Imam Jafar al Sadiq studied under the supervision of his grandfather Ali ibn Hussain (A.S). After the death of his grandfather he was guided by his father al Baqir and also accompained him until his death in 733H. Under the leadership of such immense personalities, he became well educated in the topics of hadith, sunnah and the Holy Quran (Juma, n.d). Not only this, but he was also well learned in numerous fields namely astronomy, alchemist, Islamic scholary, physician and scientist (Juma, n.d). And because of this fact, the Imam's students numbered upto 4000 which were from distant as well as nearby regions (Juma, n.d). Due to major political turmoils throughout his period and considering the enormous requirement for education, he played a most important role in continuing his fathers scientific and cultutal movement and established a universty which would later give birth to some of the greatest scholars (Condolences on the Martyrdom of Imam Sadiq, n.d). The famous alchemist Jabir ibn Hayyan also known as Geber in Europe was the most well-known scholar of Imam Jafar al Sadiq (The sixth Imam, Ja’afar Ibn Muhammad el-Sadiq (AS), n.d). He was a disciple in the field of mathematics, physics and chemistry and wrote around 400 books on diverse scientific disciplines at the commands of his teacher (Juma, n.d). Along with other students of the Imam stood Abu Hanifah and Malik ibn Anas who were the founders of the two school of thoughts namely "Hanafi" and "Maliki" (Salahi, 2008). Other such scholars include Sufyan Ath Thawri, Yahya ibn Saeed, Sufyan ibn Uyainah and many more. And it is to be noted that all of them were reputated scholars of fiqh, hadith and history (Salahi, 2008).
When discussing the knowledge of the Imam predominantly in the field of science, we come across numerous incidents where the Imam has displayed his marvellous and outstanding knowledge. While
still he was a youth and a student of the university, he was able to refute many cornerstones of science and was also able to debate with many prominent scholars of his time. Some of the encounters are mentioned below which gives us a clear idea of his profound and thoughtful knowledge.
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Firstly, that of the famous greek philospher Ptolemy who claimed in the 2nd century, that the sun revolved around the earth. The Imam at the tender age of 11 dissaproved this philosophy and gave the accurate theory. He also remarked that the sun revolved on its axis. Such a hypothesis at that period of time displays the intelligence that this great individual had (Imam Jafer Al Sadiq (AS): The father of Modern science and Philosophy, 2008)
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Secondly, a famous theory developed by Aristotle, an another Greek philosopher that became the foundation of Physics for many centuries stating that everything was made up of four elements namely earth, fire, water and air. The Imam who was 12 at this moment disapproved this theory and remarked "I wonder how a man like Aristotle could say that in the world there are only four elements - Earth, Water, Fire, and Air. The Earth is not an element. It contains many elements. Each metal, which is in the earth, is an element." (Imam Jafer Al Sadiq (AS): The father of Modern science and Philosophy, 2008). Such was the knowledge of Imam Al- Sadiq (Imam Jafer Al Sadiq (AS): The father of Modern science and Philosophy, 2008).
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Thirdly, Imam Jafar al Sadiq had explained a very interesting perception regarding the suckling of the baby. The Imam recommended the mothers to suckle their babies and place them to sleep on the left side of their body, although many people at that time did not see any point in this. However, later on, in the year 1865, the institute for the research on new born and suckling babies of Cornell university found that babies who were place to sleep on the left side of their mothers slept more peacefully and camly then on the right side. Also further eveidence regarding this concept is that when the child is in the womb he has a habit of listening his mothers heartbeat, and for this reason when he does not listen the heartbeats he becomes restless. A newborn baby recognizes the mothers heartbeat and as a result sleeps more comfortabely on the left side, the side of a human heart. Hence once again it reaffirms the knowledge and the wisdom of Imam Jafar al Sadiq prior to the progress of the scientific world (Imam Jafer Al Sadiq (AS): The father of Modern science and Philosophy, 2008).
In conclusion, Imam Jafar al Sadiq emphasized a lot on the importance of education. Though he came from a background which was linked to Prophet Muhammad, he did not only stress on Islamic teaching but also gave importance and worked on other matters like that of astronomy, alchemist etc. It is to be noted that during his era, the religion, knowledge and education spread in such a way, which had not been spread under any other scholar and is remembered and valued till today.
References
Syed, A. (2007) "Eight infallible Ja'far (AS) the sixth Imam", Imam Jafer Sadiq, Imam Ja'far ibn Muhammad, Twelvers (Ithna Ashari), Jaafar, Abu Hanifa [online], Available: , [Accessed 4 July, 2008].
Salahi, A. (2008) "Imam Jaafar As – Sadiq", MuslimHeritage.com – Muslim Scholars [online], Available: , [Accessed 4 July, 2008].
(2008) "Imam Jafer Al Sadiq (AS): The father of Modern science and Philosophy", Imam Jafer Al – Sadiq [online], Available: , [Accessed 3 July, 2008]
(n.d) "Condolences on the Martyrdom of Imam Sadiq", [online], Available: , [Accessed 4 July, 2008]
Juma, S. (n.d) "The importance of education in Islam", The importance of education in Islam [online], Available: , [Accessed 3 July, 2008]
(n.d) "The sixth Imam, Ja’afar Ibn Muhammad el-Sadiq(AS)", Untitled [online], Available: , [Accessed 3 July, 2008]
