Musa al-Kadhim

Who was Musa al-Kadhim?

Musa ibn Ja‘far al-Kadhim was the seventh of the Twelve Imams and regarded by Sunnis as a renowned scholar. He was the son of the sixth Imam, Ja‘far aṣ-Ṣādiq and his mother was Hamidah Khātūn, a student and former slave of East African descent. His wife Najmah was also a former slave purchased and freed by Hamidah, his mother.

Mūsá al-Kādhim was born during the power struggles between the Umayyad and the Abbasid. Like his father, he was assassinated by the Abbasids. He bore three notable children: the eighth Imām, Ali al-Ridha, and two daughters, Fāṭimah al-Ma‘sūmah and Hajar Khatun. In total from all his wives he bore 37 children, 19 daughters and 18 sons. This is why most of the Sayyid population are Kādhimī Sayyids, or otherwise known as Mūsawī Sayyids, and trace their lineage back to the Prophet Muhammad, through one of Imam Musa al-Kadhim's children who were not his successor, Imam Ali Al-Ridha.

The Festival of Imam Musa al-Kadhim celebrates his life and death.