Martyrdom of Imam Kazim

Upon his entrance to the shrine of the Prophet in Medina at the time when Hārūn al-Rashīd wanted to pretend and show his kinship with the Prophet (P.B.U.H & H.H.) in front of the Muslims who were watching the Caliph’s pilgrimage on this journey, he goes near the shrine when he wants to send his salutations to the grave of the Prophet (P.B.U.H & H.H.), he says:
«السلام عليک يابن العمّ»
[Peace be upon you, O cousin!]
He does not say:
«يارسول الله»
[O Messenger of Allah;]
O cousin, Peace Be Upon You, meaning that I am the cousin of the Messenger of Allah (P.B.U.H & H.H.). Mūsā b. Ja‘far (P.B.U.H.) immediately comes and stands in front of the shrine and He says:
«السلام عليك يا أبتاه»
[Peace Be Upon You, O Father,] meaning that if the Prophet (P.B.U.H & H.H.) is your cousin, he is my father. He just discredits that manner of hypocrisy in that same assembly.
The people who were around Hārūn al-Rashīd also felt that Mūsā b. Ja‘far’s (P.B.U.H.) existence was the greatest danger for the Caliphate apparatus. A man from among the friends of the ruling state and the monarchy was standing there, saw that a person came, riding on a donkey, without formalities, without being mounted on an expensive horse that indicated that he was among the aristocrats; when he got near, the people opened the way; apparently it was in this very trip to Medina, I suppose, and he entered, [that man] asked who was this man that when he came the people showed humbleness and respect to him and those around the caliph opened the way so that he could enter. They said, “He is Mūsā b. Ja‘far (P.B.U.H.)”. As soon as they said it is Mūsā b. Ja‘far (P.B.U.H.), he (that man) said, “Woe unto the foolishness of this nation, meaning the ‘Abbasids, who show such respect to someone who wants them dead and will overthrow their government?” They knew that the danger of Mūsā b. Ja‘far (P.B.U.H.) to the Caliphate apparatus is the danger of a great leader who has vast knowledge, has piety and servitude and moral soundness that all those who know him, see these characteristics in him. He has a lot of friends and adherents throughout the Muslim world; he is so brave that he has no fear or apprehension of any power that stands against him. Therefore, he speaks and expresses his opinion so recklessly against the superficial grandeur of Hārūn’s monarchy.
Such a combative personality, a warrior for the faith (mujāhid), one who is connected to and trusting in Allah, who has friends throughout the Muslim world and has plans to implement an Islamic ruling system. This is the greatest danger for Hārūn’s government. Therefore, Hārūn decided to remove this danger out of his way. Of course, he was a man of politics; he did not do this all at once. At first, he was willing to do this indirectly. Then he saw that he had better imprison Mūsā b. Ja‘far (P.B.U.H.), perhaps he could make a deal with him while he was in prison, he could give him privileges, force him into acceptance submission to him by putting him under pressure. Therefore he ordered to arrest Mūsā b. Ja‘far (P.B.U.H.) in Medina, albeit in a way that it would not hurt the feelings of the people of Medina and thus they would not find out what happened to Mūsā b. Ja‘far (P.B.U.H.). Therefore they prepared two mounts and camel litters, one of them was sent to Iraq and one to Shām so that people would not find out where they had taken Mūsā b. Ja‘far (P.B.U.H.). They brought Mūsā b. Ja‘far (P.B.U.H.) to the center of the Caliphate in Baghdad, imprisoned him there and this imprisonment lasted a long time. Of course, it is possibly not certain that they had freed the Imam (P.B.U.H.) from prison once and arrested him again; what is certain is that the last time they arrested the Imam (P.B.U.H.) was with the intention of arresting the Imam (P.B.U.H.) in order to murder him in prison and that is what they did.
Inside prison, of course, Mūsā b. Ja‘far’s (P.B.U.H.) personality is like the same personality of a luminescent torch that illuminates everything around him. You see this is the truth, this is the movement of the Islamic thought and a holy war that relies on the Qur’ān; it will never stop even in the most difficult conditions. … And this is what exactly Mūsā b. Ja‘far (P.B.U.H.) did, and there are numerous stories and narrations in this regard. One of the most interesting of these is that the famous Sindī b. Shāhak who, as you know, was a very strong and harsh prison guard and one of the ‘Abbasid devotees and one of those loyal to the monarchy and caliphate apparatus of that day and was Mūsā b. Ja‘far’s (P.B.U.H.) prison guard who had imprisoned Mūsā b. Ja‘far (P.B.U.H.) in a very intolerable basement in his house. Sindī b. Shāhak’s family would sometimes look into the prison through an opening. The living condition of Mūsā b. Ja‘far (P.B.U.H.) affected them and the seed of love and affectation for the household of the Prophet (P.B.U.T.) was sown in the hearts of Sindī b. Shāhak’s family. One of Sindī b. Shāhak’s children, named Kashājim, is one of the great and distinguished dignitaries of Shi‘ism. Perhaps one or two generations after Sindī b. Shāhak, one of children is Kashājim who is one of the greatest literati, poets, and distinguished figures of Shi‘ism of his time, which has been mentioned by everyone. His name is Kashājim al-Sindī who is one of Sindī b. Shāhak’s sons.
This is the condition of Mūsā b. Ja‘far’s (P.B.U.H.) life, which he passed in prison in such a way. Of course they (officials) came inside the prison several times and threatened the Imam (P.B.U.H.), they tried to bribe him, they wanted to make the Imam (P.B.U.H.) happy and contented, but that great person resisted and it was that same resistance that has safeguarded the Qur’ān and Islam until today. Know that our Imams’ (P.B.U.T.) endurance against the course of corruption made us able today to find the true Islam; today, generations of Muslims and generations of human beings can find something called Islam, something called the Qur’ān, something called the traditions (Sunnah) of the Messenger of Allah (P.B.U.H. & H.H.) in books, both in Shi‘ite and Sunnite books. If it was not for the Imams (P.B.U.T.) uncompromising, struggle-seeking movement during these 250 years, know that those who wrote to receive wages and spoke to receive wages in the Umayyad and ‘Abbasid eras would progressively change and uproot Islam so much that nothing would have remained of Islam after a couple of centuries. Either there would remain no Qur’ān or a distorted Qur’ān would remain. It was these prideful flags, these illuminating torches and these towering minarets that stood in the history of Islam and radiated the rays of Islam so much that the distorters and those who wished to invert the truth in a darkened sphere could not achieve that darkness. The disciples of the Imams (P.B.U.T.) belonged to all the sects of Islam they were not exclusive to Shi‘ism; there were many of those who did not believe in the ideal of Shi‘ism, that is the Shi‘ite Imamate; there were many people who were the disciples of the Imams (P.B.U.T.), they would learn the Qur’ān, interpretation, the Prophet’s (P.B.U.H & H.H.) narrations and traditions from the Imams (P.B.U.T.). It was these resistances which safeguarded Islam to this day.
They eventually poisoned Mūsā b. Ja‘far (P.B.U.H.) in prison. One of the most poignant instances of the history of the Imams (P.B.U.T.) is the very martyrdom of Mūsā b. Ja‘far (P.B.U.H.). Of course, even there [in prison] they wanted to pretend. In the last days, Sindī b. Shāhak brought some of the heads, outstanding personalities, and dignitaries that were in Baghdad to see the Imam (P.B.U.H.). He said, “See, his living condition is fine; he does not have any problems.” There the Imam (P.B.U.H.) said, “Yes, but also know that they have poisoned me.” And they poisoned the Imam (P.B.U.H.) with a few dates and under the heavy load of shackles and chains that they had locked around his neck, hands, and feet. In prison, the spirit of this noble, oppressed, and beloved Imam (P.B.U.H.) joined the Supreme Empyrean and was martyred. Of course, they were still afraid; they were also afraid of Mūsā b. Ja‘far’s (P.B.U.H.) corpse and they were also afraid of Mūsā b. Ja‘far’s (P.B.U.H.) grave. So when they brought Mūsā b. Ja‘far’s (P.B.U.H.) corpse out of the prison, they chanted slogans that meant that this was someone who had risen up against the government apparatus; they said these things to overshadow Mūsā b. Ja‘far’s (P.B.U.H.) personality. The atmosphere of Baghdad was so untrustworthy that one of elements of the government itself, Sulaymān b. Ja‘far–that is, Sulaymān b. Ja’far b. Manṣūr ‘Abbāsī, Hārūn’s cousin, who was one of the ‘Abbasid aristocrats–saw that the situation was in such a way that it would possibly make trouble for them; so, he undertook another role and brought Mūsā b. Ja‘far’s (P.B.U.H.) corpse, and shrouded it with an expensive and precious shroud. Then they took the Imam (P.B.U.H.) with respect to the graveyard of the Quraysh, which is known today as Kāimain (Two Kāims) located near Baghdad, and buried him there. In this way, the life of Mūsā b. Ja‘far (P.B.U.H.), which was thoroughly a holy war and struggle, came to an end here.
1985/04/12