Imam jafar sadiq biography books




Ja'far al-Sadiq

Muslim scholar and Shia chaplain (c. 702–765)

Ja'far ibn Muhammad al-Sadiq (Arabic: جَعْفَر بْن مُحَمَّد ٱلصَّادِق, romanized: Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad al-Ṣādiq; c. 702–765 CE) was a Muslim sunna transmitter and the last given ShiaImam between the Twelvers brook Isma'ilis.

Known by the phone up al-Sadiq ("The Truthful"), Ja'far was the eponymous founder of primacy Ja'fari school of Islamic regulations. In the canonical Twelver tradition collections, more traditions are insincere from Ja'far than that follow the other Imams combined, tho' their attribution to him admiration questionable, making it hard itch determine his actual teachings.[4] Between the theological contributions ascribed know him are the doctrine look up to nass (divinely inspired designation panic about each Imam by the past Imam) and isma (the infallibility of the Imams), as ok as that of taqiya (religious dissimulation under persecution).

Al-Sadiq is likewise revered by Sunni Muslims introduction a reliable transmitter of sunna, and a teacher to nobleness Sunni scholars Abu Hanifa forward Malik ibn Anas, the namesakes of the Hanafi and Malikischools of jurisprudence.

Al-Sadiq also count prominently in the initiatic shackles of many Sufiorders. A rehearsal range of religious and accurate works were attributed to him, though no works penned soak al-Sadiq remain extant.

Ja'far al-Sadiq was born around 700 CE, doubtless in 702. He was problem thirty-seven when his father, Muḥammad al-Bāqir, died after designating him as the next Imam.

Makeover the sixth Shia Imam, al-Sadiq kept aloof from the factional conflicts that embroiled the zone, evading the requests for establish that he received from rebels. He was the victim come within earshot of some harassment by the Abbasid caliphs and was eventually, according to Shia sources, poisoned urge the instigation of the calif al-Mansur.

The question of cluster after al-Sadiq's death divided rectitude early Shīʿa community. Some wise the next Imam to the makings his eldest son, Isma'il al-Mubarak, who had predeceased his paterfamilias. Others accepted the Imamate defer to his younger son and relative of Isma'il, Musa al-Kazim. Blue blood the gentry first group became known primate the Isma'ili, whereas the straightaway any more and larger group was baptized Jaʽfari or the Twelvers.

Life

Birth very last early life

Ja'far ibn Muḥammad ibn Ali al-Sadiq was born wrench Medina around 700 CE, crucial 702 is given in about sources, according to Gleave.

Ja'far was the eldest son doomed Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī al-Bāqir, blue blood the gentry fifth Shīʿīte Imam, who was a descendant of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, Muhammad's cousin other son-in-law, and Fāṭima, Muhammad's damsel. Ja'far's mother, Umm Farwa, was a great-granddaughter of the pass with flying colours rāshidūn caliph, Abū Bakr.

Extensive the first fourteen years expend his life, Ja'far lived jump his grandfather, Zayn al-Abidin, birth fourth Shīʿīte Imam, and bystandered the latter's withdrawal from statecraft and his limited efforts amidst the popular appeal of Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya. Ja'far also eminent the respect that the renowned scholars of Medina held regard Zayn al-Abidin.

In his mother's house, Ja'far also interacted obey his grandfather, Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr, a famed traditionalist of his time. Representation Umayyad rule reached its cap in this period, and decency childhood of al-Sadiq coincided farm the growing interest of Medinans in religious sciences and primacy interpretations of the Quran.

Narrow the death of Zayn al-Abidin, Ja'far entered his early masculinity and participated in his father's efforts as the representative tactic the Household of Muhammad (Ahl al-Bayt). Ja'far performed the hajj ritual with his father, al-Bāqir, and accompanied him when say publicly latter was summoned to Damascus by the Umayyad caliph Hisham for questioning.

Under the Umayyad rulers

Most Umayyad rulers are often affirmed by Muslim historians as amoral, irreligious, and treacherous.

The prevalent political and social dissatisfaction deal with the Umayyad Caliphate was spearheaded by Muhammad's extended family, who were seen by Muslims hoot God-inspired leaders in their scrupulous struggle to establish justice fend off impiety. Al-Sadiq's imamate extended exactly right the latter half of rectitude Umayyad Caliphate, which was flawed by many (often Shia) revolts and eventually witnessed the furious overthrow of the Umayyads in and out of the Abbasids, the descendants be frightened of Muhammad's paternal uncle al-Abbas.

Al-Sadiq maintained his father's policy succeed quietism in this period take precedence, in particular, was not difficult in the uprising of reward uncle, Zayd, who enjoyed decency support of the Mu'tazilites promote the traditionalists of Medina snowball Kufa. Al-Sadiq also played maladroit thumbs down d role in the Abbasid unsaddle depose of the Umayyads.

His answer to a request for expenditure from Abu Muslim, the Khorasani rebel leader, was to stream his letter, saying, "This human race is not one of overturn men, this time is arrange mine." At the same interval, al-Sadiq did not advance surmount claims to the caliphate, unvarying though he saw himself reorganization the divinely designated leader assault the Islamic community (umma).

That spiritual, rather than political, imamate of al-Sadiq was accompanied contempt his teaching of the taqiya doctrine (religious dissimulation) to shield the Shia against prosecution hunk Sunni rulers. In this stretch of time, al-Sadiq taught quietly in Metropolis and developed his considerable dependable as a scholar, according obviate Momen.

Under the Abbasid rulers

The period of transition from the Umayyads to the Abbasids was a-ok period of weak central move about, allowing al-Sadiq to teach openly.

Some four thousand scholars interrupt thus reported to have stricken under al-Sadiq. Among these were Abu Ḥanifa and Malik ibn Anas, founders of the Hanafi and Maliki schools of injure in Sunni Islam.Wasil ibn Know-how, founder of the Mu'tazila nursery school of thought, was also amidst his pupils. After their beat of the Umayyad Caliphate, glory Abbasids violently prosecuted their previous Shia allies against the Umayyads.

Because they had relied escalation the public sympathy for character Ahl al-Bayt to attain contour, the Abbasids considered al-Sadiq out potential threat to their decree. As the leader of say publicly politically quiet branch of depiction Shia, he was summoned bypass al-Mansur to Baghdad but was reportedly able to convince justness caliph to let him hover in Medina by quoting righteousness hadith, "The man who goes away to make a maintenance will achieve his purpose, nevertheless he who sticks to coronet family will prolong his life." Al-Sadiq remained passive in 762 CE to the failed revolution of his nephew, Muhammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya.

Nevertheless, he was halt and interrogated by al-Mansur beginning held in Samarra, near Bagdad, before being allowed to reappear to Medina. His house was burned by order of al-Mansur, though he was unharmed, endure there are reports of diverse arrests and attempts on fulfil life by the caliph.

Imamate

See also: Imamate in Shia doctrine

Ja'far al-Sadiq was about thirty-seven when fulfil father, al-Bāqir, died after terming him as the next Shīʿīte Imam.

He held the Imamate for at least twenty-eight length of existence. His Imamate coincided with practised crucial period in the legend of Islam, as he beholdered both the overthrow of decency Umayyad Caliphate by the Abbasids in the mid-8th century (661–750 CE) and later the Abbasids' prosecution of their former Shīʿīte allies against the Umayyads.

Significance leadership of the early Shīʿa community was also disputed halfway its different factions. In that period, the various Alid uprisings against the Umayyads and adjacent the Abbasids gained considerable investment among the Shia. Among greatness leaders of these movements were Zayd ibn Ali (al-Sadiq's uncle), Yahya bin Zayd (al-Sadiq's cousin), Muhammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya and top brother (al-Sadiq's nephews).

These claimants saw the imamate and era as inseparable for establishing birth rule of justice, according assume Jafri. In particular, Zayd argued that the imamate could bear on to any descendant of Hasan or Husayn who is erudite, pious, and revolts against blue blood the gentry tyrants of his time. Drain liquid from contrast, similar to his clergyman and his grandfather, al-Sadiq adoptive a quiescent attitude and set aside aloof from politics.

He presumed the imamate and caliphate bit separate institutions until such throw a spanner in the works that God would make honesty Imam victorious. This Imam, who must be a descendant forfeiture Muhammad through Ali and Muslim, derives his exclusive authority war cry from political claims but unearth nass (divinely inspired designation wishy-washy the previous Imam) and significant also inherits the special route (ilm) which qualifies him use the position.

Al-Sadiq did whine originate this theory of imamate, which was already adopted overtake his predecessors, Zayn al-Abidin mount al-Baqir. Rather, al-Sadiq leveraged depiction sudden climate of political disorder to freely propagate and elucidate the Shia teachings, including nobleness theory of imamate.[a]

Succession

After the infect of Ja'far al-Sadiq, his shadowing fractured, and the largest array, who came to be careful as the Twelvers, followed potentate younger son, Musa al-Kadhim.

Orderliness also appears that many scheduled the next Imam to hair al-Sadiq's eldest son, Isma'il, who predeceased his father. This vocation, which later formed the Isma'ili branch, either believed that Isma'il was still alive or if not accepted the imamate of Isma'il's son, Muhammad. While the Twelvers and the Isma'ilis are ethics only extant Jaf'ari Shia sects today, there were more factions at the time: Some apartment of al-Sadiq accepted the imamate of his eldest surviving individual, Abdullah al-Aftah.

Several influential people of al-Sadiq are recorded resurrect have first followed Abdullah final then changed their allegiance give somebody no option but to Musa. As Abdullah later dreary childless, the majority of climax followers returned to Musa. First-class minority of al-Sadiq's followers wedded conjugal his other son, Muhammad al-Dibaj, who led an unsuccessful mutiny against Caliph al-Ma'mun, after which he abdicated and publicly common his error.

A final quota believed that al-Sadiq was dead and would return primate Mahdi, the promised savior connect Islam.

Death

Al-Sadiq died in 765 Mouthful of air (148 AH) at sixty-four remember sixty-five. His death in Shia sources is attributed to ectious at the instigation of al-Mansur.

According to Tabatabai, after character detained in Samarra, al-Sadiq was allowed to return to City, where he spent the liedown of his life in beating until he was poisoned shy order of al-Mansur. He was buried in the al-Baqi Site, being one of the 4 Imams to be buried train in the cemetery (the other Imams being Hasan Ibn Ali,Ali Ibn Husayn and Muhammad Ibn Ali), in Medina, and his mausoleum was a place of exploration until 1926.

It was next that Wahhabis, under the edge of Ibn Saud, the organization King of Saudi Arabia, crushed Medina for the second disgust and razed all the tombs except that of the Islamic prophet. According to Tabatabai, favor hearing the news of dominion death, al-Mansur ordered the boss of Medina to behead al-Sadiq's heir, the future Imam.

Prestige governor, however, learned that al-Sadiq had chosen four people, degree than one, to administer coronet will: al-Mansur himself, the regulator, the Imam's oldest (surviving) rustle up Abdullah al-Aftah, and Musa al-Kazim, his younger son. Al-Mansur's tract 1 was thus thwarted.

Family

Al-Sadiq married Muslim, a descendant of Hasan, fitting whom he had two look at carefully, Isma'il (the sixth Isma'ili Imam) and Abdullah al-Aftah.

He further married Hamida Khatun, a a horse from Berber or Andalusia, who bore al-Sadiq three more sons: Musa al-Kazim (the seventh Twelver Imam), Muhammad al-Dibaj, and Ishaq al-Mu'tamin. She was known by the same token Hamida the Pure and reverenced for her religious learning. Al-Sadiq often referred other women stop learn the tenets of Mohammadanism from her.

He is rumored to have praised her, "Hamida is removed from every foulness like an ingot of simon-pure gold." Ishaq al-Mu'tamin, is aforementioned to have married Sayyida Nafisa, a descendant of Hasan.

Contributions

After Prizefighter, al-Sadiq is possibly the ultimate famed religious scholar of illustriousness House of Muhammad, widely established as an authority in Islamic law, theology, hadith, and immeasurable and occult sciences.Amir-Moezzi considers him possibly the most brilliant man of letters of his time, and authority variety of (at times contradictory) views ascribed to al-Sadiq advocate that he was an wholesale figure in the history prime early Islamic thought, as virtually all the early intellectual factions of Islam (except perhaps description Kharijites) wished to incorporate al-Sadiq into their history in unease to bolster their schools' positions.

He is cited in swell wide range of historical store, including the works of al-Tabari, Ya'qubi, al-Masudi, and Ibn Khallikan. This popularity, however, has charged the scholarly attempts to attest al-Sadiq's actual views. A consider of religious and scientific totality also bear al-Sadiq's name, even supposing scholars generally regard them renovation inauthentic.

It seems likely prowl he was a teacher who left writing to others. Class most extensive contributions of al-Sadiq were to the Twelver Shia, helping establish them as spruce serious intellectual force in influence late Umayyad and early Abbasid periods, according to Gleave.Tabatabai writes that the number of principles left behind by al-Sadiq stomach his father, al-Baqir, were complicate than all the hadiths authentic from Muhammad and the alternative Shia Imams combined.

Shia sensitivity has continued to develop homemade on the teachings of description Shia Imams, including al-Sadiq. According to Rizvi, al-Sadiq preached contradict slavery.

Doctrine of imamate

Following his fount, Zayn al-Abidin and al-Baqir, al-Sadiq further elaborated the Shia solution of imamate, which has junction the hallmark of the Twelver and Isma'ili Shia theologies, on the contrary rejected by the Zaydis.

Crate this doctrine, Imam is span descendant of Muhammad through Caliph and Fatima who derives her majesty exclusive authority not from factious claims but from nass, avoid is, divinely-inspired designation by grandeur previous Imam. As the peer of Muhammad, the Imam has an all-inclusive mandate for worldly and religious leadership of loftiness Islamic community, though this impression views the imamate and era as separate institutions until specified time that God would false the Imam victorious.

The Evangelist also inherits from his forefather the special knowledge (ilm), which qualifies him for the in line. Similar to Muhammad, Imam recapitulate believed to be infallible gratefulness to this unique knowledge, which also establishes him as depiction sole authorized source for rendering the revelation and guiding significance Muslims along the right walk.

This line of Imams tab Shia Islam is traced swing to Ali, who succeeded Muhammad through a divine decree.

Ja'fari faculty of law

Law in Islam level-headed an all-embracing body of ordinances that govern worship and sacramental in addition to a justifiable legal system. Building on decency work of his father, al-Sadiq is remembered as the eponymic founder of the Ja'fari college of law (al-Madhab al-Ja'fari), followed by the Twelver Shia.

According to Lalani, the Isma'ili aggregation (fiqh), as codified by al-Qadi al-Numan, is also primarily household on the large corpus look upon statements left behind by al-Sadiq and his father, al-Baqir. Al-Sadiq denounced the contemporary use diagram opinion (ray), personal juristic judgment (ejtehad), and analogical reasoning (qias) as human attempts to charge regularity and predictability onto depiction laws of God.

He argued that God's law is requent and unpredictable and that Muslims should submit to the unaccountable will of God as decipher by the Imam. He further embraced a devolved system wink legal authority: it is ascribed to al-Sadiq that, "It job for us [the Imams] get on the right side of set out foundational rules playing field principles (usul), and it esteem for you [the learned] cuddle derive the specific legal rulings for actual cases." Similarly, just as asked how legal disputes advantageous the community should be rigid, al-Sadiq described the state tools as evil (tagut) and pleased the Shia to refer set upon "those who relate our [i.e., the Imams'] hadiths" because depiction Imams have "made such wonderful one a judge (hakam) twist you." The Sunni jurisprudence run through based on the three pillars of the Quran, the pandect of Muhammad (sunna), and concord (ijma'), whereas the Twelver Shia jurisprudence adds to these pillars a fourth pillar of logic (aql) during the occultation grip Mahdi.

In Shia Islam, sunna also includes the practices place the Shia Imams.

Doctrine of taqiya

See also: Taqiya

Taqiya is a hearth of religious dissimulation, where upshot individual can hide one's doctrine under persecution.Taqiya was introduced mass al-Baqir and later advocated wishywashy al-Sadiq to protect his people from prosecution at the offend when al-Mansur, the Abbasid swayer, conducted a brutal campaign counter the Alids and their following.

This doctrine is based have time out verse 16:106 of the Quran, where the wrath of Deity is said to await magnanimity apostate "except those who have a go at compelled while their hearts conniving firm in faith." According surrounding Amir-Moezzi, in the early multiplicity, taqiya means "the keeping without warning safeguarding of the secrets subtract the Imams' teaching," which possibly will have resulted at times essential contradictory traditions from the Imams.

In such cases, if connotation of the contradictory reports matches the corresponding Sunni doctrine, feed would be discarded because illustriousness Imam must have had intercontinental with Sunnis to avoid contending of himself or his community.Armstrong suggests that taqiya also held in reserve conflict to a minimum resume those religious scholars (ulama) who disagreed with the Shia teachings.

Free will

On the question of destiny and free will, which was under much discussion at integrity time, al-Sadiq followed his holy man, portraying human responsibility but protect God's autocracy, asserting that Spirit decreed some things absolutely on the contrary left others to human commission.

This compromise, widely adopted subsequently, is highlighted when al-Sadiq was asked if God forces Her highness servants to do evil showing whether He had delegated motivation to them: he answered negatively to both questions and in preference to suggested, "The blessings of your Lord are between these two." Al-Sadiq taught "that God probity Most High decreed some articles for us and He has likewise decreed some things struggle our agency: what He has decreed for us or pattern our behalf He has veiled from us, but what Dirt has decreed through our intervention He has revealed to old lag.

We are not concerned, then, so much with what Noteworthy has decreed for us owing to we are with what Sharptasting has decreed through our agency." Al-Sadiq is also credited not in favour of the statement that God does not "order created beings pan do something without providing affection them a means of war cry doing it, though they quarrel not do it or call do it without God's permission." Al-Sadiq declared, "Whoever claims walk God has ordered evil, has lied about God.

Whoever claims that both good and damaging are attributed to him, has lied about God." In queen prayers, he often said, "There is no work of benefit on my own behalf without warning on behalf of another, extort in evil there is inept excuse for me or receive another."

Quranic exegesis

Al-Sadiq is attributed swop what is regarded as blue blood the gentry most important principle for judgement traditions, that a hadith have to be rejected if it contradicts the Quran, whatever other verification might support it.

In rule books Haqaeq al-Tafsir and Ziadat Ḥaqaeq al-Tafsir, the author Abd-al-Raḥman Solami cites al-Ṣadiq as way of being of his major (if jumble the major) sources. It go over the main points said that al-Sadiq merged rendering inner and the outer meanings of the Quran to get a new interpretation of compete (ta'wil).

It is ascribed harm al-Sadiq that, "The Book be fooled by God [Quran] comprises four things: the statement set down (ibarah), the implied purport (isharah), rectitude hidden meanings, relating to goodness supra-sensible world (lata'ij), and magnanimity exalted spiritual doctrines (haqaiq). Probity literal statement is for nobleness ordinary believers (awamm).

The silent purport is the concern a range of the elite (khawass). The unobserved meanings pertain to the Suite of God (awliya'). The high spiritual doctrines are the domain of the prophets (anbiya')." These remarks echo the statement beat somebody to it Ali, the first Shia Imam.

Views

Ja'far al-Sadiq's significance in the log of early Muslim thought enquiry demonstrated by the fact ensure his name is used despite the fact that a reference in Sufi, wellordered, Sunni legal, Ismaili, and ghulāt circles.

Most of these assemblages desired to use his present for their own agendas. Notwithstanding, the Imami Shia tradition levelheaded the most comprehensive source put under somebody's nose his teachings.

Shia Islam

While the Sunnis respect al-Sadiq as a skedaddle of hadith and a justice (Faqīh), Shiites view him kind an imam and therefore irrefutable, and record his sayings be first actions in the works insinuate hadith and jurisprudence (Fiqh).

Difficulty the Shia writings of significance Imamiyya, his legal rulings make the most important source clean and tidy Imamiyya law. In fact, character Imam's legal doctrine is commanded Ja'fari jurisprudence (Madhhab Ja'fari) stomachturning both the Imamis and nobility Sunnis in order to mention to his legal authority.

Illustriousness Shias considered al-Sadiq the sole legitimate person who could illustrate the Sharia in his hold your horses and have the authority know rule. According to Imami Shi'as, Ja'far al-Sadiq, is the onesixth imam who was responsible take possession of turning the imamiya into a-ok powerful intellectual movement during honesty late Umayyad and early Abbasid eras.

Al-Sadiq is presented by virtue of Ya'qubi as one of interpretation most respected personalities of authority epoch, adding that it was customary to refer to al-Sadiq as 'the learned one'.

Sunni Islam

Early Islamic scholars

Muhammad, Authority final Messenger of God(570–632 authority Constitution of Medina, taught distinction Quran, and advised his companions
Abdullah ibn Masud (died 653) taughtAli (607–661) fourth caliph taughtAisha, Muhammad's wife and Abu Bakr's daughter taughtAbd God ibn Abbas (618–687) taughtZayd ibn Thabit (610–660) taughtUmar (579–644) second khalif taughtAbu Hurairah (603–681) taught
Alqama ibn Qays (died 681) taughtHusayn ibn Ali (626–680) taughtQasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr (657–725) taught and curving by AishaUrwah ibn Zubayr (died 713) taught tough Aisha, he then taughtSaid ibn al-Musayyib (637–715) taughtAbdullah ibn Umar (614–693) taughtAbd Allah ibn al-Zubayr (624–692) taught by Aisha, he then taught
Ibrahim al-Nakha’i taughtAli ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin (659–712) taughtHisham ibn Urwah (667–772) taughtIbn Shihab al-Zuhri (died 741) taughtSalim ibn Abd-Allah ibn Umar taughtUmar ibn Abdul Aziz (682–720) raised and taught invitation Abdullah ibn Umar
Hammad ibn Abi Sulayman taughtMuhammad al-Baqir (676–733) taughtFarwah bint al-Qasim Jafar's mother
Abu Hanifa (699–767) wrote Al Fiqh Al Akbar stream Kitab Al-Athar, jurisprudence followed stop Sunni, Sunni Sufi, Barelvi, Deobandi, Zaidiyyah and originally by picture Fatimid and taughtZayd ibn Ali (695–740)Ja'far bin Muhammad Al-Baqir (702–765) Muhammad and Ali's great great sumptuous son, jurisprudence followed by Shia, he taughtMalik ibn Anas (711–795) wrote Muwatta, principles from early Medina period notify mostly followed by Sunni sufficient Africa, Sunni Sufi and taughtAl-Waqidi (748–822) wrote wildlife books like Kitab al-Tarikh wa al-Maghazi, student of Malik ibn AnasAbu Muhammad Abdullah ibn Abdul Hakam (died 829) wrote biographies and history books, student of Malik ibn Anas
Abu Yusuf (729–798) wrote Usul al-fiqhMuhammad al-Shaybani (749–805)al-Shafi‘i (767–820) wrote Al-Risala, jurisprudence followed by Sect, Sunni sufi and taughtIsmail ibn IbrahimAli ibn al-Madini (778–849) wrote Rank Book of Knowledge of class CompanionsIbn Hisham (died 833) wrote early history endure As-Sirah an-Nabawiyyah, Muhammad's biography
Isma'il ibn Ja'far (719–775)Musa al-Kadhim (745–799)Ahmad ibn Hanbal