Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Yaqteen ibn Musa al-Baghdadi (742–798) (

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

:ابوالحسن علی بن یقطین بن موسی البغدادی) was a close companion of Imam

Musa al-Kadhim Musa ibn Ja'far al-Kazim ( ar, مُوسَىٰ ٱبْن جَعْفَر ٱلْكَاظِم, Mūsā ibn Jaʿfar al-Kāẓim), also known as Abū al-Ḥasan, Abū ʿAbd Allāh or Abū Ibrāhīm, was the seventh Imam in Twelver Shia Islam, after hi ...

, a

Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his S ...

narrator,

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Uni ...

, and mutakallim. He was born in Kufa and lived in

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

. He was a reliable minister of

Abbasid Caliphate The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...

, however he kept his faith hidden and used his position in the government administration to support the Shia who were usually oppressed during the Abbasid reign. He compiled 3 books.

Early life

Ali ibn Yaqteen was born in 742 in Kufa. Since his father, , was one of the supporters of Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq, he was placed under an arrest warrant by

Marwan I Marwan ibn al-Hakam ibn Abi al-As ibn Umayya ( ar, links=no, مروان بن الحكم بن أبي العاص بن أمية, Marwān ibn al-Ḥakam ibn Abī al-ʿĀṣ ibn Umayya), commonly known as MarwanI (623 or 626April/May 685), was the fo ...

. Therefore, he was forced to escape and hide, and Ali ibn Yaqteen's mother took him and his brother, Ubayd, to

Medina Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...

. Later on, he moved to

and started working as a spice seller.al-Fehrest; Tusi, Muhammad ibn Hasan; Bahr al-Olum, Muhammad Sadiq; al-Maktaba al-Murtazavia wa Matbaaha; Najaf; p. 91

Entering Abbasid government

After the fall of the

Umayyad Caliphate The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by th ...

and emergence of

, Ali ibn Yaqteen returned to Kufa and entered the Abbasid administration. He got promoted when

Al-Hadi Abū Muḥammad Mūsā ibn al-Mahdī al-Hādī ( ar, أبو محمد موسى بن المهدي الهادي; 26 April 764 CE 14 September 786 CE) better known by his laqab Al-Hādī (الهادي‎) was the fourth Arab Abbasid caliph who succee ...

took over the reign. He was even entrusted with the special Caliph ring and seal. In the long run, he became a minister of

Harun al-Rashid Abu Ja'far Harun ibn Muhammad al-Mahdi ( ar , أبو جعفر هارون ابن محمد المهدي) or Harun ibn al-Mahdi (; or 766 – 24 March 809), famously known as Harun al-Rashid ( ar, هَارُون الرَشِيد, translit=Hārūn ...

.Rijal al-Najjashi; Ahmad ibn Ali, Najjashi; al-Nashr al-Islami institute; 1986; Qom; p. 273

Faith

Undoubtedly he was a

; but he hid his belief from Abbasid Caliphs all the time as his father did. He was a close student and companion to

and acted as Musa al-Kadhim's secret agent in the palace of Harun al-Rashid. Many Hadiths have been narrated from him in

The Four Books ''The Four Books'' ( ar-at, ٱلْكُتُب ٱلْأَرْبَعَة, '), or ''The Four Principles'' (''al-Uṣūl al-Arbaʿah''), is a Twelver Shia term referring to their four best-known ''hadith'' collections: Most Shi'a Muslims use dif ...

. According to some historical evidence that have been given credence by Shia scholars, he entered the Abbasid government by the approval and guidance of Musa al-Kadhim in order to support the oppressed people and particularly assist the Shia.

Works

In biographical evaluation sources, three books have been mentioned for him: * Masa’il anhu al-Sadiq min al-Malahim (about the future events and occurrence) * Al-Shakk bi hadratih-I (about a disputation between a doubting Thomas and Ja'far al-Sadiq) * Masa’il ‘an Abi al-Hasan Musa ibn Ja’far (contains the hadiths that he had heard from Musa al-Kadhim or Imam's answers to his questions)

Death

In 798 Ali ibn Yaqteen died in Baghdad while Musa al-Kadhim was imprisoned by Harun al-Rashid.Ikhtiar Ma’refa al-Rijal (Rijal al-kashi);

Shaykh Tusi Shaykh Tusi ( fa, شیخ طوسی), full name ''Abu Jafar Muhammad Ibn Hassan Tusi'' ( ar, ابو جعفر محمد بن حسن طوسی), known as Shaykh al-Taʾifah ( ar, links=no, شيخ الطائفة) was a prominent Persian scholar of the ...

; ‘Al al-beyt (a) institute, Qom, 1984, vol. 2, p. 729

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yaqteen, Ali ibn 742 births 798 deaths Officials of the Abbasid Caliphate Muslim scholars of Islamic jurisprudence People from Kufa Shia Muslims