By: Seyyed Ali Shahbaz
       "We have figured everything in a Manifest Imam.” (Holy Qur’an)
        These are the words of Almighty God, Who created Adam and Eve as the first pair of human beings, spread their progeny all over Planet Earth, raised Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) as the Last and Greatest of Messengers on Rajab 27 with the universal message of Islam for the guidance of mankind, and 23 years later on 18th Zilhijja 10 AH, commanded him to declare his cousin, Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS) as vicegerent and the First of the 12 Infallible Imams at the historic gathering of Hajj pilgrims on the plain of Ghadeer-Khom.
        A famous hadith from the Seal of Messengers says the Earth will never be without a "Hujjat-Allah” or Argumentation of God on its surface. It means to say that in every age and era, the presence of an Infallible Successor of Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) is essential for the benefit of mankind.
        Today we are living in the age of the Greater Occultation (Ghaibat al-Kubra) of the Last of the Twelve Divinely-designated Heirs of the Mercy unto the whole creation, as a form of trial and tribulation to test our faith, or lack of it, or its degrees. The Omnipresent Lord has made sure that the Imam of the Age is physically present and ubiquitous, even though our eyes may not see him. He will reappear and become visible to us as "Mahdi al-Qa’em” during the end times, to fulfill his mission to eradicate all vestigess of corruption and oppression by establishing the global government of peace, prosperity and justice.
        May God hasten his advent and end the grave crisis in which the world is embroiled, so as to deliver us from the cannibalistic Takfiri terrorists masquerading as Muslims to tarnish the image of Islam, on the orders of their heretical Wahhabi creators, the devilish Zionists and the satanic powers, such as the US, which misuse science and technology to build dangerous atomic arsenals. Amen
        In the meantime, since we are on the threshold of the 25th of Shawwal, the anniversary of the martyrdom of the Prophet’s 6th Infallible Heir, Imam Ja’far as-Sadeq (AS), let us offer our condolences to the Imam of the Age, by focusing on some of the aspects of the 34-year mission of the person who revived for the benefit of humanity the genuine "Sunnah” and "Seerah” of the Messenger of Allah which a string of self-styled caliphs had been trying to distort, if not blot out, ever since the caliphate or political rule of the Muslim realm was usurped from the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS).
        Imam Sadeq (AS), at whose feet some 4,000 scholars used to assemble at his famous academy of Medina, to learn different branches of knowledge and wisdom, including natural sciences like physics, chemistry, astronomy, and the like, in addition to hadith, exegesis of the holy Qur’an, jurisprudence, theology, etc., lived in a crucial era when the tyrannical Omayyad regime was on the way out, and the equally oppressive Abbasid regime was seizing power.
        As a result, the 6th Imam, though subjected to intermittent bouts of imprisonment by the Omayyad Hisham bin Abdul-Malik and the Abbasids Abbas as-Saffah and Mansour Dawaniqi, had the time to teach the seekers of facts and realities that the earth is spherical, it revolves around the sun, the air contains oxygen, the water has hydrogen, and mysteries of the rays of light, besides expounding to them the proper cognizance of Almighty Allah, the concept of Divine Justice, the correct manner of prayer and supplication, and the wisdom of reward and punishment on the Day of Resurrection.
        At the same time, he advised those in political authority to cater to the needs of the people, be kind to the masses, do not oppress them, behave in good manner, desist from embezzlement and stealing from the public treasury, and to avoid listening to mischief-mongers whose main intention is to wreck the life of others.
       A vivid example in this regard, is the 6th Imam’s letter to Abdullah an-Najashi, who was the governor of Ahvaz and Fars in southwestern and southern Iran. The letter given to a person who lacked the means to pay the heavy taxes levied by the regime, read: "In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. Behave leniently towards your brother; may Allah be lenient with you too!”
       When Najashi took the letter, he kissed it, read it, and not only exempted the bearer from paying the heavy tax of ten thousand dirhams, but granted him several other facilities.
       This and other examples of public welfare, coupled with the imparting of the genuine teachings of Islam as well as grooming in science and technology – one of whose exemplary products was Jaber ibn Hayyan the Father of Chemistry – were viewed with horror by Mansour Dawaniqi, who knew that the rightful successor of the Prophet was Imam Ja’far as-Sadeq (AS), and once people became aware of this reality they will most surely turn away from the Abbasids. He also knew how the Abbasid propagandists had deceived the Muslim masses by raising the slogan of restoration of the rights of the Ahl al-Bayt during the campaign to overthrow the Omayyads.
        Although, Imam Ja’far as-Sadeq (AS) had no intention of taking over the political rule of the Islamic realm and had, without opening it, burned the letter of offer of the caliphate by the general Abu Salama, since the Imamate is God-given authority and it is Divine Will that only the 12th and Last Infallible Imam will rise as Qa’em al-Mahdi in the end times to establish the global government of justice, Mansour left no stone unturned to undermine Imam Sadeq (AS), including the futile bid to use pseudo scholars, such as Abu Hanifa to debate with the Rightful Imam, in whom God has enshrined all knowledge.
        Mansour remembered his days as an obscure persecuted member of the larger Bani Hashem clan, whose prime member was Imam Ja’far Sadeq (AS), in those days of persecution of the Prophet’s family. He was aware of his insignificant presence at the famous gathering at Abwa in 120 AH, where he had acknowledged Imam Sadeq (AS) as the Prophet’s Rightful Successor, and given pledge of political allegiance to the Hasanid branch of the Prophet’s family as future rulers after the Omayyads.
         In 132 AH, the Abbasids seized the caliphate by deceiving the masses. In 136 Mansour succeeded his brother Abbas as-Saffah as caliph, and immediately started imprisoning, torturing and martyring the descendants of Imam Hasan Mujtaba (AS). Nafs Zakiyya was martyred in 142 AH, and his brother Ibrahim was martyred the next year. Mansour had the roof of the prison collapsed on other members of the Hasanid clan, and buried them alive under the debris, while building his new capital Baghdad.   
        Finally in 148 AH, the dastardly Mansour had Imam Sadeq (AS) martyred through a fatal dose of poison. He thought he could blot out genuine Islam, but failed as is clear from the prevalence of Fiqh al-Ja’fari or the School of jurisprudence of the Ahl al-Bayt, which is indeed the pure, pristine and dynamic shari’ah of Prophet Muhammad (SAWA).


Condolences on the Martyrdom of Imam Ja’far Sadeq (AS)