he was a mere pretender, and that his creed was depraved, founded upon chicanery and outright heresy (1).

We now return to the remaining descendants of Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq. The greatest and most illustrious among them is his son:

118 – Mūsā al-Kāẓim, Abū al-Ḥasan al-ʿAlawī* (T, Q)

An imam, an exemplar, a noble leader, Abū al-Ḥasan al-ʿAlawī was the father of the Imam ʿAlī ibn Mūsā al-Riḍā. Born in Medina, he later settled in Baghdad.

He transmitted hadiths from his father. It is also said that he narrated from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Dīnār and ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Qudāmah.

Among those who reported from him were his sons ʿAlī, Ibrāhīm, Ismāʿīl, and Ḥusayn; his brothers ʿAlī ibn Jaʿfar and Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar; and Muḥammad ibn Ṣadaqah al-ʿAnbarī and Ṣāliḥ ibn Yazīd.

His narrations are few because he died before the wider period of transmission.

Abū Ḥātim mentioned him, saying, “Reliable, truthful, an imam among the leaders of the Muslims.”

I (the author) note that al-Tirmidhī and Ibn Mājah each record two hadiths from him.

It is reported that he was born in 128 AH, in Medina.

Al-Khaṭīb states: “Al-Mahdī brought him to Baghdad and then sent him back. Later he returned and remained in Baghdad during the reign of al-Rashīd, arriving in al-Rashīd’s company in 179 AH, where he was imprisoned until he died in custody.”