Ja'far Al-Sadiq - Under The Umayyad Rulers

Under The Umayyad Rulers

Ja'far Al-Sadiq lived in violent times. Ja'far Al-Sadiq was considered by many Shia (follower) of 'Ali ibn Abi Talib to be the sixth Shi'a imam, however, the Shi'ahs were considered heretics and rebels by the Umayyad caliphs. Many of Ja'far Al-Sadiq's relatives had died at the hands of the Umayyad. Shortly after his father's death, Ja'far Al-Sadiq's uncle, Zayd ibn Ali led a rebellion against the Umayyads. Ja'far Al-Sadiq did not participate, but many of his kinsmen, including his uncle, were killed, and others were punished by the Umayyad caliph. There were other rebellions during these last years of the Umayyad, before the Abbasids succeeded in grasping the caliphate and establishing the Abbasid dynasty in 750 CE, when Ja'far Al-Sadiq was 48 years old.

Muhammad al-Baqir and his son, Jaffar al-Sadiq, explicitly rejected the idea of armed rebellion. Many rebel factions tried to convince Ja'far al-Sadiq to support their claims. Ja'far Al-Sadiq evaded their requests without explicitly advancing his own claims. Al-Sadiq declared that even though he, as the designated imam, was the true leader of the ummah, he would not press his claim to the caliphate. He is said to burned their letters (letters promising him the caliphate) commenting, "This man is not from me and cannot give me what is in the province of Allah". Ja'far Al-Sadiq's prudent silence on his true views is said to have established Taqiyya as a Shi'a doctrine. Taqiyya says that it is acceptable to hide one's true opinions if by revealing them, one put oneself or others in danger.

At the time of Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq there was no concept of Sunni or Shia and Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq had no intension of creating any sects in Islam. Creating sects and splitting the ummah was also not something Prophet Mohammed advocated. Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq following one God as did all the Prophets including Adam, Noah, Abraham. They wanted to unify people not divide them. Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq was also wise enough not to be misled by the Iraqis who had already called and betrayed Hazarat Hussain and Hazarat Ali. The Iraqis just wanted power. It appears that Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq's priority was to preserve the Hadith and Fiqh for future generation, not just to rule for a few years. To this end, Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq taught people like Iman Abu Hanifa and Malik ibn Anas who then in turn taught Iman Shafi and Imam Hamble and they travelled through out the Middle east and north Africa to propagate this knowledge. Some of the strongest hadith were relayed by Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq and were written down by his student Malik ibn Anas in Al-Muwatta. These were then also subsequently incorporated in Sahih Al Bukhari and Sahih Muslim. The Sunni and Shia sects were created much later, when the Muslims stopped following the Quran and started following their more recent imams who had political agendas and put their self interests before obedience to God and to the truth.

The incidents and difficulties, which come into human life can, measure and find out the extent of his energy and faith. The difficulties, which cropped up in the life of Ja'far Al-Sadiq and the patience and forbearance, which, he showed towards them, illuminated his personality and worth. Howsoever they (enemies) abused and teased him he showed patience and forbearance and admonished them. He never cursed or used foul language about them.