By: Seyyed Ali Shahbaz
   
 “We have figured everything in a Manifest Imam.” (Holy Qur’an 36:12)
These are the words of Almighty God. He 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 with the universal message of Islam, and commanded him to declare cousin Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS) as Vicegerent and the First of the 12 Infallible Imams.
A famous hadith from the Seal of Messengers says the Earth will never be without a “Hujjat-Allah” (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 the human race.
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 fulfil his mission to eradicate all vestiges of corruption and oppression by establishing the global government of peace, prosperity and justice.
May God hasten his advent to end the grave crisis in which the world is embroiled, because of the devilish Zionists and the satanic powers that misuse science and technology to build dangerous atomic arsenals. Amen
In the meantime, since we are on the threshold of Shawwal 25, 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.
Let us focus on some of the aspects of the 34-year mission of the person who revived the genuine “Sunnah wa Seerah” (Behaviour & Practice) of Prophet Muhammad (SAWA), which self-styled caliphs had tried to distort on usurping the political rule of the Muslim realm 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. 
It was the period when the tyrannical Omayyad regime was on its way out and the equally oppressive Abbasid regime was seizing power.
In view of this, the 6th Imam, though subjected to intermittent bouts of imprisonment by the Omayyad Hisham bin Abdul-Malik and the Abbasid Mansour Dawaniqi, had the time to teach the seekers of facts that the Earth is spherical, it revolves around the sun, the air contains oxygen, the water has hydrogen, and the mysteries of the rays of light. 
He also expounded 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 Imam Sadeq’s (AS) letter to Abdullah an-Najashi – the governor of the Ahvaz and Fars provinces of 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 scholars 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).
He was terrified that once people became aware of these realities, 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. On the collapse of Omayyad rule, he had, without opening it, burned the letter of offer of the caliphate by the general Abu Salama al-Khallal, 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 was aware of these facts, yet he resorted to every plot to try 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 own 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 also aware of his own 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 AH Mansour succeeded his brother Abbas as-Saffah as caliph, and immediately started imprisoning, torturing and martyring the descendants of Imam Hasan Mujtaba (AS). In 142 AH Nafs Zakiyya was martyred in battle and the next year his brother Ibrahim was martyred. Later 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.   
Then in 148 AH, he had Imam Sadeq (AS) martyred through a fatal dose of poison. Mansour 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).