1. Scientific and Cultural Climate in Imam's Era:
Imam al-Sadiq (a.s.) lived at a time when there was a real and deep interaction between Islamic thought and knowledge, and those of the other nations and peoples. Translation from other languages grew.
Sciences, philosophies and thought of other nations were translated from foreign languages into Arabic. Muslims studied these sciences, added to them, enriched them, and broadened their scopes. As a result, an active, ideological and scientific movement emerged. Muslims indulged in the sciences of medicine, astronomy, chemistry, physics, arithmetic's, among other ones. Philosophy, logic, fundamentals of reasoning, and other sciences were translated especially from Greek and Persian. Muslims were thus introduced to a new line of philosophical thought. This intrusion and cultural interaction did not pass without drawing reactions from the Muslims. And so a current of suspicion and unbelief rose in the Muslim community. Groups of people who adopted dialectics, and embraced deviant views took root.
But, after a long and hitter struggle, and long drawn out ideological fighting, the Muslim solid domestic front succeeded in stopping the cultural invasion, and exposing its falsehood and weaknesses. In addition to this scientific and cultural growth, during Imam's time, there was a remarkably great progress in many fields. New political, economic and social events and problems surfaced which reeded to be settled according to Islamic law. The ultimate result was the emergence of new, unheard-of views and schools of thought. Scholars (ulama) were more busy trying to deduce the right answers for the new problems.
2. Imam's Scientific Role:
Amid these hard conditions, and the scientific and cultural activities, after the emergence of schools of thought, Imam al-Sadiq (a.s.) lived and carried out his responsibilities, as a scholar, and unmatched teacher in the cultural and religious domains. Hard, through the rulers and their hired writers tried to obliterate the image of this great man, he remained a shining star in the sky of Islam, and a rich spring of Islamic knowledge.
During his father's lifetime, he helped in the establishment of Ahlul-Bait's university at the Mosque of the Prophet (s.a.w.). They both spread knowledge throughout the Islamic homeland among the circles of fuqaha, exegesits of the Qur'an, and scholars of traditions. Scholars (ulama), and knowledge-seekers from far-flung areas were calling on them, benefitting from their knowledge. No other Muslim Imams were so much visited and asked about the different sciences of Islam, especially Qur'anic exegesis, traditions, beliefs, ethics, etc..., as were Imam al-Baqir (a.s.) and his son, al-Sadiq (a.s.). So it comes as no surprise that Ulama', fuqaha, preachers, philosophers and other scholars highly praised Imam al-Sadiq (a.s.) and his scientific edifice.
Our booklet does not allow us to cite all that was said about the Imam (a.s.). But that won't prevent us from quoting some testimonies.
Shaikh al-Mufid, may Allah bless his soul, says:
"From among all his brothers, al-Sadiq Ja'far bin Muhammad bin Ali bin Hussein (a.s.) emerged as the successor to his father Muhammad bin Ali (a.s.), as his trustee as the next Imam after him.
He was distinguished among his people by his virtues. He was the cleverest, the greatest in his stature, and the most venerated among the scholars and the common people, people took from him so much knowledge that men conveyed it to remote areas. He was known in all parts of the Islamic homeland. No other member of Ahlul-Bait rivalled him as being the source of so much knowledge. No other member of Ahlul-Bait was also remembered and praised by the historians and biographers as he was. Nor did the historians have ever quantitatively reported from anyone as they had done from Abu-Abdullah (a.s.).
Scholars concerned with the Prophetic traditions made a list of the authoritative narrators from different schools of thought, who reported from him. They amounted to four thousand men."[31]
The great scholar, Allamah Al-Sayyid Muhsin al-Amin writes:
"Al-Hafidh bin Aqd al-Zaidi listed, in his biographical book, the names of four thousand worthy men, among others, who quoted from Ja'far bin Muhammad, and made a mention of their books..."[32]
He wrote also that: "Al-Najashi said in his biographical book, on the authority of al-Hassan bin Ali al-Washsha: 'I was lucky enough to meet in this mosque (the Mosque of Kufah) nine hundred old men, each one of them repeating: 'Ja'far bin Muhammad told me'. He (the Imam) (a.s.) would say:
"I heard the traditions I communicate to you from my father. My father heard them from my grandfather. My grandfather hears them from his father, his father heard them from Ali Ibn Abi-Talib. Ali bin Abi-Talib heard them from the Apostle of Allah. And what traditions the Apostle of Allah had conveyed are the exact words of Allah, the Almighty and Most High."[33]
In his book Manaqib Aal Abi-Talib (Virtues of the Family of Abi-Talib), Ibn Shahrashoob quotes Abu-Na'im as writing in his book Al-Hilyah "The Ornament" the following, "Umar bin al-Muqdam said:
Whenever I looked at Ja'far bin Muhammad, I would know that he was a descendant of the line of the prophets. Hardly did a book on Prophetic traditions, wisdom, asceticism, morals, shun his words. They said: 'Ja'far bin Muhammad al-Sadiq said, 'or,' Ja'far al-Sadiq said.' Al-Naqqash, al-Tha'labi, al-Qishri and al-Qizwini mentioned him in their Qur'anic exegeses."[34]
He further adds: "Abu-Na'im in his book Hilyat al-Awliya, lists the following scholars and prominent religious figures, who quoted Ja'far al-Sadiq; Malik bin Anas, Shu'bah bin al-Hajjaj, Sufyan al-Thawri, Ibn Jarih, Abdullah bin Umar, Rawh bin Al-Qasim, Sufyan bin Uyaynah, Sulaiman bin Bilal, Isma'il bin Ja'far, Hatam bin Isma'il, Abdul-Aziz bin al-Mukhtar, Wahab bin Khalid, Ibrahim bin Tahhan, and others,' Abu-Na'im goes on to say; and Muslim quotes him in his authoritative book of traditions to support his arguments. Others say: among those who quoted from him were Malik, al-Shafi'i, al-Hassan bin Salih, Abu-Ayyub al-Sajistani, Amru bin Dinar, and Ahmad bin Hanbal. Malik bin Anas said, 'Never had the eye seen, nor the ear heard, nor the heart of a human being thought anyone more virtuous, knowledgeable, devout, or pious than Ja'far al-Sadiq."[35]
Al-Ya'qoobi, the famous historian, describes him in these words, "He was the beat of men, and the most knowledgeable about the faith. The learned men who learned from him would say, when quoting him' 'The scholar told us...,"[36]
Muhammad Farid Wajdi, the compiler of Da'irat Ma'arif al-Qarn al-Ishrin (The Twentieth century Encyclopedia) writes about Ja'far bin Muhammad al-Sadiq (a.s.), the Imam of Muslims, and says:
"Abu-Abdullah Ja'far bin Muhammad al-Sadiq bin Muhammad.[37] bin Ali bin Abi-Talib is one al-Baqir bin Zain al-Abidin bin Hussein of the twelve Imams of the school of thought of the Imami Shi'ites. He was one of the leading men of the household of the Prophet (s.a.w.). His words were always true hence the nickname al-Sadiq. He was one of the most virtuous among people. About chemistry he wrote and expressed views."[38]
He adds, "...His disciple, Abu-Musa Jabir bin Hayyan al-Sufi al-Tarsoosi, compiled a book with a thousand pages containing the letters of Ja'far al-Sadiq which were five hundred letters."[39]
In his book Al-Milal wa al-Nihal (Religions and creeds) Abul-Fath al-Shahristani writes about Imam al-Sadiq (a.s.) the following: "He was a man of immense knowledge in religion, complete competence in wisdom, extreme asceticism in life, and thorough piety preventing him against committing sins. He settled in Madinah, benefitting the Shi'ites who followed him, and conferring on the loyal the secrets of sciences.
Then he went to Iraq and stayed there for some time, during which he never challenged the Imamat (the ruling authorities), nor did he fight anyone over the caliphate. He who is drowned in the sea of knowledge, never covets a seashore, nor does the one who attains the pinnacle of truth fears falling .."'[40]
Al-Amin al-Amili quoted al-Hassan bin Ziyad as saying, "I heard Abu-Hanifah, being asked about the most authoritative faqih he had ever seen, saying: Ja'far bin Muhammad."
Abu-Layla is reported to have said: "I would never retract something I have said, or cancel a judgement I have made on the advice of anyone except one man; Ja'far bin Muhammad."[41]
Malik bin Anas, the founder of the Malikis (an Islamic school of thought) phrases his view of Ja'far bin Muhammad al-Sadiq, in these words: "I occasionally met Ja'far bin Muhammad. He was smiling, with a sense of humour. When the Prophet was mentioned, his face would turn pale. For some time, I visited him regularly, I would see him doing one of these three things: praying, fasting, or reciting the Qur'an.
He would make his ablution before citing the Prophet's traditions. He never talked about anything that did not concern him..."[42]
The leader of Khaorasan says about Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq these lines of verse:
"You, Ja'far, are above the words of praise, which are tiresome. The honest men are but earth having you as its sky.
The one who is begotten by prophets is really beyond the power of words to praise."[43]
In his introduction to his book Imam al-Sadiq, the Shaikh of al-Azhar, Muhammad Abu-Zahrah, writes:
"With the help and blessings of Allah we had decided to write about Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq. We have already written about seven of the honourable Imams. We have not delayed writing about him because he is less meritorious than them. On the contrary, he matches the seven Imam in his virtues. He is distinguished from the great men by his outstanding merits. Abu-Hanifah quoted him. He believed he was the most knowledgeable man among people, though diverse their opinions were. He considered him the most well-versed faqih. Malik used to call on him as a student and a narrator of traditions. He was the teacher of Abu-Hanifah and Malik, and if that only was to his credit it would be enough for him. Nor there would be a man who could exceed him in his virtues. And above all that, he was the grandson of Zain al-Abidin, who was the master of the city of Madinah in his time, due to his virtues, honour, faith and knowledge. Among his student were Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri and others from the later generations of Muslims.
He is the son of Muhammad al-Baqir who slashed the knowledge open and got its pulp. He was the one to whom Allah, the Exalted, gathered the personal honour and the additional honour, to the noble lineage, and closeness to the Hashimites and the household of Muhammad (s.a.w.)."[44]
That is what the space allows us to say about the Muslims, Imam, the master of the fuqaha and speakers, and the scion of prophethood, Ja'far bin Muhammad al-Sadiq (a.s.)
3- Imam Sadiq's School:
As we have said, Imam al-Sadiq (a.s.) and his father al-Baqir (a.s.) devoted their attention and power to the establishment of Ahlul-Bait's school at the Mosque of the Apostle of Allah (s.a.w.) in Madinah.
Then, the Imam (a.s.) continued carrying out the task of developing this school, and defending monotheism after the death of his father. A whole generation of fuqaha, speakers, preachers, philosophers, scholars, etc., graduated from that school. They were mentioned in biographical books, and their contributions to the different fields of Islamic sciences are undeniable. It is by the guidance of Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (a.s.) and that of his noble forefathers and sons that Muslims found the right path which led them to the pure Shari'ah.
We should draw the attention of the dear reader to the fact that Imam al-Sadiq (a.s.) was not a man who passed personal judgements. He was a man who took up the message from his father and entrusted it to his son. He inherited from his predecessors their knowledge and thought, from which and according to which, he preached to Muslims.
Thus his school and methods of action were sequel to the works of his predecessors and the sunnah of the Prophet (s.a.w.) He made plain the Qur'anic teaching, and dug up the Qur'an's treasures.
Many Islamic groups, based on fiqh and ideology, were formed in his days- Imam's position towards them was one of guidance, exchange of views, and constructive, responsible criticism. The Imam (a.s.) had the following objectives in mind:
First: Defending Islamic Beliefs:
When atheistic, philosophical and ideological currents surfaced, and at a time when vague doctrines, inconsistent with monotheism, emerged as an immediate result of the works of the straying philosophical schools such as "hyperbolic", the Imam (a.s.) acted in defence of pure Islamic beliefs. He centered his efforts on explaining Islam's beliefs and pointing out the straying views and beliefs in their light. For this purpose, he taught his students, like Hisham bin al-Hakam, the science of Islamic beliefs, reasoned argument, and philosophy, with special care.
And so his students played a great role in defending monotheism in the face of deviant beliefs, such as those of fatalism and free will, incarnation and hyperbole.
By reading attentively, Imam's dialogues, arguments, and the contents of his sessions with the holders of the new, non-Islamic views, one can find this truth as plain as daylight. One can also grasp the true meaning of monotheism and its originality, The Imam (a.s.) tirelessly fought both the atheists like al-Disani and Ibn Abi al-Awja, and the hyperbolists, who pretended to be the defenders of Ahlul-Bait (a.s.), but conferred on them divine and godly qualities.
The Imam (a.s.) renounced those who renounced monotheism, exactly as his forefathers had done. Historians wrote about these non-Islamic beliefs, and the attitude of Imam al-Sadiq (a.s.) towards them.
Sadeer is reported to have said: "I said to Abu-Abdullah (a.s.) that a group of people claim that you are deities, citing this noble verse: "And He it is Who is God in the heavens and the earth;..." Holy Qur'an (43:83) 'O Sadeer; replied the Imam (a.s.): "My hearing, sight, skin, flesh, blood and hair are disowning these people. Allah also is free from obligation to them. These do not follow the faith of mine and my forefathers. Allah shall certainly be furious with them when He brings us together on the Day of Judgement.
It is worth mentioning here that many of such groups tried to exploit the name of Ahlul-Bait (a.s.), and cover their non-Islamic beliefs. But by the grace of Allah, the majority of these groups ceased to exist. At the present time, the standard of Ahlul-Bait is still hoisted by their followers, who walk in their footsteps, and embrace monotheism, the original pure one, as was preached first by thc Apostle of Allah (s.a.w.).
These followers have their school of thought which is widely espoused by Muslims in Iran, Iraq, Azarbayjan, Turkey, Lebanon, Arabian peninsula, Pakistan, Indonesia, Afghanistan, India, America, Canada, Australia, among other countries of the Islamic world. Ht is called Ja'far School of Thought, being attributed to Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (a.s.). They follow him and the other Imams of the Prophet's household (a.s.). They are called the twelve-Imam Shi'ites as the Imams of Ahlul-Bait (a.s.) are twelve.
The followers of Ahlul-Bait's school of thought, the Ja'fari school, completely adhere to this original Islamic line, They are distinguished by their refusal of some of the bases on which the fuqaha of the other four schools of thought, in deducing the religious opinions or decrees, depend such as syllogism, appreciation, accepting a certain action on the ground of being useful. These bases are not agreed upon by the Islamic schools of thought.
They consider the Qur'an and the sunnah of the Prophet (s.a.w.) the two key sources of Islamic legislation. In deducing Islamic decrees they give the reason and consensus among the fuqaha a secondary role, which makes the deduced decrees within the framework of the Book and the sunnah.
The Ja'fari School of thought believes in keeping the door of decree-deduction wide open. Jaf'ari scholars, philosophers and fuqaha contributed widely to Islamic thought and Shari'ah sciences. The great Islamic historian, Agha Buzurg al-Tahrani (d. 1389 A.H) compiled a book in 25 volumes, and 11,573 pages, of large size, containing only the named of the books authored and compiled by Ja'fari Shi'ites in the different fields of Islamic thought and sciences, The book is called Al-Thari'ah ila Tasanif al-Shi'ah (The Means to the Books of Shi'ites).
Najaf, the famous Sacred Iraqi town, is ranked as one of the greatest and oldest seats of Islamic knowledge. To this town, the great scholar Abu-Ja'far Muhammad bin al-Hassan al-Toosi (d.460 A.H.) went, nearly a thousand years ago, and founded the theologian school which is still disseminating Islamic knowledge and graduating, fully fledged fuqaha, philosophers and great religious leaders. In addition to this, there are other schools in the cities of Qum, Mashhad, both in Iran, and Karbala, in Iraq and many schools in other parts of the Islamic world.
Secondly: Spreading Islam: The second major objective of the school of Imam Ja'far bin Muhammad al-Sadiq (a.s.) was to spread Islam, broaden the circle of fiqh and Shari'ah, solidify their pillars and preserve their originality. No one matched Imam Ja'far bin Muhammad al-Sadiq (a.s) in the volume of traditions, fiqh and Islamic teachings taken from him.
And so his traditions, religious decrees and teaching were regarded as a basis for deducing fiqh and religious decrees on the part of the scholars, and jurisprudents, those who follow in his footsteps, adhere to his school, and belong to his school of thought.
If is of great use to mention here that the traditions, narratives and statements conveyed by Imam al-Sadiq (a.s.) and the other Imams of Ahlul-Bait (a.s.) from the Apostle of Allah (s.a.w.), as well as the Qur'anic exegesis, religious decrees, explanations of the Qur'anic reaching and the sunnah of the Prophet (s.a.w.) handed down from the Imams of Ahlul-Bait (a.s.), were gathered and compiled in four, key books:
1. Al-Kafi: compiled by Abu-Ja'far Muhammad bin Ya'qoob bin Ishaq al-Kulaini al-Razi (d. 328 or 329 A.H.). The book contains 16,199 traditions.
2. Al-Tahthib (Refinement): Compiled by Abu-Ja'far Muhammad bin al-Hassan al-Toosi (d. 460 A.H).
3. Al-Istibsar (Enlightement): Also by Shaikh al-Toosi.
4. Man la Yahdharhu al-Faqih (He who has no Access to a Faqih): Complied by Shaikh al-Saduq (d.381 A.H). The ulama and fuqaha of the Ja'fari School of thought announced that not all the traditions and narratives gathered in these books are dependable and authoritative.
They subject all this material to close study and examination dropping thousands of them, according to their method of studying and substantiation.