Jafar ibn Muhammad

Jafar ibn Muhammad (Arabic: جعفر بن محمد; 702-765),^[3] also known as As-Sadiq (The Truthful) was the sixth Shia imam. He was the grandson of Zayn al-Abidin and the descendent of Ali ibn Abi Talib on the side of his father and Abu Bakr on the side of his mother.^[4] He is highly respected among both the Sunnis and the Shias. He was a spiritual person, hadith teller and a jurist.^[5]
After the death of Jafar ibn Muhammad, division occurred among Shias on the question of next Imam. Some said that his eldest son, Ismail ibn Jaffar (who had died before his father) to be the next imam, while the majority of Shiites said that his third son Musa al Qazim should be the next imam. The first group became known as the Ismailis and the second, larger group was named Jafari or the Twelvers.^[6][7]

Jafar ibn Muhammad
Born	702 Medina
Died	765 Medina
Other names	As-Sadiq
Known for	Mysticism, Shia Imam, Jurist
Notable work	Kitab al-Jafar,[1] Al-haft wal-azell,[2] Kitab as-Seraṭ[2]

References

1. De Smet, Daniel. "Ja'far al-Ṣadiq iv. And Esoteric sciences". Encyclopedia Iranica. Retrieved 2015.
2. Gleaves, Robert. "JAʿFAR AL-ṢĀDEQ i. Life". Encyclopedia Iranica. Retrieved 2015.
3. Gleaves, Robert. "JAʿFAR AL-ṢĀDEQ i. Life". Encyclopedia Iranica. Retrieved 2015. Check date values in: |access-date= (help) According to Gleaves, most sources give 702 as the year of his birth, but there are some which give 699 and others which give 705.
4. ابن ابی الحدید. شرح نهج البلاغه. 6. p. 53
5. electricpulp.com. "JAʿFAR AL-ṢĀDEQ i. Life – Encyclopaedia Iranica". www.iranicaonline.org.
6. Armstrong, Karen (2002). Islam, A Short History. Modern Library; Rev Upd Su edition. pp. 56–57, 66. ISBN 978-0812966183.
7. Campo, Juan E. (2009). Encyclopedia of Islam (Encyclopedia of World Religions). USA: Facts on File. pp. 386, 652, 677. ISBN 978-0-8160-5454-1.