Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Grand Ayatollah Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr |
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| Religion | Islam |
| Sect | Usuli Twelver Shia Islam |
| Personal | |
| Nationality | Iraqi |
| Born | 1 March 1935 al-Kazimiya, Kingdom of Iraq |
| Died | 9 April 1980 (aged 45) Baghdad, Ba'athist Iraq |
| Resting place | Wadi-us-Salaam, Najaf |
| Senior posting | |
| Based in | Najaf, Iraq |
| Title | Grand Ayatollah |
| Religious career | |
| Post | Grand Ayatollah |
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Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr (Arabic: محمد باقر الصدر, romanized: Muḥammad Bāqir al-Ṣadr; born March 1, 1935 – died April 9, 1980) was an important Islamic scholar and thinker from Iraq. He was also known as al-Shahid al-Khamis, which means "the fifth martyr."
He was a leading figure in Shia Islam and helped start the Islamic Dawa Party. His family was well-known for their religious scholarship. Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr was killed in 1980 by the government of Saddam Hussein, along with his sister, Amina Sadr bint al-Huda.
Contents
Biography
Early life and learning
Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr was born in al-Kazimiya, Iraq. His family, called the Sadr family, was very respected and came from Lebanon. When he was only two years old, his father passed away, leaving his family with little money.
In 1945, his family moved to the holy city of Najaf, where he lived for the rest of his life. He was a very smart child, often called a child prodigy. By age 10, he was already giving talks about Islamic history. At 11, he was studying logic, which is about how to think clearly. When he was 24, he wrote a book that disagreed with ideas about materialism (the belief that only matter exists).
He finished his religious studies with famous teachers like al-Khoei and Muhsin al-Hakim. He started teaching others when he was 25 years old.
Standing up to Saddam Hussein
Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr's writings and ideas were not liked by the Baath Party, which ruled Iraq at the time. Because of this, he was put in prison many times and treated very harshly. Even so, he kept working and sharing his ideas after he was released.
In 1977, when the Ba'athists arrested him, his sister, Amina Sadr bint al-Huda, gave a powerful speech in a mosque in Najaf. She asked people to protest, and many did. These protests were so strong that the government had to release al-Sadr, but they kept him under house arrest.
Between 1979 and 1980, there were many protests in Shia areas of Iraq. People wanted an Islamic revolution, similar to what happened in Iran. The government believed these protests were inspired by the Iranian Revolution and encouraged by Iran. Many people in Iraq's Shia community looked to Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr as their leader, hoping he would lead a revolt against the Ba'ath government.
Leaders, tribal elders, and many ordinary people showed their support for al-Sadr. Protests broke out in Baghdad and southern provinces in May 1979. These protests lasted for nine days but were stopped by the government. When al-Sadr was imprisoned again, his sister's strong message led to more protests in June. There were more clashes between security forces and protestors. The city of Najaf was surrounded, and thousands of people were arrested and killed.
Al-Sadr then issued a religious ruling, called a fatwa, saying it was forbidden to be a member of the ruling Ba'ath party. The government asked him to take back his words, but he refused.
His death
Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr was arrested on April 5, 1980, along with his sister, Sayyidah bint al-Huda. They had become strong opponents of Saddam Hussein's government.
On April 9, 1980, al-Sadr and his sister were killed by their captors. Their bodies showed signs of severe mistreatment. The Ba'athists gave their bodies to their cousin, Sayyid Mohammad al-Sadr.
They were buried that same night in the Wadi-us-Salaam graveyard in the holy city of Najaf. At the time, Western countries did not criticize his execution because al-Sadr had openly supported Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran.
His ideas and writings
Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr's writings included traditional Shia ideas, but they also showed how Shia thought could fit with modern times.
His two most important books are Iqtisaduna (Our Economy), which is about Islamic economics, and Falsafatuna (Our Philosophy). In these books, he strongly criticized Marxism and shared his early ideas for an Islamic government. He disagreed with both socialism and capitalism. Later, the government of Kuwait asked him to advise them on how to manage their oil money using Islamic rules. This led to a major work on Islamic banking, which is still used as a guide for modern Islamic banks.
Using his deep knowledge of the Quran, al-Sadr found two main ideas about how a government should work:
- khilafat al-insan (humans as God's representatives or trustees)
- shahadat al-anbiya (prophets as witnesses)
Al-Sadr explained that throughout history, there have been two paths: "Man's line" and "the Prophet's line." The "line of Man" means humans are God's khalifa (trustee) on Earth, responsible for caring for the world and managing human affairs. This was a big step forward in Islamic political thinking.
While al-Sadr said that khilafa (governance) is a right for all people, he also explained who had the job of shahada (supervision or witnessing) in an Islamic state. First were the Prophets. Second were the Imams, who are seen as a divine continuation of the Prophets. Last were the marja'iyya (religious scholars).
Al-Sadr believed that khilafa (governance) should be returned to the Muslim people. He thought this could happen through a democratic system where people regularly choose their leaders. He said:
Islamic theory rejects monarchy as well as the various forms of dictatorial government; it also rejects the aristocratic regimes and proposes a form of government, which contains all the positive aspects of the democratic system.
He continued to emphasize this idea until his last days, saying:
Lastly, I demand, in the name of all of you and in the name of the values you uphold, to allow the people the opportunity truly to exercise their right in running the affairs of the country by holding elections in which a council representing the ummah (people) could truly emerge.'
Al-Sadr was killed in 1980 before he could fully explain how the shahada concept would work in an Islamic state. He did explain that the shahid (witness or supervisor) has a duty to "protect the correct doctrines and to see that deviations do not grow to the extent of threatening the ideology itself."
The Logical Foundations of Induction
One of al-Sadr's most important books is The Logical Foundations of Induction. In this book, he tried to create a new way of thinking about how we gain knowledge through inductive methods. He called this "Subjectivist Logic," which sets rules for how this type of knowledge grows.
List of works
Al-Sadr looked at Western philosophical ideas. He challenged them when needed and used them when they fit, always aiming to show that religious knowledge and scientific knowledge could go together. Here are some of his works:
Jurisprudence
- Buhuth fi Sharh al- 'Urwah al' Wuthqa (Discourses on the Commentary of al- 'Urwah al-Wuthqa), four volumes
- Al-Fatawa al-Wadhihah (Clear Decrees).
Fundamentals of the law
- Durus fi Ilm al-Usul (Lessons in the Science of Jurisprudence), 3 Parts.
Philosophy
- Falsafatuna (Our Philosophy) published in 1959
Logic
- Al-Usus al-Mantiqiyyah lil-Istiqra' (The Logical Foundations of Induction)
Theology
- Al-Mujaz fi Usul al-Din: al-Mursil, al-Rasul, al-Risalah (The Summarized Principles of Religion: The Sender, The Messenger, The Message)
Economics
- Iqtisaduna (Our Economy)
- Al-Bank al-la Ribawi fi al-Islam (Usury-free Banking in Islam)
Qur'anic commentaries
- Al-Tafsir al-Mawzu'i lil-Qur'an al-Karim - al-Madrasah al-Qur'aniyyah (The Thematic Exegesis of the Holy Qur'an)
History
- Fadak fi al-Tarikh (Fadak in History)
Islamic culture
- Al-Islam Yaqud al-Hayah (Islam Directive to Life)
- Al-Madrasah al-Islamiyyah (Islamic School)
Notable colleagues and students
- Hassan Nasrallah
- Muhammad Hussein Fadlullah
- Muhammad Baqir al-Hakim
- Muhammad Muhammad Sadiq as-Sadr
- Mohsen Araki
- Kazem al-Haeri
- Abbas al-Musawi
- Talib Jauhari
- Syed Sajid Ali Naqvi
- Allama Syed Zeeshan Haider Jawadi
- Muhammad al-Tijani
See also
- Five Martyrs of Shia Islam
- Shahid Awwal
- Shahid Khamis
- Shahid Rabay
- Shahid Salis
- Shahid Thani
- Muhammad al-Tijani
- Sayyid Hibatuddin Shahrestani
Sources
- Mallat, Chibli. "Muhammad Baqir as-Sadr". Pioneers of Islamic Revival. Ali Rahnema (ed.). London: Zed Books, 1994
