Ali b. al-Imam al-Sadiq (a)

ʿAlī b. Jaʿfar b. Muḥammad al-Sādiq (علی بن جعفر بن محمد الصادق) (b. ? - d. third century), is the son of Imam al-Sadiq (a) his nickname is Abu l-Hasan and his surname is 'Uraydi. He has narrated a lot of hadiths. He was very pious and well educated. He accompanied his brother, Musa b. Ja'far (a) and narrated a lot of hadiths from him. He is counted the youngest child of Imam Sadiq (a) who also experienced the Imam Hadi's (a) period. Mausoleums in 'Urayd, a village near Medina, Saudi Arabia, Qom and Simnan, Iran, attributed to him.

Lineage

His father was Imam Sadiq (a) and his mother was an Umm walad (slave woman) and according to Muhaddith Qumi his wife was Fatima b. 'Abd Allah Bahir b. Imam Sajjad (a).

Birth

There is no report about his exact birth date. Some say that he was 2 when Imam Sadiq (a) was martyred, on the other hand, some believe that he was in his early youth at that time. Mamaqani believes that he was between 16 to 20; because, narrating from his father requires this age.

Nickname and Surname

His nickname was Abu l-Hasan. Due to his relationship with Ahl al-Bayt (a) he was given various surnames such as: Husayni, Hashimi and 'Alavi, but the most famous one is 'Uraydi. 'Urayd is a village located one farsakh away from Medina, Saudi Arabia. It was a private property of Imam Baqir (a), who left it for Imam Sadiq (a) and according to his will it was given to his youngest son, Ali b. Ja'far.

Companionship with Imams (a)

It is said that Ali b. Ja'far is one of the few people who experienced 5 Imams. al-Shaykh al-Tusi has listed him in his father's (Imam Sadiq (a)) companions. According to Tarikh Qom, which says that he was 2 when Imam Sadiq (a) was martyred, his direct narration from him remains dubious; unless we accept the opinion of Mamaqani, who believes that he was between 16 to 20.

al-Shaykh al-Tusi also listed him among Imam Kazim (a) companions and added that he had a book in which he had written the Q&As from Imam Kazim (a).

He was the nearest companion to Imam Kazim (s) to the point that he said: "I performed 'Umra 4 times along with my brother and his family. One lasted 26 days, the other 25, the other 24, and the last one 21 days."

Also, his name is counted among Imam Rida (a) companions in the book "Rijal" written by al-Shaykh al-Tusi. He had a book of narrations from Imam Rida (a). Hasan b. Fadal quoted in a narration that Imam Kazim (a) informed Ali b. Ja'far about the imamat of Imam Rida (a) and he accepted that. In another hadith Zakaryya b. Yahya narrated that Ali b. Ja'far explained the imamat of Imam Rida (a) in his conversation with Hasan b. Husayn b. Imam Sajjad (a).

In another incident Ali b. Ja'far supported Imam Jawad (a). Muhammad b. Hasan b. 'Ammar narrates: "It was two years that I was studying under Ali b. Ja'far and writing his narration from his brother. One day [while we were in Masjid al-Nabi and he was retelling the hadiths to us Imam Jawad (a) entered Masjid al-Nabi (the mosque of the Prophet (s) in Medina), Ali b. Ja'far jumped to his feet and without [wearing] his shoes and cloak hurried to him. He kissed Imam Jawad's (a) hand and honored him. Imam Jawad (a) told him: "O uncle! [please] sit down. God bless you."

He replied: "O my master! How I can sit, while you are standing." When Ali b. Ja'far returned to his place, his companions criticized him and said: "you are his father's uncle. Why do you treat him like this?" he grabbed his white beard and said: "be silent! If Allah did not see [the owner] of this beard suitable for imamat, but this child, should I deny his merits? -I seek protection to God from what you are saying- rather I am his servant. He also met Imam Hadi (a) but there is no hadith in narration sources, that he has narrated it form Imam Hadi (a).

Masters

In addition to Imam Sadiq, Imam Kazim and Imam Rida (a), these people are listed among his masters:

1. Abu Abd Allah, Husayn b. Zayd b. Ali b. Husayn; his nickname is Husayn Dhu al-Dam'a too, and his surname is Madani.
2. Sufyan b. 'Uyayna b. 'Umran al-Hilali; whose great grandfather was an agent of Khlid al-Qasri.
3. Muhammad b. Muslim.
4. 'Abd al-Malik b. Qudama.
5. Mu'tab; the servant of Imam Sadiq (a).
6. Abu Sa'id Makki.

Pupils

According to the books of 'Ilm al-Rijal and narration sources, he had more than 40 pupils, some of which are:

1. Ahmad b. Ali b. Ja'far (a); his son.
2. Muhammad b. Ali b. Ja'far (a); his son.
3. Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Abi Nasr Bazanti.
4. Ishaq b. Muhammad b. Ishaq b. Ja'far (a).
5. Ishaq b. Musa b. Ja'far (a); his nephew.
6. Isma'il b. Muhammad b. Ishaq b. Ja'far (a); his brother's grandson.
7. Hasan b. Ali b. 'Uthman b. Ali b. Husayn b. Ali b. Abi Talib (s); also known as Hasan b. Ali b. 'Amr 'Amraki.
8. Husayn b. Zayd b. Ali b. Husayn (a).
9. Husayn b. Musa b. Ja'far (a).
10. Abd al-'Azim al-Hasani.
11. Yunis b. 'Abd al-Rahman.

Works

Most of the scholars of 'Ilm al-RIjal has reported a book titled "Masa'il Ali b. Ja'far" for him (Najashi mentioned that he had one book); but Ayatullah Shubayri Zanjani believes that he had 3 books:

• Kitab fi al-halal wa al-haram.
• Manasik.
• Mas'il li akhih Musa al-Kazim (a).

His Saying before His Demise

Before his demise Ali b. Ja'far said: "a year before my father's demise when his family were at his presence, he said: Allah has never emphasized this much on anything, more than imama and [his] servants have never denied anything more imama.

Demise

There are different reports about his demise date. Some said that he passed away in 210/826, some said in 220/835 and some other said that it is not improbable that he lived to 252/866 and consequently, believed that he lived for 120 years or even more. Mas'udi believes that he passed away in 27th of Dhu al-Hijja 233 (August 6th 848) and he was 72; but this report can not be right, because he was a child and at least 2 years old when his father as martyred, and if we accept the demise year that Mas'udi reported, he was at least 87 when he passed away in 233/848, not 72.

Mausoleum

There are three possibilities about his mausoleum. There are mausoleum by his name in 'Urayd, near Medina, Qom and Simnan.

The Mausoleum in Qom

Majlisi Awwal wrote in his autobiography that the buried person in the cemetery of Bagh Behshet, Qom is Ali b. Ja'far 'Uraydi and added that he travelled to Qom because of the invitation of its people. Also, Mudarrisi Yazdi has the same opinion.

The Mausoleum and Mosque of Ali b. Ja'far in Medina

Sahib Mustadrak al-wasa'il believes that the burial of Ali b. Ja'far in Qom is very improbable; because, firstly: there is no report about this in 'Ilm al-Rijal sources, secondly: narrator of Qom, who would travel to narrate hadiths, did not narrate any hadiths from him, and thirdly about 100 of Sayyids and Imamzadis (Imams' descendants) who travelled to Qom have been listed in the book Tarikh Qom but there is no indication about Ali b. Ja'far or his travel to Qom in the book. Consequently, he (Sahib Mustadrak al-wasa'il) believes that Ali b. Ja'far was buried in 'Urayd located about one farsakh away from Medina. Nowadays there are a mausoleum and a mosque by his name.

The Mausoleum in Simnan

In downtown Simnan, there is a mausoleum attributed to him.

Children

Scholars of lineage have counted 13 sons and 7 daughters for him:

Sons

1. Abu 'Abd Allah Muhammad Akbar, Jamal al-Din.
2. Hasan.
3. Ahmad al-Sha'rani.
4. Ja'far Asghar.
5. Husayn.
6. Ja'far Akbar.
7. 'Isa.
8. Qasim.
9. Ali.
10. 'Abd Allah.
11. Muhammad Asghar.
12. Ahmad Asghar.
13. Muhsin.

Daughters

1. Kulthum.
2. 'Aliyya.
3. Malika.
4. Khadija.
5. Hamduna.
6. Zaynab.
7. Fatima.