JA'FAR IBN MUHAMMAD

born 699/700 or 702/703, Medina, Arabia [now in Saudi Arabia] died 765, Medina also called Ja'far As-sadiq (Arabic: Ja'far the Trustworthy) sixth imam, or spiritual successor to the Prophet Muhammad, of the Shi'ite branch of Islam and the last to be recognized as imam by all the Shi'ite sects. Theologically, he advocated a limited predestination and proclaimed that Hadith (traditional sayings of the Prophet), if contrary to the Qur'an, should be rejected. Ja'far was the son of Muhammad al-Baqir, the fifth imam, and great-grandson of the fourth caliph, 'Ali, who is considered to have been the first imam and founder of Shi'ism. On his mother's side, Ja'far was descended from the first caliph, Abu Bakr, whom Shi'ites usually consider a usurper. This may explain why he would never tolerate criticism of the first two caliphs. There is some doubt whether the Shi'ite conception of an infallible religious leader, or imam, was really formulated before the 10th century, except possibly in some sort of underground movement. But the Shi'ites certainly felt that the political leadership of Isla m exercised by the caliph should belong to the direct descendants of 'Ali. Moreover, this political leadership was not clearly separated from religious leadership, and, to the end of the Umayyad regime, the caliphs sometimes preached in the mosque, using the sermon to reinforce their authority. Consequently, after his father's death, sometime between 731 and 743, Ja'far became a possible claimant to the caliphate and a potential danger to the Umayyads. The Umayyad regime was already threatened by other hostile elements, including the Iranians, who resented Arab domination. The spread of Shi'ism throughout Iran from a mixture of religious, racial, and political motives compounded the opposition. The successful revolt of 749750 that overthrew the Umayyads, however, was under the leadership of the 'Abbasid family, descended from one of the Prophet's uncles; and they, not the family of 'Ali, founded the new ruling dynasty. The new caliphs were, understandably, worried about Ja'far. Al-Mansur (reigned 754775) wanted him in his new capital, Baghdad, where he could keep an eye on him. Ja'far preferred to stay in Medina and reportedly justified this by quoting a saying he ascribed to the Prophet that, though the man who leaves home to make a career may achieve success, he who remains at home will live longer. After the defeat and death of the 'Alid rebel Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allah in 762, however, Ja'far thought it prudent to obey the caliph's summons to Baghdad. After a short stay, however, he convinced al-Mansur that he was no threat and was allowed to return to Medina, where he died. A just assessment of Ja'far is made difficult by later Shi'ite accounts, which depict every imam as a sort of superman. He undoubtedly was both politically astute and intellectually gifted, keeping out of politics and not openly claiming the imamate. He gathered around him learned pupils including Abu Hanifah and Malik ibn Anas, founders of two of the four recognized Islamic legal schools, the Hanaiyah and Malikiyah, and Wasil ibn 'Ata', founder of the Mu'tazili school. Equally famous was Jabir ibn Hayyan, the alchemist known in Europe as Geber, who credited Ja'far with many of his scientific ideas and indeed suggested that some of his works are little more than records of Ja'far's teaching or summaries of hundreds of monographs written by him. As to the manuscripts of half a dozen religious works bearing Ja'far's name, scholars generally regard them as spurious. It seems likely that he was a teacher who left writing to others. Various Muslim writers have ascribed three fundamental religious ideas to him. First, he adopted a middle road about the question of predestination, asserting that God decreed some things absolutely but left others to human agencya compromise that was widely adopted. Second, in the science of Hadith, he proclaimed the principle that what was contrary to the Qur'an (Islamic scripture) should be rejected, whatever other evidence might support it. Third, he described Muhammad's prophetic mission as a ray of light, created before Adam and passed on from Muhammad to his descendants. Shi'ite divisions date from Ja'far's death. His eldest son, Isma'il, predeceased him, but the Seveners, represented today chiefly by the Isma'ilites (followers of Isma'il)argued that Isma'il merely disappeared and would reappear one day. Three other sons also claimed the imamate; of these, Musa al-Kazim gained widest recognition. Shi'ite sects not recognizing Isma'il are mostly known as Twelvers; they trace the succession from Ja'far to the 12th imam, who disappeared and is expected to return at the Last Judgment. John A. Haywood