In the Name of God, the All-Merciful, the All-Compassionate
Today the 25th of Shawwal is the day on which was martyred the 6th Infallible Successor of Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny). We have prepared a special programme on the life and times of Imam Ja’far Sadeq (PBUH).
“Whenever a Muslim recites the Holy Qur’an at home, those in heaven see that house in the same way that those on the earth see shining stars in heaven.”
What you heard is one of the aphorisms of the person on the benefits of reciting the final and universal Covenant of God to all humanity at whose feet used to sit at least 4000 scholars, eager to acquire different branches of knowledge, including natural sciences. The Father of Chemistry, Jaber ibn Hayyan – who was known as Gebr to medieval Europe) was one of them. There were several others, who in addition to learning the fundamentals of belief and the purpose of God’s creation of the universe, excelled in physics, medicine, astronomy, logics, ethics, jurisprudence, etc. The purpose here is not to present a select list of those who succeeded in properly grasping the molecules of knowledge opened by him in different fields of knowledge to become immortals in their own right. Neither is the intention to focus on the ‘dropouts’ from his famous academy who, unable to fathom the certitude of his divinely-inspired discourses, indulged in qiyas or guesswork and other innovations in religious matters as part of their over-weaning ambition to start schools of jurisprudence of their own.
If only these over-ambitious persons had heeded the words of the person who was Qur’an an-Nateq or the “Qur’an Personified”, the Ummah would have been saved from today’s sectarian, and consequently political disunity, which is an open violation of the commandment of the Heavenly Scripture as specified in ayah 103 of Surah Baqarah which reads: “Hold fast, all together, to Allah’s Cord, and do not be divided.”
Unfortunately, this disunity, coupled with inability to properly comprehend and act upon the timeless wisdom of the Holy Qur’an, has not only failed to enlighten minds and souls, but has also made houses dark spots that do not emit any light for the denizens of the skies. No wonder, the enemies of humanity have become emboldened in desecrating copies of God’s Final Revelation to mankind! Still it is not too late to salvage Islamic solidarity. This could be done through proper pondering upon the immortal wordings of the Qur’an in the light of the practical precedents set by the Prophet, whose famous hadith to prevent Muslims from going astray reads:
“I am leaving behind among you the Saqalayn (that is, the Two Precious Things), the Book of Allah and my progeny, the Ahl al-Bayt; hold fast to them and you will never go astray, for the two never separate from each other, even when they return to me at the Pool (of Kowsar) on the Day of Judgement).”
Thus, in view of these undeniable facts, what the Muslim Ummah needs today is a scientific probe of the life and times of the person whose martyrdom anniversary we commemorate every year on the 25th of Shawwal.
He was Imam Ja’far Sadeq ibn Imam Mohammad Baqer ibn Imam Ali ibn Imam Husain ibn Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (peace upon them). He was a direct descendant of the Prophet and the 6th Infallible Imam of the Ahl al-Bayt. He was the embodiment of Truth, to the extent that he has earned immortal fame as as-Sadeq or “The Most Truthful”. It was the epithet of his illustrious forbear, the Prophet, whose seerah or behaviour, and sunnah or practice, he so thoroughly revived that till this day the pure and pristine Muhammadan Jurisprudence is known as Fiqh al-Ja’fari in honour of this worthy descendant. In his honour, Malek ibn Anas – a descendant of the Prophet’s neo-Muslim servant, Anas bin Malek, and founder of the Malekite school, has said: “Never has the eye seen, nor the ear heard, and neither the heart of a human being thought anyone more virtuous, knowledgeable, devout or pious than Ja’far as-Sadeq (PBUH).”
Another of his contemporary who had eulogized him was Abu Hanifa, the son of a Zoroastrian convert to Islam from Kabul and also a founder of a school of jurisprudence, who admitted: “If not for those two years (as student of the 6th Imam) No’man (that is, Abu Hanifa’s name) would have perished.”
Here we relate to you an interesting anecdote from the life of the 6th Imam. Once, a person called Zakariya, who was a Christian, drew the attention of his Muslim friend Abdullah towards a person who was going to the mosque, and said: “Do you know him? Do you know how kind he is?
Abdullah replied: Yes, but I thought that only Muslims know him and not the followers of other religions.
Zakariya, the Christian person, who was still not properly acquainted with the identity of the man going towards the mosque, said: I am indebted for my life to him. Once when I had lost my way in the desert and was dying of thirst, he kindly approached me, gave me water to drink from his goatskin water carrier, although it was almost empty. He even gave his food to me and showed me the way towards Medina. I thought Prophet Jesus (PBUH) has come to my help. Abdullah told his Christian friend: He is the leader of Muslims; he is Imam Ja’far as-Sadeq (PBUH) who is a direct descendant of Prophet Mohammad (blessings of Allah be upon him and his progeny). He adheres to the ways and behaviour of his forefathers and his name is a byword for generosity, forgiveness and virtue. Zakariya, the Christian gentleman, who had pinned his eyes to the mosque even after Imam Sadeq (AS) had entered it, saw several youths hurrying towards the mosque although it was not the time for prayer. He asked his friends: Why are they going to the mosque?
Abdullah replied: Soon Imam Sadeq (AS) will start giving lessons and these are his students who have come from different lands to learn different sciences from him.
Zakariya enthusiastically got up and said he was eager to hear the words of the Imam. Abdullah said: do not hurry, we will go together. I am one of his students and I have benefited much from the vast sea of his knowledge. The two entered the mosque and sat down among the students. Although a Christian, Zakariya listened with rapt attention to the Imam’s discourse. He felt amazed at the depth of knowledge of Imam Sadeq (AS). He had regularly visited Churches and monasteries but had never heard such wise words with clear reasoning. Abdullah realized the change of state of Zakariya and turning to him said that soon you will be a student and disciple of the Prophet’s successor. It was not long when the clear reasoning and rational proofs of the sixth Imam transformed Zakariyah into a devoted Muslim and follower of the Ahl al-Bayt. Time does not permit us to refer to the remarkable treatise “Towhid al-Mufazzal” which Imam Sadeq (AS) dictated to his disciple Umar ibn Mufazzal, and which is regarded as the finest exposition of the Glory of God and monotheism with vivid examples from the animal and vegetation kingdoms, the world of nature, and the human being itself.
It is not the place to dwell on the 34-year mission of the 6th Imam, which spanned the crucial and cruel period of history when the Omayyad tyrants were on their way out, while the Abbasids were emerging as the new breed of political usurpers of the Islamic realm. The forces of darkness always resented the enlightening role in the life of Muslims, of the Holy Qur’an, and of the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt, and in 148 AH, at the age of 65 years, Imam Ja’far as-Sadeq (AS) was fatally martyred through a dose of poison by the turncoat, Mansour Dawaniqi, who on becoming caliph had conveniently chosen to forget the allegiance he had sworn long ago to the 6th Imam at the meeting of Hashemites at Abwa.
Here we present you two of the wise sayings from the 6th Imam:
“Either be a scholar, or try to seek knowledge or at least be a follower of the possessors of knowledge.”
“No comfort is better than good temper. Good temper promotes love and affection.”
(english.irib)
On this occasion we extend our deepest condolences to the presence of the Holy great Qutb of Nematollahi Gonabadi Order, Haj Dr.Noor Ali Tabandeh, “MajzoobAli Shah”, all Gonabadi Dervishes and all the Muslims and lovers of the Ahl al-Bait around the globe.
“Majzooban Noor website”