Everyone who follows him will not go astray and everyone who...

Everyone who follows him will not go astray and everyone who disobeys him will not be guided.”[^5] ‘Isma’il Ibn Ali Ibn Abdullah Ibn Abbas has said, “One day I went to see Abu Ja’far Mansur. He wept until his beard was wet. He told me, ‘You do not know what has happened to the Ahlul Bayt!’ I asked, ‘O Amiral Mu’minin!

What is that happening?’ He answered, ‘The master of the world; the remnant of the good people has passed away.’ I asked, ‘Who is he?’ Abu Ja’far Mansur replied, ‘Ja’far Ibn Muhammad.’ I said, ‘May Allah give you reward and long life in this calamity.’ He said, ‘Ja’far Ibn Muhammad was one of the people about who the Almighty Allah has stated, ‘Then We have given the Book for inheritance to such of Our Servants as We have chosen.’ [^6] Ja’far Ibn Muhammad was one of those who was chosen by the Exalted Allah and was one of the pioneers of goodness.”[^7] Ibn Haban has considered Ja’far Ibn Muhammad one of the trustworthy narrators of tradition, saying, “He was one of the noblemen of the Ahlul Bayt in terms of jurisprudence and knowledge.

His traditions are benefitted from.”[^8] Shahristani writes about Imam Sadiq (a.s.), “He was very knowledgeable in science and religion and perfect in piety and wisdom. He avoided passions. He lived in Medina for a while; his friends from the Shi’ah benefitted from his knowledge. Then he moved to Iraq and stayed there for a while.”[^9] Ahmad Ibn Hajar Hiythami has written, “The best son of Muhammad Baqir was Ja’far Sadiq; therefore, he became the successor to his father and the caliph after him.

The people have narrated many traditions from him, which were spread in all regions. Great religious leaders, such as Yahya Ibn Sa’id, Ibn Jurayh, Malik, Dusufyani, Abu Hanifah, Shu’bah, Ayyub Sajistani have narrated tradition from him, too.”[^10] Ibn Sabbagh Maliki has written, “Ja’far Sadiq was his father’s caliph and successor after his father. He was superior to his brothers in terms of knowledge, intellect, and greatness.

The people have narrated many scientific issues from him, which are distributed everywhere. The traditions narrated from him have not been narrated from any other relative of him.”[^11] Muhammad Ibn Talhah Shafi’i writes, “Ja’far Ibn Muhammad Sadiq was one of the noblemen of the Ahlul Bayt. He was so knowledgeable. He worshipped and remembered Allah very much. He was very pious and recited Holy Quran much. He pondered in Quranic meanings, found trivial facts, and discovered amazing results.