Because of this...

Because of this, when Imam al-Jawād -based on some narrative sources- was born in the last years of Imam al- Riḍa’s life and he brought him, he (PBUH) said thus: “This is a child, more blessed than him is not born for our followers [10] .” In addition, there is another report narrated by Ibn Asbat and ‘Ubbad ibn Isma’il which said: “We were in the presence of Imam al-Riḍa (PBUH) when they brought Imam al- Jawād.

We asked: ‘Is this that blessed child?’ Imam al-Riḍa (PBUH) replied thus: ‘This is the child, no more blessed than him is ever born [11] .” Imam al-Jawād (PBUH) was brought up by his purified father, Imam Riḍa (PBUH) for four years before he was forced to migrate from Medina to Khurasan (Iran) while leaving his young son behind. His Imamate According to Shi’a belief, leadership (imamate) is based on divine appointment.

Thus, an Imam will only be appointed either through a Prophet (such the case of Imam Ali and the Holy Prophet) or a prior Imam. In light of this, Imam al- Riḍa (PBUH) declared the imamate of his son, Muhammad ibn Ali (PBUH) for his companions in several cases.

For instance, in all the books such as al-Kafi [12] , al-Irshad [13] , I’lam al-wara [14] , and Bihar al-Anwar [15] , there is a chapter about the proofs for the imamate of Muhammad ibn Ali which have mentioned fourteen, eleven, nine, and twenty-six hadiths respectively. When Imam al- Riḍa was to leave Medina for Khurasan, he was fully aware of the treacherous character of the ruling caliph and was sure that he would not return to Medina any more.

Thus, he has declared his son Muhammad al-Jawād (PBUH) as his successor and imparted to him all his stores of divine knowledge and spiritual genius before he departed Medina. There are many proofs to substantiate the imamate of Imam al-Jawād (PBUH) immediately after his father. There is a report in which one of the companions of Imam al-Riḍa asked him about his successor, and he pointed with his hand towards his son, Abu Ja’far (Imam al- Jawād) who was standing in front of him [16] .

In 203/818, Imam al- Riḍa (PBUH) was martyred when his son, Imam al- Jawād was only 8 years old. Based on the divine appointment, Imam al- Jawād became Imam and this caused disagreement among Shi’a to the extent that some of them followed ‘Abd Allah ibn Musa ibn Ja’far, brother of Imam al-Rida. However, when they discovered he could not answer some of the questions posed to him, they abandoned him.