{"id":3486,"date":"2019-12-03T09:07:32","date_gmt":"2019-12-03T09:07:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/3486\/scholarly-jihad-of-the-sixth-holy-imam\/"},"modified":"2019-11-03T09:21:14","modified_gmt":"2019-11-03T09:21:14","slug":"scholarly-jihad-of-the-sixth-holy-imam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/3486\/scholarly-jihad-of-the-sixth-holy-imam\/","title":{"rendered":"Scholarly Jihad of the Sixth Holy Imam"},"content":{"rendered":"

Name: <\/strong><\/span>Ja\u2018far.<\/strong><\/span>
\nAgnomen:<\/strong><\/span> Abu \u2018Abdill\u00e2h.<\/strong><\/span>
\nTitle: <\/strong><\/span>As-S\u00e2diq.<\/strong><\/span>
\nFather:<\/span><\/strong> Muhammad bin \u2018Ali.<\/strong><\/span>
\nMother: <\/span><\/strong>Umm Farwah.<\/strong><\/span>
\nBirth: <\/span><\/strong>17th Rabi I, 83 AH in Medina.<\/strong><\/span>
\nDeath: <\/strong><\/span>25th Shaww\u00e2l 148 AH in Medina.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

1. Birth & Early Days<\/strong><\/span>
\nImam Ja\u2018far as-S\u00e2diq, son of the fifth Imam, was born in 83 A.H.\/702 C.E. After the death of his father in 114 A.H., he became Imam by Divine Command and decree of the Imam who came before him.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. His Imamate: Continuation of Scholarly Jih\u00e2d<\/strong><\/span>
\nDuring the 34 years of imamate of as-S\u00e2diq (a.s.) greater possibilities and a more favorable climate existed for him to propagate religious teachings. This came about as a result of revolts in Islamic lands, especially the uprising of the Muswaddah to overthrow the Umayyad caliphate, and the bloody wars which finally led to the fall and extinction of the Umayyads. The greater opportunities for Shi\u2019ite teachings were also a result of the favourable ground the fifth Imam had prepared during the twenty years of his imamate through the propagation of the true teachings of Islam and the sciences of the Ahlu \u2018l-Bayt of the Prophet.<\/span>
\nImam as-S\u00e2diq took advantage of the occasion to propagate the religious sciences until the very end of his imamate, which coincided with the end of the Umayyad and beginning of the Abbasid caliphates. He instructed many scholars in different fields of the intellectual and transmitted sciences, such as Zur\u00e2rah, Muhammad ibn Muslim, Mu\u2019min at-T\u00e2q, Hish\u00e2m ibn Hakam, Ab\u00e2n ibn Taghlib, Hish\u00e2m ibn S\u00e2lim, Hurayz, Hish\u00e2m Kalbi Nass\u00e2bah, and J\u00e2bir ibn Hayy\u00e2n, the alchemist. Even some important Sunni scholars such as Sufy\u00e2n Thawri, Abu Hanifa (the founder of the Hanafi school of law), Qadi Sukuni, Qadi Abu \u2019l-Bakhtari and others, had the honor of being his students. It is said that his classes and sessions of instruction produced four thousand scholars of hadith and other sciences. Refering to the two years that he spent as a student of Imam as-S\u00e2diq (a.s.), Abu Hanifa used to say: \u201cIf it had not been for those two years, Nu\u2018m\u00e2n would have perished.\u201d<\/span>
\nThe number of traditions preserved from the fifth and sixth Imams is more than all the hadith that have been recorded from the Prophet and the other ten Imams combined. That is why the Shi\u2018a school of laws in Islam is known as \u201cJa\u2018fari\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Students & Companions<\/strong><\/span>
\nHamr\u00e2n bin A\u2018yan: Some of the students of Imam Ja\u2018far as-S\u00e2diq (a.s.) had reached such heights of excellence that they earned the complete trust of their teacher. Once a Syrian (who those days were usually against the Ahlu \u2019l-Bayt because of the Umayyad propaganda) entered the gathering of the Imam.<\/span>
\nUpon inquiring the purpose of his visit, he said, \u201cI have been told whatever the people ask you, you have an answer for that. So I have come to debate with you.\u201d<\/span>
\nImam (a.s.): \u201cOn what issue would you like to debate with me?\u201d<\/span>
\nSyrian: \u201cAbout the Qur\u2019\u00e2n.\u201d<\/span>
\nImam pointed towards Hamr\u00e2n bin A\u2018yan and said, \u201cGo and debate with him.\u201d<\/span>
\nSyrian: \u201cI have come to challenge you and debate with you, not with him.\u201d<\/span>
\nImam (a.s.): \u201cDefeating Hamr\u00e2m would be like defeating me!\u201d<\/span>
\nSo the Syrian went to Hamr\u00e2n and had a debate with him about the Qur\u2019\u00e2n. Hamr\u00e2n answered all questions satisfactorily until the Syrian ran out of them. He finally conceded his own defeat.<\/span>
\nMufazzal bin \u2018Umar: He is well known for a treatise which the Imam dictated for him on the subject of tawh\u00eed. Here we will just mention one incident which shows that Imam Ja\u2018far as-S\u00e2diq was also actively working for peace and social harmony among his followers.<\/span>
\nOne day Mufazzal saw that two Shi\u2018as were arguing and fighting with one another on the division of the estate of their relative. Mufazzal took both of them home and after discussion, resolved their conflict. In bringing about the resolution he had to add four hundred dirhams from himself. As the two Shi\u2019as were leaving, Mufazzal said, \u201cYou should know that the money I have used to resolve your conflict is not my own money; it belongs to Imam Ja\u2018far as-S\u00e2diq (a.s.) who had given it to me with the instruction that whenever I see conflict among his followers, I should try to maintain peace among them by using that money.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

4. Rulers & their Attitude<\/strong><\/span>
\nImam as-S\u00e2diq\u2019s imamate coincided with the rule of the last five Umayyad rulers (Hish\u00e2m bin \u2018Abdu \u2019l-Malik, Wal\u00eed bin Yaz\u00eed, Yaz\u00eed bin Wal\u00eed, Ibr\u00e2h\u00eem bin Wal\u00eed, and Marw\u00e2n al-Him\u00e2r) and the first two \u2018Abb\u00e2sid caliphs (Abu \u2019l-\u2018Abb\u00e2s Saff\u00e2h and Mans\u00fbr Daw\u00e2niqi).<\/span>
\nAs mentioned in the previous lesson, the Muslim people were gradually turning away from the Umayyads. The anti-Umayyad sentiment which had started with the massacre of Karbala, finally led to the fall of the Umayyads in 132 A.H. However, those who were leading the revolt in the name of Ahlu \u2019l-Bayt could not resist the temptation of power, and seized the seat of caliphate for themselves. These were the descendants of \u2018Abb\u00e2s bin \u2018Abdul Muttalib, the uncle of the Prophet. Hence the next dynasty to rule the Muslim world was known as Banu \u2018Abb\u00e2s or the \u2018Abb\u00e2sids.<\/span><\/p>\n

* * *<\/span><\/p>\n

Hish\u00e2m, the Umayyad caliph, had ordered the sixth Imam to be arrested and brought to Damascus. The later Umayyad rulers were not strong enough to harass the Imam.<\/span>
\nThe Imam was then arrested by Saff\u00e2h, the first \u2018Abb\u00e2sid caliph and brought to Iraq. After some time, he was allowed to return to Medina. The reign of Mans\u00fbr, the second \u2018Abb\u00e2sid caliph, was even worse for the Shi\u2019as. He ordered such torture and merciless killing of many of the descendants of the Prophet who were Shi\u2019ite that his actions even surpassed the cruelty and heedlessness of the Umayyads. At his order they were arrested in groups, some thrown into deep and dark prisons, and tortured until they died, while others were beheaded or buried alive or placed at the base of or between walls of buildings, and walls were constructed over them.<\/span>
\nOnce Mans\u00fbr wrote to Imam as-S\u00e2diq (a.s.) asking him why he did not visit him like other dignitaries. The Imam wrote in reply: \u201cNeither do we possess any worldly treasure for which we may fear you, nor do you possess any spiritual virtue for which we may seek your favour. So why should we come to you?\u201d Mans\u00fbr replied, \u201cThen come for admonishing us.\u201d The Imam replied, \u201cThose who seek this world will never admonish you, and those who seek the hereafter will never come to you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

5. Last Days & Death<\/strong><\/span>
\nFinally, Mans\u00fbr had Imam as-S\u00e2diq (a.s.) arrested and brought to S\u00e2marrah (Iraq) where he had the Imam kept under supervision, was in every way harsh and discourteous to him, and several times thought of killing him. Eventually the Imam was allowed to return to Medina where he spent the rest of his life under severe restrictions placed upon him by the Abbasid ruler, until he was poisoned and martyred through the intrigue of Mansur.<\/span>
\nUpon hearing the news of the Imam\u2019s martyrdom, Mansur wrote to the governor of Medina instructing him to go to the house of the Imam on the pretext of expressing his condolences to the family, to ask for the Imam\u2019s will and testament and read it. Whoever was chosen by the Imam as his inheritor and successor should be beheaded on the spot. Of course, the aim of Mansur was to put an end to the whole question of the imamate and to Shi\u2019ite aspirations. When the governor of Medina, following orders, read the last will and testament, he saw that the Imam had chosen five people rather than one to administer his last will and testament: the caliph himself, the governor of Medina, \u2018Abdullah Aftah, the Imam\u2019s older son, Musa, his younger son, and Hamidah, his wife. In this way the plot of Mansur failed.<\/span>
\nAbu Bas\u00eer, a close companion of Imam Ja\u2018far as-S\u00e2diq (a.s.), went to the Imam\u2019s house for expressing condolences on the death of the Imam. Umm Ham\u00eedah, the wife of the Imam, said, \u201cO Abu Bas\u00eer, if you had been at the Imam\u2019s side when he died, you would have been surprised. In his last moments, the Imam opened his eyes and asked that all family members come close to his bed. When everyone had gathered around him, he said, \u2018Verily, the person who considers the sal\u00e2t as a trivial issue, he will not deserve our intercession.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

http:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Imam Ja‘far as-Sâdiq, son of the fifth Imam, was born in 83 A.H.\/702 C.E. After the death of his father in 114 A.H., he became Imam by Divine Command and decree of the Imam who came before him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8897,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7453,7775],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3486","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bank-of-subjects-of-articles","category-islamic-scholastic-theology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3486","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3486"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3486\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8897"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3486"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3486"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3486"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}