Imam Musa b. Ja'far al-Kazim (a): Difference between revisions

Some debates and dialogues of Imam al-Kazim (a) with some [[Abbasid]] caliphs, Jewish and Christian scholars, [[Abu Hanifa]] and others have been transmitted. Baqir Sharif al-Qurashi has collected 8 dialogues of Imam al-Kazim (a) under his debates. Imam al-Kazim (a) had debates with [[al-Mahdi al-'Abbasi]] with respect to [[Fadak]] and the prohibition of [[wine]] in the [[Qur'an]]. He also had debates with [[Harun al-'Abbasi]]. Since Harun considered himself as a relative of [[the Prophet (s)]], Imam al-Kazim (a) made it explicit to Harun that he had the closest relation with the Prophet (s). Musa b. Ja'far's (a) dialogues with scholars of other religions were usually in the form of replies to their questions, which led to their conversion to Islam.

According to Shiite and Sunni sources, Imam al-Kazim (a) frequently practiced worshipping God. Thus, he came to be known as "al-'Abd al-Salih" (the righteous worshipper or servant of God). According to some reports, Imam al-Kazim (a) worshiped so much that his prisoners were impressed. According to [[al-Shaykh al-Mufid], Musa b. Ja'far (a) was the greatest worshipper of his time and he cried out of the fear of God such that his beard got wet. In his [[sujud|prostrations]], he repeated the supplication: "Thy servant's sin is so great, so be the Forgiveness from Thee" ({{ia| عَظُمَ الذَّنْبُ مِنْ عَبْدِكَ فَلْيَحْسُنِ الْعَفْوُ مِنْ عِنْدِكَ}}) and the supplication: "O God! I ask Thee the comfort at the time of death and forgiveness at the time of Judgment" ({{ia| اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ الرَّاحَةَ عِنْدَ الْمَوْتِ وَ الْعَفْوَ عِنْدَ الْحِسَابِ}}). Even when he was imprisoned at the command of Harun, he thanked God for having an opportunity to worship Him: "I always asked Thee an opportunity to worship and Thou Have Provided it for me, so I thank Thee".

There are reports about Imam al-Kazim's (a) patience and generosity in Shiite and Sunni sources. [[Al-Shaykh al-Mufid]] believed that the Imam (a) was the most generous man of his time who secretly took provisions and foods to the poor in Medina overnight. Ibn 'Inaba said about Musa b. Ja'far's (a) generosity: he left home overnight with bags of dirhams and gave them to every person in need who he met. His bags of dirhams were well-known among the people at the time. It is also said that Musa b. Ja'far (a) was also generous to those who bothered him, and whenever he learned that someone was seeking to bother him, he sent gifts to him. Al-Shaykh al-Mufid has also considered Imam al-Kazim (a) as persistent on [[Silat al-Rahim]] (family ties).

The Imam (a) came to be known as "Kazim" because he greatly controlled his anger. There are different reports that he controlled his anger against his enemies and people who hurt him. For example, a man from the progeny of [['Umar b. al-Khattab]] insulted [[Imam 'Ali (a)]] at the presence of Imam al-Kazim (a). The Imam's (a) companions wanted to attack him, but the Imam (a) did not allow them to do so. He then went to the man's farm. When the man saw Imam al-Kazim (a), he cried and asked the Imam (a) not to tread on his crops. The Imam (a) approached him and kindly asked: "how much did you spend on the farm?". The man replied: "100 dinars". Then the Imam (a) asked: "how much will you benefit from the farm?" The man said: "I do not have the knowledge of the hidden". Imam al-Kazim (a) asked: "how much do you hope to benefit?" The man replied: "200 dinars". The Imam (a) gave 300 dinars to him and said: "these 300 dinars are yours and you can keep your crops". The Imam (a) went to the mosque then. The man hurried up to the mosque and arrived sooner than the Imam (a). When he saw the Imam (a), he recited the Quranic verse: "Allah best Knows where He places His message".

[[Al-Bushr al-Hafi]] was also impressed by the Imam's (a) remarks and moral practice and then [[tawba|repented]] to God and turned into a [[Sufi]] master.

According to some sources, Imam al-Kazim (a) emphasized the illegitimacy of the [[Abbasid]] caliphs in different ways, such as having debates and refusing to cooperate with them and thus he tried to undermine people's trust in them. The following are cases of his attempts to question the legitimacy of the Abbasids:

In some cases in which the Abbasid caliphs tried to legitimize their government by their relation to the Prophet (s) by blood, Imam al-Kazim (a) tried to show that he was closer to the Prophet (s) than the Abbasids. For example, in a dialogue with Harun al-'Abbasi, Imam al-Kazim (a) appealed to Quranic verses, such as the [[Verse of Mubahala]], to show that his lineage goes back to the Prophet (s) through his great grandmother, [[Fatima al-Zahra (a)]].

When al-Mahdi al-'Abbasi began to return suspicious or usurped property to their owners, Imam al-Kazim (a) asked him to returned the [[Fadak]] to him. When al-Mahdi asked him to determine the limits of the Fadak, the Imam (a) gave him the limits equal to those of the Abbasid government.

The 7th Shiite Imam (a) always asked his companions not to cooperate with the Abbasids. For example, he forbade [[Safwan al-Jammal]] from renting his camels to Harun. However, he asked his companion, [['Ali b. Yaqtin]], who was a minister in Harun al-Rashid's government, to stay in the palace and serve the Shi'as.