
Jafar al-Sadiq (20 April 702-14 December 765) was the Imam of Shia Islam from 733 to 765, succeeding Muhammad al-Baqir and preceding Musa al-Kadhim, Ismail ibn Jafar, and Abdullah al-Aftah.
Biography[]
Jafar was born on 20 April 702, the son of Muhammad al-Baqir and Farwah bint al-Qasim. Jafar succeeded his father as the Imam of Shia Islam in 733, and he stayed out of the political conflicts of the region while imam. He evaded requests for support from rebels, although the Abbasid Caliphate harassed him, and Caliph al-Mansur poisoned him in 765. His son Ismail ibn Jafar died before him, although Isma'ilism claims that he was his successor; Twelvers claims that Musa al-Kadhim succeeded him, and Abdullah al-Aftah was claimed to be his successor by the now-defunct Fathiyya branch of Shia Islam.