Shafaqna English- The Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir Al-Sadr was among the last century’s greatest thinkers, philosophers, and religious scholars. His writings and thoughts on how to resist oppression have inspired generations of Shia and free people around the world. Martyr Al-Sadr was a man who was way ahead of his time, with the complete consensus of religious scholars.
Martyr Al-Sadr lived for only 45 years, which, according to the average life span of our scholars (Ulama), is a very short period. In 45 years, anyone studying Islam is still considered “young”. But in these 45 short years, Martyr Sadr revolutionized the academic and political aspects of his society.
Rarely does anyone have such an impact in such a short period, at such a young age, and during the time that was one of the worst in the history of Islam in general and of Iraq in particular.
He established a political process. Establishing a political process requires sacrifice, and the way in which Martyr Sadr sacrificed, the way in which he did his work, in an environment where there was no energy for it, no strength for it, he rose up in that environment and tried to lift a nation from zero. He did that all alone with exceptional bravery.
Who is Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir Al-Sadr?
Martyr Seyyed Muhammad-Baqir Al-Sadr was a member of a distinguished Iraqi family with a genealogy that is traced back directly to the Prophet of Islam (PBUH); hence his title of “Seyyed.”
Martyr Sadr was born into the Sadr family. This family is Kadhimi by descent, that is, its lineage is traced back to Imam Musa Al-Kadhim (AS) [128 – 183 A.H./745 – 799 A.D.], one of the offspring of the Prophet of Islam (PBUH) through his daughter, Fatimah (SA), and cousin Ali (AS). He was born, as noted above, in the holy city of Al-Kadhimiyyah.
His ancestors had lived in the region of Jabal Amil in present-day southern Lebanon. He was born in Kadhimiyah near Baghdad, on 1 March 1935.
At the age of two, his father, the scholar Haider Al-Sadr, died. After completing primary school in Kadhimiyah, he and his family moved to Najaf in 1945, where he spent the rest of his life. When he was only 13, he joined the Seminary of Islamic Studies [Hawzah], and he was an exceptionally gifted student.
Al-Sadr was educated at Najaf’s Hawzah, a theological seminary. In his advanced studies, known as Dars Al-Kharij, he was taught by scholars such as the then the Grand Ayatollah Abul Qasim Al-Khoei and Seyyed Ruhollah Khomeini.
At the age of 20, Sadr was given the religious title of Mujahid, i.e., a profound scholar. During these years, he published some of his most celebrated works, which remain prominent in many international universities, including Our Philosophy and Our Economy.
Not only was he a Mujtahid, but he was teaching other scholars to become mujtahids as well and at such a young age. Basically, at the age when most students become capable of attending Dars Al-Kharij, Martyr Sadr was teaching it. He wrote Our Philosophy at the age of 24.
In 1957, Sadr and other scholars established the ‘Islamic Da’awa Party’ (IDP). At a time of increasing communist activity, he initiated various educational and enlightenment activities, such as public lectures and social events. He remained fearless and steadfast, continuing his educational programmes and activities.
Sadr realised the Baath regime’s jeopardies, particularly its Head, Saddam Hussein, in Iraq. Likewise, the Baathists also realised his significant impact on the Iraqi people, therefore, they started to utilise all possible means to halt Sadr’s activism. They arrested him several times and executed many of his students and colleagues in the seventies.
Social and Political Activism
Martyr Sadr was one of those scholars who did not limit themselves to the field of knowledge exclusively. He considered himself responsible for the lives of his fellow citizens and humans at large. He, therefore, took upon himself to shoulder the responsibilities of his society. He had to face the system of tyrannical Saddam.
Sadr famously preached three historical speeches before his execution, which cover many national thematic fields and in which he essentially urges all Iraqi religious sects and ethnicities to unite in the battle for freedom. In these highly significant speeches, Sadr stands firmly against the Baathist oppressive and dictatorial regime. He calls all the Iraqi segments to unite, demanding democracy, freedom, and the recognition of human rights.
The Grand Ayatollah Al-Sadr called the Iraqis, Arabs, Kurds, Shia Muslims, and Sunnis to unite against Saddam, arguing that this is the only way to attain freedoms and rights and to reclaim the dignity of their country that had been ravaged by the Baathists.
He exposed the fallacy of Saddam who aimed at claiming himself as the Iraqi Sunnis’ leader, saying, “The tyrant Saddam and his followers are trying to persuade our Sunni sons that the struggle is between the Shia and the Sunnis to deviate the Sunnis away from fighting against our common enemy [dictatorship].”