Muhammad al-Maktum
Muhammad al-Maktum مُحَمَّد ٱلْمَكتُوم Seventh CE | |
---|---|
Preceded by | Isma'il al-Mubarak |
Succeeded by | Ahmad al-Wafi |
Title | al-Maktum(lit. 'the hidden one') al-Shakir(lit. 'the grateful one') |
Personal | |
Born | 122 AH ≈ 740 AD |
Died | 197 AH ≈ 813 AD |
Religion | Shia Islam |
Children | List of children
|
Parents |
|
Part of a series on Islam Isma'ilism |
---|
Islam portal |
Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Maktum (
Life
Muhammad was the eldest son of
He was the Imam of the Mubarakiyya and the eldest male member of al-Sadiq's family, after the death of his uncle Abd Allah al-Aftah; furthermore, all sources agree that he was older than his uncle Musa al-Kazim by about eight years.[3] As such, he enjoyed a certain degree of esteem and seniority in this Fatimid branch of the Alid family.[3] However, after the recognition of the Imamate of Musa al-Kazim by the majority of al-Sadiq's followers, Muhammad's position became untenable in his native Hejaz where his uncle and chief rival Musa also lived.[3][4] It was probably then, not long after al-Sadiq's death, that Muhammad left Medina for the east and went into hiding, henceforth acquiring the epithet al-Maktum (lit. 'the hidden one').[3]
The Sunni historian al-Tabari (d. 923) refers to Muhammad as a rāwī, a title he must have earned before his concealment.[2][5]
He was in Medina when he rose to the protection of the religion of God, despatched his da'is, spread his doctrine, and ordered his missionaries to scarch for the 'land of refuge' (dar hijra) in which to seek safety.[5]
— Idrid Imad al-Din, ʿUyūn al-Akhbār
Muhammad ibn Isma'il seems to have spent the latter part of his life in Khuzestan, in southwestern Persia, where he had a certain number of supporters and from where he despatched his own da'is to adjoining areas.[8]
Death
The exact date of Muhammad's death remains unknown. But it is almost certain that he died during the caliphate of the celebrated Harun al-Rashid (r. 786–809), perhaps soon after 179/795–796, the year in which al-Rashid, continuing the anti-Alid policy of his predecessors, arrested Musa al-Kazim in Medina and banished him to Iraq as a prisoner. The Twelver sources, which are hostile to Muhammad ibn Isma'il, maintain that it was he who betrayed Musa to the Abbasids, though they also relate the story of a reconciliation between these two Fatimids prior to Muhammad's departure for Iraq.[8]
Family
Muhammad had two sons who were apparently born to him before his migration to the East,—Isma'il and Ja'far.[9][8] They seem to be quite historical, left large posterity, are very rarely referred to in Isma'ili works, and apparently played no part in sectarian life.[9] After his emigration, he had four more sons, including Abdullah, who, according to the later Isma'ilis, was his rightful successor.[8][10]
See also
Footnotes
References
- ^ a b c Buyukkara 1997, p. 63.
- ^ a b Tajddin 2009, p. 25.
- ^ a b c d e Daftary 2007, p. 95.
- ^ Buyukkara 1997, pp. 63, 64.
- ^ a b c Hollister 1953, p. 205.
- ^ Buyukkara 1997, p. 64.
- ^ Daftary 2007, pp. 95, 96.
- ^ a b c d Daftary 2007, p. 96.
- ^ a b Ivanow 1942, p. 38.
- ^ Tajddin 2009, pp. 26, 28.
Sources
- ISBN 978-0-521-61636-2.
- Tajddin, Mumtaz Ali (2009). Brief history of the Shia Ismaili Imams. Karachi.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Ivanow, Vladimir (1942). Ismaili Tradition Concerning the Rise of the Fatimids. Islamic Research Association. ISBN 978-0-598-52924-4.
- Hollister, John Norman (1953). The Shi'a of India. Luzac. ISBN 978-8170691068.
- Buyukkara, Mehmet Ali (1997). The Imāmi Shi'i movement in the time of Mūsā al-Kāẓim and 'Ali al-Riḍa. Edinburgh University Press.