Martyrdom of Imam Muhammad al-Baqir

Imam Muhammad al-Baqir is revered as the fifth Imam in Twelver Shi'a Islam. He lived during the late Umayyad period and became known for teaching, interpretation and the systematic transmission of religious knowledge; the honorific al-Baqir is commonly explained as one who opens or discloses knowledge.

Iran’s official calendar records his death on 7 Dhu al-Hijjah as a religious occasion, but the general public-holiday law does not make it a nationwide closure. Mosques and religious institutions may organise elegies and lessons about his scholarship, while charitable food and quiet family remembrance give the date a local dimension. It precedes Arafah and Eid al-Adha, placing a mourning anniversary close to one of Islam’s major festivals.

Imam Muhammad al-Baqir, the fifth Imam in Twelver Shi'a Islam, is remembered for religious teaching during the late Umayyad period and for transmitting knowledge later developed by his son Jafar al-Sadiq. Iran’s official 1405 calendar records his martyrdom on 7 Dhu al-Hijjah, but the date is not included among the country’s general statutory public holidays. In Gregorian 2026 it is May 24, shortly before Arafah and Eid al-Adha. Commemoration centres on mourning, study and charitable service rather than a nationwide closure.