Imam Muhammad Al-Jawad (peace be upon him)

Imam Muhammad Al-Jawad (peace be upon him)

Tidings of a Blessed Son
Imam Ali Al-Rida (peace be upon him) was more than forty years old but he still had no son. The Shiites had been eagerly awaiting the birth of Imam Muhammad Al-Jawad because Imam Al-Rida had foretold them of it. When he would be asked about this matter, he would answer: "Allah will grant me a son who will be my inheritor and the Imam after me."

At last, Imam Al-Jawad (peace be upon him) was born in the year 195 of the Hejira. At his birth, Imam Al-Rida (peace be upon him) said: "I have been granted a son who is similar to Moses the son of Imran - the Splitter of the Seas- and Jesus son of Mary. Blessed is the mother who has borne him."
Thus, the worries of the Shiites drifted away and they were no more grieved by the fact that Imam Al-Rida (peace be upon him) had no son. However, Imam Al-Rida did not live long with his son. He was poisoned when Imam Al-Jawad was around seven or eight years of age. Thus, Imam Muhammad Al-Jawad (peace be upon him) became the Imam at such a young age and this was something unprecedented.

The Caliph who was in hold of power at the time of Imam Al-Jawad's appointment was Al-Ma'mun. He was shrewd, very well-learned, and took a course of action quite different from the Caliphs who had succeeded one another before him. History bears witness that Al-Ma'mun was the most cunning among the Abbasids, just like Muawiyah was the most cunning among the Umayyads.

The Caliphs before Al-Ma'mun used to oppose the Imams and their followers directly without hiding their intentions. They would resort to torture, murder, or imprisonment, and Al-Ma'mun witnessed his father's intense cruelty against them. His father had imprisoned Imam Musa Al-Kathem (peace be upon him) and the Imam was poisoned and died in captivity. However, Al'Ma'mun noticed that such oppressive actions against the Imams and the Shiites only made them hold on more steadfastly to their convictions. Their opposition would only undermine the Abbasid rule just as it had previously brought an end to the Umayyad rule.

Al-Ma'mun's Plot
Al-Ma'mun followed another policy when dealing with Shiites which centered upon weakening Shiite epistemology. Through that, he aimed that the Shiites would come to doubt the doctrines which they believed in and that they would be terminated. He was well aware that Imamate was the basis of Shiite epistemology.

He took some procedures to fulfill his plan, and we shall demonstrate them as follows.

1-He strove to destroy the Shiite conviction of the Imam's infallibility through summoning Imam Al-Jawad (peace be upon him) to his court to make him live in an atmosphere of extravagance unbecoming to Imamate.

2-He strove to weaken the Shiites' beliefs through organizing debates with the most prominent scholars he could summon in the presence of leading men and high-ranking individuals.

3-In the case of his failure in eradicating the concept of Imamate, he would at least be able to ensure the presence of the Imam at his side in a way where he would appear as an adherent to the Caliph. This would turn Shiites from being the opponents of the authority to becoming the adherents of the Abbasid Caliphate.

The secret movements of the Shiites posed a real problem for the authority. Thus, the Imam's presence near to Al-Ma'mun would keep him under the authority's eye at all times. It would enable Al-Ma'mun to monitor all the Imam's movements and his connections.

Al-Ma'mun had previously used this method against Imam Al-Rida (peace be upon him) but it was a complete failure. He did not attain even one stance from the Imam which would enable him to benefit from his scheme. He noticed that the Imam's debates and stances gave him popularity and people's affection. The Shiites began to increase in number and Al-Ma'mun found that he only had one solution left: To poison the Imam and end his blessed presence.

In such conditions, Imam Al-Jawad (peace be upon him) entered the scene of opposition. He was around eight years old, and Al-Ma'mun's hopes revived to fulfill his plan through following the previous course of action. In his view, Imam Al-Jawad (peace be upon him) was merely a child who could not debate the most prominent of scholars and could not withstand the temptations at the Caliphate's court. Thus, he summoned Imam Al-Jawad (peace be upon him) to Baghdad.

Imam Al-Jawad's Opposition
From the instance Imam Al-Jawad (peace be upon him) reached Baghdad, he confronted Al-Ma'mun's policy.

On the intellectual level, for example, Al-Ma'mun organized debates between the Imam and the prominent judge, Yahya Ibn Aktham. The Imam was knowledgeable to the extent that his opponent would stop talking and become amazed at the extent of the Imam's knowledge. Through these debates, Shiite epistemology spread and its strength became clear.

The Imam (peace be upon him) did not agree with the life of extravagance at the Abbasid court, and Al-Ma'mun was not able to benefit from the Imam's presence to cast negative feelings among the Shiites concerning the Imam. Thus, Al-Ma'mun's attempts failed until he died. Al-Mu'tasem assumed authority after him and continued in the same policy for a while, but he quickly lost hope from achieving his aims. He became aware that such a policy only weakened the ruling system and elevated the Shiites. Thus, he resorted to outright oppression and poisoned the Imam at the age of 25.