Imams – Clear and Coherent Policy

times of the fifth and sixth Imams. The persecutions of the Shi’is continued
unabated from Mu’awiya’s time to almost the very last days of the Umayyads,
although this dynasty in its latter days was considerably weakened by internal
army of 15,000 fled. His body was exhumed by order of the Umayyad caliph, Hisham,

although this dynasty in its latter days was considerably weakened by internal
cross. Then Hisham’s successor, al-Walid, ordered the body to be burned, and the
ashes scattered on the banks of the Euphrates. Zayd’s son, Yahya, rose up in
Muhammad", and Umayyad rule ended.

Shi’a faith. Muhammad Jawad al-Mughniya writes: "The Shi’is offered arguments from the Qur’an and the traditions of the Prophet and advanced intellectual reasons to the effect that the love of the Prophet’s family-members was obligatory, and that it was essential to follow them and to hold fast to their rope; that it was obligatory to keep aloof from their enemies. They wrote many books about their superiority and virtues. But none of these books or arguments proved as effective in strengthening and spreading the Shi’a faith as did the policy of Mu’awiya and his Umayyad successors. Surely the persecution carried out by the Umayyads was more effective than a thousand and one books or than a thousand and one proofs in proving the status of ‘Ali and confirming his divine right to the Caliphate. [1] "’ Dr. Taha Husain says: "So far as propagating beliefs and attracting people to follow them is concerned, nothing is more effective than persecution. It creates sympathy for those who undergo suffering, and are engulfed by tragedies, and who are subjected to pressure by the ruler. To the same degree it creates revulsion against this ruler who resorts to injustice, carries his tyrannies to the furthest limit and overburdens the population with hardships. For this reason, the Shi’ a cause became great during the last decade of Mu’awiya’s reign, and their call spread -and what a spread it was-in the eastern Islamic countries and southern Arabia. And by the time Mu’awiya had died, many people, and especially the general public in Iraq, believed that hate of Umayyads and love of the Ahl al Bayt was their religion.’ [2] Wellhausen writes: "All the people of Iraq during Mu’awiya’s reign, and especially the Kufites were Shi’i and this was not only among individuals but among whole tribes and chiefs of the tribes." [3]

the same degree people gravitated towards the descendants of ‘Ali. Several
factors led to this result:


for this cause.

3. Not only the Ahl al-Bayt, but even their Shi’is, right from the beginning of
all types of torture. [4]

Ibn al-Athir confirms that when the ‘Abbasids joined this campaign towards the
Husayn, Zayd and Yahya." [5]

Wellhausen writes: "The ‘Abbasids tried their utmost to keep secret from the
wanted to avenge the martyrs of the children of Fatima." [6]

"The ‘Abbasids rose in the name of the ‘Alawites, and on the shoulders of their
Shi’is. (After the success) they changed their attitude towards them, and their
oppression of the Shi’is increased in magnitude and intensity." [7]

Muhammad Ahmad al-Buraq says: "The call really was for the ‘Alawites, because
the Khurasanis were attached to the descendants of ‘Ali, not to the descendants
and tried to prevent Shi’ism from spreading further in Khorasan

They encouraged the poets to praise them (i.e., the ‘Abbasids) and gave them
‘Ali." [8]

"This led the ‘Abbasid ‘caliphs’ to renounce the faith of Ahl al-Bayt (which
Sunnism, because they were afraid that if Shi’ism spread, the rule would go to
the ‘Alawites. Thus the ‘Abbasids faithfully followed the Umayyads in policy,
belief and practice." [9]

Be that as it may, the Umayyads in their last days and the ‘Abbasids in their
first days could not give much attention to the Shi’ is. Thus the fifth Imam
wide to learn from him explanations of the Qur’an, the traditions, rules of the
point of perfection, but his son, the sixth Imam, Ja’far As-Sadiq developed it
continued up to 132/750 when the ‘Abbasids came to power Although as-Saffah, the
first ‘Abbasid caliph, ruled for only four years, and that time was mostly taken
up in consolidating his power, he found time to call the Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq to
him had to disguise himself as a hawker of cucumber to reach the Imam.’ [10] But
later he came back to Madina.

kill every descendant of ‘Ali. The Shi’is in general, and the ‘Alawites in
Umayyads. He put even more hindrance in the way of the Imam. "He forbade the
appeared in a Shi’is life concerning, for example, marriage, divorce or some
separate. " [11]

period of freedom had gone, so far as the Shi’is were concerned.

spread them among the common people. One finds a bewildering plethora of new
Ka’ba; the Murji’ites, by saying that faith is not affected by deeds, supported
the tyrannies of the rulers; the "exaggerators" (ghulat) claimed divinity for
this or that human being (even the Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq was believed to be God
by Abul Khattab). The Kharijites declared that all Muslims who were opposed to
ascetics, and led people away from Islamic monotheism; the traditionalists
these two Imams guided to the truth.

faith, repulsed its enemies, and raised the standards of the shari’a. They
Murji’ites, and the Kharijites in public and proved the weakness of their
where they had gone wrong in jurisprudence.’ [13]

spot. Thousands of such notebooks were filled, and the words of the Imam Ja’far
the Shi’is, Sunnis, Mu’tazilites and atheists, but also the Hindus and
ever heard, and no heart ever imagined anyone superior to Ja’far b. Muhammad in
virtue, knowledge, worship and piety. [14]

and they were four thousand men." Abu Na’im writes in Hilyatu ‘l-Awliya: "Malik
b. Anas, Shutba b. Hajjaj, Sufyan at-Thawri, Ibn Jarih, ‘Abdullah b. ‘Amr, Rawh,
b. Qasim, Sufyan b. ‘Uyayna, Sulayman b. Bilal, Isma’il b. Ja’far, Hakim b.
Isma’il, ‘Abdu l-‘Aziz b. Mukhtar, Wuhayb b. Khalid, Ibrahim b. Tahman, among
others …, narrated from Ja’far as-Sadiq, peace be upon him." [15] Quoting from
others, Ibn Shahr ‘ashub has added the names of the Sunni Imams Malik, ash-Shat
b. Dinar. [16]

law) was asked about the most learned man he had seen. He replied: "Ja’far b.
Muhammad." [17]

have expressed or a judgment you have delivered for any other person’s words?"
Muhammad."’ [18]

Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq and benefited from his teachings. Add to it the names of

thirty thousand traditions. Hasan b. Ali al-Washsha’ said: "I found in the
mosque of Kufa nine hundred shaykhs, every one of them saying ‘Ja’far b.
Muhammad told me …’ " [19]

In al-Munjid we find: "His (Ja’far as-Sadiq’s) madrasa was the continuation of
his father’s (al-Baqir’s) madrasa, and was extremely successful in spreading
students was at least four hundred by four hundred writers." [20]

The Shaykh Muhammad Husayn al-Muzaffar writes: "The best days for the Shi’is
of the’Abbasids … The Shi’is took advantage of this breathing space to drink
from the stream of the knowledge of the Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq; they traveled to
narrated from him in every branch of knowledge, as is seen in the Shi’is books.
His disciples were not only from the Shi’a community, but all the sects narrated

Ibn ‘ Uqdah, the Shaykh at-Tusi and the Muhaqqiq enumerated his narrators, and
the total came to four thousand." [21]

This open teaching and unrestricted preaching increased the number of the Shi’is
of well-known Shi’s scholars and missionaries of that time, as it would be too
ambiguity from the Shi’i faith and showed its teachings in clear terms.
Theology, explanation of the Qur’an, morality, jurisprudence, in short every
had not changed an iota, nor the Qur’anic explanations, nor the traditions; but
points and gave Shi’i theology its distinct shape. Also, Shi’i fiqh (law) was so
developed at this time that people started calling it the Ja’fari school of law.
The Shaykh Mustafa ‘Abdur’ Razzaq of al-Azhar University says: "The eagerness to
codify law came to the Shi’is earlier than to other Muslims." [22]

Some of the factors which helped in this development were:

1. The intellectual advancement of the Muslims;


3. The gatherings of thousands of eager disciples.

same divine knowledge.

madrasa to other branches of knowledge.

Part II

In part I we examined the prominence of the school of the Imam Ja’far as- Sadiq
the natural sciences.

(a) Chemistry: Jabir b. Hayyan (the Geber of the Latins), who has been
called one of the ‘fathers of chemistry’ and ‘the most famous Arabic alchemist’
[23], was one of the students of the Imam Ja’far, as-Sadiq. The quantity of
Jabir’s output is quite staggering: besides his writings in chemistry, he wrote
his ‘500 booklets’ as one book. There are 36 known manuscripts of his works in
Ja’far as-Sadiq in his research and teachings may be judged from the fact that
in many of his books we find: ‘My master and mawla. Ja’far. peace be upon him,
told me that …’, and in his book, ‘al Manfa’a’ he explicitly says: ‘I acquired
this knowledge from Ja’far b. Muhammad, the leader of the people in his time.’

George Sarton, referring to Jabir’s untranslated work, writes: ‘We find in them
formation of metals; the so-called sulphur-mercury theory of metals …;
force.’ [25] He also discovered that each metal and material had a basic weight;
he called this ‘the knowledge of weights, ‘ilm al-mawazin.’ [26] He was, in the
words of Sarton: ‘a very great personality, one of the greatest in mediaeval
science.’ [27]

wrote in his ‘History of Chemistry’: ‘The name Jabir holds the same place in the
history of chemistry which the name of Aristotle holds in the history of logic.’
[28] Holmyard wrote: ‘Jabir was the student and friend of Ja’far as-Sadiq; and
extent in this aim.’ [29]

(b) Anatomy: A Hindu physician attached to the court of al-Mansur once
asked the Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq if he wanted to learn something in this field
from him. The Imam said: ‘No. What I have is better than what you have.’ Then
To all these questions, the physician had only one reply: ‘I do not know.’ The
Imam said: ‘But I do know.’ Then he explained all the questions, showing the
foot is hollow to make movement easier.’ The physician became a convert to
Islam. [30]

A booklet which was dictated by the Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq in four sessions to his
disciple Mufaddal b. ‘Umar was widely narrated, and has been widely studied and
volume of his ‘Bihar al Anwar’. [31] In this book, the Imam explained the
explaining every group’s special characteristics. In the process of doing this
examples will be given here at random. ‘Allah created eyesight to perceive
observes all these interconnected phenomena fail to admit that they could not
exist without the Will and Measuring of a Merciful, All-Knowing Creator?’ [32]

At one point Mufaddal said: ‘O My Master! Some people think that all this was
made by nature ‘ The Imam dictated: ‘Ask them about this nature. Is it a thing

There is an interesting aside in the fourth day’s session, where the Imam said:
‘The name of the universe in Greek is qusmus (kosmos), and it means ‘adornment’.
were not content to call it a system; they called it an ‘adornment’ to show that
splendour.’ [34]


Beirut, 1st edition 1961, p. 75


[3] J. Wellhausen, al Khawarij wa shia (trans into Arabic of his The Kharijites
and the Shi’ites ed. 1985 p. 499) quoted by M. J. al Mughniya in his ash Shia



[6] J. Wellhausen, Tarikh ad Dawlati l Arabiya (trans into Arabic of his History
p. 135


Hakimun, p. 134


[10] Muhammad Baqir al Majlisi, Bihar al Anwar, new edition, Tehran, 1385 A.H,


Ihtijaj, and al Majlisi, op cit

[13] ibid




[17] ibid, p. 254

[18] ibid, p. 249

[19] Muhsin al Amin, Ayan ash Shia, vol. 4 Part II, Mathah al Imaf, Ebirut, ed.


[21] Muhammad Husayn al Muzaffar, Tarikh ash Shia, Dar az Zahra, Beirut, 3rd
edition 1402/1982 pp. 53, 55


p. 532.

[24] ‘Abdullah Nima. Falasifat ash Shi’a, Beirut, 1966. p. 196. This book is an
excellent source for those who wish to examine the contribution of Shiah
scholars to philosophy and science. The author discusses Jabirs life and
contribution between pp. 184 and 231.

[25] G. Sarton. op. cit., p. 532. For the Imam Ja’far as Sadiq. see, ibid.. p.

[26] Quoted by Abdullah Ni’ma. op. cit., pp. 61. 187.


[28] Quoted by ‘Abdullah Ni’ma. op. cit., p. 187.

[29] Quoted by ‘Abdullah Niima. ibid., pp. 193-4.

[30] ash-Shaykh as-Saduq, Ilal ash shari’a, n.p., 1311. p. 44.


[32] ibid.,p.69.


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