Imam Jafar Al-Sadiq - Life Sketch
This is an account of the Imam who was in
charge (al-qai'im) after Abu Ja'far Muhammad b. Ali, peace be on them,
(including) who his mother was, the date of his birth, evidence for his Imamate,
his age, the period of his succession (to the Imamate), the time of his death,
the place of his grave, the number of his children, and a brief outline of the
reports about him.
Al-Sadiq Ja'far b. Muhammad b. Ali b. al-Husayn, peace be on them, was out of
all his brothers (the one who was) the successor (khailfa) of his father,
Muhammad b. Ali, peace be on them, his testamentary trustee (was'i), who was in
charge of the Imamate (al- qa'im bi-al-imama) after him. He stood out among
their group for his great merit (fadl); he was the most celebrated, the greatest
in rank and the most illustrious of them in (the eyes) of both the non-Shia (al-amma)
and the Shi'a (al-khassa). The people transmitted on his authority the religious
sciences which travellers carried with them (around many countries) and thus his
fame was spread throughout the lands. The learned scholars have transmitted on
the authority of no other member of the House (ahl al-bayt) as much as they have
transmitted on his authority. None of them met as many of the reporters of
traditions (ahl al-athar wa-naqalat al-akhbar) as he did, nor did the latter
transmit on their authority to the same extent as they transmitted on the
authority of Ab-u Abd Allah (Ja'far b. Muhammad), peace be on him. The
specialists in tradition (ashab al- hadith) have gathered together the names of
those who narrated on his authority, who were reliable despite differences in
views and doctrines and they were four thousand men. The clear evidence for his
Imamate, peace be on him, was such that it overcame (men's) hearts and silenced
(the attempts of) an opponent to denigrate it with doubts.
He was born in Medina in the year 83 A.H. (702) and he, peace be on him, died in
(the month of) Shawwal in the year 148 A.H. (765) at the age of sixty-five. He
was buried in (the cemetery of) al-Baqi' alongside his father, his grandfather
and his (great-great) uncle, al- Hasan, peace be on them. His mother was Umm
Farwa, the daughter of al-Qasim b. Muhammad b. Abi Bakr. His Imamate, peace be
on him, lasted for thirty-four years. His father, Abu Jafar (Muhammad b. Ali),
peace be on him, clearly gave him the trusteeship (of the Imamate) and gave him
an explicit designation (nass jali) for the Imamate.