Muḥammad al-Bāqir - Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE
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[Article]
First Statement of Responsibility
Buckley, Ron P.
.PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION, ETC
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Leiden
Name of Publisher, Distributor, etc.
Brill
GENERAL NOTES
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(2,028 words)
SUMMARY OR ABSTRACT
Text of Note
Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-Bāqir (d. 114/732 or 117/735), commonly referred to as Abū Jaʿfar, was the fifth Imām of the Twelver branch of Shīʿī Islam (the Ithnā ʿashariyya ). His epithet, "al-Bāqir," an abbreviation of bāqir al-ʿilm ("the one who opens knowledge"), reflects his status as a distinguished religious scholar. He is credited with laying the doctrinal and legal foundations of Twelver Shīʿism, which were further systematically elaborated by his son and successor to the Imāmate, Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq (d. 148/765). Al-Bāqir was born