Muhammad al-Jawad

As a young child, Muhammad al-Jawad earned the name al-Jawad ("the generous"). When his father was away, people gathered by al-Jawad's door in hopes of gaining help. Al-Jawad's caregivers had him leave his house only through another exit to avoid them. Upon hearing this, his father wrote a letter to advising his son not to listen to those who told him not to use the house's main gate. He wrote that the other advice came from stinginess and a fear that someone else might receive goodness (alms) from al-Jawad. Al-Ridha wrote: "Whenever you want to go out, keep some gold and silver with you. No one should ask you for anything without your giving it to him. If one of your uncles asks you to be pious to him, do not give him less than fifty dinars and you may give him more if you want. If one of your aunts asks you, do not give her less than twenty-five dinars and you may give her more if you want...."[7]

According to Madelung, al-Jawad was born in Ramadan 195/June 811 in a village near Medina, called Surayya, which was founded by his grandfather, Musa al-Kadhim.[8] According to Louis Medoff, most of Imami sources record mid-Ramazan as Jawad's birthday, however Ebn ʿAyyāš, believed he was born in on the tenth of Rajab (April 8) and brings Ziyarat al-Nahiya al-Muqaddasa, attributed to Mahdi, to this effect. According which nowadays this day is celebrated among Shi'as.[10]

When al-Jawad was four, his father received a summons from the Abbasid Caliph, al-Ma'mun, asking him to be al-Ma'mun's successor. Al-Ridha left the four-year-old al-Jawad behind in Medina to respond to the summons. The Shiites questioned whether a child of that age could take on his father's responsibility as an Imamate if something happened to his father. In response, al-Ridha used to tell the story of Jesus, who had become a prophet at a younger age.[11]

Al-Kadhimiya Mosque

Accounts differ as to al-Ridha's death and subsequent events. One account states that al-Ma'mun poisoned al-Ridha,[12] and then summoned al-Jawad to Baghdad in order to marry his daughter, Ummul Fadhl. This apparently provoked strenuous objections by the Abbasids. According to Ya'qubi, al-Ma'mun gave al-Jawad one hundred thousand Dirham and said, "Surely I would like to be a grandfather in the line of the Apostle of God and of Ali ibn Abu Talib."[9]

Another account states that al-Ma'mun's first meeting with al-Jawad was coincidental. According to this account, al-Ma'mun was hunting when he happened upon a group of boys including al-Jawad, who were playing. When al-Ma'mun's horsemen approached, the boys ran away, except al-Jawad. This prompted al-Ma'mun to stop his carriage and ask, "Boy, what kept you from running away with the others?" Al-Jawad replied, "The road was not so narrow that I should fear there would not be room for you to pass and I have not been guilty of any offence that I should be afraid and I considered that you were the sort of man who would not injure one who had done no wrong." Shia traditions say that the Caliph was delighted and after he traveling a short distance, one of his hunting birds brought him a small fish. Al-Ma'mun hid the fish in his fist, returned and asked al-Jawad: "What have I in my hand?" Al-Jawad responded: "The creator of living things has created in the sea a small fish that is fished by the falcons of the kings and caliphs to try with it the progeny of al-Mustafa.[9][13] Shiite tradition says that Al-Ma'mun was pleased with this answer and asked the child about his lineage. Soon after, the Caliph called a large gathering, during which al-Jawad was asked many questions and astonished everyone with his judgment and learning. After this, al-Ma'mun formally gave al-Jawad his daughter in marriage.[9]

According to al-Tabari, al-Jawad's marriage with Umm al-Fadl, the daughter of Ma'mun, contracted in Jawad's absence the year 202/817, when he was still a child. According to this report, at the same time Ma'mun, gave his other daughter, Umm Habib in marriage to al-Ridha. Yaqubi, on the other hand, believes that al-Jawad's marriage took place in 204/819, when Ma'mun returned Baghdad. Actual marriage however, was at 215/830 when Ma'mun, summoned Jawad from Medina to Baghdad in April 830. Ma'mun then, ordered him to settle down and live together with his daughter in the city. A year after, Jawad left for Hajj along with his family, then went to Madina and settled there. By this time his son,Ali , the next Shia Imam, was born from an concubine named Samaneh,from the Maghreb . Umm Fadle had no child, so wrote to his father that al-Jawad preferred his slave to her. Ma'mun however, rejected this complaint.[8] [13] [6] [6] [9]

After al-Ma'mun's death in 833, his successor, Al-Mu'tasim, became the new Caliph. Al-Mu'tasim called him to Baghdad in 835. Al-Jawad left his son Ali-al-Hadi with his mother Sumaneh in Medina while his wife, Umm Fadl accompanied him to Baghdad. They lived there for a year before al-Jawad's wife, according to some sources, poisoned him, at the urging of the new Caliph Al-Mu'tasim.[5][6][14] although it is rejected by Shaykh al-Mufid. According to Madelung Jawad reached Baghdad in Muharram 220/January 835, but died in 6 Dhu 'l-Hidjdja/30 November 835.[15] Al-Jawad was buried beside his grandfather, Musa al-Kadhim, in the Maghabir Ghoraysh, which later became known as al-Kazimayn Shrine.[16]

After Ali al-Ridha's death, the age of his son, Muhammad al-Jawad, as a new Imam, was controversial. Some Shias accepted Ali al-Ridha's brother, Ahmad ibn Musa, as the new Imam. Some others joint Waghifias, who believed , Musa al-Kadhim, was the last Imam and that he lives in absent and would return in due time. Others who had backed ALi al-Ridha, as Ma'mun's successor, for opportunistic reasons, returned to their primitive Sunni/Zaydi groups after Ridha's death. Among those who recognized Jawad as Imam, some believed that he gained his knowledge through divine inspiration from the very beginning, while others said he learned it via his father's book when he reached maturity.[8]