Musa al-Kazim ibn Jafar as Sadiq (Arabic: الإمام موسى الكاظم‎) (November 10, 745, Medina – September 4, 799, Baghdad)(128 -183 A.H.) was the seventh of the twelve Shiite Imams.

Al-Kazim was the son of Ja'far al-Sadiq and his wife Hameeda, the sixth Imam. He was born during the power struggles between the Umayyad and the Abbasid.

1 Designation of the Imamate
2 Life
3 See also
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Designation of the Imamate

At the age of 21, he was nominated Imam by the majority of the Shi'ite community, after his father has been murdered by the Abbasids.

According to "Ketab Al Irshad" of Sheikh al-Mufid:

"Among the shaykhs of the followers of Abu Abd Allah [[[Ja'far al-Sadiq]]], peace be on him, his special group (khassa), his inner circle and the trustworthy righteous legal scholars, may God have mercy on them, who report the clear designation of the Imamate by Abu Abd Allah Jafars peace be on him, for his son, Abu al-Hasan Musa, peace be on him, are: al-Mufaddal b. Umar al-Jufi, Mu'adh b. Kathir, Abd al-Rahman b. al-Hajjaj, al-Fayd b. al-Mukhtar, Yaqub al-Sarraj, Sulayman b. Khalid, Safwan al-Jammal...[That designation] is also reported by his two brothers, Ishaq and Ali, sons of Jafar, peace be on him<ref>[1]</ref>."

However, his nomination was not without controversy, as Musa was not the eldest son, but Isma'il (Ismail bin Jafar), whose supporters split from mainstream Shi'a on that grounds, forming the Ismaili branch of Shi'ite Islam. There is two narration about Ismail. One said he died before his father -Ja'far al-Sadiq- another said to protect him from persecution, his father sent him into hiding and publicly declared him deceased.

[edit] Life

Al-Kazim was incarcerated by Harun al-Rashid and spend several years in prison before having been poisoned to death. He is buried in Kazimain, near Baghdad. His grave is by the grave of his grandson, Muhammad al-Taqi, who was the ninth Shi'ite Imam. His tomb is considered to be a site holy to the Shi'ite.