The Miraculous Acts of Imam Jafar al-Sadiq(A.S.)
Indeed, Allah, the Exalted, has ordered His creatures to know Him and to worship Him after they have known Him: "And I have not created the Jinn and the men except that they should serve Me."(281)
His creatures indicate His existence. The pretty creation and the untied regulation indicate His Oneness. He has created a guide from their own selves to show them the way to all things. This guide is reason. However, reason by itself is unable to know the methods of the worship of Allah nor the qualities of His obedience, for this reason Allah should teach His creatures how to worship and obey Him.
As Allah has ordered His creatures to worship and to obey Him, then it is incumbent on Him to send someone to them to guide them to what He has wanted and to make them know what He has ordered.
It is not right for reason to believe in the person who claims Prophethood without a proof or a miracle. So, it was incumbent on the prophets to produce evidence for their missions. We do not regard the person as a sent prophet unless he has a strong proof.
What is the Miracle?
This question is worthy of care and thinking. That is because the correctness of Prophethood depends on the correctness of the proof I think that the answer of this is very easy, for there are many verses in the Glorious Qur'an about the prophets and the messengers.
For example, the miracles of Musa (Moses) were the white hand and the rod, the miracles of 'Isa (Jesus) were healing the blind and the leprous, and bring the dead to life. And the miracle of Holy Prophet Muhammad, may Allah bless him and his family, was the Holy Qur'an itself. When you consider these miracles carefully, you will know that the normal person is unable to bring something like them even if he has power and knowledge.
Now, we may ask: Who has the ability and knowledge to make the fire comfort and peace? Who has the ability and knowledge to cut the birds into pieces, put them on the mountains, and summon them to come as perfect birds before him?
Who has the ability and knowledge to make his hand white without evil whenever he wants? Who has the ability and knowledge to make his rod walk and to eat what the magicians do? Who has the ability and knowledge to heal the blind and the leprous and to bring the dead to life? Who has the ability and knowledge to determine out of dust the form of a bird and to breath into it knowledge and to create a book like the Holy Qur'an in all its characteristics?
Through these things, you understand the difference between magic and the miracle. Worth mentioning, the miracle happens not according to the natural laws; it should be something possible in itself, for the impossible things in themselves do not occur, and it should be done by the unique persons who summon people to worship Allah, the Most High, and who produce evidence for His Existence. So, miracle is the gift which Allah grants to whomever he wills of His close creatures.
As for magic, it is an art. Whoever learns it is able to do it. It is mere imagination and misguidance. It has neither reality nor truth.
The person may say: Science refuses the miracle which occurs contrary to the natural laws, for its occurrence is not according to the usual causes. So, how do things happen according to unusual causes? This question maybe answered as follows:
1. There are clear verses in the Holy Qur'an about those miracles which occurred not according to the natural laws, such as the safety of Ibrahim from the fire, the coming of the birds to him after they had been cut into pieces, the white hand of Musa (Moses) and his rod which became a snake.
'Isa (Jesus) healed the diseases which doctors are unable to cure, such as blindness and leprosy. Also he brought life to the dead and created the bird with Allah's permission. Then science is worthless when it opposes the clear verses of the Holy Qur'an. Rather, this science is not correct because there are mistakes in some of its premises.
2. As these miracles are possible in themselves, then why do we deny them while we are in need of them, and Allah's power is inclusive and it has neither defect nor feebleness, "Indeed, He has power over all things?"
Yes, we refuse the things which are impossible in the self and the accident. For example, Allah creates a partner for Him, brings together the two opposite or contradictory things, and puts this wide world into the small egg. The defect is in these things because they are impossible, not in the power. However, we do not refuse that the stones speak, the moon breaks, the trees walk, for they are possible in themselves.
3. If we regard these miracles as impossible for Allah, the Exalted, then which thing confirms the Prophethood of the prophets? If Prophethood is possible without a miracle, then everyone can claim it. So, what is the difference between the truthful prophet and the false one?
When it is said that genius, cleverness, eloquence, knowledge, honesty, and truthfulness are enough to confirm those we claim Prophethood, we say that most people do not attach importance to these qualities.
Rather, they are not able to know the person who has such qualities. So, it is necessary for the prophet to bring the material thing which people cannot bring to uproot their questions and to be as a plain proof to convince the knowledgeable and the ignorant.
4. Why does the science refuse the things which occur not according to the natural laws? Is it not the Creator of the usual laws and the Creator of the unusual laws one? And He Who is able to create the things through their usual causes is able to create them through the causes which are above the level of our ability and knowledge.
These proofs and miracles are also necessary to the trustees of authority (awsiya') of the prophets to fulfill the purpose for which the prophets summoned people. Allah sent the prophets to make people know Him and then to serve Him. Also the trustees of authority were nominated to fulfill the same task. Therefore, the Imam should bring the miracle to prove his Imamate.
As Allah, the Exalted, nominated Imam Jafar al- Sadiq, peace be on him, to carry out the law which the Prophet, may Allah bless him and his family, brought, then if was incumbent on Allah to grant him the miracle when necessary as He granted it to the Prophet. This is the viewpoint of the Imamis concerning the Imamate of al- Sadiq.
As for the Sunni viewpoint concerning him, they think that he belongs to the pure family of the prophet. and that he has all outstanding merits.
The author of the book 'Madinat al- Ma'ajiz' has mentioned over three hundred miraculous and laudable acts on al- Sadiq. We will mention some of his miracles from the valuable books on which the two parties (the Sunnis and the Shi'a) have agreed. They are as follows:
Imam Sadiq's Accepted Supplications:
In his book 'Is'afal- Raghibin', al- Sabban says: "His supplications were accepted. When al- Sadiq asked Allah for some thing, it would be between his hands before he had finished his supplication."
In his book 'Lawaqih al- Anwar, al- Sha'arany says: "When al- Sadiq, peace be on him, was in need of a thing, he said: 'Lord, I am in need of so- and- so.' The thing was put beside him before he had finished his supplication."
Many authors have mention that al- Mansur sent for al- Sadiq several times. However, al- Sadiq invoked Allah against him. So, al- Mansur changed his mind and stood up to receive him.(282)
One day al- Hakam b. al- 'Abbas said:
We hanged Zayd on the trunk of the date palm
We have not seen a Mahdi hanged on the trunk
You have compared 'Ali to 'Uthman out of foolishness
'Uthman was purer and better than 'Ali.
When al- Sadiq heard these words, he invoked Allah against al- Hakam and said: "Allah, order one of your dogs (one of the animals which you have created) to eat him." Banu 'Umayya (the Omayyads) sent al- Hakam to Kufa. On his way to Kufa, a lion ate him.(283)
Dawud b. 'Ali al- 'Abbasi was the governor of al- Mansur over Kufa. He sent for al- Ma'alla b. Khanis, al- Sadiq's servant, and killed him. Also he did evil to the Imam. Al- Sadiq became angry. So, he invoked Allah against him. People heard him saying: "This hour! This hour!" Before he had finished his supplication, people heard an outcry in Dawud's house. Then they said: "Al- Hakam died suddenly!"(284)
One day, a woman came to al- Sadiq and said: "May I be your ransom, my father and mother and the members of my house support you." Al-Sadiq said: "You are truthful. What do you want?" The woman said: "May I be your ransom, son of Allah's Apostle (may Allah bless him and his family), I have leprosy in my upper arm. Invoke Allah to heal me."
Al-Sadiq, peace be on him, said: "Allah, You heal the blind and the leprous and bring life to the decayed bones. Forgive her and heal her to see the effect of the acceptance of my supplication." The woman said: "By Allah, I stood up and I had nothing of leprosy."(285)
Hammad b. 'Isa(286) asked al- Sadiq to implore Allah to give him what helps him to perform the hajj many times and to give him good, productive lands, a good house, a wife from the good families, and obedient children. He wanted to perform the hajj for fifty times. Al- Sadiq implored Allah to fulfill Hammad's needs. So, Allah gave him all his needs. Hammad performed the hajj for fifty times. Then he wanted to perform the hajj for fifty- one times. When he arrived at al- Jihfa valley, the flood took him a way. Then his servants brought him out of the water. He was dead.
Imam Sadiq's Prediction on the Events:
Al- Sadiq, peace be on him, predicted many events. They occurred as he predicted after a time. For example, he predicted the end of the authority of the Abbasids:
Abu Muslim al- Khurasani came to al- Sadiq and tired to convince him to take the reins of power. He told him that there were many people ready to support him. Al- Sadiq, peace be on him, said to him: "What you are talking about shall not be ours.
The children of al- Abbas shall play with authority." So, Abu Muslim went to Abd Allah b. al- Hasan and asked him to take the reins of authority. Abd Allah gathered the members of his family and took care of the matter. He summoned Abu Abd Allah (al- Sadiq), peace be on him, to ask his advice. So, al- Sadiq came and sat between al- Saffah and al- Mansur. When they asked the advice of al- Sadiq, he patted al- Saffah's shoulder and said: "No, by Allah, this shall be the first to take the reins of authority." Then, he patted al- Mansur's shoulder and said: "The children of this shall play with authority." Then, he stood up and left their meeting.(287)
One day Abd Allah b. al- Hasan summoned al- Sadiq to nominate his son Mohammed to the Caliphate. Al- Sadiq said to Abd Allah: "By Allah, this matter (the caliphate) is not for you nor for your children. The caliphate is for this (i.e. al- Saffah), then for this (i.e. al- Mansur), and then for his children. When al- Sadiq went out, Abu Ja'far (al- Mansur) followed him and said to him: "Abu Abd Allah, do you know what you have said?" Al-Sadiq, peace be on him, said: "Yes, by Allah, I know it (the caliphate) and it shall occur."(288)
Also al- Sadiq predicted the killing of Mohammed and Ibrahim, the two sons of al- Hasan, on many occasions. One day, he said: "Marwan shall be the end of the Omayyads, and Mohammed ibn al-Hasan shall be killed."(289)
References:
281 al- Dhariyat, 56.
282 Bin Shahrashub, al- Manaqib, 41231. See also al- Shiblanji, Nur al- Absar. al- Sibt, Tadhkirat al- Khawas. Bin Talha al- Safi'i, Matalib al- Sa'ul. Bin al- Sabbagh al- Maliki, al- Fusul al- Muhima Bin Hajar, al- Sawa'iq al- Muhriqa. Shaykh Sulayman, Yanabi' al- Mawada.
283 See Nur al- Absar, al- Sawa'iq, al- Fusul, and al- Manaqib: 4/234.
284 Ibid. al- Manaqib: 4/230.
285 al- Tusi, al- Amali, Majlis no. 14.
286 al- Jahani, al- Basri. He was among the reliable companions of al- Sadiq and al- Kazim, peace be on them.
287 Al- Mas'udi, al- Wasiya, 141.
288 Bihar al- Anwar, 47/131.
289 al- Mas'udi, al- Wasiya.
End item/ 129