Talk:Ja'far al-Sadiq

Islamic Research Center in Strasbourg?

I think the references feels very dubious. I can't find any information about this so called Islamic Research Center in Strasbourg. Are they a part of the Univesity? Why doesn't their published articles have any references? Doesn't feel very academic to me. Is this whole article just an invention to promote Islam? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Joe hill (talk • contribs) 05:25, 21 September 2007 (UTC)

The Encycopedia Britannica article on al-Sadiq would appear to confirm that he is sufficiently notable to warrant a Wikipedia article, so I think your question about whether the article is an "invention to promote Islam" is uncalled for. However, the single source cited for all but one of the claims made in the section As a scientist and philosopher appears to be a work self-published by its translator, Kaukab Ali Mirza. If the extracts quoted on the web-site cited in the article are accurate, Mirza's book also makes many completely unsourced exceptional claims, several of which would seem to disqualify it from being considered a reliable source. To cite just one, it asserts that al-Sadiq "refuted" the theory of geocentrism at age 11, but the argument against geocentrism which it attributes to him is nonsensical. Given that al-Sadiq appears to have been a highly respected Islamic scholar, it doesn't seem likely that he would have proposed such an obviously fallacious argument as a refutation of the then universally held notion of geocentrism.

The source purports to be an English translation from a Persian (presumably Farsi) translation of a French original, claimed to have been a "thesis" published by a "Research Committee", variously described as being eiher "of Strasbourg" or "of Strasbourg University". I would remain highly sceptical of these claims until someone can provide a traceable citation of the supposed French original.

None of the contributions to Astronomy and Cosmology which the article claims al-Sadiq made is mentioned in either J.L.E.Dreyer's History of Astronomy from Thales to Kepler or C.M.Linton's From Eudoxus to Einstein, both of which have extensive chapters on oriental astronomy, most of which are devoted to Islamic astronomy. Also, the only mention which the Encyclopedia Britannica article cited above makes of al-Sadiq's contribution to science is that the alchemist Geber credited him with being the source of many of his own ideas. In view of all this, I believe the section As a scientist and philosopher should either be deleted, or at least rewritten from scratch using reliable sources, and Kaukab Ali Mizra's book should not be used as a reference.

—David Wilson (talk · cont) 17:01, 12 December 2007 (UTC)

You can find more about him here:

• • Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia pp. 409 and 410
• Alchemy
  • Medieval Science, Technology, and Medicine: An Encyclopediap. 279
  • Alchemy p. 71
• Philosophy
  • History of Islamic Philosophy
• Theology
  • Islamic Messianism: The Idea of Mahdi in Twelver Shi'ism
• Tafsir
  • The Blackwell Companion to the Qur'an
  • Sufi Commentaries on the Qur'an in Classical Islam —Preceding unsigned comment added by Sa.vakilian (talk • contribs) 19:36, 17 January 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for the references. They look quite interesting and authoritative. Unfortunately none of them appears to me to provide any support for the specific claims from Ali Mirza's book that have been made in the As a scientist and philosopher section of the article.

—David Wilson (talk · cont) 01:21, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

I found Imam Jafar Ibn Muhammad As-Sadiq A.S. : The Great Muslim Scientist and Philosopher. What's your idea about it.--Seyyed(t-c) 18:38, 20 January 2008 (UTC)

That's precisely the same book whose reliability I have questioned above. My thoughts about it are given there, and, in more detail, here.

—David Wilson (talk · cont) 04:13, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

Peace to him who deserves it

This article is a pice of the history of the world! And the world insn't only the western ideologie. To much knowledge is destroyed in the past by ignorant people, who don't want accept the realitiy of a giant knowledge of mankind.

I donn't know who is so ignorant, to delete this article. This article is an eminent part of the history.

Wikipedia is a Lexikon, it schould be a source of knowledge. The concern of anyone who want to delete this articel is undoubtful a personal problem of some ignorant people.

For me it is a part of a very bright article to understand the development of the whole mankind in the whole history, not only in a small epoch (kommunismus, imperialismus, rassismus) like you lern in the western school.

It's real - a part of reality. I for my part enjoyed this. Now I see how little the Knowledge of the western schools are really were.

Thanks for your reading.

As a scientist and a philosopher

Since no-one appears to have come up with reliable sources for the material taken from Kaukab ali Mirza's book via this web site (see discussion above), I have deleted it in accordance with the Wikipedia policiy on verifiability.

However the remaining material in this section also seems to be just as poorly sourced. The editor responsible for the single remaining reference (The Minister, 11 (10), p. 5-7, 1984) has confirmed that he has not been able to check it himself, but obtained his information about it from the web site indicated. This website contains an article on theories of alternative medicine and includes many poorly sourced extraordinary claims. In my opinion it can by no stretch of the imagination be regarded as satisfying Wikipedia's criteria for reliable sources. The journal it cites for the claim included in the Ja'far al-Sadiq article (namely, The Minister) is so obscure that I have been unable to locate a library anywhere in the world which carries it, and the editor responsible for its inclusion has been unable to throw any light on where a copy might be found. I have therefore also added a {{verify credibility}} template to this citation. Unless someone can locate a copy of the given reference and provide some details to confirm that it's a reliable source (or alternatively provide another reliable source to support the material) within a reasonable time then I believe this material should also be deleted. —David Wilson (talk · cont) 13:55, 26 February 2008 (UTC)

Since no-one has been able provide a reliable source for this material I have now removed it.

—David Wilson (talk · cont) 13:10, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

You can get this book from Amazon. Imam Jaffar: The Great Muslim Scientist and Philosopher. It highlights his contribution in science and philosophy. Xareen (talk) 21:49, 17 December 2011 (UTC)

The problem under discussion immediately above was the availability and reliability of the magazine The Minister, not that of Kaukab ali Mirza's book. That the latter is available from Amazon doesn't make it a reliable source. Indeed, since it's self-published it's automatically disqualified from being considered as such in Wikipedia. I have already outlined several other problems with it above, and, in more detail, here.

David Wilson (talk · cont) 23:54, 17 December 2011 (UTC)

Thanks. I'll take a look at your comments and see if I can find any more information about this book. Xareen (talk) 17:48, 18 December 2011 (UTC)

Friends, you can use the articles of Iranica [1] which is a good reliable sources and has two sub-articles about it.--Aliwiki (talk) 11:55, 19 December 2011 (UTC)

Thank you for the source. I can't boast sufficient familiarity with the subject matter to make a confident judgement, but its article on al -Sadiq looks to me like a very comprehensive and scholarly treatment. As such, it would be indirectly relevant to judging the credibility of ali Mirza's book. Not a single one of the exceptional claims made in that book is mentioned at all in the Iranica article, not even as a later apocryphal tradition. This reinforces my suspicion that those claims are complete bunkum.

David Wilson (talk · cont)

It's me that should be thankful to you for improving the article. I am now busy with other articles, but hopefully after Xmas vacations, I'll improve this matter.--Aliwiki (talk) 17:54, 20 December 2011 (UTC)

Abu Hanifa

Abu Hanifa was born in 699, while as-Saqiq was born in 702. Isn't it then a little hard to think of Abu Hanifa learning under as-Sadiq? Maybe he only attended some lectures as an equal. -- 213.6.12.131 (talk) 15:37, 18 September 2008 (UTC)

The thing is, as-Sadiq (AS) started attending lectures by al-Baqir (AS) at a very young age. I believe at this period, Abu Hanifa was perhaps only memorizing hadith and Qur'an. There are written stories about Hanifa and as-Sadiq's (AS) period as well. --Enzuru 19:48, 18 September 2008 (UTC)

Do the stories tell that as-Sadiq regularly taught Abu Hanifah (in the same way they tell, for instance, Malik ibn Anas taught ash-Shafi'i)? -- 213.6.40.28 (talk) 02:39, 19 September 2008 (UTC)

Please see this link: A refutation of Ansar's allegation that 'Abu Hanifa was NOT a student of Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (as) --Enzuru 03:58, 19 September 2008 (UTC)

Abu Hanifa was taught by Ja'far al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) for 2 years at least!--79.69.104.119 (talk) 17:42, 9 November 2012 (UTC)

The above statement is clearly supported by Abu Hanifa's own books!--88.111.126.79 (talk) 13:52, 16 December 2012 (UTC)

Merger of Hamidah Khatun

Since Hamidah Khatun is notable and separate, why would we merge her article into this one? unsigned comment by Emilyzilch (talk)

• The Hamidah Khatun page makes no claim of notability other than possibly the stuff of WP:ONEVENT. If the subject of that page in fact is generally notable, such notability must be claimed (and ultimately demonstrated). Bongomatic (talk) 05:31, 22 October 2008 (UTC)

Ismail's nass

I have a book that goes into the issue of Ismail's life and imamate, about how many thought he would be the Imam, and after as-Sadiq's death, the confusion that ensued. It has hadith from Twelver books, though it does not have a hadith with a specific declaration of nass, it certainly goes to great lengths to show there was a sufficient amount of confusion. --♥pashtun ismailiyya 08:19, 23 January 2009 (UTC)

I also have one, this one from the Ismaili scholarly institute, a fat tome by Farhad Daftary called Ismaili Literature. It goes into the whole Twelver-Ismaili then Ismaili-Qarmatian thing in great detail. I mean, clearly there were proto-Ismailis who believed the nass because there was a large and organised da'wah based out of Salamaniyyah. As for Twelvers, well, I know they also agree that Isma'il really died, but whether they believe he was ever nassed or was just "in line" is unclear to me. Nonetheless, the basic situation is that scholars from both sides disagree on who succeeded Ja'far, which is the basic point we are trying to make. Ogress _smash! 08:27, 23 January 2009 (UTC)

There are several opinions on the matter from the Twelver side, but one of the more prominent ones was put forth by Al-Shaykh al-Saduq, called badah, meaning God changed His will, if I understand correctly. Badah can be found in Twelver books of hadith as well. Anyway, the idea is that originally Allah willed Ismail to be Imam, however, He later willed Musa to be the Imam, hence made Ismail die. This idea is still held by some Twelver, but it's rarer now, most Twelver deny Ismail was ever even near the Imamate. I believe the Bábi used badah as one argument against Khatme Nabuwwat. --♥pashtun ismailiyya 09:17, 23 January 2009 (UTC)

I think this should be mentioned in the Ismaili-Twelver Split page!--88.111.126.79 (talk) 14:15, 16 December 2012 (UTC)

Polymath

It says on this page that Jaf'ar as-Sadiq(as) was a polymath. Could someone please produce a reference for this. And if there is a reference, can you post it on the polymath discussion page since we should try to get Imam as-Sadiq(as) onto that page. They are demanding a viable source.--IsaKazimi (talk) 00:13, 29 March 2009 (UTC)

The term polymath is more of a Western term than one that can be found elsewhere. I spent some time looking and have been unable to find any reliable source that refers to him as such. However, I see many sources referring to his student Jabir ibn Hayyan as one. --♥pashtun ismailiyya 00:51, 29 March 2009 (UTC)

Yes i couldn't find one that described Imam as-Sadiq(as) as a polymath either. I thought maybe if we could find seperate ones that describe him as an expert in all the individual fields mentioned...then that would be sufficient since it would still show him to meet the criterea of a polymath.--IsaKazimi (talk) 16:24, 30 March 2009 (UTC)

Nah, that's against Wikipedia rules, read up on WP:SYNTH. --♥pashtun ismailiyya 17:17, 30 March 2009 (UTC)

Oh ok. fair enough.--IsaKazimi (talk) 19:17, 30 March 2009 (UTC)

Picture

The drawing is misleading as it is not original and is out of one's imagination... will have to remove it, or atleast have to move it to some other inside section.. Especially when he is one of the most respected personalities, this must be hurting to many.. —Preceding unsigned comment added by OnlyHuman (talk • contribs) 16:30, 4 March 2010 (UTC)

Please read Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not#Wikipedia is not censored and if the images offend you then Help:Options to not see an image thanks. something lame from CBW 19:39, 4 March 2010 (UTC)

There is no 'actual' picture available for the Imam. So to post a mere depiction of an artist (God knows if tomorrow some other artist comes and posts some other picture that is desecratory) and to post that as a PRIMARY image of a person would be incorrect.
But gosh!! There are so many discussions about the same topic in other similar articles, I feel a little let down to start another discussion here. My final argument would be: If there is an actual picture , post it (and there is none) and if not, create another article that says 'An artists description of the imam' or whatever so that normal people dont have to see this picture each time they come to this article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Abbasgadhia (talk • contribs) 20:16, 5 March 2010 (UTC)

Ja'far al-Sadiq's family tree

According to both early Sunni and Shia books Jaafar Al Sadiq had said "Abu-Bakr begot me twice" (Al-Kâfî, Ar-Rawdah, 8:101). Many old Sunni and Shia books also said that Mohammed ibn Abu Bakr was raised by Ali (Nahjul Balagha Sermon 66) and his son Qassim ibn Mohammed ibn Abu Bakr was the grand father of Jaafar Al Sadiq. The fiqh of Qassim ibn Mohammed ibn Abu Bakr is captured in Imam Malik's book Muwatta Imam Malik and is referred to as the original fiqh of Madina by the Orientalists and used as a benchmark when comparing Sharia against other legal systems because both the Ummayads and the early Abbasids used the fiqh of Qassim ibn Mohammed ibn Abu Bakr that was captured in a book form as Muwatta Imam Malik. Qasim is extremely important in early fiqh.

File:Companionsfamilytree.jpg

But Jaafar Al Sadiq had said "Abu-Bakr begot me twice". So I looked and initially could not find another branch up from Jaffar al Sadiq back to Abu Bakr because I found it very hard to identify the women in their families. The women in their families are very modest. They are highly educated and did a very good job of teaching their children, but are hard to identify. Then I came across Abdu'l-Rahman ibn Abu Bakr's extreme opposition to Muawiya during the appointment of Yazid. And then came across Abdu'l-Rahman ibn Abu Bakr's daughter Asma who was married to Qasim and was also Jaafar Al Sadiq's grand mother. So when Jaafar Al Sadiq said "Abu-Bakr begot me twice". He meant that both of Abu Bakr's sons Abdu'l-Rahman ibn Abu Bakr and Mohammed ibn Abu Bakr were his great grandfathers.

Many of these people are buried in the Al-Baqi grave yard in Madina. Then I came across photos of a family tree diagram of these people. Photos taken at the entrance of the Al-Baqi grave yard in Madina during this years hajj. They also had these details and had all the references. The references include both Sunni and Shia books. Qassim ibn Mohammed ibn Abu Bakr is highly regarded by all early scholars. Its good that the diagram also remembers and shows some of Hassan's sons and some of Ali's sons who were killed in Karbala and are now more or less forgotten. Most family tree diagrams do not show the women, where as this shows the women and shows their mothers. I am still finding it hard to name Qasims mother. Most early books say that she is from Ali's family. Qasim's father Mohammed ibn Abu Bakr was raised by Ali and was very close to Ali. Hassan is also buried in Al-Baqi grave yard in Madina along with his mother and many of his relatives. It is said 10,000 of Muhammad's companions are also buried there as are many of his family members and relatives.

All the books from Sahih Al Bukhari (Volume 6, Book 60, Number 352, Narrated by Yusuf bin Mahak) to Ibn Katheer's books state that Abdu'l-Rahman ibn Abu Bakr heavily opposed Muawiya for his appointment of Yazeed.

Sahih Al Bukhari Volume 6, Book 60, Number 352, there is a Narration by Yusuf bin Mahak:

Marwan had been appointed as the governor of Hijaz by Muawiya. He delivered a sermon and mentioned Yazid bin Muawiya so that the people might take the oath of allegiance to him as the successor of his father (Muawiya). Then 'Abdur Rahman bin Abu Bakr told him something whereupon marwan ordered that he be arrested. But 'Abdur-Rahman entered 'Aisha's house and they could not arrest him. marwan said, "It is he ('AbdurRahman) about whom Allah revealed this Verse: 'And the one who says to his parents: 'Fie on you! Do you hold out the promise to me..?'" On that, 'Aisha said from behind a screen, "Allah did not reveal anything from the Qur'an about us except what was connected with the declaration of my innocence."

Ibn Katheer wrote in his book the Al-Bidayah wan-Nihayah that "in the year 56 AH Muawiyah called on the people including those within the outlying territories to pledge allegiance to his son, Yazeed, to be his heir to the Caliphate after him. Almost all the subjects offered their allegiance, with the exception of Abdur Rahman bin Abu Bakr (the son of Abu Bakr), Abdullah ibn Umar (the son of Umar), al-Husain bin Ali (the son of Ali), Abdullah bin Az-Zubair (The grandson of Abu Bakr) and Abdullah ibn Abbas (Ali's cousin). Because of this Muawiyah passed through al-Madinah on his way back from Makkah upon completion of his Umrah Pilgrimage where he summoned each one of the five aforementioned individuals and threatened them. The speaker who addressed Muawiyah sharply with the greatest firmness amongst them was Abdul rahman ibn Abu Bakr as-Siddeeq

Abdur Rahman bin Abu Bakr fought in the Battle of Yarmouk against the Romans in Syria. Abdur Rahman bin Abu Bakr had been one of the first to dual in that battle. Abdur Rahman bin Abu Bakr sister Asmā' bint Abu Bakr also fought in the Battle of Yarmouk and was also heavily opposed to Yazid.

Then while I was going round old libraries in the Middle east, looking for old books I came across literature on Abdur Rahman and his family.

Abdu'l-Rahman ibn Abu Bakr's brother Mohammed ibn Abu Bakr was raised by Ali and was also Ali's general and was killed in Egypt. Qassim ibn Mohammed ibn Abu Bakr was the son of Mohammed ibn Abu Bakr, who was the son of Abu Bakr, raised by Ali. Mohammed ibn Abu Bakr's wife was also Ali's close relative, meaning that Qassim was both the Grandson of Abu Bakr and a very close relative of Ali.

Then on top of that Abdu'l-Rahman ibn Abu Bakr's daughter Hafsa was married to Hassan and Abdu'l-Rahman ibn Abu Bakr's other daughter Asma was married to Qassim ibn Mohammed ibn Abu Bakr. Qassim and Asma's daughter, Fatima (Um Farwa) was married to Mohammed Al Baqer and was the mother of Jaafar Al Sadiq. So I asked a Shia cleric from Isfahan in Iran and he said it was true. The Sunni's clerics also said it was true. Abdu'l-Rahman ibn Abu Bakr's and his brother Mohammed ibn Abu Bakr are both Ja'far al-Sadiq's great grandfathers. Abdullah bin Az-Zubair was also married to Hassans daughter. When Hussein was killed, Abdullah bin Az-Zubair took on Yazeed and drove his forces out of Hijaz but was later defeated. His mother Asmā' bint Abu Bakr deeply opposed Yazid. In his last hour, Abdullah asked his mother Asma what he should do. Asma replied to her son: “You know better in your own self that if you are upon the truth and you are calling towards the truth go forth, for people more honourable than you were killed and have been killed, and if you are not upon the truth, then what an evil son you are, you have destroyed yourself and those who are with you. If you say what you say, that you are upon the truth and you will be killed at the hands of others then you will not truly be free, for this is not the statement of someone who is free... How long will you live in this world, death is more beloved to me than this state you are on, this state of weakness.” Then Abdullah said to his mother after she had told him to go forth and fight: “I am afraid I will be mutilated by the people of Sham. I am afraid that they will cut up my body after they have killed me.” She said: “After someone has died, it won’t make any difference what they do to you if you have been killed.” Abdullah said to his mother: “I did not come to you except to increase myself in knowledge. Look and pay attention to this day, for verily, I am a dead man. Your son never drank wine, nor was he fornicator, nor did he wrong any Muslim or non-Muslim, nor was he unjust. I am not saying this to you to show off or show how pure I am but rather as an honour to you.” Abdullah then left by himself on his horse to take on Hajjaj. Hajjaj’s army defeated Abdullah on the battlefield in 692. He beheaded him and crucified his body. He said, “No one must take down his body except Asma. She must come to me and ask my permission, and only then will his body be taken down.” Asma refused to go and ask permission to take down her son's body. It was said to her, "If you don’t go, his body will remain like that.” She said, “Then let it be.” Eventually Hajjaj came to her and asked, "What do you say about this matter?” She replied, “Verily, you have destroyed him and you have ruined his life, and with that you have ruined your hereafter.” Asma died a few days later. There are a lot of family links between these people. Even Abdullah bin Az-Zubair was Husseins second cousin. It looks like blood is thicker than water. We need to improve the layout of the family tree diagrams, including Family tree of Ali. These diagrams need to be like family tree diagrams. People like Qassim ibn Mohammed ibn Abu Bakr are also very important in early fiqh and Imam Malik's book Muwatta Imam Malik is based on the work of the committee headed by Qassim. Yet these days, they are almost forgotten. We need to improve the family tree diagrams of people like Qasim.

--Johnleeds1 (talk) 22:14, 12 February 2014 (UTC)

Improvements

I feel that this article is very disjointed at the moment and should really be split up into smaller sections. Perhaps it would be worthwhile adding 2 new sections for the "Sunni view of al-Sadiq" and the "Shi'ite view of al-Sadiq". This would perhaps make the article more readable. RookTaker (talk) 23:46, 24 July 2014 (UTC)

Removal of external link

I have removed the links—one of which was dead anyway—to the The Great Muslim Scientist and Philosopher Imam Jafar Ibn Mohammed As-Sadiq (A.S.) by Kaukab ali Mirza, and the description of it, from the external links section of the article. I have recently acquired a printed copy of this book. Much of its content is utterly ludicrous, and its description, which was simply copied out of the book itself, is false. The correspondence between its contents and that of the French work it purports to have been ultimately derived from is so minuscule that they would appear to be completely independent works. Wikipedia should not be potentially inconveniencing its readers by referring them to rubbish like this as if it contained any useful information on the topic of the article.

Another editor, Neotherios, recently identified the French work which is supposedly the ultimate source for the contents of ali Mirza's book, and which that book incorrectly refers to as a "thesis", and posted an account of his findings on my talk page back in June. He had found an Arabic work online which is so simllar to ali Mirza's that both must have been derived ultimately from the same source. This Arabic work contained a list of references from which Neotherios was able to identify the purported French original. He described his identification, a little modestly, I think, as "not far-fetched", but I certainly didn't think it was quite conclusive. The French work is not a "thesis", in any of the normal senses which that word can assume in English, but the proceedings of a conference—the second Colloque d'islamologie de Centre de Recherce d'Histoire des Religions de Strasbourg.^[*] When I discovered that a local library held a copy of these proceedings, I went and took a look, and found that the list of participants in the conference confirmed Neotherios's identification beyond any shadow of doubt. I have reproduced this list in the first column of the table below, in the same order in which it appears on pages 5–6 of the proceedings.

According to ali Mirza's translation of the preface by the Persian translator, Zabih Ullah Mansuri, the purported French "thesis" was published by "members of the Research Committee at Strasbourg" (p.17), and on page 19 we read "Names of some prominent scholars who are members of the Research Committee of Strasbourg, France, are as follows." This is followed by a numbered list of 21 names which I have reproduced, in a different order, in the third column of the table below. It is obvious, by comparing the names in this list with the ones in the same row of the first column, that the former are just garbled versions of the latter, with a few missing. The Arabic work found by Neotherios contains a different list which I have partially reproduced in the second column of the table below. From all except one entry of this list I have omitted those parts that were wriitten in Arabic, and marked the omitted texts' positions with ellipses. All except one of the names in this list were given in Latin script, and it is obvious that the list is again just a garbled and incomplete version of that in the first column.

The list of names in ali Mirza's book is so extensively garbled that it's difficult for me to believe there were only two steps in its production from the one in the proceedings of the Colloque de Strasbourg—French to Persian, and Persian to English. However, the level of scholarship in these works is so abysmal that I couldn't really rule it out with any degree of confidence. [I was being dense here]. Presumably the garbling in these lists of names is a consequence of their being translitterated from the Latin alphabet of the French source into the Persian alphabet, and then back into the Latin alphabet in the English and Arabic translations. The conference's proceedings identify Robert Brunschvig and Toufic Fahd as its organisers, but, apart from these two, the participants in the conference did not in any sense form a "Research Committee of Strasbourg", as ali Mirza's book refers to them; they were merely subject-matter experts who participated in the conference.

According to ali Mirza's translation, Mansuri's preface says that his book is a translation of "part of the Thesis [i.e. the proceedings of the conference], which is on the life of Imam Jafar as-Sadiq (A.S.)". This could only refer to the paper Ğa'far aṣ-Ṣâdiq et la Tradition Scientifique Arabe, by Toufic Fahd, which occupies pages 131–142 of the proceedings. But even if the remaining mentions of Ja'far as-Sadiq, scattered throughout the rest of the proceedings, are added, the resulting text in French would fill fewer than 35 pages, not nearly enough material to account for the 250 or so pages of English purporting to be a translation of a Persian translation of it. And in fact the supposedly translated translation is chock-full of historical and scientific blunders of which there are no traces whatsoever in the French work from which it has supposedly been derived. Here are a few from just a single chapter (13), Rotation of the Earth on its Axis:

He [i.e. Galileo] knew quite well that the earth rotates about the sun, but most probably did not know that it rotates on its own axis also.(p.87)

It was so difficult to comprehend and believe that the earth rotates on its axis that the eminent French mathematician, Poincare, who died in the year 1912, made fun of this theory. He clearly stated he did not believe the earth rotates on its own axis. (p.87)

He [i.e. Galileo] also saw through his telescope that all stars spin.(p.88)

Galileo did not say anything in his lifetime about the spinning of the earth and after his death, his writings did not show he had come to know about it.(p.88)

Tycho had discovered that the earth rotates around the sun.(p.88)

The great German scientist [i.e. Kepler] proved his knowledge and his mental power by his three laws but he failed to find out the spinning of the earth on its own axis. (p.89)

All great scientists, whose names have been mentioned above and who had discovered the Laws of Planetary Motion failed to discover that the earth rotates on its own axis. It is, therefore, highly surprising that in the 2nd. century Hijra Jafar as-Sadiq, who lived in Medina, which was not a centre of knowledge and learning, made that great discovery. (p.89)

This book isn't a translation of any scholarly work at all; it's a largely fictional hagiography perpetrated by authors abysmally ignorant of science, history and proper standards of scholarship.

Proceedings list of participants	Arabic version	English version (2001 reprint)
M. Robert Brunschvig, professeur à la Sorbonne, directeur de l'Institut d'Etudes islamiques de l'Université de Paris, ...	... Robert BRUNSHVIG ... ٣ [3]	3. Mr. Robert Brunswick, University of Paris, France.
M. Toufic Fahd, professeur à l'Université de Strasbourg, directeur de l'Institut d'Etudes islamiques de la Faculté des Lettres et Sciences humaines de l'Université de Strasbourg, éditeur des Actes.	... Tufic FAHD ... — ٧ [7]	6. Mr. Tofic Fahal, University of Strasbourg.
M. Armand Abel, professeur aux Universités de Bruxelles et de Gand.	... Armand ABEL ... — ١ [1]	1. Mr. Arman Bull, University of Brussels, Belgium.
M. Jean Aubin, directeur à l'Ecole pratique des Hautes Etudes, section des Sciences historiques et philologiques.	... Jean AUBIN ... — ٢ [2]	2. Mr. John Oben, University of Brussels, Belgium.
M. Claude Cahen, professeur à la Sorbonne.	... Claude CAHEN ... — ٤ [4]	4. Mr. Claude Cohen, University of Paris, France.
M. Enrico Cerulli, vice-président de l'Accademia dei Lincei, Rome.	... Enrico CERULLI ... — ٥ [5]
M. Henry Corbin, directeur d'Etudes à l'Ecole pratique des Hautes Etudes, section des Sciences religieuses.	... Enri CORBIN ... — ٦ [6]	5. Mr. Henri Corbone, University of Strasbourg.
M. Francesco Gabrieli, professeur à l'Université de Rome.	... Francesco GABRIELI ... — ٨ [8]	7. Mr. Francisco Gabreili[sic], University of Rome.
R. P. Richard Gramlich, S. J.	... Richard GRAMLION ... — ٩ [9]	8. Mr. Richard Graham Lynch, University of West Germany.
Miss Ann Lambton, professeur à l'Université de Londres. [appears as Ann K.S. Lambton in the table of contents]	... Anne M.S. LAMBTON ... — ١٠ [10]	9. Miss Anne Lipton, University of London.
M. Gérard Lecomte, professeur à l'Ecole nationale des Langues orientales vivantes, Paris.
M. Yvon Linant de Bellefonds, directeur de Recherches au Centre national de la Recherche scientifique, Paris.	... Yvon L. de BELLEFONDS ... — ١١ [11]	10. Mr. Evan Lenan, University of Chicago, America.
M. Wilferd Madelung, professeur à l'Université de Chicago.	... Wilferd MADLUNG ... — ١٢ [12]
M. Henri Massé, membre de l'Institut de France.	... Henri MASSÉ ... — ١٣ [13]	11. Mr. Henri Matisse, University of Paris, France.
M. Ḥussein Naṣr, professeur à l'Université deTéhéran.	... ١٤ — ... سید حسین نص ‎[14]	12. Mr. Husain Nasr, University of Tehran, Iran.
M. Charles Pellat, professeur à la Sorbonne.	... Charles PELLAT ... — ١٥ [15]	13. Mr. Charles Pila, University of Paris.
M. Mûsä ṣ-Ṣadr, directeur de l'Institut d'Etudes islamiques de Ṣûr.		14. Mr. Musa Sadr, Great Scholar, Sur, Lebanon.
M. Georges Vajda, directeur d'Etudes à l'Ecole pratique des Hautes Etudes, section des Sciences religieuses.		15. Mr. George Wazda, University of Lyons, France.
M. Roger Arnaldez (Université de Lyon).	... Robert ARNALDEZ ... — ١٦ [16]	16. Mr. Arna Ludz, University of Lyons, France.
M. Eliash (Université de Californie, Los Angeles).	... ALIASH ... — ١٧ [17]	17. Mr. Elyas, University of Los Angeles.
Mrs. Doreen Hinchcliffe (Université de Londres).	... Dorn HINKELIF ... — ١٨ [18]	18. Mrs. Duran Hynch Cliff, University of London, England.
M. Fritz Meier (Université de Bâle).	... FRAITZIMIER ... — ١٩ [19]
MM. Hans Römer, Hans Müller et Joseph Matuz (Université de Fribourg-en-Brisgau).		21. Mr. Hans Romer, University of West Germany.
	... Hence MOULER ... — ٢٠ [20]	20. Mr. Hans Muller, University of Freebourg, West Germany.
		19. Mr. Joseph Manuz, University of Freebourg, West Germany.

• Fahd, Toufic, ed. (1968), Le Shî'isme Imâmite. Colloque de Strasbourg (6–9 mai 1968), Paris: Presses Universitaires de France
  
  

David Wilson (talk · cont)

Another editor reverted my removal of this material and placed it in the "Further Reading" section on the grounds that the book "relate to the subject". But merely relating to the subject of the article is not sufficient to justify a source's being cited in the "Further Reading" or "External Links" sections. According to Wikipedia's guidelines on the former, it should contain "publications that would help interested readers learn more about the article subject." But ali Mirza's book is totally useless for that purpose, and I strongly believe that Wikipedia should not be suggesting to its readers that such silly works might contain useful information on the subject of the article. As a temporary (I hope) compromise I have added a citation to the original French article which is supposedly the ultimate source for the information in the book, and replaced its blatantly false description—taken from the book itself—with an accurate one. Unless someone can offer a more convincing reason than that the book "relate to subject" for retaining a citation to it, I firmly believe such a citation should not appear anywhere on the article's page.
David Wilson (talk · cont) 03:57, 9 December 2014 (UTC)

Sorry David, I didn't go through your above clarifications. I just thought, you might have confused it for another Jafar and removed the reference.--Md iet (talk) 03:08, 11 December 2014 (UTC)

Ok. Thank you for the reply. I have now removed the citation to ali Mirza's book, but left the citation to the French article which it claimed to be a translation of. Even though this latter article is in French, it's still a useful source for anyone who understands that language.

David Wilson (talk · cont) 03:24, 11 December 2014 (UTC)

Further Information

I have recently obtained more information about the Persian book from which the one described above has been translated. The Persian title of the book is (مغز متفکر جهان شیعه امام جعفر صادق (ع ("Magzhe Mutafakkir Jehan Shi'a Imam Ja'far Sadiq (?)" — the question mark representing the glottal stop with which the letter ع is pronounced), which Google translate renders as "The mastermind of the Shiite [world] Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (AS)". A translation of the word "Jehan", meaning "world", is omitted from Google translate's translation. The book's author is Zabih-Allah Mansuri (Persian: ذبیح‌الله منصوری ), an Iranian journalist, and prolific author and translator of popular works in Persian. Short English biographies of him can be found online in Encyclopedia Iranica and Eminent Persians.

Both biographies mention the fact that Mansuri's translations often included massive amounts of detail which did not appear in the works which were supposedly being translated, or that he even authored works which he misrepresented as being translations of non-existent sources. According to the Encyclopedia Iranica biography his book, "Maḡz-e motafakker-e jahān-e Šiʿa (The think tank of the Shiite world, 1975)"—clearly an edition of the same one identified above—, originally serialised in the Persian literary magazine Sepid o siāh (Black and White), and comprising 620 pages, was based on an original article of only 24 pages.
David Wilson (talk · cont) 14:34, 15 May 2016 (UTC)

Improving the article

Hello. I am going to improve this article a little bit using reliable sources. Hadi (talk) 08:17, 14 February 2015 (UTC)

• Hello Vanamonde93. Many thanks for your recent edit on this article which is much better now. I am wondering if your could help more to nominate the article as a good article? I made some clarifications and the only thing to do is to transfer the direct quotations to Wikiquotes. What do you think? Hadi (talk) 05:26, 7 March 2015 (UTC)
  • Greetings, Hadi. I'm glad to help in any way; I should just mention that I have no experience with this topic. I came to this article because it was flagged as needing copy-editing. However, I would be glad to help with any prose issues, and such things. I could also probably look over it for comprehensiveness, and leave some suggestions. Regards, Vanamonde93 (talk) 06:59, 7 March 2015 (UTC)
• Great Vanamonde93. I am open to any question. Hadi (talk) 12:29, 7 March 2015 (UTC)
  • I have a couple of immediate suggestions; it's not just that there are too many quotations, it's that the "teachings" section relies too heavily on them. What you ideally need is secondary sources that analyze these teachings. I don't know the subject matter, so I don't whether such exist; but that would be ideal, and probably necessary for a GA. Second, those two sections that I commented out need to be dealt with. If they are relevant, then why that is so needs to be made clear; if not, they should be removed. Finally, even the imamate section could do with a little more analytical stuff; currently it has a lot of facts, seemingly from encyclopedias and books seeking to give an overview. A little more specificity might be good. Vanamonde93 (talk) 13:13, 7 March 2015 (UTC)

• Hello Vanamonde93. What do you mean by saying "those two sections that I commented out need to be dealt with. If they are relevant, then why that is so needs to be made clear; if not, they should be removed."

Which two sections do you mean? Hadi (talk) 05:25, 8 March 2015 (UTC)

Got it. I found the sections you commented out. I will rewrite the "Religious views" section and "Imamate" section so that they won't have the problems you mentioned. Thanks. Hadi (talk) 07:22, 8 March 2015 (UTC)

• Hello again Vanamonde93. Would you please take a look at the tagged section and see if it is good enough now? Hadi (talk) 09:12, 19 March 2015 (UTC)

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"All Shia sects"? What about Fivers (Zaidiyyah)?

I saw the mention of "all Shia sects" but it seemed to me that Jafar falls after the split from the Zaidiyyah branch of Shia Islam. Can someone confirm if this is correct, and instead we should say Jafar is recognized as an imam by "the Sevener (Ismali) and Twelver Shia Muslims, but not the Fiver (Zaidiyyah) sect"? MatthewVanitas (talk) 03:51, 11 May 2018 (UTC)

'Slwt' explanation

Contributor 103.255.6.68 posted the letters 'Slwt' which is probably 'Salawat' (greetings of respect to Prophet Muhammad and his holy progeny). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salawat Posting that 'Slwt' was breaking the rules on POV. On one's own blog or on a Muslim website the Salawat would be allowed, not on Wikipedia, which is supposed to be neutral POV. CryMeAnOcean (talk) 03:18, 23 May 2018 (UTC)

Death date

The source given for Sadiq's date of death (Gleave's article in Encyclopedia Iranica) does not specify a month, let alone a precise date. Neither does the French translation of Gleave's source (Masudi's Meadows of Gold). I suspect that the various specific dates which have been inserted into the article are merely traditional assignations with no more claim to authenticity than December 25 as Jesus' birth date. Unless a proper source can be cited for any specific date, Wikipedia should not be giving one as if it had been authoritatively established.
David Wilson (talk · cont) 00:30, 25 March 2019 (UTC)

Being the "Grand-sheikh of Sunni-Naqshbandi order"

This is regards to this edit where the article subject is attributed the title "Grand-sheikh of Sunni-Naqshbandi order". Though 3 sources are cited for this title (though only 2 are reliable), none of them actually mention it, only either saying how he is claimed by the order or stating his place in its spiritual lineage. As per Wikipedia's original research policy, any content added to an article needs to be directly supported by the cited source. This means that a reliable source needs to directly state that the individual holds this title.
Alivardi (talk) 10:56, 14 March 2021 (UTC)

I agree with Alivardi that the term "Grand-sheikh" should either be reliably sourced, or removed without prejudice (I wouldn't at all be surprised if prominent and reliable scholarly sources would mention this). I've checked both Algar 2008 (in EI) and Farrer 2009, and of those, Farrer 2009 does refer to the members of the Naqshbandi Golden Chain as "Shaykhs" at p. 153 (though seemingly from a contemporary and not from a historiographical perspective), and does include Ja'far al-Sadiq as the fifth member of this golden chain on p. 273. I am ignorant of the reliability or prominence of Farrer 2009 in the scholarly literature.

It should also be noted that the Twelver Shi'ite and Isma'ili claims on Ja'far al-Sadiq are not entirely dissimilar to the Naqshbandi claim, all of them being unverifiable in historical primary sources, which only start to appear in the late 9th century (talking from the perspective of original research here). We should present these claims in proportion with their prominence in reliable secondary sources, which I think includes stating the Shi'ite claims first, and also carefully checking whether we are not ignoring significant claims from other Islamic schools of thought (as would be present in the secondary literature). Apaugasma (talk|contribs) 17:01, 14 March 2021 (UTC)

New edits

Copy-edited the text and addressed a range of issues (mainly failed attribution), some of which are listed below:

• Used basic transliteration whenever possible per MOS.
• Removed those factions of Shia that are not extant from the list of successors in the info box (see the section 'Succession').
• Change the spouse name to Hamida Khatun to match the source and removed the broken link.
• Removed the description 'may be legendary' for Jabir. This is a statement that seems more appropriate for the dedicated wiki article about Jabir (and it's already linked).
• The sentence "The traditions recorded from al-Sadiq are said to be more numerous..." is noticeably different from the source.
• Al-Sadiq was not only a Husaynid but also a Hasanid descendent of Ali and Fatima.
• Changed al-Sadiq's age to 'about thirty-seven' from Momen instead of 'thirty-four or thirty-seven' from Jafri given the various dates for al-Baqir's death.
• Citing Gleave for the sentence "Prior to al-Sadiq,..." seems to be a typo. Similarly, citing Taylor for "The end of the Umayyad dynasty and beginning..." seems to be a mistake.
• Al-Nafs al-Zakiya's uprising was mentioned under the Umayyads period by mistake, see page 188 of Jafri.
• The accurate citation for "Al-Sadiq's Imamate extended over the latter half..." is the Iranica article by Gleave (and not Jafri).
• Replaced the references to al-Mufid's work for "This conscious position of neutrality..." with a reliable secondary source after rewriting those two sentences.
• "The transition period from the Umayyad dynasty..." and its next sentence don't seem to be in the given source, which is now replaced with similar content from Tabatabai.
• The page number for the Historical Dictionary of Islam was wrong.
• Added a source for the claim "Wasil ibn Ata, founder of the Mu'tazila school,..."
• Added a source for the Abbasid's suppression of their former Shia allies.
• "The new Abbasid rulers,..." and its next sentence don't exist in Campo.
• "Following his wife's death, al-Sadiq purchased..." considerably differs from the source, which was corrected.
• "Al-Sadiq was arrested several times by the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphs..." from Mufid (a primary source) was replaced with similar content from Tabatabai.
• Removed the sentence "Al-Sadiq's death led to uncertainty about the succession of the imamate" since it's redundant. (Succession is discussed right after 'Death'.)
• The sentence "The Shi'ite group had begun to split during the lifetime..." doesn't exist in the source and doesn't seem correct either.
• The sentence "A final group believed that al-Sadiq had been the last imam, and that the lineage had not continued." was not in any of the given sources.
• The divisions after Musa al-Kadhim are really not relevant here (and probably also not in the given sources) and were removed.
• The sentence "It is narrated in hadith that Ja'far al-Sadiq has said..." from al-Kulayni (a primary source) was unrelated to its context and removed.
• The sentence "In one hadith, Abu Hanifah once said" is a from a primary source and can be safely removed without affecting the narrative.
• Citing Campo for the sentences beginning with "According to Ya'qubi it was customary..." seems to be an error.
• In the sentence "Shia thought starting with Sayyid Haydar Amuli,...," the last part "specially al-Sadiq" doesn't exist in the source and was replaced with "including al-Sadiq".
• The sentence "Like Sunni law, Ja'fari jurisprudence is based on the..." is not correct; the Shia pillar of 'aql is missing from the list. This was fixed.
• The sentence "Unlike the Sunnis, Shias give more weight to reasoning ('Aql), while Sunnis only allow for a kind of analogical reasoning (Qiyas)" is not in the given sources and was replaced with similar content from elsewhere.
• The section 'Theology' is largely about al-Sadiq's views about free will plus some comments about al-Sadiq's students' contributions to theology. It seems much more reasonable to change the title of the section to 'Free will' and collect (from various sources) al-Sadiq's views about this issue here.
• The sentence ""Ketāb al-jafr", an early mystical commentary on the Quran (Tafsir), is also attributed to al-Sadiq" is incorrect. Rather the Shia belief is that Al-Sadiq inherited the book, see Al-Jafr (book).
• The quote from Amir-Moezzi about taqiya is on page 26 and not on pages 64-65, 139.
• "Practicing Taqiyya also had an esoteric significance for those who believed that their teachings..." is noticably different from what the source says.
• "Thus Ja'far either distanced himself or did..." was covered earlier in the article and doesn't seem to fit under the theolegical discussion of taqiya.
• It's apparently Amir-Moezzi rather than Moezzi.
• Citing Takim's article in Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World for taqiya seems incorrect.
• The link to Devin Stewart's lecture notes is broken and, in any case, is not an appropriate source. This was replaced with better sources.
• "The doctrine was developed by al-Sadiq..." is not exactly what the source says and taqiya was likely introduced by al-Baqir and later adopted by his son, al-Sadiq.
• The attribution of al-Jafr to al-Sadiq in "Ketāb al-jafr is a commentary on the Quran which,..." is again incorrect, see above.
• The section 'Works' seems superfluous. It's already said earlier that probably none of the works attributed to al-Sadiq are authentic and the rest of the material can be safely moved to other sections, e.g., the appearance of al-Sadiq as an authority in al-Tabari's works can be moved to the Sunni section. The reference to Nosayris is not in the source (or in Gleave's article about al-Sadiq's teachings) and the rest of the sentence can be moved elsewhere.
• In the section 'Sunni Islam', Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ and Al-Tuhaf Sharh al-Zulaf (both in Arabic) were cited to support contradictory claims. Both sources were removed.
• Citing Corbin to support the sentence "'Attar's attributed sayings..." is apparently a mistake.
• Citing Corbin for "Whether these stories are any most than myth..." is also incorrect.
• The sentence "Al-Sadiq holds a special prominence among Sufi orders due to his claimed connections to some of Sufism's earliest theologians." is incomplete as it only gives one of the few reasons given by Algar for the prominence of al-Sadiq.
• Citing Taylor for "Given his large following and established school (madrasa),..." seems to be incorrect.
• Citing 'Attar for "Perhaps, as claimed by 'Attar, this included..." is incorrect.
• Citing Taylor for "This verse shows us that Ja'far..." is almost surely incorrect.
• Citing Corbin for "Whether these stories are any most than..." is incorrect.
• There doesn't seem to be any mention of Kalābāḏi in Taylor's article!
• Much of the section 'Sufism' seems to fail attribution after spending some time. Not being able to find the sources, most of the section was rewritten with similar content.
• Expanded the subsection about disciples.
• The inclusion of the family tree of the Ismaili Imams in this article is unnecessary. Albertatiran (talk) 11:57, 19 April 2022 (UTC)

Transliteration

Hi GenoV84! Thank you for your edits to this article and Musa al-Kazim, among others. Hope you'd consider the guidelines set by WP:MOSAR, which, whenever possible, recommends using basic as opposed to strict transliteration. Another factor is consistency as the rest of this (and similar articles) use basic transliteration throughout the text. Speaking of consistency, Shia (noun, adjective) seems to be more common nowadays than Shi'ite and Shi'i and other alternatives. There are also other departures from WP:MOSAR, e.g., the manual recommends Kazim instead of Kadhim. Hope you find this manual helpful for your future edits. Some of what's listed in this comment about your edits might be incorrect and the articles already had numerous inconsistencies before you edited them. But hope you see my point here... Thanks again for your edits. Albertatiran (talk) 11:56, 14 June 2022 (UTC)

Hello Albertatiran, thank you for pointing this out; I completely forgot that I had also edited al-Kāẓim's biography some time ago. Over the years, I have always used the Romanized transliterations than can be found on the official website of Brill Academic Publishers for Sanskrit, Pāli, Persian, Hebrew, and Arabic languages. Regarding the WP articles that contain Arabic script, I usually check the Encyclopaedia of Islam as a general reference for citations and Romanized transliterations. I'm not entirely sure about what you were referring to when you said basic as opposed to strict transliteration, could you please explain it to me? GenoV84 (talk) 13:56, 14 June 2022 (UTC)

Hi again, I was referring to Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Arabic#Consonants and the next few tables :) Albertatiran (talk) 14:46, 14 June 2022 (UTC)

Brill uses ẓ for ظ (see, e.g., here). For strict transliteration, we generally use a system very close to Brill's (but it's always better to refer to our own). 'Basic transcription' is an interesting little system that has developed organically on Wikipedia only, in which basically the dots of ḥ/ṣ/ḍ/ṭ/ẓ are omitted, long vowels are written like short ones (a/u/i not ā/ū/ī), both ayn and hamza are written with a straight apostrophe ', and initial ayn is not written (Umar not 'Umar, Ali not 'Ali).

It appears that this wiki-only system developed from a need to use only characters appearing on a keyboard in article titles (see WP:TITLESPECIALCHARACTERS), but there's a case to be made that the 'basic transcription' system is also easier to deal with for editors who don't know Arabic. You won't hear me complaining though when you use strict transliteration throughout, because I personally believe it's preferable.

One more thing: in transliterations, "ibn" is lower case if it's not the first part of a name (Jabir ibn Hayyan, though Ibn Khaldun). In medieval Arabic names, the first is written بن (جابر بن حيان) while the latter is written إبن (إبن خلدون). Spellings like جابر ابن حيان are modern and should be avoided.

And finally, a few tips on template use: {{lang|ar|جابر}} renders جابر, while {{lang-ar|جابر}} renders Arabic: جابر. Options include {{lang-ar|جابر|link=no}}, which disables the wikilink to Arabic (Arabic: جابر), while {{lang-ar|جابر|label=[[alchemist]]}} changes the label entirely (alchemist: جابر) or removes it: {{lang-ar|جابر|label=none}} is equivalent to {{lang|ar|جابر}} and simply renders جابر. When using transliteration tags italics can be disabled: where {{transliteration|ar|Jābir}} would render Jābir, {{transliteration|ar|Jābir|italics=no}} renders Jābir (using transliteration tags for non-italic proper names ensures that they too are pronounced correctly by screen readers). ☿ Apaugasma (talk ☉) 17:18, 14 June 2022 (UTC)

Dear Albertatiran and Apaugasma, I'm wholeheartedly thankful to both of you for your thorough explanations about the correct WP etiquette to follow regarding this matter. GenoV84 (talk) 20:51, 14 June 2022 (UTC)

Comparative perspective

Ǧaʕfar ṣ-Ṣādiq is a key figure in the formative period of Islamic scholarship preceding the age of the great complilations, the formation of methodological schools, etc. He is central to the Shi'i/Sunni schism, and his history enjoys little consensus.

The article presents only the Shi'a history of the figure and presents it as accurate. These sources are also possibly more recent than other primary sources. Other sources deny the attribution of many works, practices and views to him, not the least of which, is his involvement with the imammate-theology.

The alternative histories should be included in the body of the article, both being only summarily mentioned in the introduction with more focus on the differences given their historical and sectarian importance.

Adding the Sunni perspective and reformulating (parts of) the article as a comparison is not only important for the article as a summary of the historiographical primary sources but also its value as addressing a point in sectarian history. 2A02:908:2811:8F80:102A:7C5A:65CF:9FF0 (talk) 12:51, 20 November 2022 (UTC)

Nearly all the sources in this article are academic and reliable, following the guidelines in WP:RS and WP:PST and MOS:ISLAM. If there are any indications of source bias, please be specific and list them here for discussion. I say "nearly all" because of some recent additions to the article, largely under "Works," which might be open to debate. Albertatiran (talk) 14:38, 20 November 2022 (UTC)

Sunnis' view

Hi Apaugasma, regarding this edit, the sentence in question in Lewis' EI2 article is: The numerous traditions in which ʿAlids reject and denounce the claims of their own supporters (e.g. Ibn Saʿd, v, 77, 158, 235, 238) are almost certainly due to Sunnī propaganda, and a more accurate reflection of the political views and claims of the house of ʿAlī will be found in the letter written by the Ḥasanid pretender Muḥammad b. ʿAbd Allāh [q.v.] to the Caliph Manṣūr in 145/762 (al-Ṭabarī, iii, 209 ff.), and in the verses of such pro-ʿAlid poets as Kumayt and Kuthayyir. Lewis doesn't add much as to what these views are (and it's not relevant here) but we know that he refers to their legitimist views. To account for the Ghulat and the ex-communicated and such, I mended my sentence by adding 'moderate' in parenthesis. Feel free to edit, please. This is good to add, in my view, considering how often I have to revert disruptive edits like this one today which are based on the same inauthentic Sunni hadiths. Albertatiran (talk) 15:49, 4 May 2023 (UTC)

Rule no. 1 in articles which get a lot of disruption: do not edit the article in direct response to the disruption. Explicitly negating what disruptive users come here to positively claim will almost certainly add something undue to the article, because by doing this we adopt their agenda.

We should not discuss Ja'far al-Sadiq's role in early Sunnism in term of claims that he did or did not denounce Shi'ism. Sources do not do this (Lewis EI2's context is about the Imams' own political stances, which is different), because they do not seriously entertain the possibility that Ja'far denounced Shi'ism (adding this to our article in this way actually makes it seem as if it were a serious hypothesis).

Moreover, doing this kind of thing easily disrupts the existing structure of the article and confuses readers. The added sentence does not fit with what directly precedes it, and raises more questions than it answers. What traditions? Where and when did these originate? What was their purpose? As I already mentioned in my edit summary, it's also confusing because Ja'far did in fact renounce some of his Shia supporters such as Abu al-Khattab. Adding 'moderate' helps very little, or makes it worse: average unknowing readers will ask, why only moderate? Even if understood, it unduly and misleadingly reinforces the idea that the ghulat were somehow 'immoderate', which may be inherent in their name but is not the scholarly view.

So, first, the fact that people come here to disrupt the article does not in any way oblige us to add anything to it. But, second, if we do add something (and these Sunni traditions may in fact be helpful to mention) we should make sure to do it on our own terms, in the right context, and with the right context. This belongs in a much longer section focusing on the Sunni views themselves, providing information about what exactly these traditions were saying, who promoted them, and why they may have done so. If you don't have the wherewithal to write up something like this, which would be very understandable, revert to the first principle: we're not obliged to write something, and it's no good making the article more disorganized, confusing and misleading just to refute disruption. ☿ Apaugasma (talk ☉) 17:48, 4 May 2023 (UTC)

Hi Apaugasma, to be honest, I fear that this may quickly become what I'd consider an unproductive argument. Instead, I've rewritten the sentence in question. Feel free to do as you please if you don't find it satisfactory. Albertatiran (talk) 17:19, 5 May 2023 (UTC)

Thanks for that, it's somewhat better now. I think attribution is not needed so I removed that. ☿ Apaugasma (talk ☉) 18:08, 5 May 2023 (UTC)

Disruptive edits

Copying this exchange from the talk page of Ms855 and adding my response. @Ms855: I wanted to warn you about your disruptive edits to Ja'far al-Sadiq. You'll be reported and potentially blocked if they continue. Albertatiran (talk) 11:27, 8 August 2023 (UTC)

You will be warned and blocked for attributing sects to Prominent Islamic personalities and hurting the feelings of muslims world wide Ms855 (talk) 10:25, 8 August 2023 (UTC)

Your edits constitute unexplained removal of sourced content (in the body of the article). So, no, I won't be warned or blocked for reversing your edits, per WP:REMOVAL. You're welcome to reach a consensus here for your proposed edits by supporting them with reliable sources; see WP:CONS and WP:CITE. Otherwise, your edits would be considered disruptive and repeated disruptions have consequences on Wikipedia; see WP:EDITWAR and WP:DISRUPTIVE. Albertatiran (talk) 11:27, 8 August 2023 (UTC)

Imam Jaffer Al Sadiq followed pure Islam like his ancestors and did not endorse or encourage followers of Ibn Saba (followers of Ibn Saba laid foundations of modern day shia sect)

You can discuss with any Sunni scholar or visit a seminary to learn if you are really sincere.

Some links for proof:

https://seekersguidance.org/answers/general-counsel/was-imam-jafar-al-sadiq-sunni-or-shii/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7z7fRqRmR2Q Ms855 (talk) 07:15, 9 August 2023 (UTC)

Neither of these is a reliable source. You can see what counts as a reliable source in WP:RELIABLE and its subpages. I'd also suggest reading some of the reliable sources cited already in the article. Albertatiran (talk) 08:03, 9 August 2023 (UTC)

Adding Visual Appeal to Jafar-Al-Sadiq's Wikipedia Page

Hello fellow editors! I hope you're all doing well. I'm interested in making a suggestion to enhance the Jafar-Al-Sadiq Wikipedia page. I believe that adding a calligraphy image would be a valuable addition to the page, and I wanted to discuss this idea with you all. What are your thoughts on this?

Calligraphy of Jafar-Al-Sadiq

1. Visual Appeal: This image adds a visually captivating element to the page, making it more engaging for readers.

2. Cultural Representation: The image showcases the beauty of Jafar-Al-Sadiq's calligraphy, reflecting the rich cultural heritage and artistic traditions.

3. Educational Value: Including this image provides readers with a visual example of Jafar-Al-Sadiq's calligraphy style, enhancing their understanding and appreciation of his teachings.

4. Authenticity: This image accurately represents Jafar-Al-Sadiq's calligraphy, ensuring a faithful portrayal of his artistic legacy.

5. Visual Representation: Including the calligraphy image would provide a visual representation of Jafar-Al-Sadiq's teachings, making it more accessible and engaging for readers.

6. Educational Value: The image can serve as an educational tool, allowing readers to better understand the art of calligraphy and its connection to Jafar-Al-Sadiq's teachings.

7. Diversity and Inclusivity: Adding the image would showcase the diversity of Islamic art and highlight the cultural significance of calligraphy in Jafar-Al-Sadiq's legacy.

The Editor690 (talk) 10:32, 17 August 2023 (UTC)

Hi The Editor690, thanks for the suggestion. I believe it was recently agreed not to include user-generated calligraphy in WP articles, which is why I removed your image. Please see MOS:CALLIGRAPHY. Hope this helps. Albertatiran (talk) 11:16, 17 August 2023 (UTC)

I understand the guidelines, but I believe the calligraphy image adds value to the article. Is there any possibility of reconsidering its inclusion? The Editor690 (talk) 12:11, 17 August 2023 (UTC)

There's also a standing principle on Wikipedia that images should not be added solely for decoration (see WP:DECOR); instead, the images themselves should be substantive and not simply user generated. An example in this context would be an image of the subject's name rendered calligraphically on an ancient building, which would be an encyclopedically enriching image that would demonstrate its use. Iskandar323 (talk) 12:23, 17 August 2023 (UTC)

I appreciate your insight regarding the principle of not adding images solely for decoration. However, I believe that the user-generated calligraphy image I proposed can still be substantive and contribute to the article's content. It showcases the artistic aspect of calligraphy and its relevance to the subject. Can we discuss potential ways to make it more encyclopedically enriching? The Editor690 (talk) 13:35, 17 August 2023 (UTC)

Hello again, I hope you're well. I wanted to check if you had a chance to review my previous message about the calligraphy image for the Jafar al Sadiq article. I'm eager to continue our discussion and collaborate on this matter. Your insights are important to me. Thank you. The Editor690 (talk) 12:04, 18 August 2023 (UTC)

There's not much to add beyond the point in the first response here about MOS:CALLIGRAPHY, which was recently introduced into the guideline and specifically rules against user-generated calligraphy. I would suggest either looking for a real-world instance of the calligraphy, or trying to think of some other way to illustrate the subject. But suitable images are not always available for a subject. Iskandar323 (talk) 12:14, 18 August 2023 (UTC)

Thank you for your guidance on adhering to the guidelines. I'm genuinely invested in enhancing the article's depth through an image that resonates with Jafar al Sadiq's teachings. My aim is to encapsulate the historical significance of his legacy in a visually engaging manner. I believe a well-sourced, historically relevant calligraphy image could achieve this balance while maintaining the integrity of the article. Your expertise is instrumental in shaping this discussion, and I'm hopeful we can collaborate to find a solution that upholds Wikipedia's standards while enriching the content. The Editor690 (talk) 12:41, 18 August 2023 (UTC)

I've found a non-user generated calligraphy image that adheres to the MOS:CALLIGRAPHY guideline and seems to align with the historical context of Jafar al-Sadiq's teachings. I'd appreciate your expert opinion on whether this image could be considered for inclusion in the article. Your insights would be valuable in shaping this potential enhancement.

File:Jafar Al-Sadiq Calligraphy in Al-Askariyain Holy Shrine.jpg

Calligraphy of Jafar Al-Sadiq

The Editor690 (talk) 19:05, 18 August 2023 (UTC)

Hi The Editor690, if you found this image on a news website, then it's probably protected by copyright laws. As already mentioned, the easiest solution is to take the photo yourself. There is more info about copyright matters in WP:CFAQ. Hope this helps. Albertatiran (talk) 21:50, 18 August 2023 (UTC)

Hello, thank you for your response. I appreciate your input regarding copyright matters. The image I've come across is not from a news website and is available under a suitable license for Wikipedia use. It adheres to the MOS:CALLIGRAPHY guideline and seems to align with the historical context of Jafar al-Sadiq's teachings. Before proceeding, I'll ensure that all necessary permissions and documentation are in place. If you have any further guidance or suggestions, I'd be grateful to hear them. Thank you for your assistance. The Editor690 (talk) 13:23, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

Please see the bottom of this page. The image has no copyright information and is subject to removal. Albertatiran (talk) 15:50, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

He was sunni not shia please correct that

Imam jafar sadiq was a sunni not shia 2409:40E3:2E:1C4C:547A:E68E:85B7:2CB7 (talk) 17:12, 27 January 2024 (UTC)

Fifth or sixth Isma'ili imam?

Was he the fifth or sixth Isma'ili imam? The infobox and lead give different answers. The article for Muhammad al-Baqir is also like this (and possibly the other imams). I don’t know how long it’s been like this but it should be corrected. Yasinzayd (talk) 06:18, 2 March 2024 (UTC)