The value of a school of thought can\nto a great extent be determined by viewing its students’ accomplishments. If a\nschool of thought hands over well educated students to the society, then surely\nthat school of thought has the ability to nourish the minds of its community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Therefore, on the anniversary of the\nmartyrdom of Imam Sadiq (PBUH) we want to give a glimpse of the different aspects\nof his life, his characters, and especially his knowledge by showing examples\nthrough his students.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Historians have estimated that nearly\nfour thousand students have studied in the school of Imam Sadiq (PBUH). Great\nscholars graduated from his school of thought in different fields of Islamic\nstudies such as jurisprudence (divine law), interpretation of the Holy Quran\nand Hadith, history of religions, science of beliefs, and several other\nsciences of that era.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gaining proficiency was highly\nregarded in the school of Imam Sadiq (PBUH). Some of his students and their\nspecializations are as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Hamran ibn\nAa\u2019yan \u2013 science of Quranic recitation<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Abaan ibn\nTaghlab \u2013 Arabic language<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Zurarah \u2013\njurisprudence<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Mu\u2019min Taaq \u2013\nthe Divine Word<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Hamzah Tayyar\n\u2013 free-will and predestination<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Hisham ibn\nSalim \u2013 Monotheism<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Hisham ibn\nHakam \u2013 Imamah<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From amongst the students, Hisham ibn\nHakam was one of the best students in the school of Imam Sadiq (PBUH). Even\nthough Hisham was young, Imam Sadiq (PBUH) had great respect for him. Hisham\nhad studied many religions and schools of thought but none of them convinced\nhim except the school of Ahl al-Bayt (PBUT) and Imam Sadiq (PBUH). Thus, Hisham\nexcelled in the skills of logic, inductive reasoning, and especially in\ndebates. Many scholars thought of him as a great indisputable professor and\nwere afraid to challenge him. Hisham had participated in many debates and\ndiscussions with people of diverse religions and beliefs. One of whom he had\nhad a debate with about Christianity and the eternity of the hereafter, was\nJathaliq Nasraani (the leader of Christians at that time).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To conclude, we will include one of\nthe debates Hisham had with Dirar ibn Umar, a Sunni scholar, in regards to\nImamah:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hisham: Dirar! Is the criterion for\nqualifying someone for the position of Wilayah (Mastership) his outward or\ninward characteristics?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dirar: His outward appearance, because\nno one can judge about a person’s internal thoughts, except by the help of\nrevelation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hisham: Indeed you have spoken the\ntruth. Now tell me who has defended and helped the Prophet more? Ali or the\nfirst Caliph? Has Ali fought more in the battles against the enemies or the\nfirst Caliph?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dirar: Of course Ali served the\nProphet more, yet Abu Bakr’s knowledge and certainty was more than Ali’s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hisham: Certainty is something that\ncan be understood only through a person\u2019s heart. And as you yourself mentioned,\nnone can be aware of the inner thoughts through appearance. Thus, apparently\nyou just proved that Ali is better for the position of Wilayah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dirar: Yes, apparently it is so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hisham: Are you aware of the following\nprophetic narration? Prophet Muhammad said to Ali, “Your status with\nrespect to mine is equivalent to the status of Haroun\/Aaron with respect to\nMusa\/Moses, except there will be no prophet after me.”(1)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dirar: Yes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hisham: Do you think it is right for\nthe Prophet to say such a thing when that person does not have the true faith\nwithin him?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dirar: No.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hisham: Thus, it is clear that Ali ibn\nAbi Talib has the basis for Imamah, through both inward and outward\nappearances. However, in case of your leader, even his outward actions have not\nproven anything … and praise be to Allah! (2)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hisham was only one example of the\ngraduates of Imam Sadiq’s (PBUH) excellent school of thought. Then how far is\nthe horizon of the origin of this knowledge? Only Allah (SWT) knows! \u2026 (3)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roshd website gives its condolences on\nthis day 25th of Shawwal, the Martyrdom of Imam Ja’far ibn Muhammad al-Sadiq\n(PBUH), to all Muslim and especially you dear friend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Footnotes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1- This is the\nHadith of Manzilat which is an authentic Hadith and has been recorded in both\nShia and Sunni sources:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shia Sources:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Al-Irshad By Shaikh Mufid v. 1, p. 8<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Al-Kafi by Shaikh Kulayni v. 8, p. 106 \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sunni Sources:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sahih al-Bukhari v. 5, p. 24,\nPublished by Dar al-Ihya al-Turath al-Arabi, Beirut<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sahih al-Muslim, v. 4, p. 1870, Hadith\n2404, Published by Dar al-Fikr Beirut-1398 (A.H)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2- Taken from\nthe book “Fosul”, written by Sayyed Murtada, famous Shiite scholar\nand student of Shaikh Mufid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3- The original\ntext is taken from the book “Hisham Ibn Hakam, the Defender of\nWilayah” written by Sayyed Ahmad Safa’ei.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The value of a school of thought can to a great extent be determined by viewing its students’ accomplishments. If a school of thought hands over well educated students to the society, then surely that school of thought has the ability to nourish the minds of its community. Therefore, on the anniversary of the martyrdom […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28248],"tags":[21610,21612,20151,17964,18418,19238,19251,21611,21609,19683],"class_list":["post-4412","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-occasional-letters","tag-2003-12-20","tag-educated","tag-imam-sadiq","tag-knowledge","tag-occasion-letters","tag-school","tag-society","tag-students","tag-the-scent-of-a-flower","tag-value"],"yoast_head":"\n