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Hazrat Imam Musa Bin Ja'far al-Kazim(AS)


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Imam Musa ibn Jafar (AS)
The Life of Imam Musa Bin Ja'far al-Kazim  (AS)
     NAME:  Musa
     IMAMAAT:  7th Imam from the silsila-e-Imamaat
     TITLE:  Abd-e-Saleh, Kazim, Babul Hawaij, Abul Hassan, Abu Ibrahim
     FATHER:  Imam Jaffer-as-Sadiq (AS)-6th Imam
     MOTHER:  Hazrat Hameeda Khatoon
     BIRTH DATE:  7th Safar 128 Hijrah at "ABWA" a place between Mecca & Medina
     AGE:  55 Years
     DIED ON:  25th Rajab 183 Hijrah
     DEATH PLACE:  IRAQ-In the Prison of Haroon Rashid in Baghdad
     HOLY SHRINE:  Kazmain, Near Baghdad
     * Ziyarat Of Hazrat Imam Musa-e-Kazim (AS) is recited specially on Wednesdays
It is a 2 Raka't Namaaz (SALAT)
(a) In each raka't recite Sooratul Faatih'ah, recite Sooratul Ikhlaas 12 times.
(b) After Salaam recite the following Dua'a:

ENGLISH TRANSLATION:
(For Arabic Text please see "Mafateehul Jinaan")
     O Allah send blessings on Muhammad and on the children of Mohammad.
     In the name of Allah the Beneficent the Merciful.     My Allah! Submissive all voices are low & hushed before Thee. Lost & bewildered are minds and thoughts in Thy "supreme being".
     Everything stands in awe of Thee.
     Everything takes refuge with Thee.
     In trouble & distress are all things if cut off from Thee.
     Filled with Thy "Light" are all things.
     Thou art Sublime in Thy majesty.
     Thou art elegantly Resplendent in Thy graceful purity.
     Thou art Absolute in Thy authority.
     Thou art He Whom nothing can do any harm.
     O Bestowed of bounties!
     O Disperser of sorrows!
     O Fulfiller of desires!
     Give me what I desire, in the name of "There is no God except Thou".
     I seek refuge with Thee, sincere in my faith for Thee, & live in the hope of Thy promise & surety, which have the credentials to give hope of Thy bounties, and forgiveness of sins, that cannot be done by anyone else.
     O He Who is near & close at hand though highest, and in His nearness is the Highest High, in His splendor the Resplendent, and in His authority the most Powerful.
     Send blessings on Mohammed & on the children of Mohammed.
2 PHASES;
 a. the 1st era before Imamate spread out from 128to 148 Hijrah (20 years).
 b. the 2nd period following his imamate from 148 to 183 Hijrah coincident with the ruler ship periods of Mansoor Dawanaqi, Mehdi Abbasi Hadi Abbasi & Haroon-ur-Rashid. The most of his Imamate period was coincident with the era of Haroon, which stretched as long as 23 years, 2 months & 17 days. And Haroon was the 5th caliph of the Abbasied Dynasity during whose period of rule the Imam mostly remained imprisoned.
     Hazrat Imam Musa al-Kazim is the Seveth Apostolic Imam. His epithet was Abu 'l-Hasan and his famous title was al-Kazim. His matchless devotion and worship of God has also earned him the title of "Abdu 's-Salih'' (virtuous slave of God). Generosity was synonymous with his name and no beggar ever returned from his door empty handed. Even after his death, he continued to be obliging and was generous to his devotees who came to his holy tomb with prayers and behest which were invariably granted by God. Thus, one of his additional titles is also ``Babu 'l-Hawaij'' (the door to fulfilling needs). He was the son of Imam Ja`far as-Sadiq, the Sixth Imam. The name of his mother was Hamidah, the daughter of a noble man hailing from the States of Barbary.
Childhood
     Imam Musa al-Kazim passed twenty years of his sacred life under the gracious patronage of his holy father. His inherent genius and gifted virtues combined with the enlightened guidance and education from the Holy Imam ja`far as-Sadiq, showed in the manifestation of his future personality. He was fully versed with the Divine Knowledge even in his childhood. al-`Allamah al-Majlisi relates that once Abu Hanifah happened to call upon the holy abode of Imam Ja`far as-Sadiq to ask him about some religious matters ( masa'il ). The Imam was asleep and so he kept waiting outside till the Imam's awakening. Meanwhile, Imam Musa al-Kazim, who was then five years old, came out of his house. Abu Hanifah, after offering him his best compliment, enquired:
     ``O the son of the Holy Prophet ! what is your opinion about the deeds of a man ? Does he do them by himself or does God make him do them ?'' ``O Abu Hanifah'', the five years old Imam replied at once, in the typical tone of his ancestors,
     ``the doings of a man are confined to three possibilities. First, that God alone does them while the man is quite helpless. Second, that both God and the man do equally share the commitment. Third, that man does them alone. Now, if the first assumption is true, it obviously proves the unjustness of God who punishes His creatures for sins which they have not committed. And if the second condition be acceptable, even then God becomes unjust if He punishes the man for the crimes in which He is equally a partner. But the undesirability of both these conditions is evident in the case of God. Thus, we are naturally left with the third alternative to the problem that men are absolutely responsible for their own doing.''
Imamate 
     The Holy Imam Ja`far as-Sadiq breathed his last on 25th Shawwal 148 AH, and with effect from the same date Imam Musa al-Kazim succeeded the holy office of Immamate as the Seventh Imam. The priod of his Imamate continued for thirty-five years. In the first decade of his Imamate, Imam Musa al-Kazim could afford a peaceful execution of the responsibilities of his sacred office and carried on the propagation of the taachings of the Holy Prophet. But soon after, he fell a victim to the ruling kings and a greater part of his life passed in prison.
Political Condition 
     Imam Musa al-Kazim lived under the most crucial times in the regimes of the despotic `Abbasid kings who were marked for their tyrannical and cruel administration. He witnessed the reings of ar-Mansur ad-Dawaniqi, al-Mahdi and Harun ar-Rashid. al-Mansur and Harun ar-Rashid were the despotic kings who put a multitude of innocent descendants of the Holy Prophet to the sword. Thousands of these martyrs were buried alive inside walls or put into horrible dark prisons during their lifetime. These depraved caliphs knew no pity or justice and they killed and tortured for the pleasure they derived from human sufferings. The Holy Imam was saved from the tyranny of al-Mansur because the king, being occupied with his project of constructing the new city of Baghdad, could not get time to turn towards victimizing the Imam. By 157 AH the city of Baghded was built. This was soon followed by the death of its founder a year later. After al-Mansur, his son al-Mahdi ascended the throne. For a few years he remained indifferent towards the Imam. When in 164 AH he came to Medina and heard about the great reputation of the Imam, he could not resist his jealousy and the spark of his ancestral malice against the Ahlu 'l-bayt was rekindled. He somehow managed to take the Imam along with him to Baghdad and got him imprisoned there. But after a year he realized his mistake and released the Imam from jail. al-Mahdi was succeeded by al-Hadi who lived only for a year. Now, in 170 AH, the most cruel and tyrannical king Harun ar-Rashid appeared at the head of the `Abbasid Empire. It was during his reign that the Holy Imam passed the greater part of his life in a miserable prison till ha was poisoned.
Moral and Ethical Excellence 
     As regards his morality and ethical excellence, Ibn Hajar al-Haytami remarks :
     ``The patience and forbearance of Imam Musa al-Kazim was such that he was given the title of `al-Kazim' (one who swallows down his anger). He was the embodiment of virtue and generosity. He devoted his nights to the prayers of God and his days to fasting. He always forgave those who did wrong to him,'' His king and generous attitude towards the people was such that he used to patronize and help the poor and destitute of Medina and provide for them cash, food, clothes and other necessitates of sustenance secretly. It continued to be a riddle for the receivers of gifts throughout the Imam's lifetime as to who their benefactor was, but the secret was not revealed until after his death.
Literary Attainments
     Time and circumstances did not permit the Holy Imam Musa al-Kazim to establish institutions to impart religious knowledge to his followers as his father, Imam Ja`far as-Sadiq and his grandfather, Imam Muhammad al-Baqir had done. He was never allowed to address a congregation. He carried on his mission of preaching and guiding people quietly.
Death 
     In 179 AH, Harun ar-Rashid visited Medina. The fire of malice and jealousy against the Ahul 'l-bayt was kindled in his heart when he saw the great influence and popularity which the Holy Imam enjoyed amongst the people there. He got the Imam arrested while he was busy in prayer at the tomb of the Holy Prophet and kept him in prison in Baghded for a period of about four years. On the 25th Rajab 183 AH, he got the Imam martyred by poison. Even his corpse was not spared humiliation and was taken out of the prison and left on the Bridge of Baghdad. His devotees, however, managed to lay the holy body of the Imam to rest in al-Kazimiyyah ( Iraq ).
1. I found the knowledge of people in four things: firstly, that you know your LORD (recognition of Allah), Secondly, that you know it as to what factors He made use of in creating you, thirdly, that you know as to what does he want & intend from you, & fourthly that you learn what is it that will expel you from your religion.

2. Cursed is the one who backbites against one's brother (fellow Muslim).

3. Comprehend & understand the religion of Allah, for jurisprudence is the key to vision & the completion of worship & the cause of reaching the lofty grades & magnanimous station is the world & hereafter.
And the superiority & magnanimity of jurisprudent over the adorer & worshiper is like that of the superiority of sun to the stars. And Allah does not get pleased with (accept) any practice of that person who does not achieve the comprehension & understanding of his religion.

4. Put in endeavor & exercise effort that your time is scheduled into four parts.
A part for the supplication to Allah & an other part for the affairs of economy & livelihood & still another part for social contact with the brothers & the persons of confidence who may let you learn your short comings & faults & they have a sincere interior (heart) for you.
And a part to enjoy the un forbidden & lawful entertainments. And with this part of time you get the strength of vigor for the (rest of) three other parts of time.

5. Oh Hisham! a man is not faithful till such time that he gets fearful (&) hopeful. And he will not become fearful & hopeful unless & until he becomes the conjuror & doer of that which he fears & hopes i.e. (He practices according to the requirement & needs of the fear & hope.

6. Indeed, the greatest & biggest of all the people in worth & value is the person who does not consider the world a station & abode for himself more over, there is no price & worth of your bodies except the paradise, so do not sell them without (achieving) it.

7. Bad is the person who has two faces & two tongues (double cross & hypocrite). He praises & commends his brother (in faith) in his presence & when he is absent he back bites & slanders him. If he achieves (something) he gets jealous of him & if he is afflicted he leaves & abandons him (Does not help him).

8. A person who does not observe any progress & development in himself, his two days are equal is a looser.

9. Oh Hisham! if there be a walnut in your hand & the people say it is a pearl, this will not provide you any benefit where as you know that, its a walnut.
And if there is a pearl in your hand & people says, its a walnut, there would be no harm to you while you know that, that is a pearl.

10. Oh Hisham! there is a proof & logic for everything & the proof of that intelligent person is his meditation & the proof of meditation is quietness.