Saturday, February 4, 2012
On 22 Rajab, table cloth dinner ( nazer)is organized by Shi'a muslims. This is in remembrance of 6th Imam Jafar as-Sadiq. Ja'far al-Sadiq (Arabic جعفر الصادق, April 20, 702 – December 4, 765), in full Ja'far ibn Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Husayn, is considered the sixth Shi'a imam by Ja'afari Shi'a Muslims. He was a theologian and jurist. His rulings are the basis of the Jafari school of Shi'a jurisprudence (fiqh); but he is well respected by Sunnis for his contributions to the Sunni scholarship as well. The dispute over who was to succeed him led to the split of the Ismailis from the mainstream Twelver Shi'a and the establishment of the Aga Khans' family line. Birth and family lifeJa'far al-Sadiq was born Ja'far ibn Muhammad in Medina on April 20, 702. He was the son of Muhammad al-Baqir, the fifth Shi'a imam, and the grandson of Ali ibn Husayn, the fourth Shi'a imam. He was a direct descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, through Ali ibn Abi Talib and Fatima Zahra and their son Husayn ibn Ali. His mother Farwah bint al-Qasim was the great-granddaughter of Abu Bakr, the first caliph of the early Islamic state. Scholarly attainmentsAs a child, Ja'far studied under his grandfather, Ali ibn Husayn. After his grandfather' Ja'far became well versed in Islamic sciences, including hadith, sunnah, and the Qur'an. In addition to his knowledge of Islamic sciences, Ja'far was also an adept in natural sciences, mathematics, philosophy, astronomy, anatomy, alchemy and other subjects. The foremost Islamic alchemist, Jabir ibn Hayyan, known in Europe as Geber, was Ja'far's most prominent student. Ja'far was known for his liberal views on learning, and was keen to debate with scholars of different faiths and of different beliefs. The Shi'a believe that the founders of three schools of Sunni jurisprudence studied under Ja'far and should be considered his students; the Sunni say that this unduly exaggerates Ja'far's influence. Many scholars attended each other's lectures. Scholars believed to have studied extensively with Ja'far:
Sunni scholars who either attended Ja'far's lectures or studied with him:
Under the Ummayad rulersJa'far al-Sadiq lived in violent times. Ja'far was considered by many followers of 'Ali to be the sixth Shi'a imam -- however, the Shi'a, or Shi'at Ali, the party of Ali, were considered heretics and rebels by the Ummayad caliphs. Many of Ja'far's relatives had died at the hands of the Umayyads. Shortly after his father's death, Ja'far's uncle, Zaid bin Ali led a rebellion against the Umayyads. Ja'far did not participate, but many of his kinsmen, including his uncle, were killed, and others were punished. There were other rebellions during these last years of the Umayyads, before the Abbasids succeeded in grasping the caliphate and establishing the Abbasid dynasty in 750 CE, when Ja'far was forty-eight years old. Many rebel factions tried to convince Ja'far al-Sadiq to support their claims. Ja'far evaded their requests without explicitly advancing his own claims. He is said to burned their letters (letters promising him the caliphate) commenting, "This man is not from me and cannot give me what is in the province of Allah". Ja'far's prudent silence on his true views is said to have established taqqiya as a Shi'a doctrine. Taqqiya says that it is acceptable to hide one's true opinions if by revealing them, one put oneself or others in danger. Under the Abbasid rulersThe new Abbasid rulers, who had risen to power on the basis of their claim to descent from Muhammad's uncle Abbas, were extremely suspicious of Ja'far, whom many considered to have a better claim to the caliphate. Ja'far was watched closely and, occasionally, imprisoned to cut his ties with his followers. Ja'far endured the persecution patiently and continued his study and writing wherever he found himself. He died on December 4, 765. Some say that he was poisoned, thus becoming a martyr, like the Shi'a imams before him. He is buried in Medina, in the famous Jannat al-Baqi cemetery. The ImamateJa'far's first son, Ismail bin Jafar, died before Ja'far. After Jafar's death, there arose a major split between the partisans of the Ithna Ashari Shias (Twelvers), who felt that Ismail's brother Musa al-Kazim (one of Jafar's younger sons) was the rightful successor to Jafar; and the Ismailis (Seveners), who felt that the late Ismail was the rightful successor as the seventh imam. The Ismailis eventually became a separate sect; their supreme spiritual leaders, the Aga Khans, are descendants of Ismail. Sayings
AnecdotesSomeone once asked Ja'far to show him God. The imam replied, "Look at the sun." The man replied that he could not look at the sun because it was too bright. Said Ja'far: "If you cannot see the created, how can you expect to see the creator?" |
Labels: Ahlul Bayt a.s.w and Bani Hashim
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