[40] Imamah (Leadership) – Imam Muhammad al-Jawad - Part 2: Generous Protection & The Fortress of Faith

A series of discussions on the teachings of Imam Sadiq (sixth Imam of the Muslims), from the book Misbah ash-Sharia (The Lantern of the Path)

In His Name, the Most High

With this session, we continue to weave the vibrant thread of our discussion on the ninth Imam, finding ourselves once again guided by the echoes of our past reflections. The foundational principle of our study remains unchanged: each session builds upon the last, weaving together into a larger, interconnected tapestry.

In our last gathering, we stood in the luminous presence of Imam Muhammad ibn Ali al-Jawad (peace be upon him), witnessing his God-given wisdom that defied age, his courage that unmasked a pious tyrant, and his intellectual jihad that triumphed in the courts of power.

That history of the Imam’s public confrontation—of his role as the Imam of Clarity—is the very context in which our next reflection must be understood. For the Imam’s mission was not only to be a public proof (hujjah) for the world, but also a private refuge (hirz) for his followers.

Today, we turn our hearts towards this more intimate dimension of his generosity, exploring the spiritual shield he gifted his people and the legacy of his protection. His story is not complete without understanding this act of profound spiritual care.

It is the story of the Imam as a guardian, a protector who understood the fears of his people and provided them with a fortress of faith. It is a story of divine protection, of the theology of reliance (tawakkul), and of the true meaning of a supplication that has been a shield for the believers for centuries.

With the epic of the Imam of Clarity fresh in our minds, let us now turn to the story of the Shield of the Ummah.

In His most beautiful Name, and with full trust in His support, imploring His assistance and guidance, we proceed…

The previous parts can be found here:

The Lantern of the Path - Index

Recap

The Victory of Divine Proof

In our last session, we had the honour of exploring the life of the ninth Imam, Muhammad al-Jawad, through the lens of him being the Imam of Clarity. His tragically short life served as a masterclass in divine leadership, unfolding across three foundational lessons:

1. A Wisdom Beyond Years: We began by reflecting on the profound test of faith his Imamate presented. At only eight years old, his appointment shattered the community’s conventional understanding of leadership, which was based on age and experience. We learned that his youth was, in itself, a divine sign, forcing believers to purify their allegiance and anchor it not in worldly criteria, but in God’s direct designation (nass). His miraculous, innate knowledge, which left the greatest scholars speechless, was a living testament to the Qur’anic precedent set by Prophet John the Baptist (Yahya), who was also granted wisdom while still a child.

2. Unmasking the Pious Tyrant: Next, we analyzed the sophisticated political trap set by the Abbasid Caliph, Ma’mun. We examined his strategy of the “gilded cage”—summoning the young Imam to Baghdad and marrying him to his daughter. This was a calculated move to neutralize the Imam’s influence, co-opt his divine authority, and legitimize the corrupt Abbasid regime under a veneer of piety. We saw how Imam al-Jawad brilliantly navigated this plot, living within the palace walls but never becoming of the palace, and using the tyrant’s own court as a platform to expose his hypocrisy.

3. The Jihad of the Word: Finally, we delved into the Imam’s primary method of resistance: intellectual jihad. The centerpiece of our discussion was his legendary debate with the chief judge of the empire, Yahya ibn Aktham. We saw how the Imam achieved a stunning victory not by merely answering a complex question, but by completely deconstructing it into more than a dozen different scenarios. This was not a display of rote learning but a manifestation of comprehensive, divine wisdom, proving that the most potent weapon against falsehood is the overwhelming light of irrefutable proof and clarity.

Having established his role as the Imam of Clarity who generously distributed the treasures of his knowledge, we now turn to a different, more intimate dimension of his generosity: the shield he provided for his people.

In His Most Beautiful Name, and with full trust and reliance on His guidance and support, we proceed on our journey … our journey towards Him and His beloved ones …

Imamah (Leadership) - Imam Muhammad al-Jawad: Generous Protection & The Fortress of Faith

The Qur’anic Frame

Before we delve into the story of the Hirz, we must first establish its foundations in the immutable words of the Holy Qur’an. The concept of seeking divine protection through a sacred means is not an innovation; it is a principle deeply embedded in the divine revelation, resting on three pillars: God’s promise of protection, His command to supplicate, and His assurance to those who rely on Him.

First, the ultimate source of all protection is God Himself. He is Al-Mu’min (The Granter of Security) and Al-Muhaymin(The Overseer). To His chosen guides, He makes a direct and explicit promise of protection from worldly harm. The most powerful expression of this divine guarantee is given to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him and his family):

وَاللَّهُ يَعْصِمُكَ مِنَ النَّاسِ

“And God will protect you from the people.”

— Qur’an, Surah al-Ma’idah (The Chapter of the Table Spread) #5, Verse 67

Let’s pause on the key Arabic word here: ya’simuka, “He will protect you.” This word comes from the root letters ‘Ayn-Sad-Mim (ع-ص-م). This root carries the core meaning of to safeguard, to make immune, to preserve, and to hold back from harm.

From this very same root, we derive the critical theological term ‘Ismah (عِصْمَة).

So, when we speak of the Prophets and Imams having ‘Ismah, we are speaking of a state of being divinely protected from sin and error. The verse is a direct promise from God to the Prophet of this specific, divine safeguarding.

Now, what is the nature of this protection?

In Tafsir al-Mizan, Allamah Tabatabai explains that in this context, it is not a promise to prevent all personal hardship, but an absolute guarantee that no human power will ever be able to stop the divine message from reaching its completion.

والمراد بالعصمة هو الحفظ الإلهي المتعلق بتبليغ الرسالة، فلا يقدر الناس على إبطالها أو إطفاء نورها بقتل النبي أو إيذائه بما يمنعه عن التبليغ. فالآية لا تنفي كل أذى، بل تنفي الأذى الذي يصل إلى حد إبطال الدعوة.

The meaning of ‘ismah is the divine protection related to the conveying of the Message, such that people will have no power to nullify it or extinguish its light by killing the Prophet or harming him in a way that prevents him from delivering it. The verse does not negate all harm, but rather the harm that would reach the point of invalidating the call [of the mission].

— Allamah Sayyed Muhammad Husayn Tabatabai, Tafsir al-Mizan, Volume 6, Commentary on Surah al-Ma’idah Verse 67

The Hirz of Imam al-Jawad, therefore, is a reflection of this promise—a tangible means through which a believer can seek refuge in that same divine power that protects the core of the faith itself.

Second, God does not just offer protection; He commands us to actively seek it through supplication (dua). The act of calling upon Him is the essential cord that connects the servant to the Lord.

The promise of an answer is absolute, tied only to the sincerity of the call:

ادْعُونِي أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ

“Call upon Me; I will answer you.”

— Qur’an, Surah al-Ghafir (The Chapter of the Forgiver) #40, Verse 60

The Hirz is a pre-formulated, divinely-inspired supplication.

It is a perfect dua, crafted by an infallible Imam, that gives the believer the most beautiful and effective words with which to call upon God. It is a divine script for seeking divine help.

And third, the entire system of divine protection and supplication rests on the foundational principle of absolute reliance (tawakkul) on God. The protection of the Hirz is not activated by the ink on the page, but by the certainty in the heart of the one who carries it. The Qur’an gives the ultimate assurance to those who place their complete trust in Him:

وَمَن يَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ فَهُوَ حَسْبُهُ

“And whoever relies on God—then He is sufficient for him.”

— Qur’an, Surah at-Talaq (The Chapter of the Divorce) #65, Verse 3

Ayatollah Jawadi-Amoli, in Tafsir Tasnim, explains that tawakkul is not passivity; it is the highest form of spiritual action.

It is to tie one’s camel and then entrust the outcome to God.

‏توکل آن است که انسان از اسباب عادی غفلت نورزد، اما دل به آنها نبندد و بداند که سبب حقیقی فقط خداست. دعاهای مأثور، مانند حرز امام جواد (ع)، از بهترین اسباب معنوی هستند که انسان را به این توکل حقیقی می رسانند.

Tawakkul is that a person does not neglect the ordinary means, but does not attach their heart to them, knowing that the only true cause is God. The transmitted supplications, like the Hirz of Imam al-Jawad (peace be upon him), are among the best of spiritual means that connect a person to this true state of reliance.

— Ayatollah Abdullah Jawadi-Amoli, Tafsir Tasnim, Volume 1, Commentary on Surah al-Fatihah, Section on Iyyaka Na’budu wa Iyyaka Nasta’in

The Hirz, therefore, is a practical tool for building this reliance.

It is a constant, physical reminder that our ultimate sufficiency comes only from Him.

With these three Qur’anic pillars in place, we can now explore the story of how this fortress of faith was gifted to the Ummah.

A Fortress in a Time of Fear: The Story of the Hirz

To truly understand the gift of the Hirz, we must first transport ourselves to the world in which it was given.

The era of Imam Muhammad al-Jawad was a time of escalating pressure and pervasive fear. The sophisticated hypocrisy of Ma’mun had given way to the overt and brutal hostility of caliphs like al-Mu’tasim.

The Imam was a virtual prisoner, held under constant surveillance in Baghdad, and his followers—the Shia—were a persecuted community, watched, marginalised, and often punished for their allegiance.

This atmosphere of fear was not abstract; it was a daily reality of survival.

The state actively sought to sever the bond between the Imam and his followers.

In such a world, the need for protection was a visceral, pressing concern.

Believers sought not only intellectual guidance from their Imam but also a spiritual refuge from the anxiety and danger that surrounded them.

It is from this crucible of fear and faith that the story of the Hirz emerges.

The great scholar Sayyid Ibn Tawus, in his treasured book of supplications, Muhaj al-Da’awat, records the beautiful narration of how this fortress of words was bestowed.

رُوِيَ أَنَّ الْمَأْمُونَ بَعْدَ أَنْ زَوَّجَ ابْنَتَهُ أُمَّ الْفَضْلِ مِنَ الْإِمَامِ الْجَوَادِ (ع)، كَانَ دَائِماً يَغْتَاظُ مِنْهُ لِعُلُوِّ مَقَامِهِ وَفَضْلِهِ. وَذَاتَ يَوْمٍ، وَقَدِ امْتَلَأَ قَلْبُهُ غَيْظاً، كَتَبَ الْإِمَامُ (ع) هَذَا الْحِرْزَ لِأَحَدِ خَوَاصِّهِ لِيَحْمِلَهُ، لِيَكُونَ لَهُ حِصْناً مِنَ الْبَلَاءِ وَالْآفَاتِ. وَقَالَ لَهُ: “ضَعْهُ فِي قَصَبَةِ فِضَّةٍ وَعَلِّقْهُ عَلَيْكَ”.

It is narrated that after the Caliph Ma’mun had married his daughter, Umm al-Fadl, to Imam al-Jawad (peace be upon him), the Caliph was in a constant state of rage against the Imam, resentful of his lofty station and virtue. One day, when Ma’mun’s heart was filled with anger, the Imam (peace be upon him) wrote this Hirz for one of his trusted companions to carry, so that it might be for him a fortress (hisn) from calamities and tribulations. And the Imam said to him: “Place it inside a silver tube and keep it on your person.”

— Sayyed Ibn Tawus, Muhaj al-Da’awat wa Manhaj al-’Ibadat (The Spirits of Supplications and the Method of Worships), Page 58

This story is profoundly moving. It shows the Imam, himself the target of the tyrant’s rage, thinking not of his own safety, but of the safety of his followers.

His response to the threat of worldly power was to gift his people a direct link to the ultimate power of God. He did not give them a sword, but a supplication. He did not offer a political strategy, but a spiritual sanctuary.

The text of the Hirz he bestowed is a masterpiece of concise and powerful devotion.

The short version, which has been carried by believers for centuries, is a direct appeal to God through His most luminous attributes:

يا نُورُ، يا بُرهانُ، يا مُبينُ، يا مُنيرُ، يا ربِّ، اكفِني الشُّرورَ ورَزايا الدُّهورِ، وأسألُكَ النَّجاةَ يومَ يُنفَخُ في الصُّورِ.

O Light, O Proof, O Manifest, O Illuminating! O Lord, suffice me against the evils and the calamities of time, and I ask You for salvation on the Day the Trumpet is blown.

— Sayyed Ibn Tawus, Muhaj al-Da’awat wa Manhaj al-’Ibadat (The Spirits of Supplications and the Method of Worships), Page 58
— Allamah Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, Volume 91, Kitab al-Dhikr wa al-Dua (The Book of Remembrance and Supplication), Chapter 33
— Shaykh Abbas Qummi, Mafatih al-Jinan (Keys to the Heavens), The Hirz is found in the section following the chapter on the Ziyarahs of the Imams, specifically under the heading for the supplications and protective prayers attributed to Imam al-Jawad. It’s typically listed as the “Short Hirz for Protection.”

Notice the beauty and depth of this prayer.

It begins by invoking God as the absolute source of all light, proof, and clarity—the very things that dispel the darkness of fear and confusion.

It then asks for two levels of protection: sufficiency against the “evils and calamities of time” (worldly protection) and, most importantly, “salvation on the Day the Trumpet is blown” (ultimate protection in the hereafter).

The Hirz is a Banner of Tawhid, Not an Idol

Here we must pause to confront a profound and dangerous misunderstanding.

Some, out of ignorance or malice, look upon the practice of carrying a Hirz and label it shirk (polytheism), claiming that it is a reliance on a created object instead of the Creator.

This is a falsehood built on a complete misrepresentation of Islamic theology.

The Hirz is not an amulet with inherent magical power; it is a banner of pure monotheism (tawhid).

Its power does not reside in the parchment or the silver casing, but in the words written upon it and the intention within the heart of the one who carries it.

The Qur’an itself establishes the principle of seeking blessings (tabarruk) through sacred objects linked to God’s chosen ones, not as idols, but as conduits of divine mercy.

When the sons of Prophet Jacob (Ya’qub) brought him the shirt of Prophet Joseph (Yusuf), he did not cast it aside as an idol.

He touched it to his face:

فَلَمَّا أَن جَاءَ الْبَشِيرُ أَلْقَاهُ عَلَىٰ وَجْهِهِ فَارْتَدَّ بَصِيرًا

And when the bearer of good tidings came, he cast it over his face, and he became seeing.

— Qur’an, Surah Yusuf (The Chapter of Joseph) #12, Verse 96.

Was Prophet Jacob (Ya’qub) committing shirk?

Of course not.

He understood that the shirt was not the source of the cure, but it was a means (wasilah), saturated with the grace of a Prophet, through which God’s healing power manifested.

The Hirz functions on this same principle.

It is a physical anchor for a spiritual reality.

The great gnostic and philosopher of our time, Ayatollah Hasanzadeh Amoli, who was renowned for personally writing the Hirz of Imam al-Jawad on deerskin for believers, understood this reality perfectly.

He taught that the physical act of writing and carrying the Hirz is a way of engraving the remembrance of God onto the soul.

‏نوشتن و به همراه داشتن حرز، صرفاً یک عمل فیزیکی نیست، بلکه تجسّم ذکر و توسل است. این کلمات نورانی که از قلب معصوم برآمده، انسان را در حصن حصین الهی قرار می‌دهد. شرک آن است که از غیر خدا استمداد کنی، اما حرز عین استمداد از خدا به وسیله کلمات اولیای اوست. این توحید محض است.

The act of writing and carrying a Hirz is not merely a physical act, but an embodiment of remembrance (dhikr) and seeking a means (tawassul). These luminous words, which have emerged from the heart of an infallible, place a person within the impenetrable fortress of God. Shirk is to seek help from other than God, but the Hirz is the very essence of seeking help from God through the words of His chosen friends (awliya’). This is pure monotheism.

— Ayatollah Hasan Hasanzadeh Amoli, from his lessons on ethics and spirituality, as recorded by his students in the collection Hezar-o Yek Nokteh (هزار و یک نکته - A Thousand and One Points), Point #971

The Hirz is a constant reminder.

In a moment of fear, the believer feels the silver casing on their arm and remembers the words within.

They remember the Imam who gifted it.

And through that memory, they remember God, the ultimate Protector.

The physical object is a tool for spiritual focus, pointing the heart away from the immediate threat and towards the eternal source of all security.

Call to Clarify: A Banner of Tawhid, Not an Idol of Shirk

Here, our first clarification must be decisive.

We must educate ourselves and our communities to understand the profound difference between a tool of tawhid and an idol of shirk.

An idol is an object worshipped as an independent source of power.

The Hirz is the exact opposite: it is a declaration that there is no power except God’s. It is a written supplication, a banner of reliance, and a gift from the Imam that constantly reorients the heart back to the Creator.

Furthermore, the story of the Hirz teaches us that the Imam’s leadership is holistic.

A true divine guide does not only provide abstract theological rulings; he ministers to the complete human being. When his followers were afraid, Imam al-Jawad not only gave them direct guidance on virtues like patience and reliance, but also gifted them a practical tool to find refuge in God.

Our duty, therefore, is to clarify that carrying a Hirz is not an act of superstition, but a sophisticated spiritual practice of remembrance and reliance, demonstrating that the Imamate is a source of both profound teaching and active spiritual refuge.

The Fortress of Faith: Understanding the Theology of the Hirz

Having understood the story of why the Hirz was given, we must now delve into the profound question of what it is.

This is the theological heart of our discussion.

The word “Hirz” (حِرْز) in Arabic literally means a fortress, a sanctuary, a refuge, or a fortified place.

The Hirz of Imam al-Jawad is, therefore, a spiritual fortress—a sanctuary of words gifted by the Imam to protect the believer.

This concept is not alien to our faith; it is woven into its very fabric.

The Qur’anic Principle of Spiritual Protection

Why does a believer instinctively recite Ayat al-Kursi when they feel afraid?

اللَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ ۚ لَا تَأْخُذُهُ سِنَةٌ وَلَا نَوْمٌ ۚ لَّهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ ۗ مَن ذَا الَّذِي يَشْفَعُ عِندَهُ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِ ۚ يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ ۖ وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِشَيْءٍ مِّنْ عِلْمِهِ إِلَّا بِمَا شَاءَ ۚ وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ ۖ وَلَا يَئُودُهُ حِفْظُهُمَا ۚ وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْعَظِيمُ

لَا إِكْرَاهَ فِي الدِّينِ ۖ قَد تَّبَيَّنَ الرُّشْدُ مِنَ الْغَيِّ ۚ فَمَن يَكْفُرْ بِالطَّاغُوتِ وَيُؤْمِن بِاللَّهِ فَقَدِ اسْتَمْسَكَ بِالْعُرْوَةِ الْوُثْقَىٰ لَا انفِصَامَ لَهَا ۗ وَاللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ

اللَّهُ وَلِيُّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا يُخْرِجُهُم مِّنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ ۖ وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا أَوْلِيَاؤُهُمُ الطَّاغُوتُ يُخْرِجُونَهُم مِّنَ النُّورِ إِلَى الظُّلُمَاتِ ۗ أُولَٰئِكَ أَصْحَابُ النَّارِ ۖ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ

God—there is no god but Him, the Ever‑Living, the Sustainer of all existence. Neither drowsiness nor sleep overtakes Him. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. Who could intercede with Him except by His permission? He knows what is before them and what is behind them, and they encompass nothing of His knowledge except what He wills. His Throne extends over the heavens and the earth, and safeguarding them both does not weary Him. He is the Most High, the Most Great.

There shall be no compulsion in religion. The right path has become clearly distinct from error. So whoever rejects tyrannical forces and believes in God has grasped the most trustworthy handhold, which will never break. And God is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.

God is the Protector of those who believe; He brings them out from darkness into light. As for those who disbelieve, their protectors are tyrannical forces, who lead them out of light into darkness. These are the inhabitants of the Fire, and they will abide therein eternally.

— Qur’an, Surah al-Baqarah (The Chapter of the Cow) #2, Verse 255 to 257

Why do we teach our children to recite the four Quls before sleeping?

These sacred verses—Surahs al-Kafirun, al-Ikhlas, al-Falaq, and al-Naas—are fortresses of remembrance:

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
قُلْ يَا أَيُّهَا الْكَافِرُونَ
لَا أَعْبُدُ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ
وَلَا أَنْتُمْ عَابِدُونَ مَا أَعْبُدُ
وَلَا أَنَا عَابِدٌ مَّا عَبَدتُّمْ
وَلَا أَنْتُمْ عَابِدُونَ مَا أَعْبُدُ
لَكُمْ دِينُكُمْ وَلِيَ دِينِ

In the Name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate

Say: O You Conceal the Truth, I do not worship what you worship, nor are you worshippers of what I worship, and I will not be a worshipper of what you have worshipped, nor will you be worshippers of what I worship. For you your religion, and for me mine.

— Qur’an, Surah al-Kafirun (The Chapter of The Concealers of Truth) #109, Verses 1 to 6

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ
اللَّهُ الصَّمَدُ
لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ
وَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌ

In the Name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate

Say: He is God—One and Only, God, the Absolute Refuge. He neither begets nor is begotten, and there is none comparable to Him.

— Qur’an, Surah al-Ikhlas (The Chapter of Sincerity) #112, Verses 1 to 4

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ الْفَلَقِ
مِن شَرِّ مَا خَلَقَ
وَمِن شَرِّ غَاسِقٍ إِذَا وَقَبَ
وَمِن شَرِّ النَّفَّاثَاتِ فِي الْعُقَدِ
وَمِن شَرِّ حَاسِدٍ إِذَا حَسَدَ

In the Name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate

Say: I seek refuge with the Lord of daybreak from the evil of what He has created, and from the evil of the dark night when it settles, and from the evil of those who blow on knots, and from the evil of the envier when he envies.

— Qur’an, Surah al-Falaq (The Chapter of The Daybreak) #113, Verses 1 to 5

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ النَّاسِ
مَلِكِ النَّاسِ
إِلَـٰهِ النَّاسِ
مِن شَرِّ الْوَسْوَاسِ الْخَنَّاسِ
الَّذِي يُوَسْوِسُ فِي صُدُورِ النَّاسِ
مِنَ الْجِنَّةِ وَالنَّاسِ

In the Name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate

Say: I seek refuge with the Lord of humankind, the Sovereign of humankind, the God of humankind, from the evil of the stealthy whisperer, who whispers into people’s hearts, from among jinn and humankind.

— Qur’an, Surah al-Naas (The Chapter of Humankind) #114, Verses 1 to 6

They do not merely protect through sound or ritual, but through their meaning: each re-centres the heart upon the Oneness and Sovereignty of God.

Does the power lie in the sound waves of our voice?

No.

The power lies with God, and these verses are our divinely prescribed means to refocus our hearts and turn towards Him as the only true source of security.

Words as Living Fortresses

The great mystic and scholar Ayatollah Bahjat explained this phenomenon beautifully, teaching that the words of the Qur’an and the Ahl al-Bayt are living conduits of divine power:

‏کلمات قرآن و ادعیه معصومین (ع) دارای قدرت تکوینی هستند. اینها صرفاً الفاظ نیستند، بلکه حقایقی زنده اند که در عالم تأثیر می گذارند. وقتی شما با ایمان و توجه آیت الکرسی می خوانید، در واقع خود را در حصن الهی قرار می دهید. حرز نیز همین گونه است.

The words of the Qur’an and the supplications of the Infallibles (peace be upon them) possess a creative power (qudrat-e takwini). They are not mere utterances, but living realities that have an effect on the universe. When you recite Ayat al-Kursi with faith and attention, you are, in reality, placing yourself within the divine fortress. The Hirz is exactly the same.

— Ayatollah Muhammad Taqi Bahjat, Dar Mahzar-e Bahjat, Volume 1, Page 302

The Symbol and the Source

This same principle extends to the well-established Islamic tradition of wearing specific rings—not as charms, but as reminders and conduits of blessing.

The most beloved of these is the Aqiq (عَقِيق), or carnelian stone.

تَخَتَّمْ بِالْيَمِينِ فَإِنَّهُ فَضِيلَةٌ مِنَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ لِلْمُقَرَّبِينَ... فَقَالَ عَلِيٌّ (ع): يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَبِمَا أَتَخَتَّمُ؟ قَالَ: بِالْعَقِيقِ الْأَحْمَرِ، فَإِنَّهُ أَقَرَّ لِلَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ بِالْوَحْدَانِيَّةِ، وَلِي بِالنُّبُوَّةِ، وَلَكَ يَا عَلِيُّ بِالْوَصِيَّةِ.

Wear a ring on your right hand, for it is a virtue from God, the Mighty and Majestic, for those brought near to Him... Imam Ali (as) asked: “O Messenger of God, with what stone should I adorn my ring?” He replied: “With red Aqiq, for it was the first stone to affirm the Oneness of God, my Prophethood, and your successorship, O Ali.”

— Shaykh al-Saduq, ‘Ilal al-Shara’i’ (The Reasons for the Rulings), Volume 1, Page 158.

Another narration from Imam al-Sadiq adds:

الْعَقِيقُ حِرْزٌ فِي السَّفَرِ

The Aqiq is a protection (hirz) during a journey.

— Al-Kulayni, Al-Kafi, Volume 6, Page 471

Similarly, the ring of Hadid Sini (حَدِيد صِينِي)—hematite—is recommended in times of fear or when facing a tyrant.

It is not that the stone has power, but that wearing it with the correct intention and supplication serves as a shield.

Here, Ayatollah Misbah-Yazdi clarifies the theology behind such acts:

‏برخی اشیاء، نمادها و نشانه‌هایی هستند که توجه انسان را به سوی حقایق معنوی جلب می‌کنند. وقتی انسان انگشتر عقیق به دست می‌کند یا حرز را به همراه دارد، این شیء خارجی به عنوان یک یادآور عمل می‌کند و او را به یاد خدا و اولیای او می‌اندازد. این شرک نیست؛ این استفاده از اسباب برای تقویت ذکر و توجه است. ارزش در آن یادآوری است نه در خود شیء.

Certain objects are symbols and signs that draw a person’s attention towards spiritual realities. When a person wears an Aqiq ring or carries a Hirz, this external object acts as a reminder and causes him to remember God and His chosen friends (awliya’). This is not shirk; this is using means to strengthen remembrance and attentiveness. The value is in the remembrance it triggers, not in the object itself.

— Ayatollah Muhammad Taqi Misbah-Yazdi, Akhlaq dar Qur’an (Ethics in the Qur’an), Volume 1, Section on the Means of Attaining Proximity to God.

The Qur’anic Defence Against Misunderstanding

The accusation that using such sacred objects is a form of shirk (polytheism) collapses when confronted with the Qur’an itself.

The Holy Book establishes the principle of seeking blessings (tabarruk) from objects connected to God’s chosen guides.

The most powerful example is the story of Prophet Yusuf (Joseph) and his father Ya‘qub (Jacob):

اذْهَبُوا بِقَمِيصِي هَٰذَا فَأَلْقُوهُ عَلَىٰ وَجْهِ أَبِي يَأْتِ بَصِيرًا... فَلَمَّا أَن جَاءَ الْبَشِيرُ أَلْقَاهُ عَلَىٰ وَجْهِهِ فَارْتَدَّ بَصِيرًا

“Take this shirt of mine and cast it over the face of my father; he will regain his sight.” ... And when the bearer of good tidings came, he cast it over his face, and he became seeing.

— Qur’an, Surah Yusuf (The Chapter of Joseph) #12, Verses 93 & 96.

Was this great Prophet of God committing shirk by seeking a cure from a shirt?

Of course not. He understood that the shirt had no power of its own.

It was a conduit of divine mercy—a physical object saturated with the grace of another Prophet, through which God’s healing power chose to manifest.

Allamah Tabatabai explains this principle in Tafsir al-Mizan:

وفي القصة دلالة على جواز التبرك بآثار الأنبياء والصالحين من عباد الله، فإن القميص لم يكن إلا أثراً ليوسف، وقد أتى الله بالشفاء من خلاله. وهذا لا يعني أن القميص هو الشافي، بل الله هو الشافي، ولكنه جعل هذا الأثر سبباً ظاهرياً لرحمته.

In this story, there is a clear proof for the permissibility of seeking blessings (tabarruk) from the relics of the Prophets and the righteous servants of God. For the shirt was nothing but a relic of Joseph, yet God brought about the cure through it. This does not mean that the shirt was the healer; rather, God is the Healer, but He made this relic an apparent cause (sabab) for His mercy.

— Allamah Sayyed Muhammad Husayn Tabatabai, Tafsir al-Mizan, Volume 11, Commentary on Surah Yusuf Verse 96

The Hirz functions on this very principle.

It is not the words, paper, or ink that protect—but the divine remembrance they awaken and the spiritual connection they invoke.

The Sacred Logic of Means

These practices, along with the Hirz, are part of a larger theological principle: using sanctioned physical means to achieve a spiritual state.

The most profound example of this is the Turbah of Karbala.

We do not worship the clay; we place our foreheads—the highest part of our body—upon the dust associated with the greatest sacrifice for tawhid, and in that act of humility, we prostrate to God alone.

السُّجُودُ عَلَى تُرْبَةِ الْحُسَيْنِ (ع) يَخْرِقُ الْحُجُبَ السَّبْعَ

Prostration on the soil of al-Husayn (peace be upon him) pierces the seven veils.

— Shaykh al-Tusi, Misbah al-Mutahajjid, Page 511

The soil is not the goal; it is a gateway.

The ring is not the protector; it is a reminder of the Protector.

And the Hirz is not a talisman; it is a school of monotheism.

The School of Tawhid

Imam Khomeini powerfully categorised all such devotional acts as tools for awakening the heart:

ادعیه مأثوره از ائمه هدی (ع) علاوه بر آنکه گنجینه معارف الهی است، وسیله ارتباط با حق تعالی و مدرسه توحید است. اینها خرافات نیستند، بلکه حقایقی هستند برای بیدار کردن دلها از خواب غفلت.

The transmitted supplications from the Imams of Guidance (peace be upon them), in addition to being a treasure-trove of divine knowledge, are a means of connection to the Truth, the Exalted, and a school of monotheism (madrasa-ye tawhid). These are not superstitions; they are realities meant to awaken hearts from the sleep of heedlessness.

— Imam Ruhollah Khomeini, Adab al-Salat (The Disciplines of Prayer), Page 78, Section on the Importance of Supplication

Every word of the Hirz proves this.

It is a prayer directed exclusively to God.

It begins, “O Light, O Proof.”

It continues, “O Lord, suffice me.”

It ends with a plea for salvation.

It is a symphony of pure tawhid, from beginning to end.

Call to Clarify: A School of Tawhid in Your Hand

Here, our second clarification is vital.

We must train ourselves and our communities to see the Hirz, the Aqiq ring, and the Turbah not as magical charms, but as components of a sophisticated spiritual system.

They are all portable schools of monotheism.

Their purpose is to constantly refocus the heart towards God.

When you feel the Hirz, you are reminded of its words.

When you glance at your Aqiq ring, you are reminded of the covenant of tawhid.

When you touch your head to the Turbah, you are reminded of sacrifice for God.

Our duty is to clarify that these are tools for perfecting reliance (tawakkul), physical anchors for a spiritual reality that says in every moment: “My sufficiency is from God alone.”

Carrying the Fortress: The Etiquette and Spirit of the Hirz

Having explored the story and the profound theology of the Hirz, we arrive at the final dimension: the practice.

How does a believer carry this fortress?

The teachings of the Ahl al-Bayt provide us with a beautiful and deep etiquette (adab) for this devotional act.

This etiquette reveals that the Hirz is not a passive object to be worn, but an active covenant to be entered into, requiring both external purification and internal sincerity.

The External Etiquette: A Preparation of the Soul

The classical sources that narrate the story of the Hirz also describe a set of recommended actions for its preparation.

These steps are not a mere ritual; they are a spiritual process designed to prepare the believer to receive this divine gift with the reverence it deserves.

The full narration, as recorded in Muhaj al-Da’awat, specifies a beautiful sequence of purification and prayer:

فَإِذَا أَرَدْتَ حَمْلَهُ فَصَلِّ أَرْبَعَ رَكَعَاتٍ، تَقْرَأُ فِي الْأُولَى الْحَمْدَ مَرَّةً وَ “إِنَّا فَتَحْنَا” سَبْعَ مَرَّاتٍ، وَفِي الثَّانِيَةِ الْحَمْدَ مَرَّةً وَ “إِنَّا أَنْزَلْنَاهُ” سَبْعَ مَرَّاتٍ، وَفِي الثَّالِثَةِ الْحَمْدَ مَرَّةً وَ “آيَةَ الْكُرْسِيِّ” سَبْعَ مَرَّاتٍ، وَفِي الرَّابِعَةِ الْحَمْدَ مَرَّةً وَ “إِذَا جَاءَ نَصْرُ اللَّهِ” سَبْعَ مَرَّاتٍ. فَإِذَا سَلَّمْتَ فَاكْتُبِ الْحِرْزَ عَلَى رَقِّ غَزَالٍ وَضَعْهُ فِي قَصَبَةِ فِضَّةٍ.

When you intend to carry it, first pray four units of prayer. In the first unit, recite Surah al-Fatihah once and Surah al-Fath seven times. In the second, recite Surah al-Fatihah once and Surah al-Qadr seven times. In the third, recite Surah al-Fatihah once and Ayat al-Kursi seven times. And in the fourth, recite Surah al-Fatihah once and Surah al-Nasr seven times. When you have given the salutations to complete the prayer, then write the Hirz on the skin of a deer and place it inside a silver tube.

— Sayyed Ibn Tawus, Muhaj al-Da’awat wa Manhaj al-’Ibadat, Page 59.

This preparatory prayer is a profound lesson.

But why such specific steps?

Why the purification and the prayer?

It is to create a state of spiritual receptivity.

You cannot receive a divine gift with a heedless heart.

Ayatollah Jawadi-Amoli explains the deep philosophy behind such ritual preparations.

He teaches that just as a farmer must prepare the soil before planting a seed, a believer must prepare their soul before receiving a divine effusion of grace.

‏همانطور که برای پذیرش یک مهمان عزیز، خانه را آماده و پاکیزه می کنیم، برای پذیرش فیض الهی نیز باید روح را آماده کرد. طهارت، نماز، و توجه قلبی، اینها همه آماده سازی روح است. اینها آدابی هستند که ظرفیت وجودی انسان را برای دریافت رحمت خاص خداوند افزایش می دهند. بدون این آمادگی، حتی بزرگترین رحمت ها نیز ممکن است بی اثر بمانند، همانطور که باران بر سنگ سخت اثری ندارد.

Just as we prepare and cleanse our house to receive a dear guest, so too must the soul be prepared to receive divine grace (faydh). Purification, prayer, and attentiveness of the heart—these are all preparations of the soul. These are the etiquettes that increase a person’s existential capacity to receive the special mercy of God. Without this readiness, even the greatest of mercies may remain ineffective, just as rain has no effect on hard stone.

— Ayatollah Abdullah Jawadi-Amoli, Mafatih al-Hayat (Keys to Life), Chapter on the Etiquette of Supplication

This powerful analogy clarifies everything.

The etiquette of the Hirz is not a set of arbitrary rules.

It is the spiritual act of “tilling the soil” of the soul, making it soft and ready to receive the seed of divine protection.

The physical purification of ablution symbolizes a spiritual cleansing, and the prayer is a conscious act of turning one’s full attention to the Source of all power.

You cannot receive a divine fortress while your heart is made of “hard stone.”

The Internal Spirit: The Soul of the Action

This external etiquette, however beautiful, is merely the vessel. The true power, the very soul of the Hirz, lies in the internal spirit of the one who carries it.

The most meticulously prepared Hirz, carried with a heedless or insincere heart, is little more than a silver ornament.

Its spiritual effect is unlocked only by the key of sincerity (ikhlas) and genuine reliance (tawakkul).

This is the foundational principle of all Islamic worship, as established by the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) in his most famous declaration:

إِنَّمَا الْأَعْمَالُ بِالنِّيَّاتِ، وَإِنَّمَا لِكُلِّ امْرِئٍ مَا نَوَى

Verily, actions are but by intentions, and for every person is what they intended.

— Al-Kulayni, Al-Kafi, Volume 1, Kitab al-’Aql wa al-Jahl (The Book of Intellect and Ignorance), Hadeeth 1

The Hirz is a physical action, but its value is determined by the intention behind it.

If the intention is to rely on a physical object, the act is hollowed out.

But if the intention is to use this object as a constant reminder to rely on God, the act becomes a profound expression of tawhid.

The purpose of carrying the Hirz is not to forget about God, but to make forgetting Him impossible.

Imam Khamenei, in explaining the spirit of devotional acts, emphasizes this very point. The outward form of a ritual is designed to cultivate an inward reality.

‏روح عبادت، توجه و حضور قلب است. اگر این توجه نباشد، عمل قالبی بی‌جان خواهد بود. ادعیه و اذکار، ابزارهایی هستند برای ایجاد این حضور. هدف، خودِ این کلمات نیست، بلکه آن حالتی است که این کلمات در دل ایجاد می‌کنند.

The spirit of worship is attentiveness and presence of the heart (tawajjuh wa hudur-e qalb). If this attention is absent, the action will be a lifeless shell. Supplications and remembrances are tools to create this state of presence. The goal is not the words themselves, but the spiritual state that these words create in the heart.

— Imam Khamenei, A General Outline of Islamic Thought in the Qur’an, Lecture 12, Section on “The Spirit of Worship.” (Originally delivered in Mashhad, Ramadhan 1353 SH / 1974 CE).

Therefore, the true etiquette of carrying the Hirz is to carry it with a heart that is present.

When you feel its weight on your arm, it should trigger a state of remembrance.

It should remind you of the Imam’s generosity, of the beautiful words of supplication it contains, and above all, of God’s promise to be sufficient for the one who relies on Him.

It transforms a simple physical sensation into a moment of active spiritual reorientation—a moment of refocusing.

Call to Clarify: The Spirit Before the Symbol

Here, our third and final clarification is paramount.

We must teach and understand that the etiquette of the Hirz is not a superstitious checklist, but a program for spiritual cultivation.

The physical acts of purification and prayer are the outer shell, but the kernel, the soul of the matter, is the internal state of sincerity and presence of heart.

Our duty is to clarify that carrying the Hirz is an active commitment, not a passive possession. It is to carry a reminder of our covenant of reliance on God. The symbol on our arm is only as powerful as the spirit within our heart.

A Sanctuary of Purity: The Mother of the Tenth Light

The story of the Hirz reveals how Imam al-Jawad created a spiritual fortress for his followers amidst a world of hostility. Yet, God, in His infinite mercy, also provided the Imam himself with a sanctuary—a home blessed with a tranquility, piety, and purity that stood in stark contrast to the barren political theatre of his marriage to Umm al-Fadl.

While that union, imposed by the Caliph, remained childless and was a source of trial, the sacred light of the Imamate was destined to continue.

While the court buzzed with the politics of his royal marriage, Imam al-Jawad was engaged in a far more sacred selection process, guided not by worldly strategy but by divine foreknowledge.

The story of her selection is itself a profound miracle, a testament to the Imam’s divine foreknowledge. The historian al-Mas’udi records:

حُكِيَ أَنَّ أَبَا جَعْفَرٍ (ع) أَخْبَرَ أَحَدَ وَكَالائِهِ أَنَّهُ سَيَقْدَمُ عَلَيْهِ غَداً نَخَّاسٌ مَعَهُ جَوَارٍ، وَوَصَفَ لَهُ صِفَةَ إِحْدَاهُنَّ، وَأَمَرَهُ بِابْتِيَاعِهَا بِمَالٍ مُعَيَّنٍ. فَلَمَّا كَانَ مِنَ الْغَدِ، قَدِمَ النَّخَّاسُ وَمَعَهُ الْجَوَارِي، وَكَانَتْ إِحْدَاهُنَّ بِالصِّفَةِ الَّتِي وَصَفَهَا أَبُو جَعْفَرٍ (ع). فَابْتَاعَهَا الْوَكِيلُ، وَهِيَ أُمُّ أَبِي الْحَسَنِ (ع).

It is narrated that Abu Ja’far [Imam al-Jawad] (peace be upon him) informed one of his agents that on the next day, a slave-merchant would arrive with a group of bondwomen (jawari). He gave the agent a precise description of one of them and instructed him to purchase her with a specific amount of money. When the next day came, the merchant arrived with the bondwomen, and one of them matched the exact description that Abu Ja’far (peace be upon him) had given. The agent, therefore, purchased her, and she was the mother of Abu al-Hasan [Imam al-Hadi] (peace be upon him).

— Al-Mas’udi, Ithbat al-Wasiyyah li’l-Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, Page 228.

This was not a random choice; the Imam provided a description of her, indicating that he already knew of her existence and her divine destiny through the light of his Imamate.

This act itself is a profound miracle.

While the Caliph chose his daughter to serve his own ambitions, the Imam, guided by God, sought out a pure soul destined to serve the ambitions of heaven.

The agent found Sayyedah Sumanah, a noble lady from the region of al-Maghrib (North Africa), and she was brought into the Imam’s household.

Upon entering the Imam’s sacred household, Sayyedah Sumanah’s innate purity and devotion blossomed.

She was not known for worldly status but for her spiritual rank.

The historical sources are unanimous in their praise of her character, describing her as one of the most ascetic and devout women of her time, constantly engaged in fasting and worship.

She was known as one of the ‘abidat (devout worshippers) and qanat (obedient servants of God). Her entire being was oriented towards God, making her the perfect spiritual environment to nurture the next Imam.

Upon entering the Imam’s sacred household, Sayyedah Sumanah’s innate purity and devotion blossomed. She was stepping into an environment that was not just a home, but a living sanctuary of divine remembrance, a stark contrast to the worldly court of the Caliph.

The household of an Imam is a practical school of monotheism, where every action and every word is oriented towards God.

Ayatollah Misbah-Yazdi explains this reality, noting that the homes of the Ahl al-Bayt were epicentres of spirituality that naturally nurtured souls of the highest caliber.

‏خانه امام معصوم (ع) صرفاً یک سکونتگاه نیست، بلکه کانون توحید و مرکز تجلی اسماء الهی است. هر کس وارد این فضا می‌شد، در معرض نسیم رحمت الهی قرار می‌گرفت. زنانی که به همسری ائمه در می‌آمدند، اگر دارای زمینه روحی پاک بودند، این محیط بهترین بستر برای رشد و کمال معنوی آنان بود.

The house of an Infallible Imam (peace be upon him) is not merely a residence; it is an epicentre of monotheism (kanun-e tawhid) and a center for the manifestation of the divine names. Anyone who entered this space was exposed to the breezes of divine mercy. The women who became the wives of the Imams, if they possessed a pure spiritual disposition, found this environment to be the best ground for their spiritual growth and perfection.

— Ayatollah Muhammad Taqi Misbah-Yazdi, Rahnema-ye Rasti (A Guide to the Straight Path), Section on the Household of the Ahl al-Bayt, Page 254

It was in this perfect spiritual environment that Sayyedah Sumanah’s piety flourished, making her the ideal vessel to nurture the next divine proof. It is this profound devotion that her own son would later bear witness to with his powerful words.

The Vessel of Divine Light

Sayyedah Sumanah was not of royal lineage, but her nobility was of a much higher order. She was known as one of the qanat—the most devout and ascetic women of her time.

Historical sources describe her as a woman of exemplary piety, constantly engaged in fasting and worship. Imam Ali al-Hadi would later say of his own mother:

أُمِّي عَارِفَةٌ بِحَقِّي، وَ هِيَ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ، لَا يَقْرَبُهَا شَيْطَانٌ مَرِيدٌ، وَ لَا يَنَالُهَا كَيْدُ جَبَّارٍ عَنِيدٍ، وَ هِيَ مَكْلُوءَةٌ بِعَيْنِ اللَّهِ الَّتِي لَا تَنَامُ

My mother is one who has profound insight (‘arifah) into my right, and she is from the people of Paradise. A rebellious satan cannot come near her, nor can the deception of a stubborn tyrant reach her. She is protected by the eye of God that never sleeps.

— Al-Kulayni, Al-Kafi, Volume 1, Kitab al-Hujjah, Chapter on the Birth of Imam Ali al-Hadi.

This testimony from an Infallible Imam reveals her immense spiritual station.

She was not merely a wife, but a divinely protected vessel, chosen to nurture the next Proof of God.

This reality connects to one of the most profound statements about the Imamate, found in the sacred text of Ziyarat Warith, where we bear witness to the purity of this sacred lineage:

أَشْهَدُ أَنَّكَ كُنْتَ نُوراً فِي الْأَصْلَابِ الشَّامِخَةِ وَ الْأَرْحَامِ الْمُطَهَّرَةِ

I bear witness that you were a light in the sublime loins and the purified wombs.

— Shaykh Abbas al-Qummi, Mafatih al-Jinan, Ziyarat al-Waritha

The mothers of the Imams are not chosen by accident.

They are selected by God for their purity, to be the sanctified ground in which the seed of divine light can be planted.

As Ayatollah Jawadi-Amoli explains, the selection of the mothers of the Imams is as divinely ordained as the selection of the Imams themselves.

‏همانطور که امامت یک مقام الهی و انتصابی است، مادران ائمه نیز باید ظرفیت پذیرش این نور الهی را داشته باشند. این ظرفیت، تقوا و طهارت باطنی است، نه حسب و نسب دنیوی. خداوند برای ولیّ خود، پاکترین رحم‌ها را برمی‌گزیند. این یک اصل تکوینی در نظام امامت است.

Just as the Imamate is a divine and appointed station, the mothers of the Imams must also possess the capacity to receive this divine light. This capacity is piety and inner purity (taqwa wa taharat-e batini), not worldly status or lineage. God selects the purest of wombs for His Wali (guardian). This is a creative, existential principle (asl-e takwini) within the system of the Imamate.

— Ayatollah Abdullah Jawadi-Amoli, Wilayat-e Faqih: Wilayat-e Fuqahat wa ‘Adalat (Guardianship of the Jurist: Guardianship of Jurisprudence and Justice), Page 112.

This principle stands as a powerful rebuke to the worldly logic of the Abbasids.

Ma’mun chose his daughter for political gain, but his choice remained spiritually barren. God chose Sayyedah Sumanah for her piety, and her union with the Imam was blessed with the greatest fruit: the continuation of the holy lineage. It was she who became the mother of Imam Ali al-Hadi (peace be upon him), the tenth light of guidance.

Call to Clarify

Purity Over Power, Piety Over Pedigree

Here, a vital clarification emerges. The story of these two wives teaches us a timeless lesson about God’s value system versus the world’s.

The world honours political power, royal pedigree, and strategic alliances.

But the divine gaze looks upon the heart. God‘s sacred trust of the Imamate is nurtured not in the wombs of princesses chosen for political ends, but in the purified wombs of women chosen for their piety and devotion.

Our duty is to clarify that true nobility lies in nearness to God, not nearness to a throne.

We must honour the legacy of women like Sayyedah Sumanah, whose spiritual substance outweighed all the superficial status of the royal court, and who teach us that the continuation of God’s light on earth is a matter of purity, not power.

Conclusion

The Martyrdom of the Generous Imam

So concludes our journey into the fortress of the Hirz. We began with its story, born from a time of fear. We delved into its theology, understanding it not as a talisman, but as a portable school of monotheism—a tool for refocusing the heart on God alone. And we ended with its spirit, learning that its true etiquette is the inner sincerity that transforms a physical symbol into an active covenant of reliance.

But a gift of such profound spiritual generosity can only be fully understood by returning our gaze to the Giver.

The Hirz was a manifestation of the soul of Imam Muhammad al-Jawad. His entire life—his wisdom, his courage, his generosity—was a sanctuary for the believers. It was this spiritual gravity, this innate ability to draw hearts to the truth and provide them with refuge, that made him an intolerable threat to the Abbasid state.

The Caliph al-Mu’tasim, successor to Ma’mun, saw that neither the gilded cage of the court nor constant surveillance could dim the Imam’s growing influence.

He recognised that as long as the Imam lived, the legitimacy of the caliphate would always be in question. Unable to defeat him in debate or discredit him in character, the state resorted to the familiar, cowardly weapon of the tyrants: poison.

Tragically, and in a devastating sign of the court’s corruption, the instrument of this crime was the Imam’s own wife, Umm al-Fadl. The great early scholar al-Ayyashi narrates the painful details of this betrayal, an account preserved by Allamah al-Majlisi in his monumental work, Bihar al-Anwar.

رَوَى الْعَيَّاشِيُّ بِإِسْنَادِهِ أَنَّ الْمُعْتَصِمَ جَعَلَ يَعْمَلُ الْحِيلَةَ فِي قَتْلِ أَبِي جَعْفَرٍ (ع) فَجَعَلَ لِأُمِّ الْفَضْلِ امْرَأَتِهِ سُمًّا فِي شَيْءٍ مِنَ الْعِنَبِ... فَلَمَّا أَكَلَ مِنْهُ نَدِمَتْ وَ بَكَتْ فَقَالَ مَا بُكَاؤُكِ وَ اللَّهِ لَيَضْرِبَنَّكِ اللَّهُ بِفَقْرٍ لَا يَنْجَبِرُ وَ بِبَلَاءٍ لَا يُسْتَتَرُ

Al-Ayyashi narrates through his chain of transmission that al-Mu’tasim was constantly devising plots to kill Abu Ja’far [Imam al-Jawad] (peace be upon him). He gave poison to Umm al-Fadl, his wife, to place in some grapes... When he (the Imam) had eaten from it, she regretted what she had done and began to weep. So he said to her: “Why are you weeping? By God, He will strike you with a poverty that can never be mended, and with an affliction that can never be concealed.”

— Allamah al-Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, Volume 50, Page 17, citing Tafsir al-Ayyashi.

In the year 220 AH, in Baghdad, the life of the Imam of Youthful Authority was brought to a premature end. He was martyred at the heartbreakingly young age of just twenty-five. He was killed not for any crime, but for the unforgivable offense of being a living Proof of God in an era of falsehood. A system built on lies cannot coexist with an embodiment of divine truth.

In this very act of treachery, we witness the ultimate failure of the Abbasid scheme. Their entire political project, symbolised by the marriage to Umm al-Fadl, was to co-opt and control the sacred lineage.

Yet that union remained barren, a dead end. God’s plan, however, could not be thwarted.

The light of the Imamate was destined to continue, not through a princess chosen for worldly power, but through the purified womb of the devout and noble Sayyedah Sumanah al-Maghribiyyah.

The Caliph’s plot to weave his dynasty into the fabric of Imamate had failed; God’s light would instead shine through a vessel of pure faith.

This is the core lesson the tyrants of history never learn: the light of God cannot be extinguished by assassinating its bearer, nor can its path be dictated by their worldly schemes.

The moment the soul of Imam al-Jawad ascended, the mantle of divine authority passed seamlessly to his young son, our tenth Imam, Ali ibn Muhammad al-Hadi (peace be upon him).

In a stunning and powerful echo of his father’s own story, Imam al-Hadi was himself a child—only around eight years old—when he assumed the leadership of the Ummah, presenting the community with another profound test of its faith and loyalty.

The struggle would not only continue; it would intensify. The confrontation would move from the capital of Baghdad to the very heart of the Abbasid military machine, the new fortress-city of Samarra.

In our next session, God willing, we will begin our two-part series on the life of Imam al-Hadi, the first of the Imams to be imprisoned in that garrison town. We will witness how this young Imam navigated an even more intense siege, planted the seeds of a global network from within his confinement, and continued to pave the way for the era of the final, Awaited Imam.

A Supplication-Eulogy for Imam al-Jawad

The Covenant of the Generous Imam

In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

O God,
send Your blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad.
Send peace upon the Imam of Youthful Authority,
the ninth treasurer of Your knowledge,
the generous gateway to Your mercy,
Muhammad ibn Ali al-Jawad.

O God, we thank You for guiding us through his luminous,
though tragically short, life.

We witnessed Your wisdom manifest in a child,
Your proof silence the arrogant,
and Your light shine from within the gilded cage of a tyrant’s court.

O Lord,
just as You made him al-Jawad, The Generous One,
we ask You to bestow upon us a portion of that generosity—
a generosity of spirit to share knowledge,
a generosity of courage to speak truth,
and a generosity of heart to protect the vulnerable.

Grant us the clarity he embodied,
the clarity that distinguishes divine truth from pious hypocrisy.

Grant us refuge in the fortress of his Hirz,
not in its silver casing,
but in its profound meaning:
that You alone are our Sufficiency, our Protector, our Light, and our Proof.

O God,
our hearts ache for his sorrow.

Yet in the midst of this sorrow,
we find solace in Your perfect plan.
For while he was betrayed by a wife chosen for worldly power,
You provided for him a sanctuary of purity in the person of his noble wife, Sayyedah Sumanah al-Maghribiyyah.

She was the “purified womb” You chose,
the vessel of piety through whom the sacred light of the Imamate would continue.

Her legacy teaches us to honour the true builders of our Ummah:
the righteous women who are the nurturers of generations.

They are the first schools of love, resilience, and faith.

O Lord,
teach us to honour the sacred station of the righteous women in our lives—our mothers,
our wives,
our sisters,
and our daughters.

Expand our hearts to see every believing woman as our own kin.
Let our salaam to them never be an empty word,
but a living pledge.

Make our presence their sanctuary,
our words their shield against dishonour,
and our actions their fortress against all harm.

Make us protectors of their honour and supporters of their sacred role, just as Your Imam honoured the station of his chosen one.

We lament the loneliness of a young Imam in a palace of enemies,
and the poison of treachery that ended his life at only twenty-five.

We weep as Ziyarat al-Nahiya weeps for his grandfather,
for a sacred body left to the cruelty of his foes.
And in our grief,
we declare our eternal disassociation,
as taught in Ziyarat Ashura:

O God, exclude from Your mercy the first tyrant who wronged the rights of Muhammad and his family, and the last to follow him upon that path.

O our Master, O Imam al-Jawad,
we stand before you as the lamenter in Dua al-Nudbah stands, crying:

“Where is the remnant of God?”

Your life paved the way for the Awaited One,
your great-grandson, Imam al-Mahdi (may our souls be his ransom).

O God,
just as you tested the Ummah with the youth of Imam al-Jawad,
test us now with our steadfastness in the absence of Your final Proof.

Renew our covenant with him this morning,
and every morning of our lives,
as we pledge in Dua al-Ahd:

“O God, I commit to him my covenant, my allegiance, and my loyalty for as long as I shall live.”

Make us his helpers,
his defenders,
and those who hasten to fulfil his commands.

And in waiting for his justice,
make us agents of his justice.

Grant us the grace to stand with the oppressed of our time,
especially our brothers and sisters in Palestine and Gaza,
who face a genocide at the hands of the most deranged of Your creation.

Protect the children under the rubble,
strengthen the hands of the Resistance,
and grant victory to those who fight for the honour of this Ummah.

O God,
we disassociate ourselves from the silent,
the complicit,
and the hypocrites who arm the killer while weeping false tears for the slain.

Grant us a footing of truth,
as we ask in Dua Alqamah,
alongside Husayn and the companions of Husayn—
and alongside the martyrs of our own time who have irrigated the tree of freedom with their sacred blood.

O Lord,
like the supplicant in Dua Kumayl,
we come to You with our faults and our weaknesses.

Forgive us our heedlessness.
And like the seeker in Dua Abu Hamza,
we know that the path to You is through You.
Make the legacy of Imam al-Jawad a path to You.

Make our lives the life of Muhammad and his family,
and our deaths the death of Muhammad and his family.
And count us, on the Day the Trumpet is blown,
among those for whom Imam al-Jawad asked for salvation.

Amen, O Lord Sustainer of the Universes.
Amen, O Most Merciful of the Merciful

And from Him Alone is all ability, and He has authority over all things.