Born of both lines
Muhammad b. Ali (a), the fifth Imam, was born in Madinah on Friday 1 Rajab 57 AH (a minority of sources give 3 Safar). His father was Imam Zayn al-Abidin (a) and his mother Umm Abd Allah, a daughter of Imam Hasan (a), so he was the first Imam descended from both Hasan and Husayn (a). As a small boy of about four he was present at Karbala and survived it with his father.
The scholar-Imam
The Prophet (s) is reported to have told his companion Jabir al-Ansari that he would live to meet a descendant named Muhammad who would "split open" the sciences — hence al-Baqir. His nineteen years of Imamate, under the later Umayyads, saw the first organised teaching of the Ahl al-Bayt's (a) learning in law, exegesis, theology and ethics; more hadith survives from him than from all the descendants of Hasan and Husayn before him, and his son Imam al-Sadiq (a) built the great school on his foundation. He also confronted the flood of Israelite legends entering Islamic learning and the extremist claims of the ghulat.
Observance
His birthday opens the month of Rajab, which the Shia count among its blessings along with the births of Imam Ali (a) and Imam al-Jawad (a). He was martyred by poison on 7 Dhu l-Hijja 114 AH and lies in al-Baqi.
Written for Shia Online Community. Dates and facts are checked against the references listed under Research & books; where the tradition records more than one date, all are given.
