59, of al-Saduq’s Amali (or Majalis), the faqih mentor and...

59, of al-Saduq’s Amali (or Majalis), the faqih mentor and author quotes Ja’fer ibn Ali ibn al-Hassan ibn All ibn Abdullah ibn al-Mughirah al-Kufi as saying that his grandfather al-Hassan ibn Ali quotes his grandfather Abdullah ibn al-Mughirab quoting Isma’eel ibn Abu Ziyad quoting Abu Abdullah Imam Ja’fer ibn Muhammad al-Sadiq (as) (Acronyms for Alahis Salam, peace be upon him) citing his forefathers, peace be upon all of them, saying that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) (These are acronyms that stand for "peace be upon him".

Once asked his companions, "Shall I tell you about something which, if you do it, will distance you from Satan as much as the distance between the east and the west?" They said, "O yes! Please do so," whereupon he (pbuh) said, "It is fast. It darkens his [Satan’s] face, while charity breaks his back and the love for Allah’s sake and assisting others in doing good deeds cut off his tail and seeking Allah’s forgiveness splits his spine.

For everything there is a nicat (purification), and the zakat of the bodies is fast." Because the reader will come across the name of Imam Ja’fer al-Sadiq (as) quite often in this book, we ought to stop here for a moment to introduce this great personality to those who may not be familiar with him.

Needless to say, the Imam (as) is very well known to Muslims following the Shi’a Ja’feri Ithna-’Asheri School of Muslim Law; after all, they derive their fiqh from him and regard him as highly as, say, Hanafis regard Imam Abu Haneefah al-Nu’man, or as the Hanbalis regard Imam Ahmed ibn Hanbal.

But those who are not Shi’as are justified in wondering how Imam al-Sadiq (as) knew the forthcoming information; so, let us introduce them to one of the most knowledgeable men who ever lived on earth: His full name is Abu Abdullah Ja’fer ibn Imam Muhammad al-Baqir ibn Imam Ali al-Azgher Zaynul-’Abidin ibn Imam Hussein ibn Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib, of the clan of Banu Hashim, of the tribe of Quraysh, peace and blessings of Allah be upon all of them and many, many salutations.

He was born in the sacred precincts of Medina on the 17th of Rabee’ al-Awwal of 83 A.H., and he died at the age of 65 after being poisoned by the Abbaside caliph Abu Ja’fer al-Mansur and was buried at Baqee’, Medina. His mother was a relative of the first caliph Abu Bakr: she was Umm Farwa Fatima daughter of Abdel-Rahman son of Abu Bakr. His father was Abu Ja’fer Imam Muhammad ibn All al-Baqir (as) (57 - 114 A.H.), grandson of Imam Husain (as).