In the Name of God, the All-Merciful, the All-Compassionate.Today is the 10th of Rajab when Medina became the scene of joy in 195 AH, as news spread around the Prophet's City of the birth of a son to the then 47-year old Imam Reza (PBUH), the 8th Infallible Successor of Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny). This is an exclusive feature on the life and times of Imam Mohammad at-Taqi al-Jawad (PBUH).

The newborn was named after the Prophet, and by the Will of God was to inherit the mantle of the Prophet at the tender young age of 8 years when his father was martyred in distant Khorasan. He was to acquire the epithets of at-Taqi or the Pious, and al-Jawad or the Generous. Born, as predicted by the Prophet, of a pure and pious Nubian mother named Sabikat az-Zahab or Gold Ingot, he was the only surviving son of Imam Reza (PBUH). Imam Jawad (PBUH) was about 6 years when his father was forced to leave Medina for distant Merv in Khorasan – a city which is presently in the Republic of Turkmenistan – where the crafty Abbasid caliph, Mamoun, had set up court. The farewell scene was heartrending. Eyewitness accounts related by faithful scribes say seldom had such emotional scenes occurred in history. It was at the shrine of the Prophet and was as memorable as the tearful bidding of goodbye to the Prophet's shrine by Imam Husain (PBUH), over a century and 30 years earlier for the fateful journey to Karbala.

While leaving for distant Khorasan, Imam Reza (PBUH) had told the people of Medina: follow my son after, me and refer to him concerning your difficulties. He is also quoted to have said: It is not necessary that you write to me and ask; instead you make queries and ask questions from this young child who is the Imam after me.

When some of his companions expressed surprise that how a child would be the Imam of the Ummah, Imam Reza (PBUH) pointed out: God appointed Jesus (PBUH) as a Prophet when he was even younger. Age and years do not have any interference in (matters concerning) the Prophet-hood and Imamate.

Here, it is also worth noting that the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali (PBUH), was a mere boy of ten years when he testified to the mission of his cousin the Prophet with that eternal testimony ash-hado anna Muhammadar-Rasoul-Allah, which means "I bear witness that Mohammad is the Messenger of God", a phrase that made the arrogant Arabs speechless and has become an article of faith for all Muslims till this day. Thus despite his tender years, Imam Jawad (PBUH) also left lasting impacts on the minds of grey-bearded scholars by unraveling the bezels of wisdom, in front of the spellbound court of the Abbasid tyrant, Mamoun, in Baghdad when after his father's martyrdom he was pitted in a debate by the caliph to test his God-given knowledge.

Imam Jawad (PBUH), who, as we said earlier, was a mere lad of 8 years when Imam Reza (PBUH) was martyred, miraculously appeared in distant Khorasan at the bedside of his dying father to hear his will. Those in doubt should know that it is an article of faith for Muslims to believe in the me'raj or ascension to the heavens and back in a fraction of a night by Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny). The Holy Qur'an also relates to us the miraculous powers of Prophet Solomon's vizier and spiritual successor, Asef bin Barkhiya, in bringing Queen Bilqis of Saba or Sheba along with her throne from Yemen to Palestine in the twinkling of an eye. Although we fallible mortals fail to perfect our spiritual powers, our scientific inventions today enable us to cover distances of thousands of miles in a few hours, while the speed with which rockets are launched in outer space is even faster. Thus, in view of these facts, only the faithless and those sick in minds will view with scepticism the authoritative account of how the Will of God took the young Imam Mohammad Taqi (PBUH) to Khorasan to meet his father, Imam Reza (PBUH) on his deathbed, and then back again to Medina in the twinkling of any eye. Abu Salt Herawi, the loyal companion of Imam Reza (PBUH) who was at the side of the 8th Imam in his last moments, was not at all surprised when he saw the son miraculously appear beside his father – to take charge of the Divine Trust and also to perform the last rites. Thus throughout history, true believers have never felt astonishment at the powers beyond human ken that God has granted to His Chosen Ones, who nevertheless were pictures of patience and endured all the tribulations and hardships of the mortal world in order to make us better human beings.

For the next 17 years Imam Jawad (PBUH) guided the faithful through the stormy waters of Abbasid tyranny. One such instant is his famous debate while still a beardless boy with the Mu'tazilite ideologue, Yahya bin Aksam, whose details are mentioned in such authoritative books written over a thousand years ago as Tuhaf al-Oqoul and al-Irshad. The scholar asked the boy-Imam: “What is the atonement for a person who hunts a game while dressed in Ehraam or the pilgrimage garb.”

The question appears quite simple, especially during the Hajj season when every potential pilgrim tries to acquaint himself with the rules before setting off to Mecca to circumambulate the Holy Ka’ba, the symbolic House of the Unseen but Omnipresent Lord. But the questioner had ulterior motives. With such a seemingly simple question he and his patron the caliph thought of ensnaring the boy-Imam in the intricacies of legal issues. However, to their utter astonishment, the 9th Imam with composure and wisdom beyond his tender years said:

“Your question is utterly vague and lacks definition. You should first clarify whether the game killed was outside the sanctified area or inside it; whether the hunter was aware of his sin or did so in ignorance; did he kill the game purposely or by mistake; was the hunter a slave or a free man; was he adult or minor, did he commit the sin for the first time or had he done so before; was the hunted game a bird or something else; was it a small animal or a big one; is the sinner sorry for the misdeed or does he insist on it; did he kill it secretly at night or openly during daylight; was he wearing the pilgrimage garb for Hajj or for the Umra? Unless you clarify and define these aspects, how can you have a definite answer?”

The caliph, the courtiers and the court-mullah were bewildered. They had underestimated the boy but to their horror they found themselves at the receiving end. There was a clear stuttering for words, especially when the calm and composed boy posed a question of his own to the learned doctor of law, who found himself utterly incapable of any answer. His claim to knowledge shattered before the whole court, Yahya bin Aksam changed his tone and humbly addressed the boy with the words: "O son of the Prophet, you know better." This admission of inability by the Mu’tazallite ideologue embarrassed caliph Mamoun and evaporated his dreams of humiliating the Prophet's 9th infallible successor. Then the Imam himself replied: “If he had killed the animal outside the sacred ground and it was winged and large, an atonement of a sheep would have been necessary for him. If he had struck it down in the sanctuary, the penalty required of him would be doubled. If he killed a young bird outside the sacred ground, then the atonement of a lamb which had been weaned off milk would have been required of him. If he had killed it in the sanctuary, then he would have been required to sacrifice a lamb and the value of the young bird. As for wild animals, if it was a wild ass, he would have been required to sacrifice a cow. If it was an ostrich, the sacrifice of a camel would be necessary. If it had been a deer, then a sheep would have been necessary. If he had killed any of those in the sanctuary, the penalty would have been doubled

To be brief, during the 17 years of his mission, before his martyrdom in the prime of youth at the age of 25 years, the 9th Imam opened new avenues of science and knowledge for the seekers, training several students who excelled in different scientific fields. Before saying goodbye we present you one of his wise sayings that is indeed food for thought: “Delay of repentance is (self) deception, excessive procrastination is perplexity, and arrogance against Allah is perdition…”