Editing Ja'far al-Sadiq (section)

== Imamate ==
{{Main|Imamate in Shia doctrine}}

Ja'far al-Sadiq was about thirty-seven when his father, al-Bāqir, died after designating him as the next Shīʿīte Imam.{{sfn|Momen|1985|p=38}}{{sfn|Jafri|1979|p=181}} He held the Imamate for at least twenty-eight years.{{sfn|Jafri|1979|p=181}} His Imamate coincided with a crucial period in the [[history of Islam]], as he witnessed both the [[Abbasid Revolution|overthrow of the Umayyad Caliphate by the Abbasids in the mid-8th century]] (661–750) and later the Abbasids' prosecution of their former [[Shia Islam|Shiite]] allies against the Umayyads. The leadership of the early Shia community was also disputed among its different factions.{{sfn|Campo|2009}}{{sfn|Gleave|2008}} In this period, the various Alid uprisings against the Umayyads and later the Abbasids gained considerable support among the Shia. Among the leaders of these movements were [[Zayd ibn Ali]] (al-Sadiq's uncle), Yahya bin Zayd (al-Sadiq's cousin), [[Muhammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya]] and his brother (al-Sadiq's nephews).{{sfn|Amir-Moezzi|1994|p=65}}{{Sfn|Armstrong|2002|p=57}}{{Sfn|Mavani|2013|p=121}}{{sfn|Stewart|Pinault|Daftary|Gleave|2004|p=625}} These claimants saw the imamate and caliphate as inseparable for establishing the rule of justice, according to [[Husain Mohammad Jafri|Jafri]].{{sfn|Jafri|1979|pp=195, 196}} In particular, [[Zayd ibn Ali]] argued that the imamate could belong to any descendant of [[Hasan ibn Ali]] or [[Husayn ibn Ali]] who is learned, pious, and revolts against the tyrants of his time.{{sfn|Momen|1985|pp=49, 50}}{{sfn|Jenkins|2010|p=55}}{{sfn|Jafri|1979|p=184}} In contrast, similar to his father and his grandfather, al-Sadiq adopted a quiescent attitude and kept aloof from politics.{{sfn|Amir-Moezzi|1994|pp=64, 65}} He viewed the imamate and caliphate as separate institutions until such time that God would make the Imam victorious. This Imam, who must be a descendant of Muhammad through Ali and Fatima, derives his exclusive authority not from political claims but from [[Nass (Islam)|{{Transliteration|ar|nass}}]] (divinely inspired designation by the previous Imam) and he also inherits the special knowledge ({{Transliteration|ar|ilm}}) which qualifies him for the position. Al-Sadiq did not originate this theory of imamate, which was already adopted by his predecessors, Zayn al-Abidin and al-Baqir.{{sfn|Jafri|1979|p=197}}{{sfn|Gleave|2008}} Rather, al-Sadiq leveraged the sudden climate of political instability to freely propagate and elaborate the Shia teachings, including the theory of imamate.{{sfn|Tabatabai|1977|p=203}}{{sfn|Buckley|2022b}}{{sfn|Donaldson|1933|p=137}}{{efn|Sunni sources, however, claim that doctrines such as imamate were formulated many years after al-Sadiq and wrongly ascribed to him.{{sfn|Takim|2004a}}}}

=== Succession ===
After the death of Ja'far al-Sadiq, his following fractured, and the largest group, who came to be known as the [[Twelver Shi'ism|Twelvers]], followed his younger son, [[Musa al-Kadhim]].{{sfn|Gleave|2008}} It also appears that many expected the next Imam to be al-Sadiq's eldest son, [[Isma'il ibn Ja'far]], who predeceased his father.{{sfn|Momen|1985|p=39}} This group, which later formed the [[Isma'ilism|Isma'ili]] branch, either believed that Isma'il was still alive or instead accepted the imamate of Isma'il's son, [[Muhammad ibn Isma'il]].{{sfn|Gleave|2008}}{{sfn|Haywood|2022}} While the Twelvers and the Isma'ilis are the only extant Jaf'ari Shia sects today,{{sfn|Lalani|2004|p=14}}{{sfn|Stewart|Pinault|Daftary|Gleave|2004}} there were more factions at the time: Some followers of al-Sadiq accepted the imamate of his eldest surviving son, [[Abdullah al-Aftah]].{{sfn|Takim|2004a}} Several influential followers of al-Sadiq are recorded to have first followed Abdullah and then changed their allegiance to Musa.{{sfn|Momen|1985|p=39}} As Abdullah later died childless, the majority of his followers returned to Musa.{{sfn|Takim|2004a}} A minority of al-Sadiq's followers joined his other son, [[Muhammad al-Dibaj]], who led an unsuccessful uprising against Caliph [[al-Ma'mun]], after which he abdicated and publicly confessed his error.{{sfn|Daftary|2020|p=35}} A final group believed that al-Sadiq was not dead and would return as [[Mahdi]], the promised savior in Islam.{{sfn|Takim|2004a}}