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Imam Ja‘far al-Sadiq عليه السلام taught in Medina during the turbulent passage from Umayyad to Abbasid rule, when open scholarship became possible for a time. So many jurists and transmitters learned from him that Twelver law is named after him: al-madhhab al-Ja‘fari — Fiqh-e-Jafariya.
Lineage
The zahoor of Ja‘far ibn Muhammad was in Medina in 83 AH. His father was Imam al-Baqir; his mother, Umm Farwa, was a daughter of al-Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr, one of the respected jurists of Medina. He lived with his grandfather Imam Zayn al-Abidin in his childhood and with his father until 114 AH.
A window of opportunity
His Imamate (114–148 AH) spanned the collapse of Umayyad rule and the Abbasid revolution of 132 AH. The Abbasids had rallied support in the name of the Prophet’s family; offers of leadership were made to him, but he declined involvement — al-Mas‘udi reports that he burned a letter from the Abbasid propagandist Abu Salama. The transition loosened restrictions for a time and allowed him to teach on a scale no earlier Imam had been able to.
Teacher of the jurists
Al-Mufid cites the scholar Ibn Uqda as listing some four thousand people who narrated from him. His companions included Zurara ibn A‘yan, Muhammad ibn Muslim, Aban ibn Taghlib, Hisham ibn al-Hakam, Hisham ibn Salim, Mu’min al-Taq and al-Mufaddal ibn Umar. Abu Hanifa and Malik ibn Anas, founders of two Sunni schools, are reported to have attended his circle or narrated from him.
His teaching ranged across law, Qur’anic interpretation, theology, ethics and the natural world. He insisted that his teaching was not personal opinion but the transmitted knowledge of the Prophet through the Imams. Much of the material his students wrote down formed the “four hundred principles” (al-usul al-arba‘umi’a) on which the later Four Books drew.
Under al-Mansur
The second Abbasid caliph, al-Mansur, came to see him as a threat. He was summoned to Iraq on several occasions and kept under watch. He died in Medina in 148 AH; Twelver sources report that he was poisoned on al-Mansur’s orders. He was buried in al-Baqi.
Reports state that, aware the caliph would seek to eliminate his successor, he named several people as executors of his will, among them the caliph himself, so that his designation of his son Musa would not expose him. After his death some followers turned to his son Isma‘il (who had died before him) or to his son Abd Allah, giving rise to the Isma‘ili and Fathi branches; the majority followed Imam Musa al-Kazim.
Significance in Twelver Shia belief and Fiqh-e-Jafariya
He is the sixth Imam, and the school of law of the Twelver Shia is called Ja‘fari after him. His method grounded law in the Qur’an and the Sunna as transmitted by the Imams, rejected analogical reasoning based on personal opinion (qiyas), and gave a central place to reason in understanding God’s law and creed.
Significant dates
- 17 Rabi al-Awwal 83 AH (702 CE)Zahoor in Medina
- 114 AH (733 CE)Beginning of his Imamate
- 132 AH (750 CE)Abbasid revolution
- 136–158 AHReign of al-Mansur
- 25 Shawwal 148 AH (765 CE)Martyrdom in Medina; burial in al-Baqi
Narrations and texts
He taught that his narration was the narration of his father, his father’s that of his grandfather, and so on back through Imam Ali to the Messenger of God — and the Messenger’s narration is the word of God.
Sources: al-Kafi (Kitab Fadl al-‘Ilm, chapter on transmitting books and hadith)
Paraphrase; verify the exact chapter and number in a named edition.
Narrations are given as careful paraphrases, not verbatim translations. See the Editorial Methodology
Differing reports
- Zahoor: 83 AH (al-Mufid) is most common; 80 AH is also reported.
- Date of martyrdom: 25 Shawwal is widely commemorated; 15 Rajab is also reported.
- Sunni sources generally record his death without poisoning.
Sources
- Kitab al-Irshad fi Ma‘rifat Hujaj Allah ‘ala al-‘Ibad — al-Mufid, Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Nu‘man (d. 413 AH / 1022 CE). chapter on Ja‘far ibn Muhammad
- al-Kafi — al-Kulayni, Muhammad ibn Ya‘qub (d. 329 AH / 941 CE)
- Muruj al-Dhahab wa Ma‘adin al-Jawhar — al-Mas‘udi, Ali ibn al-Husayn (d. 345 AH / 956 CE)
- Tahdhib al-Ahkam — al-Tusi, Muhammad ibn al-Hasan (d. 460 AH / 1067 CE)
- Crisis and Consolidation in the Formative Period of Shi‘ite Islam — Modarressi, Hossein
- An Introduction to Shi‘i Islam: The History and Doctrines of Twelver Shi‘ism — Momen, Moojan
- The Origins and Early Development of Shi‘a Islam — Jafri, S. H. M.
- Tarikh al-Rusul wa al-Muluk — al-Tabari, Muhammad ibn Jarir (d. 310 AH / 923 CE). year 200 AH