Musa al-Kazim

Musa al-Kazim مُوسَىٰ ٱلْكَاظِم Seventh Imam of Twelver Shi'ism
Calligraphic inscription of al-Kazim's name
7th Shia Imam
In office 765 – 799 CE
Preceded by	Ja'far al-Sadiq
Succeeded by	Ali al-Rida
Title	al-Kazim (lit. 'the forbearing') al-Abd al-Salih (lit. 'the holy servant')
Personal
Born	c. 8 November 745 CE (7 Safar 128 AH) Medina, Umayyad Caliphate
Died	c. 31 August 799(799-08-31) (aged 53) (25 Rajab 183 AH) Baghdad, Abbasid Caliphate
Resting place	Shrine of the Two Imams, Baghdad, Iraq 33°22′48″N 44°20′16.64″E / 33.38000°N 44.3379556°E / 33.38000; 44.3379556
Religion	Islam
Spouse	Najma (or Tuktam)
Children	List of children Ali al-Rida Ahmad Abbas Fatima Husayn Ibrahim Isma'il Muhammad Muhammad al-Abid Zayd
Parents	Ja'far al-Sadiq (father) Hamida Khatun (mother)
Other names	Bab al-Hawa'ij

Part of a series on Shia Islam
Twelver Shi'ism
The Fourteen Infallibles Muhammad Fatimah The Twelve Imams Ali Hasan Husayn al-Sajjad al-Baqir al-Sadiq al-Kazim ar-Rida al-Taqi al-Naqi al-Askari al-Mahdi
Principles Monotheism Justice Prophethood Imamate Judgement Day
Other beliefs Imamate of the Family Angels Mourning of Muharram Intercession Occultation Wilayat al-Faqih Usul al-fiqh Ijtihad Taqlid Irfan
Practices Salat Sawm Hajj Zakat Khums Jihad Amr bi-l maʿrūf Nahy ani l-Munkar Tawalli Tabarri
Other practices Mourning of Muharram Arba'een Pilgrimage Intercession
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Groups Ja'fari Usuli Akhbari Alevi Shaykhi
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Scholarship Law Marja' (list) Hawza Ayatollah (list) Allamah Seghatoleslam Hojatoleslam Ijtihad
Hadith collections The Four Books Kitab al-Kafi Man La Yahduruhu al-Faqih Tahdhib al-Ahkam Al-Istibsar Other hadith collections Book of Sulaym ibn Qays Bihar al-Anwar Wasā'il al-Shīʿa Reality of Certainty Nahj al-Balagha Mafatih al-Jinan Al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya Al-Amali
Sources of ijtihad and jurisprudence Qur'an Hadiths of The Infallibles Consensus Reason
Related topics List of Twelver Shia books Criticism of Twelver Shi'ism
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Musa ibn Ja'far al-Kazim (Arabic: مُوسَىٰ ٱبْن جَعْفَر ٱلْكَاظِم, romanized: Mūsā ibn Jaʿfar al-Kāẓim; c. 745–799) was a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the seventh imam in Twelver Shia Islam. Musa is often known by the title al-Kazim (lit. 'forbearing'), apparently a reference to his patience and mild demeanor. He was born in 745 CE in Medina to Ja'far al-Sadiq, 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, circa 795, ended with his death in 799 in a Baghdad 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 in Kazimayn, Baghdad.

Musa al-Kazim played a key role in eradicating extreme views and exaggerations (ghuluww) from Twelver thought. His answers to legal questions have survived in Wasiyya fi al-aql, and he is credited with numerous supplications. Musa al-Kazim is also revered for his piety in Sunni Islam and considered a reliable transmitter of prophetic sayings. He is a link in the initiatic Golden Chain in Sufism, and some Sufi saints are often associated with him. Various nonprophetic miracles are attributed to al-Kazim, often emphasizing his precognition. He was succeeded to the imamate by his son, Ali al-Rida.