Like most of his predecessors, Muhammad kept aloof from politics and engaged in religious teaching, while organizing the affairs of the Imamite Shia community through a network of representatives (wokala).

The extensive correspondence of al-Jawad with his followers on questions of Islamic law has been preserved in Shia sources and numerous pithy religio-ethical sayings are also attributed to him.

In 817, the Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun (r. 813–833) summoned al-Rida to Khorasan and designated him as the heir apparent, possibly to mitigate the frequent Shia revolts.

Twelver sources often justify the imamate of the young al-Jawad by drawing parallels with Jesus and John the Baptist, both of whom in the Quran received their prophetic missions in childhood.

All major Sunni sources are silent about the manner of his death, while Shia authorities are nearly unanimous that he was poisoned by his disaffected wife, Umm al-Fadl, at the instigation of her uncle, al-Mu'tasim.

Most records agree that the mother of Muhammad al-Jawad was a freed slave (umm walad) from Nubia,[5] though her name is given differently in sources as Sabika or Durra (sometimes Khayzuran).

In particular, al-Mas'udi in his Ithbat al-wassiya writes that al-Ma'mun summoned Muhammad to Baghdad, settled him near his palace, and later decided to marry him to his daughter, Umm Fadl,[12] whose given name was Zaynab.

[6] There are multiple Shia reports that he told others about the death of his father before the news arrived in Medina,[27] and some traditions indicate that he was miraculously present in the burial of al-Rida in Khurasan and prayed over his body.

[6] An account of their protests appears in the biographical Kitab al-Irshad by the Twelver theologian al-Shaykh al-Mufid (d. 1022),[31] though the Islamicist Shona F. Wardrop suspects that it may actually refer to the designation of al-Rida as the heir apparent.

[6] Those opposed to the marriage arranged for a public debate where the chief judge Yahya ibn Aktam interrogated the young Muhammad with difficult theological questions to which he answered correctly.

[43] Hussain similarly suggests that al-Ma'mun intended to monitor al-Jawad and divide the Shia opposition,[39] hoping thus to mitigate their revolts, including some fresh uprisings in Qom.

[30] Medoff believes that al-Ma'mun pursued a policy of simultaneously appeasing and containing pro-Alid groups,[3] while Wardrop writes that the marriage was intended to discourage the Shia from revolution.

[42][4] Caliph al-Ma'mun died in 218 AH (833 CE) and was succeeded by his brother, al-Mu'tasim, who continued the policy of his predecessor in simultaneously appeasing and containing pro-Alid groups, according to Medoff.

[50] Another account is narrated by Zurqan, a sahib of the qadi Ibn Abi Dawud: The caliph is said to have solicited and preferred the judicial ruling of al-Jawad about amputating the hand of a thief in the presence of other scholars.

[3][6] Ali al-Hadi, the successor of al-Jawad, was born to Samana, a freed slave (umm walad) of Moroccan origin,[30] circa 212 AH (828 CE).

Here, al-Mufid gives the names Fatima and Amama, while the biographical source Dala'il al-imama lists Khadija, Hakima, and Umm Kulthum.

[4] Muhammad al-Jawad died on 6 Dhu al-Hijjah 220 AH (30 November 835 CE) in Baghdad, after arriving there in Muharram 220 (January 835) at the request of al-Mu'tasim,[6] who hosted him and his wife during the visit.

[61] While the manner of his death is given differently by Shia authors,[60] most say that al-Jawad was poisoned by his disaffected wife Umm al-Fadl, at the instigation of her uncle al-Mu'tasim.

[43][3][6][62] These include the Shia-leaning historian al-Mas'udi,[63] and Twelver scholars Ibn Jarir al-Tabari al-Saghir,[64][a] Mohammad-Baqer Majlesi (d. 1699), Abbas Qomi (d. 1941), and Tabatabai.

[4] He was buried next to his grandfather, Musa al-Kazim, the seventh of the Twelve Imams, in the cemetery of the Quraysh on the west bank of Tigris, where the Kazimayn shrine was later erected.

[80] An example of indirect designation is the statement referring to the young al-Jawad as "the greatest blessing for the Shia," ascribed to al-Rida in the canonical Kitab al-Irshad and other sources.

[6] As for precedents, there were no child imams before al-Jawad, even though Ali ibn Abi Talib professed Islam at the age of about ten, and Hasan and Husayn formally pledged their allegiance to the prophet when they were about six.

[98] To organize the affairs of a growing Shia population, which had expanded far to the east of Iraq and Arabia, the young al-Jawad relied heavily on his representatives or agents (wokala, sg.

They were apparently successful and an account by the Twelver traditionist al-Kulayni (d. 941) describes how Ali ibn Asbat visited al-Jawad on behalf of the Egyptian Imamites.

[4] Some of his followers became integrated within the Abbasid army, while he announced his successor, Ali al-Hadi, through his main agent, Muhammad ibn al-Faraj,[42] or through another companion, Abu al-Khayrani.

[52] Nevertheless, Hussain links the 210 AH (825 CE) uprising in Qom to the political activities of al-Jawad's agents, even though the Imamite sources are silent about any military involvement of his underground organization.

[3] This is detailed by the Twelver traditionist Ibn Shahrashub (d. 1192),[116] who writes that the Abbasid army demolished the wall surrounding the city, killed many, and nearly quadrupled the taxes.

After succeeding al-Ma'mun, al-Mu'tasim summoned al-Jawad to Baghdad in 220 AH (835 CE) and held him under close surveillance, probably to ascertain his role in the Shia uprisings.

[121] These include speaking at the time of his birth, tay al-ard (teleportation in Islamic mysticism) from Medina to Khorasan for the burial of his father al-Rida, miraculously healing the sick, fulfillment of his prayers for friends and against his enemies, informing about the inner secrets of people, predicting future events, and particularly his death.

[125] Mavani regards Khums as an example of the Imams' discretionary authority as Shia leaders, which in this case countered the redirection of Zakat (another Islamic alms) to sustain oppressive regimes and support the affluent lifestyle of caliphs.