the River Tigris. He was finally taken to the outskirts of the cityand laid to rest in the cemetery of the Quraysh.
The usurpers of the caliphate thought that by extinguishing his life and burying him in a public cemetery they had succeeded in removing the greatest hurdle in their path and thus ensured the continuation of their misrule. How wrong they were? Today, Imam Musa (AS), whose epithet "Kazem" means Restrainer of Anger and Emotions" rules not just the capital of his killer, Baghdad, from his spacious golden-domed mausoleum in Kazemayn, but draws pilgrims from all over the world, while there is no sign of even a tombstone for the Abbasid caliphs, let alone traces of their places.
It is indeed Divine Justice that the rotten bones of Haroun Rashid lie at the feet of the son of his victim in Mashhad, Khorasan where pilgrims to the shrine of Imam Reza (AS), while saluting the Imams of the Ahl al-Bayt, invoke curses on the Abbasid tyrant. Today Baghdad is echoing with the chants of Ya Bab al-Hawa'ej (or Gateway of Boons), as more than a million mourners have assembled in Kazemayn to pay homage to the 7th Imam. In Iran, the grateful nation that yesterday commemorated the passing away of the 7th Imam’s noble descendent, who as prophesied centuries ago, brought about the Islamic Revolution, are clad in black as well, and have converged in huge numbers on the shrines of his sons and descendants that are found in most Iranian towns and cities, especially Mashhad and the city of Qom, where the shrine of his esteemed daughter, Hazrat Fatema al-Ma’souma (SA) is located.
Here we present you an interesting piece of poetry by Iran’s English language poet, Dr. Hassan Najafi as a form of tribute to Imam Musa Kazem (AS):
No one dared to search for a shade
The body of the Imam to be therein laid,
Over the bridge of Baghdad the body was kept
Among the population whoever heard wept.
You and prisons, fancy brings to mortal eyes
Your soul corresponds to its kindred skies,
Heavenly born and bred on high
To crown the favourites of the sky
Faith it is that visit on fealty to pray
And seek blessings at your tomb to wrap up the day.
His wardens leaned his virtuous side
To relieve every wicked was his pride.
After imprisonments long, tortured delay
To the brighter worlds his soul found the way.
Nor changed nor wished to charge his place
Remote in prisons he ran his golden race.
From distant time neglected virtue through your calls
When heard any wretched in shame and agony falls.
Enquires! Cease, many things still remain:
He is the Son of Prophet, a pole in Imamate's domain.
Whoever refuses him, his life spent in vain
He is the Gateway of Needs
Knock at his doorstep to collect the proceeds
The charity with a smile to welcome
Whoever comes goes with handful sum.
The gravity that can save;
It is his love in the grave.
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