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The Sixth Imam: Ja'far ibne Muhammad (AS)
Lives of
the Twelve Imams from the Ahle
Bait
Name: Ja'far
Title: As-Saadiq
Epithet: Abu Abdullah
Father: Muhammad bin Ali
Mother: Umme Farwah
Date of Birth: Rabi-ul Awwal 17,83 AH (April 20,702
AD)
Place of Birth: Madinah
Progeny: from Fatima daughter
ofhusain bin Imam Ali Zain al Abideen:
Two sons: Ismail, Abd Allah
One daughter: Umme Farwa
From Umm Walad
Three sons: Musa, Is'haq,
Muhammad
From other wives
Two sons: Abbas, Ali
Two daughters: Asma', Fatima
Date of Death: Rajab 15,
148 AH (December 14, 765 AD)
He lived to an age of 63 years
Place of Death: Madinah
Place of Burial: Jannatul-Baqi
THE LIFE AND THE TIMES OF IMAM
JA'FAR AS-SAADIQ (as)
Imam Ja'far As-Saadlq was
bom in 83 AH during the reign of
the Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik
bin Marwan. He was only three
years of age when Walid bin Abd
al-Malik succeeded to the
caliphate after his father. The
Imam had the good fortune of
spending the first twelve years
of his life with his
grandfather, Imam Ali Zain al-Abideen. He
then spent the next eighteen
years of his life with his
father, Imam Muhammad Baqir. He
was thirty-one years of age when
his father was also martyred
with poison by Hisham bin Abd
al-Malik in II 4 AH. Thus, the
hnwn had seen the reign of five
Umayyad caliphs before he was
appointed Imam by his father
before his death. The
relatively long rule of Hisham
lasted for about twenty
years. He was a contemporary of
the Imam for twelve of these
years.
Hisham had kept up the
pressure on the Alkyds and their
followers just like his father
had done during his reign. Hisham
had appointed the ruthless
Khalid bin Abd Allah Qisri as
the governor of Iraq and other
southern provinces. Together,
the caliph and his governor
eclipsed the tyrarmy of Hujaj
bin Yusuf and his master, the
caliph Abd al-Malik bin Marwan.
During the hey days of the
Umayyad dynasty, the caliphs
found the members of the Aliyyld
clans as easy targets for
diverting the public attention
from their failure and
decadence. The Aliyyids were
taunted and insulted, and
provoked to such an extent that
they would come out to defend
their honor and integrity. This
provided the tyrants sufficient
excuse to put them to sword.
Zaid bin Imam Ali Zain al-Abideen
was one such martyr who was
subjected to such a fate. He
could not withstand the instdts
thrown at him by the governor of
Hisham. In 121 AH, he came out
with a small force of loyalists
for the cause of the Truth, and
fought bravely to Ws death in
122 AH. His head was hoisted on
the spear and his body was hung
on the cross for full four
years. It was then taken down,
only to be put to the flames.
In 125 AH, Imam Jafar as-Saadiq
witnessed an exact repeat of
Zaid bin All's fate meet his son
Yahya bin Zaid at the hands of
the Umayyad ruler Walid II bin
Yazid II bin Abd-al Malik. His
decapitated body was also hung
on the cross until taken down by
Abu Muslim of Khorasan (after he
helped the Abbasids to end the
yoke of the Umayyad rule). The
supporters of Yahya were hunted
down and ruthlessly massacred in
their homes or other hideouts. The
survivors and their sympathizers
were relentlessly pursued out of
Hijaz.
The rule of Walid 11 lasted only
a year followed by Yazid III bin
Walid I bin Abd al-Malik. This
rule lasted for even lesser
period of only six months. His
brother Ibrahim succeeded him to
the caliphate, only to be
toppled from his seat in just
two months. In 127 AH, Marwan
II followed as the last caliph
in the Marwanid dynasty, and
ruled a shrinking empire for
about five and a half years.
Not with standing the continued
oppression of the Hashimites
under the Umayyads, Abd Allah
bin Muawiyah (a grandson of
Jifar bin Abu Talib) rose to
claim the cause of his clan in
127 AH. He met the same fate as
that of his other clan members
just a few years earlier.
By this time, the end of the
tyrannical rule of the Umayyads
was in sight. A secret
Hashimite movement was under way
in Palestine under Ibrahim Imam,
brother of Abd Allah (Saffah)
bin Muhammad bin Ali bin Abd
Allah bin Abbas (an uncle of the
Prophet). Their manifesto was
to avenge the blood of Imam
Husain and to liquidate the
Umayyads. However, their bidden
and real aim was to take over
the caliphate for themselves
with the help of the Aliyyids. With
this ploy and the popular
slogan, Ibrahim Imam was able to
muster support from the
oppressed Shiites. Abu Muslim
who had just established an
independent principality in
Khorasan under the Aliyyid flag,
marched on to Iraq with a
massive force of seventy
thousand strong, and ended the
yoke of the Umayyads rule in
Iraq in 129 AH. In a
pre-arranged banquet in
Damascus, the Umayyad princes
and their heirs were arrested,
and suffocated to death by
encasing them in leather sacs.
Somehow one prince, named Abd
ar-Rehman escaped the doorn of
the family and made his way to
the distant dominion of Spain,
in the Far West. Here he
gathered support from the long
settled Syrian veteran soldiers
and founded a new Umayyad
dynasty.
Imam Jafar as-Saadiq thus saw
the rule of the last five
caliphs of the Umayyad dynasty,
and the sufferings of his
kinsmen perpetrated by them. He
saw the reign of the first two
caliphs of the new Abbasid
dynasty, and the start of a new
era of persecution of the
Aliyyids and their
followers. The atrocities
unleashed by the Abbasids to
their very supporters (the
Aliyyids), turned out to be
worst than those caused by their
predecessors, the Umayyads.
The new dynasty of the Abbasids
began to strengthen its
establishment. The oppressed
had assisted 'in getting rid of
the yoke of one tyrant system
only to exchange for a new
one. Abu Muslim was useful to
the new regime in the mopping up
operation against the remaining
resistance from the Umayyad
loyalists. Fearing from his
success and increasing
popularity, the new caliph sent
him on one such mission and had
him assassinated in the
field. In 132 AH, Muhammad (Saffah),
brother of Ibrahim Imam became
die Caliph of the consolidated
Abbasid empire that stretched
from Morocco in the West to
Afghanistan in the East.
Muhammad Saffah died in 136 AH
at the age of 32 years, and was
succeeded by his brother Abd
Allah al-Mansoor (Dwaneeqi). His
rule lasted for about 21
years. Historians have written
a great deal about his astute
management of the
empire. However, he was a
ruthless ruler who would order
kflling of another human being
without remorse. He was
nicknamed Dwaneeqi because of
his extreme miserly nature. He
had swom to eradicate all
Aliyyids from his dominions. He
targeted the Aliyyids with
insults, provocation and
deprivation. And, whenever they
arose in arms to defend their
honor or their families, they
were ruthlessly slaughtered and
beheaded: The survivors were
thrown into dingyjails, to rot
and to die there. Thus, the
fate of the respected elder, Abd
Allah Mahadh, and his son
Muhammad (Nafse Zakk-iyah),
along with many others from the
progeny of Imam Hasan, was not
much different from that of Zaid
bin Ali and his son Yahya from
the progeny of Imam Husa'm.
The jealous caliph could not
tolerate the respect and
popularity enjoyed by the Imam
in Madinah. He very much wanted
to subject the Imam to the same
treatment as suffered by other
members of his clansmen. The
Imam refused to take to an-ned
retaliation. The caliph
resorted to have him summoned to
his court in the presence of
dignitaries and scholars from
other lands without prior
warning in order to slight him
in public. But he failed in his
schemes due to the wit of the
Imam Ws knowledge, his
popularity, and his purity.
Finally, the Caliph managed to
have his way, and had the Imam
poisoned. He succumbed to the
fatal dose of poison and died in
148 AH. Before he breathed his
last breath, he appointed his
son Musa to lead the Ummah after
him.
It is important to point
out at this stage that Ismail,
the older son of the Imam had
died during the life of the Imam
and was buried in the graveyard
of Jannat ul-Baqi. Muhammad bin
Ismail had hoped that people
would accept his father as the
successor to Imam Jafar as-Saadiq,
and thus he would inherit the
honor of being the next
Imam. But the position of
Imamate is not a matter of
inheritance but that of a divine
appointment, as the custodians
of the Message of Islam. There
was a small faction of the
followers who did regard Ismail
to be their hnam. And thus
Muhammad bin Ismail did obtain
the honor he had aspired for
among his separatist
faction. However, he had only a
short life, and his lineage
continued until Ubayd Allah bin
Muhammad bin Abd Allah bin
Muhammad bin Ismail proclaimed
himself as the awaited Mahdi.
Ubayd Allah made his way to
Morocco and laid the foundation
of the Fatimid dynasty in a
newly built city named Mahdiya. Later,
they moved to Egypt and ruled
there for many years. The
present-day Ismailia sect thus
follows a descendant from an
offshoot of the Fatimids of
Egypt.
Selected Sayings:
1. If
someone comes to a fellow Muslim
seeking his help, and he gives
it to him, then Ns Muslim is
like someone who is doing
jihad in the name of Allah.
2. Allah says that
people are like His family. He
who treats them well, has earned
His nearness.
3. 1 found wisdom in
four things:
(i) get to know your Creator;
(ii) get to know what the
Creator has provided you with;
(iii) get to know what the
Creator expects of you and holds
you responsible for;
(iv) get to know what things
would throw you out of the
circle of the believers.
4. There are four things in
the conduct of the prophets of
Allah:
(i) good deeds;
(ii) giving away in charity;
(iii) forbearance in times
of trouble;
(iv) deliver the rights of
the believers to them.
5 . A believer is afraid of
two things:
(i) the previous sins, not
knowing how Allah would account
these;
(ii) the remaining life, not
knowing what sins he might
commit before his time is up.
He would not end the night
without fearing what the mom has
in stock for him, and does not
end his day without fearing if he
was able to accrue deeds that
would please Allah.
Nothing will avail him to
things done straight except his
fear for Allah.
6. No momin can reach
the heights of fulfillment, of
his faith unless he has mastered
three of the following:
(i)
understanding and vision in faith;
(ii) a middle-of-the-road type
of conduct;
(iii) forbearance during
times of trouble.
7. People cannot get away from
three things:
(i) a jurist who is pious and
learned;
(ii) a ruler who is caring, and
who could be obeyed;
(iii) a physician who is able to
heal and is reliable.
8. We are ourselves the
roots of all good. All good
deeds sprout from these
branches. They are:
Belief in the Oneness of Allah,
fasting, dispelling anger, to
forgive and to forget,
benevolence towards the poor,
giving the right to the neighbors,
to recognize and to respect
others for their achievements,
all count as good deeds.
Our enemies are the root cause
of all sins. All evil deeds and
trouble sprout from these
branches. They are:
Lies, miserly behavior,
back-biting, meanness, usury,
usurpation of the rights of the
orphans, exceeding the limits
imposed by Allah, committing any
sinful act hidden or openly,
rape or adultery, all of these
count as sinful deeds.
9. Three types of men can be
recognized under these
conditions:
(i) anger of the kind and
tolerant person;
(ii) battle for a brave and
fearless person;
(iii) the time of need for a
friend or a brother.
10. When this world
becomes generous towards
someone, it adds the good deed
of others into his account; but
when it turns against him, then
his good deeds are added onto
someone else's account.
II. It is best to sleep less at
night, and talk less during the
day.
12. When troubles mount
on top of troubles, then the
days of the troubles are
numbered.
REFLECFIONS ON THE LIFE OFIMAM
JA'FAR AS-SAADIQ
Imam Baqir appointed his
son as-Saadiq Imam after
him. He lived through most of
the Marwanid Umayyad rule and
witnessed their downfall. He
also endured the rule of the
first two caliphs of the new
Abbasid dynasty. The decaying
dynasty of the Umayyads and the
political turmoil generated by
the Hashimite movement of the
Abbasids had created a vacuum of
theological leaming. However,
the Imam continued to teach
large numbers of students in
Madinah, and his followers
continued to benefit from him in
their search for the knowledge
of the school of Ahle Bait
during those difficult times.
Imam Ja'far as-Saadiq is known
for the reporting of authentic ahadith of
the Prophet as passed on to him
through his father and
forefathers. His truthfulness
and sincerity earned him the
title of as-Saadiq.
Upon his death, his contemporary
fuqaha (plural of the wordfaqih: leadingjurists
of Islam) expressed their
feelings thus:
Imam Abu Hanifa said, "Ja'far
as-Saadlq was the greatest
scholar of Islamic theology and
jurisprudence. "
Imam Malik said, "My eyes have
not seen a more learned, pious,
and Godfearing man than Imam
Ja'far as-Saadiq."
The Imam is renoned by the vast
number of his students and
disciples, some of whom had
become revered as Imams among
many of the Sunni sects. His
students collected volumes of
quotes from him including
invaluable interpretations of
the Quran and the Sunnah. These
works are available today for
reference and guidance. One of
his greatest disciple was Jabir
ibne Hayyan whose name is well
known in history for his
prolific writings and works on
the physical sciences and on al-chemy.
FIQH JAFARIYYA
The Ja'fariyya School of Islamic
Jurisprudence
The laws by which Allah
wanted human society to be
governed, were sent down by Him
through revelations in the Book,
al-Qur'an. The meditun of its
conveyance was through His
Messenger, the Prophet of
Islam. The Prophet lived a
simple life amongst a simple
people and demonstrated to them
how to deal with other people
and how to live a life of piety
and harmony with fellow men and
nature.
Before his death, the
Prophet of Islam had told the
Muslims that he was leaving
among them two most valued
things to which they must remain
attached, if they wished not to
go astray. One of them is the
holy Quran, and the other is his
Ahle Bait. Clearly those who
profess that the Quran suffices
them, have failed to recognize
the advice of the Prophet.
When Islam had spread to far off
places as also the Muslims
across other regions and
cultures, the need for expanded
meanings of al-Quran and the
interpretation of Sunnah became
imperative. Often false quotes
ascribed to the Prophet were
comed to offer explanations when
no examples were found in the
classic Sunnah. The political
caliphate had diverted the
Muslims away from the Ahig Bait,
and were themselves incapable of
providing the necessary
solutions to complicated
questions on the faith and the
practice of Islam. The period
of decay of the Umayyad dynasty,
and the coming of the Abbasids
was particularly a difficult
time in this regard. This was
also the time when
several jurists became active
among the Sunni Musl'uns to fill
the gap. Some of them wrote
books of reference on Islamic
Law.
Two major schools emerged
simultaneously, one in Iraq
under Abu Hanifa, popularly
known as Ahle Raai and
the other in Hijaz under Malik
bin Anas, known as the Classical
School, or the Ahle Hadith. However,
the proponents and the
supporters of these two schools
used Raai (individual and
personal logic) and Qiyas (speculative
derivation) whenever relevant
Hadith was either unavailable or
was weak, based on island or
twatur (authenticity
or continuity of reporting all
the way to the Prophet). This
methodology called for the use
of speculative logic and
personal opinion to arrive at a fatwa (verdict
on questions of Islamic Law) on
a particular question. This
meant that people could
interpret the laws of Allah
according to their logic or
opinion. However, the laws of
Allah are beyond the scope of
the human interpolation. Man
must use his intelligence to fmd
ways and means to obey the
ordinances of Allah and not to
fmd the ways and means of going
around them!
Imam Ja'far as-Saadiq offered
such an enormous variety of
answers to all Idnds of
complicated questions in Islamic
Law based on Ahadith and
the Sunnah of the Prophet
that he categorically rejected
the methodology of Raai and
Qiyas in Fiqh.
It is important that Fiqh
Ja’fariyya should not be
confused to authorship of Imam
Ja'far as-Saadiq. It is
essentially based on the Ahadith
and Sunnah of the Prophet
and the jurisprudence that had
been passed down to the
believers through oral tradition
by the Imams of Ahle Bait. The
eponym Fiqh Ja’fariyya (or
the alternative name 'Fiqh
Itrat) is applied simply to
identify it from other methods
of jurisprudence evolved by
other fuqaha (jurists of
Islamic Law).
Thousands of students attended
and leamt Fiqh from the
Imam. Much of his teaching was
committed to writing and was
gathered by his students. Four
of the major compilations of the
Imam's teachings have been
extracted from the older
literature:
1. Kafi: by Muhanunad Ya'qub
Kulni.
2. Man la Yahdhr al-Faqih:
by Muhammad Ali Baabwaih.
3. Tahzib, and Istibsar: by
Muhammad b. al-Hasan al-Tusi.
4. Kitab al-Irshad: by Muhammad
b. Muhammad b. Nieman
al-Baghdadi.
RISALA E TAWHEED MUFADHAL
The Epistle on the Unity of
Allah
The cornerstone of Islam
is Tawheed, the belief of
the Oneness of Allah. Once a
companion of the Imam, called
Mufadhal, requested him to
expounded on the subject of
Tawheed as he was faced with a
contest with a group of
atheists. The Imam delivered
the answer to his question in
four sittings. As he spoke,
Mufadhal went on writing it
down, resulting in the Risala. This
is popularly known as the Risalah-e
Tawheed Mufadhal.
It is inscribed as a separate chapter in the
mammoth works of Allama Muhammad
Baqir al-Majlisi.
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