Five Martyrs of Shia Islam
Encyclopedia
The Five Martyrs were five ulema
of Shi'i Islam
, living in different spans of history, who were executed by the Sunni regimes. The Shia remember them by the term Five Martyrs, and Grand Ayatollah Muhammad Hussain Najafi
wrote a book Shuhada-e Khamsa kay Halaat-e Zindagi "Biographies of the Five Martyrs" as a tribute to them.
He was born in 734 A.H (ca. 1334 ) in Jabal 'Amel and was killed on Thursday the ninth of Jumada al-awwal
, 786 A.H. (ca. 1385), according to the fatwa
of a Maliki
jurisprudent that was endorsed by a Shafi`i jurisprudent.
He was a pupil of the pupils of Allamah Hilli, amongst them Allamah's son, Fakhr al-Muhaqqiqin. Shi'i schools were banned and almost gone in Jabal 'Amel. When Muhammad al-Makki was 16 years old, he ventured to al-Hilla in Iraq where he was certified by Fakhr al-Muhaqqiqin the son of the famous al-Hilli
.
By the age 21, he returned to Jabal 'Amel and was already certified to narrate hadiths by many other famous scholars of Shi'a and Sunni doctrines of Najaf
, Hebron
, Makka, Medina
, Quds, Damascus
, and Baghdad
. He also built good relations with Sultan Ali ibn al-Mu'ayyad (بن المؤيد) of Khorasan.
After one-year imprisonment, he was killed by the sword, then crucified
, then stoned, and finally his body was set to fire in Damascus
in the days of the Sultan Barquq. Due to the crusaders wars
the area was suffering from poverty and ignorance was rampant as the Mamlukes took over and established a despotic rule in the region.
The First Martyr came from a very distinguished family, and the generations that succeeded him preserved this honour. He had three sons who were all 'ulema and jurisprudents, and his wife and daughter were likewise jurisprudents.
of Shahid Awwal
's Al-Lum'ah ad-Dimashqiya (The Damascene Glitter) titled as Ar-Rawda al-Bahiyah fi Sharh al-Lum'ah ad-Dimashqiya (الروضة البهيّة في شرح اللمعة الدمشقيّة ) (The Beautiful Garden in Interpreting the Damscene Glitter).
He was one of the greatest shi'a scholars. He studied under famous Sunni and Shi'a in Jabal 'Amel, Damascus
, Cairo
, Jerusalem among many others. He was known and respected by sunnis in Baalabeck for this. He was authorized to teach Muslims in the Nouriyah Islamic school according to the five schools of thought.
He became a Mujtahid at age 33 after his visits to Iraq. Since Ijtihad
was forbidden and Shi'ism had a history of persecution in the area, especially that shi'ism was still strong among the people as a result of the not-so-long gone Hamdanid dynasty, some people conspired against him due to petty reasons before being judged in front of the Sultan.
He was a widely travelled man, having visited Egypt, Syria, Hijaz, Baitul Muqaddas, Iraq and Constantinople (Istanbul). Always in pursuit of knowledge, he studied from nearly twelve Sunni Ulama of fiqh
. Apart from the proficiency in fiqh, he was well versed in Usool, Philosophy, Irfan, Medicine and Astronomy.
He was a man of piety, known for his austere way of life. His students have recorded in his biography that Shaheed maintained his family by selling the woods cut by himself during the nights, and then sat to teach during the day. While in Ba'lbak, he conducted classes in Fiqh according to five schools, i.e. Ja'fari, Hanafi, Shafei, Maliki and Hambali. His Sharh al-Lum'ah is a part of curriculum in almost every Hawza even today. He studied from Muhaqqiq Karaki before the later migrated to Iran.
In Rajab of 965 A.H. (1558), he was beheaded on his way to see the sultan and a shrine was built by some Turkmens on the site as they realised his stature. The person that beheaded him was killed by the Sultan orders.
He was an eminent jurist
and alim
of his time. He was born in 956 A.H. at Shushtar, one of the cities of the present Khuzestan province in South of Iran
. He was sayyid
by lineage and belonged to the Mar'ashi family.
Qazi Nurullah Shustari was the most important Shi'a scholar of the Mughal
period.
His father was Sayyid Muhammad Sharif-ud-din and grandfather Sayyid Zia-ud-Din Nurullah. He received his early education at home under the tutlage of his grandfather and his father and other local tutors. In the year 979
AH
he went to Mashhad
, the holy city in the Khurasan
province.
It was during Akbar's period, on 1 Shawwal
992/6 October 1584, Nuru'llah Shustari moved from Mashhad
to India
., and by another account in 1587.
He was appointed an emissary by Akbar in Kashmir
and was instrumental in pacifying a revolt which was in offing and he obtained the first census of the areas of Mughal Empire
during Akbar's reign. This earned him great respect and trust of the Mughal emperor. On his return he was appointed as Chief Qazi (Qazi Quzaz), position equivalent of Chief Justice, of the Mughal empire.
Under Jehangir's reign he continued to hold the same high position as in Akbar's time. But his position was now threatened because of Jehangir's more orthodox nature. Other groups which had tried to malign his position during Akbar's reign had once again become powerful and influential. Moreover he had made enemies from his involvement in settling of disputes in Kashmir and Agra
. His book Ahqaq-ul-Haq (Justification of the Truth) was brought as an evidence against him. A fatwa was passed declaring him a heretic. Thus Jehangir was made to issue death orders for the Qazi. The Empire of the Great Mughals mentions this incidence as
Qazi Nurullah Shustari was flogged to death by Jahangir's order because of his writings and he was seventy years old at this time.
Qazi Nurullah is known since that time as Shaheed-e-Salis (also Shahid al-Thalis) or the Third Martyr.
His tomb, which is at Agra, has been the centre of pilgrimage since the day of his martyrdom. It is also a venue where every year people gather from all over the Indian sub-continent to commemorate the anniversary of his martyrdom.
's Tauhfa Ithna Ashari. It was due to this book that he was poisoned by the Ruler of Indian state of Jhajhar
.
i Twelver Shi'a cleric, a philosopher, and ideological founder of Islamic Dawa Party
born in al-Kazimiya
, Iraq
. He is the father-in-law of Muqtada al-Sadr
and cousin of both Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr and Imam Musa as-Sadr. His father Haydar al-Sadr
was a well-respected high-ranking Shi'a cleric. His lineage goes back to Muhammad
, through the seventh Shia Imam, Musa al-Kazim. (See Sadr
family for more details.)
His father died in 1937, leaving the family penniless. In 1945 the family moved to the holy city of Najaf
, where al-Sadr would spend the rest of his life. Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr completed his religious teachings at religious seminaries under al-Khoei and Muhsin al-Hakim at the age of 25 and began teaching.
While teaching he became a prominent member of the Iraqi Shia community, and was noted for his many writings. His first works were detailed critiques of Marxism
that presented early ideas of an alternative Islamic form of government. Perhaps his most important work was Iqtisaduna
, one of the most important works on Islamic economics
. This work was a critique of both socialism and capitalism. He was subsequently commissioned by the government of Kuwait
to assess how that country's oil wealth could be managed in keeping with Islamic principles. This led to a major work on Islamic banking
that still forms the basis for modern Islamic banks.
He also worked with Sayyid Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim
in forming an Islamist movement in Iraq. This attracted the attention of the Baath Party
, which resulted in numerous imprisonments for the Ayatollah. He was often subjugated to torture during his imprisonments, but continued his work after being released.
In 1977, he was sentenced to life in prison following uprisings in Najaf, but was released two years later due to his immense popularity. Upon his release however, he was put under house arrest. In 1980, after writing in the defense of the Islamic Revolution
, Sadr was once again imprisoned, tortured, and executed by the regime of Saddam Hussein
. His sister, Amina Sadr bint al-Huda, was also imprisoned, tortured, and executed. It has been alleged that Sadr was killed by having an iron nail hammered into his head and then being set on fire.
During the execution of Saddam Hussein
, chants of "Long live Mohammed Baqir Sadr!" were heard being chanted by some of the Shi'a guards. CNN article
Ulema
Ulama , also spelt ulema, refers to the educated class of Muslim legal scholars engaged in the several fields of Islamic studies. They are best known as the arbiters of shari‘a law...
of Shi'i Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, living in different spans of history, who were executed by the Sunni regimes. The Shia remember them by the term Five Martyrs, and Grand Ayatollah Muhammad Hussain Najafi
Grand Ayatollah Muhammad Hussain Najafi
Grand Ayatollah Allama Shaikh Muhammad Hussain Najafi was the first Twelver Shi'a alim from Pakistan to be elevated to the status of marjiyyat, and the next in the line of Marjas of South Asia after Seyyed Ali Naqi Naqvi of Lucknow, India...
wrote a book Shuhada-e Khamsa kay Halaat-e Zindagi "Biographies of the Five Martyrs" as a tribute to them.
Shahid Awwal
Muhammad Jamaluddin al-Makki al-Amili (1334–1385) was the First Martyr and the author of Al-Lum'ah ad-Dimashqiya(اللمعة "The Damascene Glitter").He was born in 734 A.H (ca. 1334 ) in Jabal 'Amel and was killed on Thursday the ninth of Jumada al-awwal
Jumada al-awwal
Jumada al-awwal is the fifth month in the Islamic calendar.We can also find the alternative spelling Jumada al-Ula.The origin of the word is as follows: the word Jumda, from which the name of the month is derived, is used to denote dry parched land: land devoid of rain, and hence denote the dry...
, 786 A.H. (ca. 1385), according to the fatwa
Fatwa
A fatwā in the Islamic faith is a juristic ruling concerning Islamic law issued by an Islamic scholar. In Sunni Islam any fatwā is non-binding, whereas in Shia Islam it could be considered by an individual as binding, depending on his or her relation to the scholar. The person who issues a fatwā...
of a Maliki
Maliki
The ' madhhab is one of the schools of Fiqh or religious law within Sunni Islam. It is the second-largest of the four schools, followed by approximately 25% of Muslims, mostly in North Africa, West Africa, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and in some parts of Saudi Arabia...
jurisprudent that was endorsed by a Shafi`i jurisprudent.
He was a pupil of the pupils of Allamah Hilli, amongst them Allamah's son, Fakhr al-Muhaqqiqin. Shi'i schools were banned and almost gone in Jabal 'Amel. When Muhammad al-Makki was 16 years old, he ventured to al-Hilla in Iraq where he was certified by Fakhr al-Muhaqqiqin the son of the famous al-Hilli
Al-Hilli
Jamal ad-Din Hasan ibn Yusuf ibn 'Ali ibn Muthahhar al-Hilli , also known as al-Allamah al-Hilli , born December 15, 1250 CE , died December 18, 1325, was a Twelver Shia theologian and mujtahid. Known as a Marja , he was one of the greatest Muslim jurists and scholars of his time...
.
By the age 21, he returned to Jabal 'Amel and was already certified to narrate hadiths by many other famous scholars of Shi'a and Sunni doctrines of Najaf
Najaf
Najaf is a city in Iraq about 160 km south of Baghdad. Its estimated population in 2008 is 560,000 people. It is the capital of Najaf Governorate...
, Hebron
Hebron
Hebron , is located in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judean Mountains, it lies 930 meters above sea level. It is the largest city in the West Bank and home to around 165,000 Palestinians, and over 500 Jewish settlers concentrated in and around the old quarter...
, Makka, Medina
Medina
Medina , or ; also transliterated as Madinah, or madinat al-nabi "the city of the prophet") is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, and serves as the capital of the Al Madinah Province. It is the second holiest city in Islam, and the burial place of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, and...
, Quds, Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
, and Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
. He also built good relations with Sultan Ali ibn al-Mu'ayyad (بن المؤيد) of Khorasan.
After one-year imprisonment, he was killed by the sword, then crucified
Crucifixion
Crucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead...
, then stoned, and finally his body was set to fire in Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
in the days of the Sultan Barquq. Due to the crusaders wars
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
the area was suffering from poverty and ignorance was rampant as the Mamlukes took over and established a despotic rule in the region.
The First Martyr came from a very distinguished family, and the generations that succeeded him preserved this honour. He had three sons who were all 'ulema and jurisprudents, and his wife and daughter were likewise jurisprudents.
Shahid Thani
Zayn al-Din al-Juba'i al'Amili (1506–1558) was the Second Martyr, and the author of the first SharhSharh
Sharh is an Islamic term. The word, is widely used in book titles, it literally means "explanation" or "expounding of" usually used in commentaries on non-Qur'anic works.May refer to:*Sharh Nahj al-Balgha*Fathul Bari fi Sharh Sahih al Bukhari...
of Shahid Awwal
Shahid Awwal
Muhammad Jamaluddin al-Makki al-Amili also known as Shahid Awwal was the first Islamic martyr and the author of Al-Lum'ah ad-Dimashqiya. He was one of the greatest Shi'a scholars.- Life :Shahid Awal was born in 734 A.H Muhammad Jamaluddin al-Makki al-Amili (1334–1385) also known as Shahid Awwal...
's Al-Lum'ah ad-Dimashqiya (The Damascene Glitter) titled as Ar-Rawda al-Bahiyah fi Sharh al-Lum'ah ad-Dimashqiya (الروضة البهيّة في شرح اللمعة الدمشقيّة ) (The Beautiful Garden in Interpreting the Damscene Glitter).
He was one of the greatest shi'a scholars. He studied under famous Sunni and Shi'a in Jabal 'Amel, Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
, Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, Jerusalem among many others. He was known and respected by sunnis in Baalabeck for this. He was authorized to teach Muslims in the Nouriyah Islamic school according to the five schools of thought.
He became a Mujtahid at age 33 after his visits to Iraq. Since Ijtihad
Ijtihad
Ijtihad is the making of a decision in Islamic law by personal effort , independently of any school of jurisprudence . as opposed to taqlid, copying or obeying without question....
was forbidden and Shi'ism had a history of persecution in the area, especially that shi'ism was still strong among the people as a result of the not-so-long gone Hamdanid dynasty, some people conspired against him due to petty reasons before being judged in front of the Sultan.
He was a widely travelled man, having visited Egypt, Syria, Hijaz, Baitul Muqaddas, Iraq and Constantinople (Istanbul). Always in pursuit of knowledge, he studied from nearly twelve Sunni Ulama of fiqh
Fiqh
Fiqh is Islamic jurisprudence. Fiqh is an expansion of the code of conduct expounded in the Quran, often supplemented by tradition and implemented by the rulings and interpretations of Islamic jurists....
. Apart from the proficiency in fiqh, he was well versed in Usool, Philosophy, Irfan, Medicine and Astronomy.
He was a man of piety, known for his austere way of life. His students have recorded in his biography that Shaheed maintained his family by selling the woods cut by himself during the nights, and then sat to teach during the day. While in Ba'lbak, he conducted classes in Fiqh according to five schools, i.e. Ja'fari, Hanafi, Shafei, Maliki and Hambali. His Sharh al-Lum'ah is a part of curriculum in almost every Hawza even today. He studied from Muhaqqiq Karaki before the later migrated to Iran.
In Rajab of 965 A.H. (1558), he was beheaded on his way to see the sultan and a shrine was built by some Turkmens on the site as they realised his stature. The person that beheaded him was killed by the Sultan orders.
Shahid Thalith
Qazi Zia-ud-Din Nurullah Shustari, Amir Sayyid (1549–1610) was the Third Martyr and the author of Majalis ul Momineen.He was an eminent jurist
Jurist
A jurist or jurisconsult is a professional who studies, develops, applies, or otherwise deals with the law. The term is widely used in American English, but in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth countries it has only historical and specialist usage...
and alim
Ulama
-In Islam:* Ulema, also transliterated "ulama", a community of legal scholars of Islam and its laws . See:**Nahdlatul Ulama **Darul-uloom Nadwatul Ulama **Jamiatul Ulama Transvaal**Jamiat ul-Ulama -Other:...
of his time. He was born in 956 A.H. at Shushtar, one of the cities of the present Khuzestan province in South of Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. He was sayyid
Sayyid
Sayyid is an honorific title, it denotes males accepted as descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husain ibn Ali, sons of the prophet's daughter Fatima Zahra and his son-in-law Ali ibn Abi Talib.Daughters of sayyids are given the titles Sayyida,...
by lineage and belonged to the Mar'ashi family.
Qazi Nurullah Shustari was the most important Shi'a scholar of the Mughal
Mughal era
The Mughal era is a historic period of the Mughal Empire in South Asia . It ran from the early 15th century to a point in the early 18th century when the Mughal Emperors' power had dwindled...
period.
His father was Sayyid Muhammad Sharif-ud-din and grandfather Sayyid Zia-ud-Din Nurullah. He received his early education at home under the tutlage of his grandfather and his father and other local tutors. In the year 979
979
Year 979 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* The Tynwald of the Isle of Man is founded....
AH
Hijri year
The Hijri year is year numbering system used in the Islamic calendar. It commemorates the Hijra , or emigration of Muhammad and his followers to the city of Medina in 622 CE. In Arabic, AH is symbolized by the letter هـ...
he went to Mashhad
Mashhad
Mashhad , is the second largest city in Iran and one of the holiest cities in the Shia Muslim world. It is also the only major Iranian city with an Arabic name. It is located east of Tehran, at the center of the Razavi Khorasan Province close to the borders of Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. Its...
, the holy city in the Khurasan
Greater Khorasan
Greater Khorasan or Ancient Khorasan is a historical region of Greater Iran mentioned in sources from Sassanid and Islamic eras which "frequently" had a denotation wider than current three provinces of Khorasan in Iran...
province.
It was during Akbar's period, on 1 Shawwal
Shawwal
Shawwāl is the tenth month of the lunar Islamic calendar. Shawwāl means to ‘lift or carry’; so named because she-camels normally would be carrying a fetus at this time of year.-Fasting during Shawwāl:...
992/6 October 1584, Nuru'llah Shustari moved from Mashhad
Mashhad
Mashhad , is the second largest city in Iran and one of the holiest cities in the Shia Muslim world. It is also the only major Iranian city with an Arabic name. It is located east of Tehran, at the center of the Razavi Khorasan Province close to the borders of Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. Its...
to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
., and by another account in 1587.
He was appointed an emissary by Akbar in Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
and was instrumental in pacifying a revolt which was in offing and he obtained the first census of the areas of Mughal Empire
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
during Akbar's reign. This earned him great respect and trust of the Mughal emperor. On his return he was appointed as Chief Qazi (Qazi Quzaz), position equivalent of Chief Justice, of the Mughal empire.
Under Jehangir's reign he continued to hold the same high position as in Akbar's time. But his position was now threatened because of Jehangir's more orthodox nature. Other groups which had tried to malign his position during Akbar's reign had once again become powerful and influential. Moreover he had made enemies from his involvement in settling of disputes in Kashmir and Agra
Agra
Agra a.k.a. Akbarabad is a city on the banks of the river Yamuna in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, west of state capital, Lucknow and south from national capital New Delhi. With a population of 1,686,976 , it is one of the most populous cities in Uttar Pradesh and the 19th most...
. His book Ahqaq-ul-Haq (Justification of the Truth) was brought as an evidence against him. A fatwa was passed declaring him a heretic. Thus Jehangir was made to issue death orders for the Qazi. The Empire of the Great Mughals mentions this incidence as
However, he had both the Sikh guru Arjan and the Shi'i Qadi Nurullah Shushtari executed, which demonstrates how different he was from Akbar. ...
Qazi Nurullah Shustari was flogged to death by Jahangir's order because of his writings and he was seventy years old at this time.
Qazi Nurullah is known since that time as Shaheed-e-Salis (also Shahid al-Thalis) or the Third Martyr.
His tomb, which is at Agra, has been the centre of pilgrimage since the day of his martyrdom. It is also a venue where every year people gather from all over the Indian sub-continent to commemorate the anniversary of his martyrdom.
Shahid Rabay
Mirza Muhammad Kamil Dehlavi was the Fourth Martyr and the author of Nuzhat-e-Isna Ashariya (نزھۃ اثنا عشريۃ). This book was a complete response to Shah Abdul Aziz DehlaviShah Abdul Aziz
Al Muhaddith Shah Abdul Aziz Dehlavi was one of the great Sunni Islamic scholar scholars of Hadith in India.-Biography:Shah Abdul Aziz was the eldest son of Shah Waliullah was only 17 years old when Shah Waliullah died...
's Tauhfa Ithna Ashari. It was due to this book that he was poisoned by the Ruler of Indian state of Jhajhar
Jhajhar
Jhajhar is situated in the erstwhile province of Shekhawati of Rajasthan, India. It is located in the district of Jhunjhunu, approximately 7 km from Nawalgarh...
.
Shahid Khamis
Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Muḥammad Bāqir al-Ṣadr (March 1, 1935 – April 9, 1980) was an IraqIraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
i Twelver Shi'a cleric, a philosopher, and ideological founder of Islamic Dawa Party
Islamic Dawa Party
The Islamic Dawa Party or Islamic Call Party is a political party in Iraq. Dawa and the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council are two of the main parties in the religious-Shiite United Iraqi Alliance, which won a plurality of seats in both the provisional January 2005 Iraqi election and the longer-term...
born in al-Kazimiya
Kazimain
al-Kāżimiyyah , is a town located in what is now a northern neighbourhood of Baghdad, Iraq about five kilometres from the city center. Al-Kāżimiyyah is one of nine administrative districts in Baghdad....
, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. He is the father-in-law of Muqtada al-Sadr
Muqtada al-Sadr
Sayyid Muqtadā al-Ṣadr is an Iraqi Islamic political leader.Along with Ali al-Sistani and Ammar al-Hakim of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, Sadr is one of the most influential religious and political figures in the country not holding any official title in the Iraqi government.-Titles:He is...
and cousin of both Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr and Imam Musa as-Sadr. His father Haydar al-Sadr
Haydar al-Sadr
Ayatollah Haydar al-Sadr was born in Samarra, Iraq. His father, Ismail as-Sadr was a Grand Ayatollah and the first to be use the as-Sadr surname, which came to be associated with a long line of religious scholarship within Shia Islam...
was a well-respected high-ranking Shi'a cleric. His lineage goes back to Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
, through the seventh Shia Imam, Musa al-Kazim. (See Sadr
Sadr (name)
Sadr is a family name originating in the Lebanon and a branch of Moosavi family.-History:Sadr is a branch of Sharafeddine family from Jabal Amel in Lebanon...
family for more details.)
His father died in 1937, leaving the family penniless. In 1945 the family moved to the holy city of Najaf
Najaf
Najaf is a city in Iraq about 160 km south of Baghdad. Its estimated population in 2008 is 560,000 people. It is the capital of Najaf Governorate...
, where al-Sadr would spend the rest of his life. Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr completed his religious teachings at religious seminaries under al-Khoei and Muhsin al-Hakim at the age of 25 and began teaching.
While teaching he became a prominent member of the Iraqi Shia community, and was noted for his many writings. His first works were detailed critiques of Marxism
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
that presented early ideas of an alternative Islamic form of government. Perhaps his most important work was Iqtisaduna
Iqtisaduna
Iqtisaduna is a major work on Islamic economics by prominent Shia cleric Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr. Written between 1960 and 1961, it is al-Sadr's main work on economics, and still forms much of the basis for modern Islamic banking....
, one of the most important works on Islamic economics
Islamic economics
Islamic economics refers to the body of Islamic studies literature that "identifies and promotes an economic order that conforms to Islamic scripture and traditions," and in the economic world an interest-free Islamic banking system, grounded in Sharia's condemnation of interest...
. This work was a critique of both socialism and capitalism. He was subsequently commissioned by the government of Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
to assess how that country's oil wealth could be managed in keeping with Islamic principles. This led to a major work on Islamic banking
Islamic banking
Islamic banking is banking or banking activity that is consistent with the principles of Islamic law and its practical application through the development of Islamic economics. Sharia prohibits the fixed or floating payment or acceptance of specific interest or fees for loans of money...
that still forms the basis for modern Islamic banks.
He also worked with Sayyid Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim
Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim
Ayatollah Sayed Mohammad Baqir al-Hakim , also known as Shaheed al-Mehraab was one of the foremost Twelver Shi'a Muslim leaders in Iraq until his assassination in a bombing in Najaf...
in forming an Islamist movement in Iraq. This attracted the attention of the Baath Party
Baath Party
The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party was a political party mixing Arab nationalist and Arab socialist interests, opposed to Western imperialism, and calling for the renaissance or resurrection and unification of the Arab world into a single state. Ba'ath is also spelled Ba'th or Baath and means...
, which resulted in numerous imprisonments for the Ayatollah. He was often subjugated to torture during his imprisonments, but continued his work after being released.
In 1977, he was sentenced to life in prison following uprisings in Najaf, but was released two years later due to his immense popularity. Upon his release however, he was put under house arrest. In 1980, after writing in the defense of the Islamic Revolution
Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution refers to events involving the overthrow of Iran's monarchy under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and its replacement with an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the...
, Sadr was once again imprisoned, tortured, and executed by the regime of Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
. His sister, Amina Sadr bint al-Huda, was also imprisoned, tortured, and executed. It has been alleged that Sadr was killed by having an iron nail hammered into his head and then being set on fire.
During the execution of Saddam Hussein
Execution of Saddam Hussein
The execution of Saddam Hussein took place on December 30, 2006 . Saddam was sentenced to death by hanging, after being found guilty and convicted of crimes against humanity by the Iraqi Special Tribunal for the murder of 148 Iraqi Shi'ite in the town of Dujail in 1982, in retaliation for an...
, chants of "Long live Mohammed Baqir Sadr!" were heard being chanted by some of the Shi'a guards. CNN article
See also
- Shahid AwwalShahid AwwalMuhammad Jamaluddin al-Makki al-Amili also known as Shahid Awwal was the first Islamic martyr and the author of Al-Lum'ah ad-Dimashqiya. He was one of the greatest Shi'a scholars.- Life :Shahid Awal was born in 734 A.H Muhammad Jamaluddin al-Makki al-Amili (1334–1385) also known as Shahid Awwal...
- Shahid ThaniShahid ThaniZayn al-Din al-Juba'i al'Amili was the second martyr .- Career :Thani was one of the greatest shi'a scholars. He studied under famous Sunni and Shi'a in Jabal 'Amel, Damascus, Cairo, Jerusalem among many others. He was known and respected by sunnis in Baalabeck for this...
- Shahid Salis
- Shahid RabayShahid RabayMirza Muhammad Kamil Dehlavi also known as Shahid Rabay was the author of Nuzhat-e-Isna Ashariya . This book was a complete response to Shah Abdul Aziz Dehlavi's Tauhfa Ithna Ashari...
- Shahid Khamis