The 6th Imam, Ja’afar Ibn Muhammad el Sadiq(AS) was

Born in Madinah on 17th Rabiul Awwal 83 Hijiri (23.4.702 AD).

Died in Madinah on 15th Shawwal, 148 Hijri (7.12.765 AD)

at the age of 63. Period of Imamat 34 years.

Five French scholars in France have compiled a book with

the title,”The heart of the Shia

Scholarship.”

In this book they mention that when Imam Sadiq was a young boy, he used to come

to the schools founded by his father (the 5th Imam) and

instead of learning ,he used to discuss serious matters of Fiqh and Jurisprudence with

much older students

He was 11 years old, when he entered a class room where pupils were discussing on the subject of astronomy, he pointed

out to the surprise of everyone except his own father, that the earth cannot be flat, because of the way the sun rises in the East and sets in the west and day and night change in 24 hours, it cannot be

possible. In his opinion the earth must be round, otherwise this would not have happened in such a precise manner.

All the students were astonished but his father smiled and said nothing.

Up to the age of twelve years, Imam (AS) was brought up under the guidance of his grand father Imam Zainul

Abedeen Then up to the age of 31 he passed his time under the

guidance of his father Imam Baqir(AS).

During Imam’s time the Ummayads rule fell and

Abbasids power rose. The Abbasids used the name of

Ahlulbayt to get support. But once they gained the seat of power , they turned against

the prophet’s family and began killing and imprisoning the descendants especially the family of Imam Hassan(as)

In spite of all these atrocities against the Descendents of

Imam Hasan (AS), Imam Sadiq (AS) went on silently

propagating the teachings of Ahlulbayt.

Al-Mansur, the Abbasid Caliph wanted to remove the respect in which the Imam was held by the people. He tried to bring his own scholars to

compete with him but all of them proved incapable of

arguing and succeeding even with his own students.

In every town and city spies were posted to monitor the activities of

the followers of the Imam. It was at this time that these

followers were given the name of Rafidhoon, i.e. the rejecters. It was Mansur who coined the word Ahlal Sunna wal Jama’ah to promote a

sect against the followers of Ahlulbayt Anyone who was found

supporting the Imam would be arrested, imprisoned or killed.

The Imam himself was summoned from Madinah to Baghdad, the newly founded Capital of the

Abbasid regime. Five times he was taken away

from Madinah to Baghdad, questioned or harassed in one way or the other. Mansur could never find sufficient grounds to

order his imprisonment or assassination.

Towards the end of his life the Imam was subjected to severe restrictions by the Abbasid caliph Mansur, who ordered such torture and merciless

killing of many of the descendants of the Prophet (saw) who were Shia that his actions even surpassed the cruelty and heedlessness of the Umayyads.

Once a pilgrim was asleep in the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah,. On

waking up, he found his purse missing. Looking around he saw the Imam was

praying in one corner of the Mosque. He accused the Imam of having picked his

purse. The Imam asked about its contents and was told that it contained

one thousand Dinars.

The Imam then asked the man to follow him to his house where he gave the

man the same amount. The Man later found his purse within his bag. Greatly ashamed of his conduct, he came back to the Imam, apologised and asked him to take his money back. Imam replied

with these words, “We never take back what we once give away, but if you feel guilty about it, give it to the poor of the

town.

During the days of drought, Imam asked his servant Trenchab, “ The price of corn

is rising day by day. How much corn is there in our warehouse," Trenchab

replied that the Imam should not worry as there was a large quantity of corn in

store. The Imam replied, “ Give it away to the poor and let us face the situation along with others.” Then he ordered that pure white wheat flour should not be used in his kitchen, and should be mixed with

equal quantity’s of oat flour. “ We must share misfortune with the needy and the

poor as long as it takes."

Imam Jafar al-Sâdiq (as), was a noble Imam.” His dua was always accepted. If he asked Allah for something, it was between his hands before he completed his

words.”

HIS ATTACHMENT TO QURAN 

Imam Ja’ffar ibn Muhammad as-Sadiq (as) was once seen reciting verses from the Holy Quran during his

prayer when suddenly he fell down unconscious. Later on, after he (as) regained his consciousness, somebody asked as to what had happened to him

and the Imam (as) said, 

“I was engrossed in recitation of the verses from the Holy Quran when suddenly I felt as though I

was hearing them directly from the One who was revealing it (Allah)”. (Falaah al-Saail)

 The Holy Quran consists of words of Allah (SWT). When we want Allah

(SWT) to communicate to us, we must recite the Holy Quran. The learning point from the above incident is that we should strive to

recite the Book of Allah with our minds and hearts focused in it such that we reach a stage whereby we feel that Allah (SWT) is personally

talking to us.

A companion narrates; "I saw Imam Sadiq (A.S.)

wearing rough dress and he was working in a farm like an

ordinary labor and perspiring all over." I said to him "Oh, the son of Prophet (P.B.U.H.) allow me

to work for you."He said, "I love working for my

livelihood and to taste the hardship of the burning heat of

the sun like others."

Bin Khunais says, "On a rainy and dark night I saw that Imam Sadiq (A.S.) was carrying a heavy sack on his back in the

streets of Madina. I followed him to find out as to where he was heading. Not very long

after that, he reached a point where a group of oppressed men were sleeping. He

put two breads underneath the head of each one and turned back I asked the Imam (A.S.) "were they your shias?" He said, "No,

if they were our shias I would have attended them better than that."

One of the days Imam (A.S.) was present in the assembly of 'Mansoor'. By chance,

a fly started teasing 'Mansoor' and howsoever he tried to make it buzz off it would not and again sat upon his far and head. Mansoor much annoyed as he was,

"said to Imam (A.S.), "Why has God created the fly?"

Imam (A.S.) at once replied, "For the reason of disgracing and degrading the

powerful tyrants through them."

His profound knowledge of religion and other sciences was famed throughout the

entire Islamic world. People came from distant regions to learn from him. The number of his students reached over

Four Thousand.

Heads of other religions also came there to discuss with the Imams students many matters of dispute and on many occasions returned home embracing Islam.

Sometimes Imam himself argued with the opponents

especially atheists.

A young man called Zakariyya who had converted from Christianity to Islam.

stopped at Madinah to visit Imam Ja'far As-Sadiq (A.S.). On meeting the Imam

(A.S.), Zakariyya asked him how he should behave towards his father, mother and other family members who were still Christians. Imam (A.S.) replied that Islam is a religion of mercy and kindness to all

that has been created by Allah. Also Islam holds the rights of parents very highly. Imam (A.S.) then advised the man to be

even more kinder and more helpful to his mother than he had ever been.

Zakariyya returned home, he was there even more than before for his mother. He

listened to her and was kind to her and ever ready to help her.

He gave her food and drink with his own hands. He

washed her clothes and kept the house tidy. And when he

was free he would sit and chat with her and cheer her up. too.

His mother was very surprised and asked Zakariyya what had made him become so kind towards her. Zakariyya explained that his Imam, our 6th Imam (A.S.), had told him to act in this way. His mother wanted to know what else the religion of Islam had taught her son. Zakariyya sat with his mother to tell her all about the teachings of Islam and when he had finished, his mother became a Muslim

Hisham, had ordered the sixth Imam to be arrested and brought to Damascus. Later,

the Imam was arrested by Saffah., the Abbasid caliph, and brought to Iraq.

Finally, Mansur had him arrested again and brought to Samarrah 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 in house arrest until he was poisoned and martyred through the

intrigue of Mansur.

Imam (as) died in the 10th year of the reign of Caliph Mansur, 148 Hijiri(765 AD).

Imam Ja’afar Sadiq (AS) was buried in the cemetery of

Baqee in Madina by the side of his father Imam

Muhammad Baqir (AS)

Imam Jaffer Sadiq’s(as) grave at Jannatul Baqee

Brief Sayings of Imam Jaffar Al Sadiq (A.S.)

Our intercession will not be extended to the one who is careless in performing prayers.

. Be kind to your father and mother so that your

children may as well be kind to you.

Avoid incorrect jokes and humors, as it is the cause of enmity and grudge

Avoid being jealous of others because this will be the cause of your becoming away

from God.