By: Seyyed Ali Shahbaz

“Then We made Heirs to the Book those whom We chose from Our servants… and some of them are those who take the lead in all the good works by Allah’s Will. That is the greatest grace [of Allah]!” – Holy Qur’an 35:32
Yesterday we celebrated the birth anniversary of the Best of Creation, whose light was the first ever thing created by God before He created the universe.
The All-Wise Creator, however, sent him as the Last and the Greatest of the 124,000 messengers, but with the difference that unlike the Prophets that preceded him the mission entrusted to him – Islam – would be universal.
It means the Seal of Messengers to whom God revealed the Holy Qur’an as the Last and Final Heavenly Scripture for the guidance of all mankind for all time will not reveal any other book to anyone.
The intention here is not to refer to the Divine signs that accompanied the birth of Prophet Muhammad (SAWA), such as the falling down of the idols, the light illuminating the sky, the extinguishing of the thousand year old flame of the fire temple of Fars, the jolt that brought fourteen parapets crashing down from atop the palace of the king of kings, Khosrow 1, at Ctesiphon (Mada’en near Baghdad in Iraq), the shaking of the throne of Caesar, and the bewilderment in China, India, and the other places.
These signs, miracles, or whatever one calls them were not of a lasting nature but were meant to be Divine warnings to the rulers and the people of that particular period, in order to jolt their conscience from deep slumber.
Thus, what God granted Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) as the permanent sign of his prophethood that would remain after him forever, guiding the seekers of truth to the blissful path of paradise was the Holy Qur’an, along with the Divinely- designated Heirs to this Book of Divine Wisdom, who, as the above-mentioned Ayah says in clear terms are pioneers in all good works, and indeed the Greatest Grace of Allah for the benefit of human societies.
Now we understand what the Messenger of Mercy meant by emphasizing very often on the famous Hadith Thaqalayn, which reads;
“I am leaving behind among you Two Weighty Things (Thaqalayn), the Book of God and my progeny the Ahl al-Bayt. Hold fast to them and you will never go astray, for the two never separate with each other, even when they return to me at the Fountain (of Kowthar on Judgement Day). You will be questioned about your behaviour towards them.”
Divine Providence immortalized these words of the Prophet by decreeing that his 6th Infallible Heir and the Reviver of his Sunnah and Seerah (behaviour and practice), be born on the 83rd anniversary of the birthday of his illustrious forbear.
Named Ja’far, like the Prophet he would acquire the epithet of “Sadeq” or the Most Truthful. For 34 years he would so profoundly enlighten minds, strengthen spirits, uplift hearts, and succor souls, that the code of genuine Muhammadan shari’ah promulgated by him would forever be known as the Ja’fari Jurisprudence (Fiqh al-Ja’fariyya).
In this regard, a famous hadith related by Isma’il Ibn Jabir from Imam Ja’far Sadeq (AS.) says:
“Allah the Exalted sent Muhammad (SAWA) as the Prophet and will not send any other prophet after him. He revealed a book to Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) and will not reveal any other book after it. In that book, Allah set some deeds “halal” (lawful) and some “haram” (unlawful). The “halal” and “haram” deeds will remain so forever. The news of the people in the past, in the future, and in the present time exist in this heavenly Book.”
Then Imam Sadiq (AS) pointed to his own chest and said: “We do know all these facts.”
A brief newspaper column cannot do justice to the virtues and God-given merits of Imam Ja’far as-Sadeq (AS), who lived at a very critical period of history, when the Godless Omayyad dynasty was falling apart and a new ungodly dynasty of usurpers, the Abbasids, was emerging.
He utilized this breathing space to expand the academy of Medina, which was founded by his grandfather Imam Zain al-Abedin (AS) following the heartrending tragedy of Karbala, and developed by his father Imam Muhammad al-Baqer (AS).
The sixth Imam took this academy to such a great height to the extent that at one time, 4,000 scholars sat at his feet, learning different branches of science. Among them was Jaber ibn Hayyan, the Father of Chemistry.
This means Imam Sadeq (AS) possessed the keys of Divine knowledge that were beyond the imagination of the pseudo scholars of his time, including certain self-styled jurisprudents who resorted to “qiyas” or analogy in religious matters, despite the warnings of the Prophet’s Heir that Iblis the Outcast was the first one to disobey God and indulge in this self-destructive habit.
Here is an example of Imam Sadeq’s (AS) knowledge as the Heir of the Holy Qur’an is cited. It is related that once when he was only 11 years old, he entered a class of scholars who were discussing the subject of astronomy. To the surprise of the gathering, the boy who was then known as the grandson of Imam Zain al-Abedin (AS) said:
“The Earth cannot be flat, because of the way the sun rises in the east and sets in the west and day and night change in 24 hours, it cannot be possible.”
The 6th Imam’s own uncle, the Martyr Zayd Ibn Ali, has said, “In every age there is someone from us, the Ahl al-Bayt, who is the Almighty Allah’s “Hujjat” (argumentation) for mankind. The Hujjat of his age is Ja’far Ibn Muhammad, my brother’s son. Anyone who follows him will not go astray and anyone who disobeys him will not be guided.”