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One of the imams of the Ahl al-Bayt; the ninth imam of the Twelvers.
His full name was Abû Ja'far Muhammad b. 'Alî al-Ridâ b. Mûsâ al-Kâzim b. Ja'far al-Sâdiq. He was born at Medina on 19 Ramadân of the year 195 (15 June 811).
He was called al-Jawâd for his generosity; he is also known by the epithets al-Taqî, al-Muntajab, al-Najîb, al-Murtadâ and al-Qâni'. He was called Abû Ja'far the Second to distinguish him from Muhammad al-Bâqir.
When his father 'Alî al-Ridâ died in 203 (818) he was only seven years old.
The Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mûn brought him to Baghdad and, valuing his learning, married him to his daughter Umm al-Fadl; the Abbasid family had objected to this marriage. He stayed eight years at Baghdad and in that time took part in scholarly disputations, the most famous of them with the judge Yahyâ b. Aktham.
After returning to Baghdad at the invitation of the caliph al-Mu'tasim, he died in Dhu al-Qa'da of the year 220 (25 November 835), at about twenty-four years of age.
His Circle of Influence — His children were 'Alî al-Hâdî, Mûsâ, Fâtima and Umâma; his son 'Alî al-Hâdî is the tenth imam of the Twelvers. His scattered transmissions were later gathered by 'Azîzullâh al-'Utâridî under the title Musnad al-Imâm al-Jawâd.
His Tomb and Complex — He was buried beside his grandfather Mûsâ al-Kâzim at Kâzimayn; the place is today a site of visitation.
Differing Scholarly Views
🔴 THE DISPUTE OVER HIS IMAMATE AS A CHILD. His being seven years old when his father died set off a great dispute in Shî'î circles: some said that obedience as to an imam could not be owed to a child not even bound by the religious law; for this reason the Wâqifiyya and certain other groups did not accept his imamate. The atlas takes no side in this dispute (rule #9, principles 3 and 5).
The cause of his death. There are claims that he was poisoned by his wife or by the caliph, but the source records that these claims are not held reliable even by the Shî'î sources.
Sources
- TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (DİA)
- TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (DİA) — Mustafa Öz · vol. 30, pp. 512-513, entry “MUHAMMED el-CEVÂD”
The sources for this record are listed below (Mandatory Sources).
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Permanent ID: EA-Z-000279 · this address reaches the same record even if its name changes; use it when citing.