Muhammad al-Baqir

Muhammad ibn Ali al-Baqir (Arabic: محمد بن علي الباقر, romanized: Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī al-Bāqir; c. 676 – c. 732) was a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the fifth of the Twelve Imams, succeeding his father Ali al-Sajjad. He was the grandson of Husayn on his father’s side, the grandson of Hasan on his mother’s side, therefore a great-grandson of Ali. Al-Baqir was the first and only Shia Imam descended from both of Muhammad's grandsons. Born in Medina around 676, al-Baqir witnessed the brutal massacre of his grandfather Husayn and his relatives by the forces of the Umayyad caliph Yazid at the Battle of Karbala when he was still a small child. Upon his father's death, al-Baqir was recognised as the next Imam by most followers of his father around 712. These were the Imamites, the forerunners of Twelvers, which now constitute the overwhelming majority of Shia Muslims. Like his father, al-Baqir was politically quiescent but was nevertheless harassed by the Umayyads, especially by caliph Hisham.

Al-Baqir led a pious and scholarly life in Medina, attracting a growing number of followers, students, and visitors. He is credited with laying the doctrinal and legal foundations of Twelver Shia Islam during some twenty years of his Imamate. He significantly contributed to Twelver exegesis of the Quran, and is regarded as the father of Ismaili and Zaydi jurisprudence. Most of al-Baqir's disciples were based in Kufa, many of whom later became outstanding Shia jurists and traditionists. Al-Baqir is also regarded as an authority in law and prophetic tradition in Sunni Islam. Muhammad al-Baqir died around 732, poisoned by the Umayyads. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Ja'far al-Sadiq, who played a pivotal role in the development of Shia theology and jurisprudence. Al-Baqir is buried in the Baqi Cemetery in Medina. The shrine that stood over his grave was demolished, along with the cemetery itself, by Wahhabis in 1806 and again in 1925.

Source: Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_al-Baqir