Ahmadiyya

Ahmadiyya is a sect of the Twelvers who, following Ali ibn Musa al-Rida (peace be upon him), affirmed the Imamate of his brother, Ahmad ibn Musa ibn Ja'far. Like some of the Fathiyya, this sect believes in the successive Imamate of two brothers.

History

Nobakhti maintains that when Ali ibn Musa al-Rida (peace be upon him) passed away, his son Imam Muhammad al-Taqi (peace be upon him) was seven years old. The "Ahmadiyya" regarded him as a child, arguing that an Imam must be a mature and fully developed man; if God were to command people to follow an immature child, it would necessitate imposing religious obligations upon someone not yet of age. Since reason dictates that an immature child cannot be held accountable for fulfilling religious duties—being incapable of comprehending precise and complex legal rulings or adjudicating among people—he is therefore unfit for the station of Imamate. Consequently, they deemed successive Imamate permissible and affirmed the Imamate of Ahmad ibn Musa. Shaykh Mufid, in his book Al-Irshad, writes that Ahmad ibn Musa was a noble, pious, and chivalrous man whom his father, Imam Musa al-Kazim (peace be upon him), loved dearly and bestowed upon him a farm named Yasira. It is also recorded that Ahmad ibn Musa freed one thousand slaves. Mu'in al-Din Abu al-Qasim Junayd Shirazi, in his book Shadd al-Izar fi Hatt al-Awzar an Zuwar al-Mazar, composed in the year 791 AH, writes that Ahmad ibn Musa traveled from Medina to Iran following his brother Ali ibn Musa al-Rida (peace be upon him) and passed away upon reaching Shiraz.

No one knew the location of his grave until during the era of Muqarrab al-Din Masud ibn Badr, when the Atabak Abu Bakr constructed a tall edifice over it. After him, Tashi Khatun, mother of Shaykh Abu Ishaq Inju, erected a high dome over it, built a large madrasa beside it, and arranged for her own burial (in the year 750 AH) adjacent to it. Ibn Battuta, the renowned Arab traveler who visited Shiraz twice, during the lifetime of Tashi Khatun and the reign of her son Shah Shaykh Abu Ishaq, provides a favorable description of this city and reports on the hospitality extended by the aforementioned Khatun, writing: "Among the shrines of Shiraz is the tomb of Ahmad ibn Musa, brother of Ali ibn Musa ibn Ja'far (peace be upon them); it is a great shrine, and the people of Shiraz seek blessings and intercession through it."

Mirza Muhammad Khan Qazvini writes in the margin of his book: "Currently, in the Shiraz Museum of Knowledge, there exists a thirty-part Quran written in extremely elegant Thuluth script by the famous calligrapher Pir Yahya Jamali Sufi in the year 746 AH in Shiraz during the reign of Shah Shaykh Abu Ishaq; Tashi Khatun endowed it to the shrine attributed to Ahmad ibn Musa al-Kazim. An image of the endowment deed is published on page 77 of Volume One of the book Tarikh-e Asr-e Hafez by Dr. Ghani. Fursat al-Dawla Shirazi writes in his book Athar al-Ajam: 'The blessed shrine of Shah Cheragh is the burial place of His Lordship Sayyid Amir Ahmad, titled Shah Cheragh and Sayyid al-Sadat. His Lordship possessed a large retinue and entourage; during the caliphate of al-Ma'mun, he intended to travel with a large group to Shiraz and thence to Khurasan to serve his brother, His Lordship Imam al-Rida (peace be upon him). At that time, a man named Qutlugh governed Shiraz on behalf of al-Ma'mun. Upon hearing news of his arrival, Qutlugh hastened to Khan Zeytan, located eight farsangs from Shiraz. There, the two parties met and commenced hostilities. During the battle, a soldier from Qutlugh's army shouted: "If your objective is to reach the presence of Ali ibn Musa, know that he has departed from this world." When this news spread, many dispersed from around His Lordship, except for a few of Shah Cheragh's brothers and relatives. Since continuing the journey became impossible, His Lordship turned toward Shiraz; his opponents pursued him and martyred him at the location where his shrine now stands.'

Some have written that when Ahmad ibn Musa arrived in Shiraz, he secluded himself in a corner devoted to worship until he joined the mercy of God, and no one knew the precise location of his burial. Later, when Amir Muqarrab al-Din, one of the viziers of Atabak Abu Bakr, wished to construct a building there, a grave appeared, containing a sound and intact body with a ring on its finger inscribed with the phrase "Al-izza lillah Ahmad ibn Musa." The report was sent to Atabak Abu Bakr, who erected a royal hall over it. Subsequently, Queen Tashi Khatun raised a lofty dome over this shrine, constructed a prestigious madrasa beside the sacred tomb, and arranged for her own burial adjacent to it. The shrine's lattice enclosure (zarih) was silvered by Fath-Ali Shah Qajar; from the ceiling to the walls, the shrine is adorned with mirror-work and features numerous crystal jars and chandeliers. Two gates of pure silver lead into this magnificent portico: one was commissioned by Zill al-Sultan Masud Mirza, and the other by Hajj Nasir al-Mulk Mirza Hasan Ali Khan. The dome is gilded and decorated with multicolored tiles.

On the southern side of the courtyard, opposite the main gate, stands a highly distinguished clock whose bell weighs more than forty mann. Among the endowments of His Lordship Shah Cheragh are certain shops, a caravanserai, a bathhouse, and the estate of Meymand along with its dependencies; its trusteeship belongs to Mirza Jalal al-Din Muhammad Husayni, titled Majd al-Ashraf, who is the head of the Dhahabiyya Sufi order. During the Pahlavi era, the courtyard of his shrine was expanded, and modifications were made to the decoration of the dome and the sacred sanctuary.

See also

• Imamiyya
• Medina
• Iran

References

• Mohammad-Javad Mashkur, Farhang-e Feraq-e Eslami, Mashhad, Astan Quds Razavi Publications, 1372 SH, 2nd ed., date of entry: n.d., date of access: 20 Dey 1404 SH.