Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad summary

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Below is the article summary. For the full article, see Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq.

Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad , (born 699/700, Medina, Arabia—died 765, Medina), Sixth imam of the Shīʿite branch of Islam and the last to be recognized by all the Shīʿite sects. He was the great-grandson of ʿAlī. As a possible claimant to the caliphate, Jaʿfar was viewed as a threat to both the Umayyad and ʿAbbāsid dynasties. He traveled to Baghdad in 762 to prove to the caliph that he was not seeking power, then returned to his native Medina, where his pupils included Abū Ḥanīfah. After his death the Shīʿites began to splinter. One sect, the Ismāʿīliyyah, became followers of his son, Ismail. Another, the Ithnā ʿAshariyyah, traced a succession from Jaʿfar to the Twelfth Imam awaited at the Last Judgment.

Shiʿi Summary

Shiʿi, member of the smaller of the two major branches of Islam, the Shiʿah, distinguished from the majority Sunnis. The origins of the split between the Sunnis and the Shiʿah lie in the events which followed the death of the Prophet Muhammad. Muhammad was understood to be the messenger of God who,

imam Summary

Imam, in a general sense, one who leads Muslim worshippers in prayer. In a global sense, imam is used to refer to the head of the Muslim community (ummah). The title is found in the Qurʾān several times to refer to leaders and to Abraham. The origin and basis of the office of imam was conceived

Hadith Summary

Hadith, corpus of the sayings or traditions of the Prophet Muhammad, revered by Muslims as a major source of religious law and moral guidance. It comprises many reports of varying length and authenticity. The individual reports are also called hadith (plural: hadiths). The word hadith is derived