Muhammad al-Baqir

Muḥammad al-Bāqir (Arabic: محمد الباقر ‎) (676–733 AD), (also called abu Ja'far) (known as al-Baqir (the one who splits open knowledge)) (full name Muhammad bin 'Ali bin al-Husayn bin Ali bin Abi Talib) was the fifth Shiite imam, succeeding his father Zayn al-Abidin and succeeded by his son Ja'far al-Sadiq. He was the first imam descended from both grandsons of Prophet Muhammad, i.e. Imam Hasan ibn Ali and Imam Husayn ibn Ali. Many traditions and abundant wisdom were reported on his authority. He is revered by Shiite Muslims for his religious leadership and highly respected by Sunni Muslims for his knowledge and Islamic scholarship as a leading jurist of Medina.

Birth and early life

Al-Baqir had a prominent lineage in that both his paternal and maternal grandfathers, Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali, were Muhammad's grandsons. His mother, Fatima Umm Abd Allah, was a daughter of al-Hasan, the son of Ali. Al-Baqir was born in Medina, around 56/676 when Muawiyah I was trying to make safe the pledge of allegiance for his son, Yazid I. While still a child, his family was troubled by the tragedy of Karbala, and he would have been three or four years old when his grandfather Husayn was killed.