Imam Sadeq (AS) – the Manifestation of Truth
By: Seyyed Ali Shahbaz
“O you who have faith! Be wary of Allah, and be with the Truthful (Sadeqeen).” (Holy Qur’an 9:119)
The commandment of the Creator is crystal clear. He exhorts us to be conscious of His Omnipresence and to follow the path of the truthful.
It is in the innate nature of human beings to seek the truth and to follow the truthful, except for those who have sold their souls to the Satan and as per the dictates of the devil, are determined to distort the truth.
"Truthful”, as defined by God and in the lexicon of His Revealed Word, the Holy Qur’an, is a term exclusively reserved for a person or a group who never ever speak a wrong word (let alone lies), neither side for a single moment with anyone with even a speck of untruth, nor show the slightest tendency towards a cause devoid of truth.
The Arabic word for "Truthful” (in its singular form) is "Sadeq”. It is the famous epithet of the Messenger of Mercy, Prophet Muhammad (SAWA), whom God had entrusted the truth of Islam in order to deliver humanity from the darkness of ignorance, the darkness of arrogance, the darkness of oppression, the darkness of atheism, the darkness of polytheism, and all other forms of untruth that darken minds, hearts, and souls.
He diligently discharged his duties in the face of heavy odds to the extent that the pagan Arabs, who had opposed his message of truth and resorted to armed plots against him, saw no other choice but to pay lip service to Islam and claim to be his companions.
Was anyone from among his Sahaba worthy to carry on the mission of the Last Prophet after him?
The answer is simple. It is a big "NO”. The fact is that, none of the Sahaba, however hard and sincere they strove to be truthful on embracing the truth of Islam, were, unlike the "Sadeq”, products of the untruth of the days of ignorance, including idolatry and indulgence in sins – from which the representatives of God ought to be free.
Thus, as per God’s commandment the person who never said anything by himself, but it was revelation revealed (Surah Najm) pronounced the Hadith Thaqalayn (the Two Precious Things he was leaving behind as means of salvation – the Holy Qur’an and his progeny the Ahl al-Bayt). He then proclaimed as his divinely-designated vicegerent, to a huge gathering of Muslims at Ghadeer-Khom, his cousin and son-in-law, the Immaculate Imam Ali ibn Taleb (AS), regarding whom a famous hadith says: "Ali is with the Truth and Truth is with Ali.”
With the issue of Imamate of the Sadeqeen (Truthful) sealed by the Seal of Prophets, it was but natural for the emergence of another popularly known Sadeq from the offspring of the First Sadeq.
The advent of Shawwal 25 every year reminds us of the pivotal role of the Second Sadeq of the House of Divine Revelation in reviving the Sunnah, Seerah and Shari’ah of Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) in its pure and pristine form, after it had been tainted by the forces of darkness which had usurped the political right of leadership of the Ahl al-Bayt by setting up the caliphate of untruth.
Imam Ja’far as-Sadeq (AS) needs no introduction. Born in 83 AH on the 17th of Rabi al-Awwal, exactly the 136th birth anniversary of his ancestor the Prophet, his life was cut short at the age of 65 in 148 AH, due to a fatal dose of poison given on the orders of Mansour Dawaniqi, the 2nd self-styled caliph of the usurper Abbasid regime.
A boy of twelve years when his grandfather, Imam Zain al-Abedin (AS) – the son and successor of the Martyr of Karbala, Imam Husain – left the world in 95 AH, the divine trust of Imamate was entrusted to him in 114 AH on the martyrdom of his father, Imam Muhammad Baqer (AS), when at the age of 31 he was in the prime of manhood. For the next 34 years he relentless strove in the manner of the Prophet to enlighten the Ummah in those crucial days when the forces of untruth – the Omayyads and the Abbasids – were battling with each for power of the Islamic state that belonged to neither of them.
His period of Imamate could be roughly divided equally between the two tyrannical regimes, and as the Prophet’s 6th Infallible Successor and heir to the divine legacy of the Holy Qur’an, he fully utilized the crucial years of infighting to take the famous academy of Medina to its greatest height.
At one time, 4,000 scholars sat at the feet of the Sadeq of the Age to learn religious and rational sciences. These included the Father of Chemistry, Jaber Ibn Hayyan (Geber to medieval Europe), the Master of Rhetoric, Hisham ibn al-Hakam, the Theologian Aban ibn Thaghlab, the Jurist Abu Hanifa, and etc.
The Imam of Truthful, however, was not left undisturbed by the forces of untruth. If during the Omayyad era he had to endure the martyrdom of his uncle, Zayd ibn Ali, and first cousin Yahya ibn Zayd; with the coming to power of the equally oppressive Abbasids he had to suffer the martyrdom of his second cousins Mohammad Nafs-e Zakiyah, and Ibrahim.
In addition, Mansour, who martyred many male members of the line of Imam Hasan Mujtaba (AS) – burying most of them alive – committed the treason of calling the Shi’ites or devoted followers of the Ahl al-Bayt as "Rafidhoon” (rejecters of the caliphate), and coined a new term "Ahl as-Sunna wa’l-Jama’ah” for those who had no idea of what the real Sunnah and Seerah, or practice and behaviour of Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) was. No such sect had ever existed before in Islamic history.
Yet Imam Sadeq (AS) spared no efforts to spread the true teachings of the Prophet in the society at a time when pseudo jurisprudents on the payroll of the regime were resorting to "qiyas” (guesswork) on the bases of spurious hadith.
Eventually, Mansour martyred through poisoning the Prophet’s 6th Infallible Heir, little knowing that it is God’s Will to keep the torch of divine guidance glowing forever, until the advent of the Prophet’s 12th and Last Successor, Imam Mahdi (AS), to establish the global government of peace, prosperity, and justice.
Today, the blessed tomb of Imam Sadeq (AS) in Medina has been destroyed by the Wahhabi cult, but the faithful continue to salute it from near and far, while promoting throughout the world the immortal legacy of the Imam of the Truthful.
Condolences on the Martyrdom Anniversary of Imam Ja’far as-Sadeq (AS)
It is in the innate nature of human beings to seek the truth and to follow the truthful, except for those who have sold their souls to the Satan and as per the dictates of the devil, are determined to distort the truth.
"Truthful”, as defined by God and in the lexicon of His Revealed Word, the Holy Qur’an, is a term exclusively reserved for a person or a group who never ever speak a wrong word (let alone lies), neither side for a single moment with anyone with even a speck of untruth, nor show the slightest tendency towards a cause devoid of truth.
The Arabic word for "Truthful” (in its singular form) is "Sadeq”. It is the famous epithet of the Messenger of Mercy, Prophet Muhammad (SAWA), whom God had entrusted the truth of Islam in order to deliver humanity from the darkness of ignorance, the darkness of arrogance, the darkness of oppression, the darkness of atheism, the darkness of polytheism, and all other forms of untruth that darken minds, hearts, and souls.
He diligently discharged his duties in the face of heavy odds to the extent that the pagan Arabs, who had opposed his message of truth and resorted to armed plots against him, saw no other choice but to pay lip service to Islam and claim to be his companions.
Was anyone from among his Sahaba worthy to carry on the mission of the Last Prophet after him?
The answer is simple. It is a big "NO”. The fact is that, none of the Sahaba, however hard and sincere they strove to be truthful on embracing the truth of Islam, were, unlike the "Sadeq”, products of the untruth of the days of ignorance, including idolatry and indulgence in sins – from which the representatives of God ought to be free.
Thus, as per God’s commandment the person who never said anything by himself, but it was revelation revealed (Surah Najm) pronounced the Hadith Thaqalayn (the Two Precious Things he was leaving behind as means of salvation – the Holy Qur’an and his progeny the Ahl al-Bayt). He then proclaimed as his divinely-designated vicegerent, to a huge gathering of Muslims at Ghadeer-Khom, his cousin and son-in-law, the Immaculate Imam Ali ibn Taleb (AS), regarding whom a famous hadith says: "Ali is with the Truth and Truth is with Ali.”
With the issue of Imamate of the Sadeqeen (Truthful) sealed by the Seal of Prophets, it was but natural for the emergence of another popularly known Sadeq from the offspring of the First Sadeq.
The advent of Shawwal 25 every year reminds us of the pivotal role of the Second Sadeq of the House of Divine Revelation in reviving the Sunnah, Seerah and Shari’ah of Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) in its pure and pristine form, after it had been tainted by the forces of darkness which had usurped the political right of leadership of the Ahl al-Bayt by setting up the caliphate of untruth.
Imam Ja’far as-Sadeq (AS) needs no introduction. Born in 83 AH on the 17th of Rabi al-Awwal, exactly the 136th birth anniversary of his ancestor the Prophet, his life was cut short at the age of 65 in 148 AH, due to a fatal dose of poison given on the orders of Mansour Dawaniqi, the 2nd self-styled caliph of the usurper Abbasid regime.
A boy of twelve years when his grandfather, Imam Zain al-Abedin (AS) – the son and successor of the Martyr of Karbala, Imam Husain – left the world in 95 AH, the divine trust of Imamate was entrusted to him in 114 AH on the martyrdom of his father, Imam Muhammad Baqer (AS), when at the age of 31 he was in the prime of manhood. For the next 34 years he relentless strove in the manner of the Prophet to enlighten the Ummah in those crucial days when the forces of untruth – the Omayyads and the Abbasids – were battling with each for power of the Islamic state that belonged to neither of them.
His period of Imamate could be roughly divided equally between the two tyrannical regimes, and as the Prophet’s 6th Infallible Successor and heir to the divine legacy of the Holy Qur’an, he fully utilized the crucial years of infighting to take the famous academy of Medina to its greatest height.
At one time, 4,000 scholars sat at the feet of the Sadeq of the Age to learn religious and rational sciences. These included the Father of Chemistry, Jaber Ibn Hayyan (Geber to medieval Europe), the Master of Rhetoric, Hisham ibn al-Hakam, the Theologian Aban ibn Thaghlab, the Jurist Abu Hanifa, and etc.
The Imam of Truthful, however, was not left undisturbed by the forces of untruth. If during the Omayyad era he had to endure the martyrdom of his uncle, Zayd ibn Ali, and first cousin Yahya ibn Zayd; with the coming to power of the equally oppressive Abbasids he had to suffer the martyrdom of his second cousins Mohammad Nafs-e Zakiyah, and Ibrahim.
In addition, Mansour, who martyred many male members of the line of Imam Hasan Mujtaba (AS) – burying most of them alive – committed the treason of calling the Shi’ites or devoted followers of the Ahl al-Bayt as "Rafidhoon” (rejecters of the caliphate), and coined a new term "Ahl as-Sunna wa’l-Jama’ah” for those who had no idea of what the real Sunnah and Seerah, or practice and behaviour of Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) was. No such sect had ever existed before in Islamic history.
Yet Imam Sadeq (AS) spared no efforts to spread the true teachings of the Prophet in the society at a time when pseudo jurisprudents on the payroll of the regime were resorting to "qiyas” (guesswork) on the bases of spurious hadith.
Eventually, Mansour martyred through poisoning the Prophet’s 6th Infallible Heir, little knowing that it is God’s Will to keep the torch of divine guidance glowing forever, until the advent of the Prophet’s 12th and Last Successor, Imam Mahdi (AS), to establish the global government of peace, prosperity, and justice.
Today, the blessed tomb of Imam Sadeq (AS) in Medina has been destroyed by the Wahhabi cult, but the faithful continue to salute it from near and far, while promoting throughout the world the immortal legacy of the Imam of the Truthful.
Condolences on the Martyrdom Anniversary of Imam Ja’far as-Sadeq (AS)