Among those scholars was Yahya bin Aktham...

Among those scholars was Yahya bin Aktham, the chief of the judges of Baghdad whom the Abbasids had chosen to test Imam al-Jawad (a.s). He asked Imam al-Jawad (a.s) about a jurisprudential question, and Imam al-Jawad (a.s) ramified the question into several branches and asked Yahya which branch he meant.

Yahya did not know what to say and could not save himself from that embarrassing situation, and then he confessed that he could not keep pace with Imam al-Jawad (a.s).[^3] The arguments of Imam al-Jawad (a.s) with Yahya and with other scholars of that time occupied the public opinion in Baghdad and in other towns. They were the main topics talked of in meetings then, and the caravans transported them everywhere. They were and still are a source of admiration throughout history.

What proves the great treasure of his knowledge while he was still young is that the Shia jurisprudents, after the death of Imam ar- Ridha’ (a.s), hastened towards Yathrib (Medina) to know the next infallible imam. The reliable people guided them to Imam al-Jawad (a.s). They went to him and asked him the most ambiguous and complicated questions, and he answered them all. Narrators say that, on another occasion, he was asked thirty thousand questions, and he answered them all.

It is natural that there is no justification to this confusing and amazing matter except that which the Shia believe: Allah has endowed the infallible imams of Ahlul Bayt (a.s) with knowledge, wisdom and virtue, with the likes of which no one amongst people has ever been endowed.

Some historians say that the talents and geniuses of Imam al-Jawad (a.s) affected al-Ma’moon, the Abbasid caliph, and consequently he loved Imam al-Jawad (a.s) sincerely and preferred him to even his own children and family. He married him to his daughter Umm al-Fadhl, gifted him abundantly and ordered his government bodies and the rest of the official departments to respect and glorify him. However, this is not true, as we shall detail in this book later on.

Imam al-Jawad (a.s) did not face any economical pressures throughout his life. He lived at ease. Al-Ma’moon gave him a yearly salary of one million dirhams, which was a considerable amount at that time when one dirham equaled the price of one sheep.