تويت
Our Imam Al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) lived during the reign of ten Umayyad rulers, the first of whom was Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, as the Imam was born
towards the end of his rule. The other Umayyad rulers during his lifetime included Al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik, Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik, Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, Yazid ibn Abd al-Malik, Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik, Al-Walid ibn Yazid, Yazid ibn Al-Walid, Ibrahim ibn Al-Walid, and Marwan Al-Himar. He also lived during the rule of two Abbasid caliphs: Abu al-Abbas al-Saffah and his brother Abu Ja'far al-Mansur. The duration of Imam Al-Sadiq's Imamate was 34 years — the period he lived after the death of his father, Imam Al-Baqir (peace be upon him).
He lived with both his father and grandfather for 12 years, then with his father for another 19 years after his grandfather passed away, and finally lived 34 years after his father's death. He passed away at the age of 65.
During the Umayyad era, Imam Al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) witnessed immense injustice, killings, displacement, imprisonment, and torture inflicted by the Umayyads, especially against the followers of Ahl al-Bayt (the family of the Prophet). In addition, there was psychological torment, where Umayyad governors would gather those related to Imam Ali (peace be upon him) near the pulpit on Fridays, and the preacher would openly curse Imam Ali. This practice continued until the rule of Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, who prohibited the cursing.
The Imam also witnessed the uprising of Zayd ibn Ali in Kufa during the reign of Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik, which was met with brutal suppression, leading to Zayd’s martyrdom and increased persecution of the Alawites.
He also lived through the transitional period, witnessing the movements of Abu Salama al-Khallal and Abu Muslim al-Khurasani, which led to the overthrow of the Umayyads. Imam Al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) rejected these movements, fully aware of their eventual consequences.
During the Abbasid era, Al-Saffah summoned Imam Al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) from Medina to Al-Hashimiyyah and placed him under house arrest in Kufa for a short period before returning him to Medina. Al-Saffah did not openly show hostility toward the descendants of Imam Ali (peace be upon him) upon taking power; instead, he feigned loyalty, as he knew that the revolution against the Umayyads had succeeded under the banner of loyalty to the family of the Prophet and Imam Ali (peace be upon them). This explains his summoning of the Imam and imposing house arrest on him.
Al-Saffah’s reign lasted only about four years before Al-Mansur took over. Under Al-Mansur, the oppression of the Alawites intensified: they were exiled from Kufa, imprisoned in dark cells—some died there, their corpses left to rot, causing disease among the others—prompting Al-Mansur to demolish the prison with the remaining prisoners inside.
The Imam endured all of this and suffered greatly under Al-Mansur. Informants surrounded him and constantly brought false accusations to Al-Mansur, increasing his hostility toward the Imam. Among the numerous injustices the Imam faced is an account by Sheikh Al-Mufid and others: Dawud ibn Ali ibn Abdallah ibn Abbas killed Al-Mu'alla ibn Khunays, a servant of the Imam, and seized his possessions. The Imam confronted him and said: "You killed my servant and took my property. Do you not know that a man may sleep after losing a loved one, but not after war? By Allah, I shall call upon God against you!" Dawud mocked him, saying: "Are you threatening us with your prayers?" The Imam returned home and spent the entire night in prayer, supplicating: "O Almighty, O Possessor of Strength and Might, O One whose power is evident in all of Your creation, protect me from this tyrant and avenge me." Before long, cries were heard in the night: Dawud ibn Ali had suddenly died.
Another account, narrated by Al-Kulayni from Al-Mufaddal ibn Umar, states: Abu Ja'far Al-Mansur ordered his governor over the two holy sanctuaries, Al-Husayn ibn Zayd, to burn down the house of Imam Al-Sadiq (peace be upon him). The house caught fire at the door and hallway. The Imam emerged walking through the flames and said: "I am the son of those rooted in the earth. I am the son of Ibrahim, the friend of God."
Despite the suffering and injustice he endured, the intellectual movement flourished during Imam Al-Sadiq’s time. He became the head of the intellectual and scientific renaissance. No other Imam had similar opportunities to publicly teach and spread knowledge. Thousands of scholars were educated by him, including prominent jurists of the Shi'a school and even scholars from the four Sunni schools of jurisprudence such as Abu Hanifa, Malik ibn Anas, Sufyan al-Thawri, Sufyan ibn Uyaynah, Hafs ibn Ghiyath, Shu'bah ibn al-Hajjaj, Ibn Jurayj, Rawh ibn al-Qasim, Sulayman ibn Bilal, Isma'il ibn Jabir, Hatim ibn Isma'il, Abd al-Aziz ibn al-Mukhtar, Wahb ibn Khalid, Ibrahim ibn Tahman, and many more.
A number of his students also excelled in Islamic theology (Ilm al-Kalam), including Al-Mu'min al-Taq, Hisham ibn al-Hakam, Hisham ibn Salim, Humran ibn A'yun, and Al-Tayyar, among others.
Imam Al-Sadiq's leadership extended beyond jurisprudence and theology to include fields such as Qur'anic exegesis, biography (Sira), Arabic literature, and the so-called "strange sciences." He had dedicated students in all these disciplines.
Imam Al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) passed away on the 25th of Shawwal in the year 148 AH. He was buried in Al-Baqi' cemetery, next to his father and grandfather, Imam Hasan (peace be upon them all). According to Al-Mas’udi in Muruj al-Dhahab, the Imam was poisoned. This was also mentioned in Al-Sawa’iq al-Muhriqa and Manaqib Aal Abi Talib.
Finally, we note the Imam’s wisdom and foresight regarding what would happen after his death to his appointed successor, Imam Musa Al-Kadhim (peace be upon him). Al-Kulayni and others narrate from Abu Ayyub al-Nahwi: Al-Mansur summoned me in the middle of the night. I found him sitting on his chair, a candle beside him, and a letter in his hand. Upon greeting him, he threw the letter at me in tears and said: “This is a letter from Muhammad ibn Sulayman informing us that Ja’far ibn Muhammad has died. Indeed, we belong to Allah, and to Him we shall return — three times. Who is like Ja’far?” Then he said: “Write.” I began writing the letter, and then he said: “Write: If he has appointed a single individual as his executor, then present him and execute him.” The reply came: “He appointed five: Abu Ja'far Al-Mansur himself, Muhammad ibn Sulayman, Abdallah, Musa (his son), and Hamidah (his wife).”
Peace be upon Al-Sadiq, Ja'far, on the day he was born, the day he died, and the day he will be resurrected alive.
— Sayyid Mahdi Al-Jabri