Musa al-Kazim (; 745–799) was a descendant of the
Islamic prophet
Prophets in Islam () are individuals in Islam who are believed to spread God's message on Earth and serve as models of ideal human behaviour. Some prophets are categorized as messengers (; sing. , ), those who transmit divine revelation, mos ...
Muhammad
Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...
and the seventh
imam
Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...
in
Twelver Shia Islam. Musa is often known by the title al-Kazim (), apparently a reference to his patience and gentle disposition. He was born in 745 in
Medina
Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...
to
Ja'far al-Sadiq
Ja'far al-Sadiq (; –765) was a Muslim hadith transmitter and the last agreed-upon Shia Imam between the Twelvers and Isma'ilis. Known by the title al-Sadiq ("The Truthful"), Ja'far was the eponymous founder of the Ja'fari school of Isla ...
, the sixth Shia imam, who died in 765 without publicly designating a successor to save his heir from the wrath of the
Abbasid caliphs. The subsequent crisis of succession was eventually resolved in favor of al-Kazim, with a dissenting group, now known as the
Isma'ilis, separating from the mainstream Shia.
After the death of al-Sadiq, Musa al-Kazim remained in Medina, where he kept aloof from politics and devoted himself to religious teachings. He was nevertheless tightly restricted by the Abbasid caliphs and spent much of his adult life in their prisons. To counter these restrictions, he established an underground network of local representatives to organize the affairs of his followers across the Abbasid Empire and to collect their religious donations. His final imprisonment, , ended with his death in 799 in a
Baghdad
Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...
prison, possibly poisoned at the instigation of the Abbasid caliph
Harun al-Rashid. The shrine of al-Kazim and his grandson,
Muhammad al-Jawad, is a popular pilgrimage destination for Twelver
Muslims
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
in
Kazimayn, Baghdad.
Musa al-Kazim played a key role in eradicating extreme views and exaggerations () from Twelver thought. His answers to legal questions have survived in , and he is credited with numerous
supplications. Musa al-Kazim is also revered for his piety in
Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam is the largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any Succession to Muhammad, successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr ...
and considered a reliable transmitter of prophetic sayings. He is a link in the initiatic Golden Chain in
Sufism
Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism.
Practitioners of Sufism are r ...
, and some Sufi saints are often associated with him. Various nonprophetic miracles are attributed to al-Kazim, often emphasizing his precognition. He was succeeded in
imamate
The term imamate or ''imamah'' (, ''imāmah'') means "leadership" and refers to the office of an ''imam'' or a Muslim theocratic state ruled by an ''imam''.
Theology
*Imamate in Shia doctrine, the doctrine of the leadership of the Muslim commu ...
by his son,
Ali al-Rida
Ali al-Rida (, 1 January 766 – 6 June 818), also known as Abū al-Ḥasan al-Thānī, was a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and the eighth imam in Twelver Shia Islam, succeeding his father, Musa al-Kazim. He is also part of th ...
.
Life
Birth and early life
Musa was probably born on 8 November 745 (7
Safar 128
AH). He was born either in
Medina
Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...
, or in nearby al-Abwa', located between Medina and
Mecca
Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...
. Alternative birth dates are September 745 and 746747. His father was
Ja'far al-Sadiq
Ja'far al-Sadiq (; –765) was a Muslim hadith transmitter and the last agreed-upon Shia Imam between the Twelvers and Isma'ilis. Known by the title al-Sadiq ("The Truthful"), Ja'far was the eponymous founder of the Ja'fari school of Isla ...
, a descendant of
Ali ibn Abi Talib and
Fatima, who were the cousin and daughter of the
Islamic prophet
Prophets in Islam () are individuals in Islam who are believed to spread God's message on Earth and serve as models of ideal human behaviour. Some prophets are categorized as messengers (; sing. , ), those who transmit divine revelation, mos ...
Muhammad
Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...
, respectively. Ja'far al-Sadiq was widely accepted as the legitimate
imam
Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...
by the early
Shia community, who rejected the ruling
Umayyad caliphs as usurpers. Musa's mother was Hamida Khatun, a
Berber
Berber or Berbers may refer to:
Ethnic group
* Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa
* Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages
Places
* Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile
People with the surname
* Ady Berber (1913–196 ...
slave-girl. She was also known as al-Musaffat (), a title which was perhaps a reference to her religious learning, as she is said to have taught
Islamic jurisprudence
''Fiqh'' (; ) is the term for Islamic jurisprudence.[Fiqh](_blank)
Encyclopædia Britannica ''Fiqh'' is of ...
to women in a seminary in Medina.
Abdallah al-Aftah and
Isma'il ibn Ja'far
Isma'il ibn Ja'far () was the eldest son of Ja'far al-Sadiq and the sixth Imam in Isma'ilism. He carried the epithet of al-Mubarak, on the basis of which one of the earliest Isma'ili groups became designated as the Mubarakiyya.
It seems likely t ...
were the elder half-brothers of Musa, and
Muhammad ibn Ja'far al-Sadiq was his younger full brother. Musa was about four years old when the
Abbasid revolution overthrew the
Umayyad Caliphate
The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a member o ...
in 750. He continued to live in Medina under the authority of his father al-Sadiq, until the latter died in 765. Ja'far al-Sadiq was poisoned at the instigation of the Abbasid caliph
al-Mansur
Abū Jaʿfar ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Manṣūr (; ; 714 – 6 October 775) usually known simply as by his laqab al-Manṣūr () was the second Abbasid caliph, reigning from 754 to 775 succeeding his brother al-Saffah (). He is known ...
(), according to the Shia.
After the death of al-Sadiq
After the death of al-Sadiq, Musa al-Kazim remained in Medina, where he stayed out of politics, similar to most of his predecessors. As with his father, al-Kazim instead taught religious sciences in Medina. Over time, he also established an underground network of representatives () to collect religious donations from his followers and organise their affairs.
The Abbasids, who claimed descent from Muhammad's uncle
Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib
Al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib () was a paternal uncle and sahabi (companion) of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, just three years older than his nephew. A wealthy merchant, during the early years of Islam he protected Muhammad while he was in Mecca, ...
, had rallied the support of the Shia community against the Umayyads in the name of the
family of Muhammad. But many Shias were disillusioned when the Abbasid al-Saffah () declared himself caliph, as they had instead hoped for an
Alid leader, one who had descended from Muhammad, that is, a descendant of his daughter
Fatima and Ali ibn Abi Talib. The Abbasids soon turned against their former allies, and were generally hostile to the Shia imams, especially after the abortive
762763 revolt of the Alid pretender
Muhammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya. Musa al-Kazim was contemporary with the Abbasid caliphs
al-Mansur
Abū Jaʿfar ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Manṣūr (; ; 714 – 6 October 775) usually known simply as by his laqab al-Manṣūr () was the second Abbasid caliph, reigning from 754 to 775 succeeding his brother al-Saffah (). He is known ...
,
al-Hadi,
al-Mahdi
Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Manṣūr (; 744 or 745 – 785), better known by his regnal name al-Mahdī (, "He who is guided by God"), was the third Abbasid Caliph who reigned from 775 to his death in 785. He succeeded his ...
, and
Harun al-Rashid. Unlike his father, who often taught freely in Medina, al-Kazim was highly restricted by the caliphs, and spent much of his adult life in the Abbasid prisons in
Iraq
Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
. By one Shia account, under the Abbasids' watchful eyes, al-Kazim even discouraged his followers from greeting him in public.
Reign of al-Mansur ()
Shia sources blame the Abbasid caliph al-Mansur for the death of Ja'far al-Sadiq, who did not publicly designate an heir, likely fearing the Abbasid reaction. Shia sources report that the caliph ordered his governor of Medina to kill the heir to al-Sadiq, a plan that was thwarted when the governor found out that al-Sadiq had appointed four or five legatees. The resulting crisis of succession to al-Sadiq was ultimately resolved in favor of al-Kazim, who spent the first ten years of his imamate under al-Mansur. This succession crisis nevertheless weakened the mainstream Shia, which is perhaps why al-Mansur left al-Kazim relatively unmolested, while still keeping him under surveillance. This initial mild treatment of al-Kazim would not continue under future caliphs.
Reign of al-Mahdi ()
During the ten years of the reign of al-Mahdi, al-Kazim remained under surveillance in Medina. He was arrested at least once by the caliph, who around 780 briefly imprisoned him in the Abbasid capital of
Baghdad
Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...
. There Musa was placed in the custody of the prefect of police,
al-Musayyab ibn Zuhayr al-Dabbi, who later became a follower of al-Kazim. According to the
Sunni
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...
historian
al-Tabari
Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn Jarīr ibn Yazīd al-Ṭabarī (; 839–923 CE / 224–310 AH), commonly known as al-Ṭabarī (), was a Sunni Muslim scholar, polymath, historian, exegete, jurist, and theologian from Amol, Tabaristan, present- ...
(), al-Mahdi had a dream in which Ali ibn Abi Talib berated him for imprisoning his progeny, which apparently compelled the caliph to set al-Kazim free, after he pledged not to revolt against the caliph.
Reign of Musa al-Hadi ()
Musa al-Kazim did not lend his support to the
786 revolt of the Alid pretender
al-Husayn ibn Ali al-Abid, and a letter attributed to al-Kazim even warns al-Husayn about his violent death. The Shia imam was nevertheless accused of complicity by the Abbasid caliph al-Hadi, who was dissuaded from killing al-Kazim only by the intervention of the judge
Abu Yusuf. The caliph died soon after, and thus al-Kazim survived. He then composed the supplication () in gratitude, according to the Shia jurist
Sayyed Ibn Tawus ().
Reign of Harun al-Rashid ()
The persecution of the Shia reached a climax during the caliphate of Harun, who is said to have killed hundreds of Alids. Harun also arrested al-Kazim, brought him to Baghdad, and was apparently intent on killing him but then set him free as a result of a dream, it is said. Harun was perhaps provoked by an earlier incident, according to the Sunni historian
Ibn Khallikan (): When the two men visited the tomb of Muhammad in Medina, Harun, intent on showing his family ties to the prophet, had said, "Salutation unto thee, O prophet of God, unto thee who art my cousin!" Musa al-Kazim apparently countered with, "Salutation unto thee, O my dear father!" This angered Harun, who retorted, "O Abu al-Hasan
l-Kazim such glory as thine is truly to be vaunted of!"
The final imprisonment of al-Kazim may have been plotted by
Yahya ibn Khalid, Harun's
vizier
A vizier (; ; ) is a high-ranking political advisor or Minister (government), minister in the Near East. The Abbasids, Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was at first merely a help ...
. The vizier was reportedly threatened by the growing influence of Ja'far ibn Muhammad, who was entrusted with the caliph's son and heir,
Al-Amin. Yahya is said to have tipped the caliph about the secret Shia disposition of Ja'far and also suborned a relative of al-Kazim to testify that the imam secretly collected religious dues from the Shia. Alternatively, al-Kazim was imprisoned perhaps because the caliph felt threatened by the views of a disciple of al-Kazim, the theologian
Hisham ibn al-Hakam, who argued for the right of al-Kazim to the caliphate, thus implying the illegitimacy of the Abbasids. In any case, Harun had al-Kazim arrested in 793, or in 795, and had him brought to
Basra
Basra () is a port city in Iraq, southern Iraq. It is the capital of the eponymous Basra Governorate, as well as the List of largest cities of Iraq, third largest city in Iraq overall, behind Baghdad and Mosul. Located near the Iran–Iraq bor ...
in Iraq, where he was imprisoned for a year under the custody of its governor, Isa ibn Ja'far ibn al-Mansur. Harun then ordered al-Kazim to be killed but Isa did not carry out the order, apparently being impressed by the piety of al-Kazim. Isa instead arranged for al-Kazim's house arrest in Baghdad under Fadl ibn al-Rabi' and then under
Al-Fadl ibn Yahya. During his house arrest, however, al-Kazim likely continued to direct the Shia affairs. When Harun learned about this relatively comfortable conditions of al-Kazim, he gave Fadl a written order to kill the Shia imam. By one account, Fadl refused the order and was given a hundred lashes. Musa al-Kazim was then handed to al-Sindi ibn Shahik, the prefect of police in Baghdad, who is said to have poisoned the imam.
Death (799)
Musa al-Kazim died in 799 in the
al-Sindi ibn Shahak prison of Baghdad, after being transferred from one prison to another for several years. He may have been poisoned by order of the Abbasid caliph Harun, an order conveyed to al-Sindi through Yahya al-Barmaki, when he had visited the caliph in
Raqqa to intercede for his son, Fadl. The latter had reportedly disobeyed caliph's earlier orders to kill al-Kazim. That al-Kazim was murdered is the
Twelver
Twelver Shi'ism (), also known as Imamism () or Ithna Ashari, is the Islamic schools and branches, largest branch of Shia Islam, Shi'a Islam, comprising about 90% of all Shi'a Muslims. The term ''Twelver'' refers to its adherents' belief in twel ...
view, as represented by
Al-Shaykh al-Mufid
Abu 'Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Nu'man al-'Ukbari al-Baghdadi, known as al-Shaykh al-Mufid () and Ibn al-Mu'allim (c.9481022 CE), was a prominent Iraqi Twelver Shia theologian. His father was a teacher (''mu'allim''), hence the n ...
(), a prominent Twelver theologian. By contrast, al-Tabari does not mention the cause of al-Kazim's death, thus implying that al-Kazim died from natural causes, a view preferred by most Sunni authors. The date of al-Kazim's death is often given as 13, 31 August, or 1 September 799 (6, 24, or 25
Rajab 183 AH), while Twelvers annually commemorate this occasion on 25 Rajab.
Shrine
Harun brought several public figures to examine al-Kazim's body and testify that he had died naturally. The caliph also publicly displayed the body of al-Kazim in Baghdad, perhaps to dispel the rumors that he had not died and would return as the
Mahdi
The Mahdi () is a figure in Islamic eschatology who is believed to appear at the Eschatology, End of Times to rid the world of evil and injustice. He is said to be a descendant of Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad, and will appear shortly before Jesu ...
, the Messianic figure in Islam. Later al-Kazim was buried in the
Quraysh
The Quraysh () are an Tribes of Arabia, Arab tribe who controlled Mecca before the rise of Islam. Their members were divided into ten main clans, most notably including the Banu Hashim, into which Islam's founding prophet Muhammad was born. By ...
cemetery in northwest Baghdad, which is now located in
Kazimayn (), a city named after him and his grandson,
Muhammad al-Jawad, who is buried next to him. At first a dangerous site for Shia visitors, the burial site in time became an important center for Shia pilgrimage. A shrine has stood over the two graves since the time of the
Buyid dynasty (), but the present complex dates to the
Safavid Iran
The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...
monarch
Ismail I (), the Twelver ruler of Iran. The shrine of al-Kazim has over time acquired a reputation as a place where prayers are fulfilled, that is, a gate to the fulfilment of needs (), as attested by the Sunni scholar
al-Shafi'i
Al-Shafi'i (; ;767–820 CE) was a Muslim scholar, jurist, muhaddith, traditionist, theologian, ascetic, and eponym of the Shafi'i school of Sunni Islamic jurisprudence. He is known to be the first to write a book upon the principles ...
(). Also buried there are a number of medieval Shia scholars, including the polymath
Nasir al-Din al-Tusi
Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Ṭūsī (1201 – 1274), also known as Naṣīr al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī (; ) or simply as (al-)Tusi, was a Persians, Persian polymath, architect, Early Islamic philosophy, philosopher, Islamic medicine, phy ...
().
Imamate
Designation
After the death of al-Sadiq in 765, his following became fractured, for he did not publicly designate a successor to save his heir from the Abbasids' wrath. The majority of his followers, the antecedents of the Twelvers, ultimately accepted the imamate of his son al-Kazim, who also received the backing of some renowned students of al-Sadiq, including
Hisham ibn al-Hakam and
Mu'min al-Taq. However, instead of al-Kazim, many expected the next imam to be his elder half-brother,
Isma'il ibn Ja'far
Isma'il ibn Ja'far () was the eldest son of Ja'far al-Sadiq and the sixth Imam in Isma'ilism. He carried the epithet of al-Mubarak, on the basis of which one of the earliest Isma'ili groups became designated as the Mubarakiyya.
It seems likely t ...
, who predeceased his father. These were the antecedents of the
Isma'ilis, some of whom waited for Isma'il to return as the Mahdi and the others instead accepted the imamate of his son
Muhammad ibn Isma'il
Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Maktum (; ) was the eldest son of Isma'il al-Mubarak and the seventh imam in Isma'ilism. When Isma'il died, his son Muhammad continued to live in Medina under the care of his grandfather Ja'far al-Sadiq until the latter' ...
. When the latter died, some expected him to return as the Mahdi and others followed a line of imams who claimed descent from him. Even though the Isma'ilis were active against the Abbasids, they were of marginal importance until their political success much later: The
Fatimid Caliphate
The Fatimid Caliphate (; ), also known as the Fatimid Empire, was a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries CE under the rule of the Fatimids, an Isma'ili Shi'a dynasty. Spanning a large area of North Africa and West Asia, i ...
was established in Egypt at the turn of the tenth century and the
Qarmatians rose to power in
Bahrain
Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...
in the late ninth century. Their relations with the mainstream Shia were apparently tense at the time, as some have implicated them in the arrest of al-Kazim and the murder of some of his followers.
Isma'ilis believe that Isma'il was the designated successor, and this appears to be the general consensus of the early Shia sources as well. For the Isma'ilis, the death of Isma'il in the lifetime of al-Sadiq did not annul his divine designation (), as that would have contradicted their belief in the omniscience of God. By contrast, the early Twelvers explained any such changes in the divine will through , a notion similar to abrogation () in the
Quran
The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...
. Later Twelvers, such as al-Mufid, altogether rejected the claim that Isma'il was the designated successor of al-Sadiq. Historical evidence indeed suggests ties between Isma'il and radical Shias, of whom the quiescent al-Sadiq did not approve. Twelvers instead cite the qualifications of al-Kazim to support his fitness for the imamate after al-Sadiq. While the Twelvers and the Isma'ilis are the two sects that have survived, there were also additional branches that emerged after the death of al-Sadiq: After the death of al-Sadiq, some waited for his return as the Mahdi, but perhaps the majority of his followers initially accepted the imamate of his eldest surviving son, Abd-Allah al-Aftah. This group became known as the
Fathites. Abd-Allah apparently lacked the scholarly prerequisites for the imamate and died a few months later without a male heir. His followers then mostly turned to al-Kazim, although for some time they still counted al-Aftah as their seventh imam. Some other followers of al-Sadiq turned to Musa's younger brother, al-Dibaj, who staged an unsuccessful revolt against the Abbasids in 815816. Over all, it appears that many of those who had split off after the death of al-Sadiq eventually joined al-Kazim later.
Representatives

The Abbasid caliphs tightly controlled the activities of al-Kazim, who consequently appointed a network of local representatives (, ) to organize the affairs of the Shia and collect their religious dues, particularly
Khums (). Extending throughout the Abbasid empire, this underground network was likely established by al-Kazim, while there is also some evidence that an earlier network might have existed under his predecessor, al-Sadiq. During the imamate of al-Kazim, new Shia centers were also established in the
Maghreb
The Maghreb (; ), also known as the Arab Maghreb () and Northwest Africa, is the western part of the Arab world. The region comprises western and central North Africa, including Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia. The Maghreb al ...
and Egypt.
It appears that al-Kazim permitted cooperation with the Abbasids so long as it furthered the Shia cause. In particular, he might have allowed his companion
Ali ibn Yaqteen to hold the vizierate to promote justice and social welfare, or perhaps to save other Shias in times of danger. In line with the principle of , al-Kazim even instructed Ibn Yaqtin not to practice the Shia ablution () to avoid the suspicion of the Abbasid ruler. In another Shia report, al-Kazim saves Ibn Yaqtin by instructing him to withhold some goods destined for him, thus foiling a plot aimed at exposing their personal ties. Ibn Yaqtin was nevertheless finally arrested, as part of the same campaign of arrests that led to the imprisonment and death of al-Kazim. He later died in prison. Historically, whether Ibn Yaqtin attained the vizierate office and for long enough to make any difference is uncertain. Some other Abbasid officials whose loyalty rested with al-Kazim were Abbas ibn Ja'far al-Ash'ath, governor of
Khorasan, and Waddah (or Wadih), who was an official of the postal service () in Egypt.
Succession
After the death of al-Kazim in 799, most Shias acknowledged his son,
Ali al-Rida
Ali al-Rida (, 1 January 766 – 6 June 818), also known as Abū al-Ḥasan al-Thānī, was a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and the eighth imam in Twelver Shia Islam, succeeding his father, Musa al-Kazim. He is also part of th ...
, as their imam. These Shias were the antecedents of the Twelvers, known at the time as the Qat'iyya because they confirmed the death of al-Kazim. By contrast, some followers of al-Kazim waited for his return as the Mahdi, citing a
hadith
Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...
ascribed to al-Sadiq to the effect that the seventh imam would be the Mahdi; these became known as the
Waqifite Shia (). Many of the Waqifiyya later returned to the mainstream of Shia, declaring al-Rida and his descendants as the lieutenants of al-Kazim. The Waqifite Shia sect and its beliefs eventually disappeared, beginning in the ninth century. The Waqifite Shia included the Bushariyya, named after Muhammad ibn Bashir, the
Kufa
Kufa ( ), also spelled Kufah, is a city in Iraq, about south of Baghdad, and northeast of Najaf. It is located on the banks of the Euphrates, Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000.
Along with Samarra, Karbala, Kadhimiya ...
exaggerator () who regarded al-Kazim as divine and claimed to be his interim successor. Ibn Bashir was later charged with heresy and executed by order of the caliph.
The formation of the Waqifite Shia may have had a financial dimension, as some representatives of al-Kazim probably declared him the last imam just to avoid returning what was entrusted to them during the lifetime of al-Kazim. These rogue representatives included Mansur ibn Yunus al-Qurayshi, Ali ibn Abi Ḥamza al-Bata'ini, Ziyad ibn Marwan al-Qandi, Uthman ibn Isa al-Amiri al-Ruasi (Ruwasi), and Hayyan al-Sarragh, although al-Ruasi may have later turned possessions over to al-Rida. More broadly, the term Waqifite Shia is also applied to any Shia group who denied or hesitated over the death of a particular imam, thus refusing to recognise his successors. The imamate of Ali al-Rida was not challenged by any of his brothers, even though some of them revolted against the Abbasids, including Ahmad ibn Musa.
Often viewed as evidence of his divine favor, various nonprophetic miracles (, ) have been attributed to al-Kazim in Shia sources. Therein, he is considered knowledgeable of all languages, and this ability in Shia sources is not specific to al-Kazim. Indeed, a hadith attributed to al-Kazim counts this ability as a sign of the true imam. This also included the ability to communicate with animals, following the precedent of
An-Naml, a chapter in the
Quran
The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...
, in which
Solomon
Solomon (), also called Jedidiah, was the fourth monarch of the Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy), Kingdom of Israel and Judah, according to the Hebrew Bible. The successor of his father David, he is described as having been the penultimate ...
speaks with birds and ants. Musa al-Kazim is thus said to have prayed for a wild beast to ease the birthing pains of its partner. By other accounts, Musa spoke in his cradle, revived a dead tree with his touch, and brought back to life the dead farm animal of a poor family. By another account, al-Kazim showed to a disciple the spirit of al-Sadiq, who had died some years earlier, seated in the entryway to his house.
Ghulat
Musa al-Kazim and his father al-Sadiq successfully rooted out the belief in the imam's divinity from mainstream Shia thought, as evidenced by its absence in later mainstream Shia writings. Nevertheless, there remained at the time groups with extreme views () embedded within mainstream Shia. These
Ghulat
The () were a branch of history of Shia Islam, early Shi'a Islam. The term mainly refers to a wide variety of List of extinct Shia sects, extinct Shi'i sects active in 8th- and 9th-century Kufa in Lower Mesopotamia, and who, despite their somet ...
() continued to believe in the divinity of the Shia imams. For instance, the Mufawwida believed that God had delegated () the affairs of this world to the prophet and the Shia imams. Such beliefs were also championed by
al-Mufaddal ibn Umar al-Ju'fi, a financial agent of al-Kazim. However modern Shi'i scholars have accepted Mufaddal as a pious companion, and the works attributed to him false.
There is no evidence that any of the Shia imams personally subscribed to these extremist views.
Redemptive suffering
By some Shia accounts, al-Kazim died for the sins of his followers. This is explained in a tradition attributed to him, "God became wrathful with the Shia, so he made me choose between them or myself and I shielded them, by God, with my soul". This tradition may also suggest al-Kazim's premonition about his own death. These sins may have been disloyalty (to the imam) and abandoning (religious dissimulation), according to the Twelver traditionist
Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni (), who adds that the latter sin revealed the activities of al-Kazim and led to his imprisonment. Harun indeed carried out a campaign of arrests in 795 to decimate the underground network of local Shia representatives (), which may have led to the final arrest of al-Kazim.
Descendants

By some reports, al-Kazim had eighteen sons and twenty-three daughters, while other reports suggest thirty-three to sixty children. According to the historian D.M. Donaldson (), these children were all sired with freed slaves (
s), including Najma (or Tuktam) who bore al-Kazim his son and successor, Ali al-Rida. Before he died in 818, al-Rida was briefly the heir to the Abbasid caliph
al-Ma'mun (). Abbas, another son of al-Kazim, became the governor of Kufa. Three other sons —
Zayd ibn Musa al-Kazim,
Ibrahim ibn Musa al-Kazim, and Isma'il — participated in the unsuccessful 815 revolt of
Abu'l-Saraya against the Abbasids. The shrines of some of the children of al-Kazim are sites of pilgrimage in Iran, including those of
Fatima bint Musa in the city of
Qom, Ali al-Rida in
Mashhad
Mashhad ( ; ), historically also known as Mashad, Meshhed, or Meshed in English, is the List of Iranian cities by population, second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. ...
, Husayn in
Qazvin
Qazvin (; ; ) is a city in the Central District (Qazvin County), Central District of Qazvin County, Qazvin province, Qazvin province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is the largest city in the provi ...
, and Ahmad in
Shiraz. The
Safavid dynasty
The Safavid dynasty (; , ) was one of Iran's most significant ruling dynasties reigning from Safavid Iran, 1501 to 1736. Their rule is often considered the beginning of History of Iran, modern Iranian history, as well as one of the gunpowder em ...
() in Iran also claimed descent from al-Kazim, though this claim has been questioned. His lineage may account for about seventy percent of the descendants of the prophet (the
s) in Iran. A report implies that al-Kazim allowed (at least one of the) women in his household to study religious sciences, despite outside objections.
Character
Musa is often referred to as al-Kazim (), an honorific title suggesting mild manner and patience. For instance, he is said to have kindly treated an abusive opponent, who became an adherent in consequence. He was also known by the title al-Abd al-Salih (). This title was a reference to his piety, for he is said to have spent most of his life in prayer and solitary contemplation. Among his predecessors, al-Kazim has been compared in benevolence and asceticism to
Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin, the fourth of the
Twelve Imams. The of al-Kazim was Abu al-Hasan, the first, so as to distinguish him from the eighth and the tenth imams in Twelver Shia who shared the same . Another of al-Kazim was Abu Ibrahim.
The Sunni historian
Ibn Khallikan () praises al-Kazim in his biographical : "He
l-Kazimentered one evening into the
mosque of God's Apostle and, just as the night was setting in, he made a
prostration n worshipwhich lasted until the morning, and during that time he was heard to request without intermission, "O thou who art the object of our fear! O thou whom it becometh to show mercy! Let thy kindly pardon be granted to me whose sin is so grievous!" The same source extols al-Kazim as generous and benevolent, "When a man had spoken ill of him, he sent him a purse containing one thousand dinars", and, "He used to tie up in packets sums of three hundred, or four hundred, or two hundred
dinars and distribute them in the city of Medina." Musa al-Kazim was also probably a gifted polemicist: The celebrated Sunni jurist
Abu Hanifa
Abu Hanifa (; September 699 CE – 767 CE) was a Muslim scholar, jurist, theologian, ascetic,Pakatchi, Ahmad and Umar, Suheyl, "Abū Ḥanīfa", in: ''Encyclopaedia Islamica'', Editors-in-Chief: Wilferd Madelung and, Farhad Daftary. and epony ...
() was apparently once silenced by a young al-Kazim, while a group of
Christians
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...
who came to dispute with him about religion subsequently came to accept Islam.
Legacy
All successors of al-Sadiq, including al-Kazim, were largely removed from public life by the Abbasids, through imprisonment or surveillance. Musa al-Kazim nevertheless taught Shia beliefs, and played a key role in eradicating extreme views () from mainstream Shia thought. Some letters attributed to al-Kazim in his captivity years have survived, and his answers to legal questions are available in . He advised others that supplication () could avert even predestined calamities, and numerous supplications are credited to him. His saying, "The jurists (, ) who are believers (, i.e., Shia) are the citadels of Islam", has been reinterpreted in recent times to encourage an active social role for religious scholars.
Musa al-Kazim is revered in Sunni Islam and considered a reliable traditionist by Sunni scholars, including
Ahmad ibn Hanbal
Ahmad ibn Hanbal (; (164-241 AH; 780 – 855 CE) was an Arab Muslim scholar, jurist, theologian, traditionist, ascetic and eponym of the Hanbali school of Islamic jurisprudence—one of the four major orthodox legal schools of Sunni Islam.
T ...
(), who quotes from al-Kazim in support of the Alids. Some traditions attributed to al-Kazim were collected by the Sunni scholar Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Abd-Allah al-Bazzaz () in his , which is extant. Musa al-Kazim is also venerated among the
Sufis. Among Sufi saints,
Shaqiq al-Balkhi (), for instance, regarded al-Kazim as a holy person () and a devout worshipper, while
Ma'ruf al-Karkhi () and
Bishr the Barefoot () were affiliated with the imam. In particular, a historical account credits al-Kazim with the spiritual awakening of Bishr. Musa al-Kazim is also a link in the Golden Chain (), which is the initiatic line connecting the Sufis with the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
See also
*
Ali al-Rida
Ali al-Rida (, 1 January 766 – 6 June 818), also known as Abū al-Ḥasan al-Thānī, was a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and the eighth imam in Twelver Shia Islam, succeeding his father, Musa al-Kazim. He is also part of th ...
*
Fatimah bint Musa
*
Hajar Khatoon Mosque
*
Ja'far al-Sadiq
Ja'far al-Sadiq (; –765) was a Muslim hadith transmitter and the last agreed-upon Shia Imam between the Twelvers and Isma'ilis. Known by the title al-Sadiq ("The Truthful"), Ja'far was the eponymous founder of the Ja'fari school of Isla ...
*
Isma'il ibn Jafar
Isma'il ibn Ja'far () was the eldest son of Ja'far al-Sadiq and the sixth List of Isma'ili imams, Imam in Isma'ilism. He carried the epithet of al-Mubarak, on the basis of which one of the earliest Isma'ili groups became designated as the Mubarak ...
*
Muhammad al-Dibaj
*
Abd-Allah al-Aftah
*
List of extinct Shia sects
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Musa
745 births
799 deaths
8th-century Arab people
Assassinated Shia imams
Deaths by poisoning
Shia imams
Twelve Imams
Religious leaders from Baghdad
8th-century imams
Husaynids
8th-century people from the Abbasid Caliphate