That is to say that they were certain and decisive with...

That is to say that they were certain and decisive with respect to the martyrdom of Imam al-Kazim ( ‘a ) and believed in the Imamate of Imam ar-Rida ( ‘a ) and the Imams after him, whereas the Waqifiyyah were not convinced of the death of Imam al-Kazim ( ‘a ).[^10] Nowadays, the label “Ja‘fariyyah” is applied to the Shi‘ah more on account of jurisprudence in contradistinction to the four Sunni schools of jurisprudence { madhahib }.

The reason for this term is that the Shi‘ah jurisprudence took form more through Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq ( ‘a ) compared to all the Imams ( ‘a ) and most traditions on our jurisprudence are narrated by him ( ‘a ).

Nonetheless, keeping in view a poem we have from Sayyid Humayri, it can be understood that only on account of jurisprudence during Imam as-Sadiq’s ( ‘a ) period the term “Ja‘fari” was applied to the Shi‘ah, but this term has also been applied to them in terms of principles of religion { usul } in contradistinction to other sects.

The poem of Humayri is as follows: تجعفرت باسم الله و الله أكبر In the Name of Allah, I became a Ja‘fari, and Allah is the great .[^11] By becoming a Ja‘fari, Sayyid Humayri is referring to the correct course of the Shi‘ah Imamiyyah in contradistinction to the Kaysaniyyah. The Status of ‘Ali (‘a) among the {sahabah} The Commander of the Faithful ‘Ali ( ‘a ) occupied a special position among the of the Prophet (S).

Mas‘udi says: In terms of all the virtues and merits that the of the Prophet (S) possessed, such as precedence in Islam; hijrah {emigration}; helping the Prophet; kinship with him; contentment { qina‘ah }; sacrifice { ithar }; knowledge of the Book of Allah; jihad ; piety { wara‘ }; asceticism { zuhd }; judgment { qadha’ }; jurisprudence { fiqh }; etc., ‘Ali ( ‘a ) had abundant share and perfect delight.

This is apart from the fact that some of the virtues are possessed by him alone such as brotherhood { ukhuwwah } of the Prophet and statements of the Prophet such as: “You are to me as Harun (Aaron) is to Musa (Moses),” “Of whomsoever I am master { mawla }, ‘Ali is also his master. O God! Befriend him who befriends him and be inimical to him who is inimical to him”; and also the supplication of the Prophet for him; when Anas brought a cooked bird to the Prophet (S), he said: “O God!

Let the most beloved creature (after him) come in so as to partake with me.” Then, ‘Ali ( ‘a ) came in and partook with the Prophet.