Samiksha Jaiswal (Editor)

Sayyid Ali Akbar

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Died
  
?

Parents
  
Hasan al-Askari

Website
  
www.shajara.info

Sayyid Ali Akbar

Other names
  
Ali Akbar Ibn Hasan Ibn Ali Ibn Muhammad

Title
  
Sayyid ul Sadaat (leader of the sayyids) Imamzadeh (son of the Imam) Najm Ahlul Bayt Rasul Allah (Star of the Household of the Prophet of Allah)

Children
  
Sayyid Mahmud, Sayyid Muhammad

Relatives
  
Muhammad al-Mahdi(brother)

Other name
  
Ali Akbar Ibn Hasan Ibn Ali Ibn Muhammad

Sayyid Ali Akbar was an Islamic saint, son of Imam Hasan al Askari and brother of the Twelver Imam Muhammad al Mahdi. His existence is disputed and rejected by Shiite historians. The fact why his existence was hidden, was because of the contemporary political conflicts between the divinely appointed Imamah of his father and brother and the feudal leadership of the Abbasids.

Contents

Lineage

  • 1 Muhammad
  • 2 Ali ibn Abi Talib and Fatima Al Zahra
  • 3 Imam Hussain
  • 4 Imam Ali Zayn al-Abidin
  • 5 Imam Muhammad al Baqir
  • 6 Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq
  • 7 Imam Musa al Kazim
  • 8 Imam Ali al Reza
  • 9 Imam Muhammad al Taqi
  • 10 Imam Ali al Hadi
  • 11 Imam Hasan al Askari
  • 12 Sayyid Mir Ali Akbar
  • Son of Imam Hasan al Askari

    Genealogy trees of middle eastern families, mostly from Persia and Khorasan show that Imam Hasan al-Askari had also a second son called Sayyid Ali Akbar. It definitely indicates that Imam al-Askari had children and it also substantiates the existence of Imam Muhammad al Mahdi. The reason, why the fact that Imam Al Askari had children or not is till today disputed was maybe because of the political conflicts between the followers of the Imamah and the leadership of the Abbasids and Ghulat Shiites who had not believed in Imam Hasan al-Askaris Imamah. Another reason was the protection against Imam Hasan al Askaris brother Jafar who pretended to be the Imam after his brother violently and denunciated, therefore, Hudaith Khatun. Another part of historians studying the pedigrees of some Central Asian saints "shejere" (genealogy trees), believe that the 12th Imam was not the only son of Imam Hasan al-Askari. In fact, the 11th Imam had two sons, Sayyid Muhammad (i.e. Imam Mahdi) and Sayyid Ali Akbar. Notable descendants of Sayyid Ali Akbar are Sufi Saints like Maudood Chishti and Bahauddin Naqshband. descendant after 11 generations. Khwaja Khawand Mahmud known as Hazrat Ishaan, descendant after 18 generations and the three saintly brothers Sayyid ul Sadaat Sayyid Mir Jan Sayyid ul Sadaat Sayyid Mahmud Agha and Sayyid ul Sadaat Sayyid Mir Fazlullah, Qadhi ul Qudhad i.e. chief of justice of the Emirate of Afghanistan, maternal descendants of Imam Hasan al Askari and Hazrat Ishaan. The German entrepreneur and member of the royal family of Afghanistan de:Sultan Masood Dakik is a contemporary descendant of Sayyid Ali-Akbar, through his great grandfather Sayyid ul Sadaat Sayyid Mir Fazlullah, Qadhi ul Qudhad i.e. chief of justice of the Emirate of Afghanistan. Also qadi Qozi Sayyid Bahodirxon, and the Sufi saints Tajuddin Muhammad Badruddin and Pir Baba and Sayyid Ahmed Amiruddin. Another descendant of Sayyid Ali Akbar was Saint Ishan (Eshon) Imlo of Bukhara. Ishan Imlo Bukhara "saint of the last time," as he is called in Bukhara, as it is believed that after him the Saints had no more. The average Asian Muslims revere him as the last of the Saints. Ishan Imlo according to the source, died in 1162 AH (1748–1749), the mausoleum (Mazar) is in a cemetery in Bukhara.

    According to the reports, Imam Hasan al-Askari [as] had more than one concubine and also had maids [Malak-ul-Yameen] with he is believed to have had relations. The family of the venerable Khwaja Baha al-Din descends from ‘Ali ibn Abu Muhammad Hasan ibn ‘Ali, a separate line from that of the illustrious Imam Muhammad ibn Hasan al-Muntadhar [as]. While many Ulema in Ahlus Sunnah generally deny the existence of any children of Imam Hasan ibn ‘Ali al-Askari [as], including the Mahdi [as], those amongst the Sufis who do believe he had a son believe Khwaja Baha al-Din Shah Naqshband, Khwaja Qubt al-Din Mawdud (according to the elders of the Chishtiyya, as he founded the Chishtiyya order) and Sayyid Ahmad Badawi of Egypt all descend from Imam Abu Muhammad Hasan ibn ‘Ali al-Askari Thani [as]. While the Shiites in general deny this, ironically, the only textual evidence to support this Sufi claim comes from a narration found in the Shiite hadith book al-Kafi. According to al-Kafi, in his Usool, in the chapter of the Birth of Abi Muhammad al-Hasan ibn ‘Ali: "When Abi Muhammad al-Hasan ibn ‘Ali became ill…the Sultan…called certain women with knowledge to deal with pregnancy. They examined his (Abi Muhammad al-Hasan ibn ‘Ali [as]) ladies. A certain woman had said one of the ladies is pregnant. She was accommodated in a certain quarter… When the pregnancy was proved invalid, they distributed his legacy between his mother and brother" [al-Kafi, by Muhammad Ya’qub Kulayni. Translated by Muhammad Sarwar. Chap. 124, Birth of Abi Muhammad al-Hasan ibn ‘Ali, p.705]. This narration of the Shiites establishes that Imam Hasan al-Askari [rad] had more than one concubine and multiple maids with whom he had relations, and through whom he could have had children other than Sahib uz-Zaman Imam Abul Qasim Muhammad al-Muntadhar al-Mahdi [as] as the Sufis claim.

    In her book "Pain and Grace: A Study of Two Mystical Writers of Eighteenth-Century Muslim India" p. 32, Dr.Annemarie Schimmel writes:

    "Khwaja Mir Dard`s family, like many nobles, from Bukhara; led their pedigree back to Baha'uddin Naqshband, after whom the Naqshbandi order is named, and who was a descendent, in the 11th generation of the 11th Shia imam al-Hasan al-Askari."

    Although Shiite historians generally reject the claim Hasan al-Askari fathered children other than Muhammad al-Mahdi, the Shiite hadith book Usul al-Kafi, in Bab Mawlid Abi Muhammad al-Hasan b. 'Ali confirms the claim that Hasan al-Askari had more than one wife, in addition to slave girls, with whom he had relations. In his Usul, al-Kafi writes:

    "When the caliph got news of Imam Hasan 'Askari's illness, he instructed his agents to keep a constant watch over the house of the Imam...he sent some of these midwives to examine the slave girls of the Imam to determine if they were pregnant. If a woman was found pregnant she was detained and imprisoned...".

    .

    The history of the descendants of Imam Hasan al-Askari is shrouded in great mystery and accordingly, has of recent been either outright denied due to ignorance or simply intentionally concealed. Unrelated official historic family tree documents kept in renowned Sayyid families and even in the offices of the Naqib al-Ashraf, from Hejaz, to Iran, Bukhara, Samarqand, Afghanistan, the Mughal Empire, Yemen, Somalia and Egypt have traced the descent of thousands of Sayyids over multiple generations back to Imam Hasan al-Askari.The following traditions are shared from Sunni and Shiite hadith narratives and neutral academic sources to share with guests some historic record of the existence of a continuous line of descent from al-Imam Hasan al-Askari in addition to that of his eldest son and successor al-Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi al-Muntadhar. According to the earliest reports as cited below from official family tree documents and records cited by multiple historians like Kashani, Arbali, Sahib Kashf ul-Ghumma, and Sahib Siraj al-Ansab among others, Imam Hasan al-Askari fathered six illustrious children: Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi ‘alaihi salam, Musa, Ja’far, Ibrahim, Fatima, Ayesha, and ‘Ali, sometimes referred to as Asghar. It is said Musa b. Hasan al-Askari passed away before the age of maturity. Additionally, there is mention of descendants of Imam Hasan al-Askari by Sunni traditionalists. In one of his lectures on the lives of Ahl al-Bayt, the renowned Sunni Sufi scholar Shaykh al-Islam Dr. Tahir ul-Qadri cites a text confirming the opinion Imam Hasan al-Askari also fathered a daughter named Ayesha. Dr. Qadri states, “Now we arrive at the mention of Imam Hasan al-Askari…he also had a daughter, she was a princess and her name was Ayesha.” [‘Imam Hasan al-Askari had a Daughter Named Ayesha’. Dr. Tahir ul-Qadri].

    Furthermore, it is related in Kulayani’s Usul al-Kafi, in his last days when al-Imam Hasan al-Askari was ill he appointed his mother as the executer of his will so that she could manage his affairs after his death. This matter was officially approved by the Abbasid court. In this will, there was no mention of any offspring, including Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi. Imam Hasan al-Askari’s estate was subsequently divided between his mother and his brother. This tradition establishes for start that al-Imam Hasan al-Askari intentionally concealed the existence of his offspring, whether one, or more. [Usul al-Kafi, Bab Mawlid Abi Muhammad al-Hasan b.’Ali].

    Additionally, according to Shaykh Saduq in his Kamal al-Din, after his death, al-Imam Hasan al-Askari’s mother entered into a dispute with Ja’far al-Zaki, his brother, over the estate of Imam Hasan al-Askari. The matter was referred to the Abbasid caliph, and to further complicate matters, one of the maidens of Imam Hasan al-Askari by the name of Sayqal came forward and claimed to be pregnant. Sayqal was brought to the palace of the Abbasid caliph, Mu’tamid, and was kept under strict guard and under the watchful eyes of the midwives and other women in the palace to determine the fate of her pregnancy. At that very time, political turmoil as a consequence of the insurrection led by Saffar, the death of ‘Abd Allah b. Yahya, and the revolution of the Zanj engulfed the caliphal state. The Abbasids were forced to abandon Samarra. Hence, they became occupied with their own troubles and gave up the surveillance of Sayqal’s pregnancy. [Kamal al-Din, Vol. 2, p. 149].

    According to the Bihar, al-Imam Hasan al-Askari had several maidens with different names. On two occasions Hakima Khatun, his paternal aunt, has mentioned these maidens. At one time she came to visit al-Imam Hasan al-Askari and saw him seated in the courtyard of his house, surrounded by his maidens. She asked him: “Which one of these girls is going to be the mother of your successor?” The Imam replied: “It is Sawsan.” [Bihar al-anwar, Vol. 51, p. 17]. In another report Hakima Khatun relates the event of the birth of the twelfth Imam, cited earlier, in which al-Imam Hasan al-Askari requests her to spend the night of 15th Sha’ban (255 AH/870 CE) in his house because a child was going to be born. At that point Hakima asked him: “Which of your maidens is the mother of the child?” The Imam said: “It is Narjis.” Hakima said: “Yes, I too like her the most among your maidens.” [Bihar al-anwar, Vol. 51, p. 25].

    According to the Bihar: One of the companions of Imam Hasan al-Askari by the name of Ibrahim b. Idris relates that the Imam sent him a sheep with a message that he should sacrifice it for the latter’s having performed the ceremony of shaving off his child’s birth hair (‘aqiqa), and share the meat with his family. Ibrahim carried out the Imam’s order. But when he came to see him the Imam said: “Our child has passed.” However, once again he sent Ibrahim two sheep with a letter in which the Imam instructed Ibrahim: In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. Sacrifice these sheep for your master’s ceremony of ‘aqiqa and eat the meat with your family. Ibrahim carried out the order. But when he came to see the Imam the latter did not mention anything about it. [Bihar al-anwar, Vol. 51, p. 22]. Traditionally, one sheep is sacrificed when a daughter is born, and two when a son is born. In the Islamic Republic of Iran a research paper was authored in 2013 by the title: AN EXPLORATION IN THE FIELD OF IMAM HASAN ASKARI’S SONS- AND THE AUTHENTICITY OF A SHRINE ATTRIBUTED TO HIM. This paper was published in the Journal: ENTIZAR E MOUD in the Fall of 2013, Volume 13, Number 42; Page(s) 97 To 125. The paper tries to verify the attribution of an offspring to Imam Hasan Askari with a descriptive-analytic method besides Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi. The very existence of such a study makes apparent the Islamic Republic of Iran is also home to nobles among the Sayyids whose ancestors claimed descent from Imam Hasan al-Askari.The above examples demonstrate the existence of unrelated nobles throughout the old Muslim world who possessed independent family trees that traced their biological lineage back to al-Imam Hasan al-Askari.

    Notable descendants

  • Bahauddin Naqshband
  • Khwaja Khawand Mahmud known as Hazrat Ishaan
  • Sayyid ul Sadaat Sayyid Mir Jan
  • Sayyid ul Sadaat Sayyid Mahmud Agha
  • de:Sultan Masood Dakik
  • Ishan Imlo
  • Tajuddin Muhammad Badruddin
  • Pir Baba
  • Qozi Sayyid Bahodirxon
  • Sayyid Ahmed Amiruddin
  • References

    Sayyid Ali Akbar Wikipedia