After Yazid, his brother, Hisham, assumed power. He ruled for around 20 years and was the last powerful ruler of the Umayyads before their destruction. He was very picky and would personally supervise work-related affairs. He was very stingy, jealous, cruel, and heartless. He was the one who began hating Imam Sajjad ever since he saw the people respecting the Imam, while being indifferent to him near the Ka’ba during the Hajj season. His hatred and conspiracy encouraged his brother, Valeed, to order the poisoning and martyrdom of Imam Sajjad.<br />Imam Baqir used Hajj as an opportunity to introduce himself to the Muslims as the true source of the Islamic teachings. During the Hajj season, the Imam was surrounded by the crowds of pilgrims from all over the Islamic territory who were interested in finding convincing answers to their questions. The Imam was once seen sitting by the Ka’ba, and he did not leave his position until he responded to 1,000 of their Islamic Fiqh questions. <br />One year, Hisham went to Mecca for Hajj and saw the Muslims gather around Imam Baqir in large crowds to ask him their questions. Hisham was also informed by his brother that Imam Baqir’s son, Imam Sadiq has delivered a powerful speech for the pilgrims about the honor and divine status of the Shia Imams. Hisham decided to humiliate Imam Baqir. He sent one scholar to ask the Imam some difficult questions, but the Imam was able to respond to all of the questions. The scholar returned to Hisham, admitting the Imam’s knowledge. Hisham was very angry with the outcome, but he decided not to confront the Imam during Hajj. However, right after Hajj, he summoned the Imam and his son, Imam Sadiq, to his palace in Damascus to intimidate them.<br />When Imam Baqir arrived in Damascus, Hisham did not allow him to enter his palace for three days. On the fourth day, he accepted the Imam into his palace, where he had arranged for an archery exercise to humiliate the Imam. Hisham had assumed that the Imam was only a scholar and would not have any military skill. He insisted that the Imam participate in archery, but the Imam showed hesitance. The Imam finally accepted the challenge and shot an arrow which landed exactly on the target. He continued his archery and shot nine arrows in such a manner that each arrow landed on the tail of the previous arrow. Hisham was shocked by the Imam’s skill and performance, and confessed that the Imam was the best archer he had ever witnessed.<br />Hisham later met the Imam and angrily asked him, “How is it that you are chosen by God for His knowledge while we are all from the same Arab origin?” The Imam responded that Prophet only chose Imam Ali for sharing his secrets by referring to this verse of the Quran [75:16], “Do not move your tongue too quickly to recite the Quran.” and God revealed this verse for describing Imam Ali’s status [69:12], “And that receptive ears might remember it.” The Imam said that the Prophet taught 1,000 doors of knowledge to Imam Ali, and
