Fri03292024

Last updateSun, 20 Aug 2023 9pm

Back You are here: Home Library Islam Islam: Faith, Practice & History Part III: History Lesson 46 2. Ma’mūn & Imam at-Taqi (a.s.)

2. Ma’mūn & Imam at-Taqi (a.s.)

2. Ma’mÅ«n & Imam at-Taqi (a.s.)

 Caliph Ma’mun ar-Rashid, in pursuing the same policies as mentioned in the previous lesson, asked that Imam Muhammad at-Taqi (a.s.) be brought from Medina to Baghdad. This journey took place in 204 A.H., a year after the death of the eighth Imam.

 When Ma’mun met the young Imam, he was impressed with the latter’s knowledge; and he proposed to marry his daughter Ummul Fazl to the Imam. When the elders of the ‘Abbasid clan learned of this decision, they tried to change Ma’mun’s views: they reminded him of dangers in promoting the decendants of ‘Ali, and the possible loss of power. Realizing that their words had no effect on Ma’mun, they finally said, “Although you are impressed by this child; but he is still a child. Wait till he grows up and gets educated, then you may marry your daughter to him.”

 Ma’mun: “Woe unto you! I know this child better than you; he comes from a family which is bestowed with knowledge by God. His ancestors were never in need of knowledge and character from others. If you wish, you may examine him.”

 The elders of the ‘Abbasid agreed to examine him. They approached Yahya bin Aktham, the chief judge (qazi) of the ‘Abbasid court, and asked him to prepare some difficult questions which the Imam would not be able to answer.

 At an appointed time, the meeting between Imam Muhammad at-Taqi (a.s.) and Yahya bin Aktham took place in the presence of Ma’mun and the elders of the ‘Abbasid clan.

 After the formalities, Yahya asked: “What is your view about a person who hunts while he is in the ihram?” (Ihram means pilgrim’s garment; a person in ihram is not allowed to hunt.)

 Imam at-Taqi: “This question has many facets:

“Was the person outside the boundary of the holy territory or inside?

“Did he know that it was forbidden to hunt while in ihrām or he did not?

“Did he do it intentionally or was it an accident?

“Was he a free man or a slave?

“Was he minor or an adult?

“Was this his first hunting in the state of ihrām or a second time?

“Was the hunted creature a bird or something else?

“Was it big or small?

“Was the person sorry that he committed the offence or was he careless about such issues?

“Was it in the night or during the day?

“Was he in the state of ihrām for the minor pilgrimage or for the major pilgrimage?”

 Yahya bin Aktham was dumbfounded by this thorough analysis of the question by the ten year old Imam Muhammad at-Taqi! He could not even utter a word, and the audience clearly saw the signs of defeat on his face!

 Ma’mun broke the silence by saying, “Praise be to Allāh who proved me right in my estimation of this young man.” Then he faced the elders of the ‘Abbāsids and rebuked them: “Now do you realize what I was saying?” Then he proposed the marriage of his daughter to the Imam, and the Imam accepted it. The young Imam also recited the khutba (sermon) before the actual marriage which has become a common khutba in the Shi‘a marriage ceremonies. The khutba is as follows:

 “All praise is due to Allāh, in recognition of His blessings. [I declare that] there is no god but Allāh, in sincere belief in His oneness. And may Allāh send His blessings upon Muhammad, the leader of His creatures, and upon the chosen one of his family.


“It is Allāh’s grace upon the people that He has made them free from the forbidden [means of fulfilling sexual urge] by the permissible [institution of marriage]. He, the Exalted, said: ‘And marry the single among you (those who are good ones from among your slaves and maids)—if they are poor, Allāh will make them free from need from His grace; Allāh, indeed, is Generous, All-Knowing.’”

 After the marriage ceremony, when only a few people had remained in the gathering, Ma’mun requested the Imam to provide the answer for the various situations that he had derived from Yahya’s single question. The holy Imam gave a detailed answer to all those situations.

 Then Ma’mun proposed that now the Imam should ask a question to Yahya bin Aktham. The latter replied, “If I know the answer, I will reply; otherwise, I will learn from you.”

 Imam Muhammad at-Taqi (a.s.) asked: “Can you describe the situation in which a man looked at a woman at dawn while it was forbidden (harām) for him to do so; but then at sunrise, it was permissible (halāl) for him to look at her? Then at noon hour, it became harām for him to look at that woman; but in the afternoon, it became permissible for him to look at her? Then at sunset, it became harām for him to look at that woman; but at night, it became halāl for him to look at her? Then at midnight, it became harām for him to look at her; but at dawn, it became halāl for him to do so?”

 Yahya bin Aktham said, “By Allāh! I do not know the answer to this question. We would, however, benefit from your answer.”

 The Imam explained the answer as follows:

 “At dawn, the woman was the slave of someone else; however, by sunrise, the man had already bought her for himself and so it became halāl for him to look at her.

“At noon, he made her free, and so she became harām for him; but by afternoon, he had married her, so she became halāl for him.

“At sunset, he did zihār[46] by which one’s wife becomes harām for a person; but by night time he paid the penalty for zihar, and so she became halāl for him again.

“At midnight, he divorced her; but by next morning, he revoked his divorce, and so she became halāl for him.”

 Thus the ten year old Imam, from the descendants of ‘Ali and Fātimah, proved to the caliph and his entourage that God had endowed them with the knowledge to guide the Muslim ummah as the Prophet had truly said, “Do not try to teach them, because they are not in need of your teaching.”

 * * *

 One must remember that Ma’mun was a very shrewd politician. This marriage between his daughter and Imam Muhammad at-Taqi (a.s.) should not be taken as proof that he was a Shi‘a. As mentioned in the previous lesson, these actions were all politically motivated by Ma’mun to calm the opposition of the Shi‘a masses. Other motives for the marriage can be described as follows:

 By having his daughter as Imam’s wife, Ma’mun was guaranteed a continuous flow of information about the Imam’s activities.
By becoming the son-in-law of Ma’mun at this young age, the caliph hoped that the personality of the Imam would be tarnished with worldly luxuries and entertainment of the establishment, and thus lose the respect in the eyes of his Shi‘as.
By this marriage, prove to the Shi‘a masses that he respects the Ahlul Bayt, and thus neutralize their opposition to his rule.
Ma’mun was hoping that if Imam at-Taqi gets a child through his daughter, he can claim to be the grandfather of a child from the descendants of Imam ‘Ali and Fatimah (a.s.). But Allāh, subhānahu wa ta‘āla, did not fulfill this hope because none of the children of the Imam were born from Ma’mun’s daughter!
 

Imam Muhammad at-Taqi (a.s.) did not stay for long in Baghdad. He insisted on returning to Medina with his wife, the daughter of Ma’mun. His return to Medina where he stayed till the year 220 A.H. foiled the plans of Ma’mun ar-Rashid.

You have no rights to post comments

Find us on Facebook