A Short Biography of Imam Jafar Sadiq a.s

A Short Biography of Imam Jafar Sadiq a.s

Ja'far ibn Muhammad, known as Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (AS) (83-148 AH), is the sixth Imam of the Twelver Shiites after his father Imam al-Baqir (AS). He was the Imam of the Shiites for 34 years (114-148 AH), which coincided with the caliphate of the last five Umayyad caliphs, from Hisham ibn Abdul Malik onwards, and the first two Abbasid caliphs, al-Saffah and al-Mansur al-Dwaniqi. Due to the weakness of the Umayyad government, Imam al-Sadiq (AS) was much more academically active than other Shiite imams. The number of his students and narrators is estimated to be 4,000. Most of the narrations of the Ahl al-Bayt (AS) are from Imam al-Sadiq (AS), and therefore the Imamiyyah Shia school is also called the Ja'fari school. Imam al-Sadiq (AS) also holds a high position among the Sunni jurisprudential leaders. Abu Hanifa and Malik ibn Anas have narrated from him. Abu Hanifa considered him the most learned person among Muslims. Despite the weakness of the Umayyad government and the demands of the Shiites, Imam Sadiq (AS) did not revolt against the government. He rejected the demands of Abu Muslim Khorasani and Abu Salama Khalal to assume the caliphate. Imam Sadiq (AS) did not participate in the uprising of his uncle Zayd ibn Ali and also discouraged the Shiites from revolting; despite all this, he did not have good relations with the rulers of his time. Due to the political pressures of the Umayyad and Abbasid governments, he used the method of taqiyyah and advised his followers to do the same.