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The Life and Legacy of Jafar al-Sadiq introduces the stories and controversies around one of the most central figures of early Islamic thought. Widely revered in his time and highly regarded by Muslims around the world today, Jafar al-Sadiq (702– 765 CE) lived an intriguing and illuminating life.
Drawing upon classical Arabic and Persian sources, with some passages translated into English for the first time, Matthew Pierce helps make this complex history more accessible to both the general reader and students of Islam and its history.
On an autumn evening in 749, Ja’far al-Sadiq faced a decision that could shape the course of history. According to one famed account a messenger had arrived at Ja’far’s home in Medina, carrying updates on a revolution poised to topple the Umayyad Dynasty. The southern Iraqi city of Kufa had just fallen, and other cities seemed likely to slip from Umayyad control at any time. The messenger and his fellow travelers had arrived under the cover of night in a politically charged moment full of uncertainty–but also of hope. Ja’far’s family and friends had long found fault with the Umayyad government, and many of them had paid dearly for that stance.
The Umayyads had risen to power nearly a century earlier in a bloody civil war that, in 661, culminated in the assassination of one of the Muslim community’s greatest leaders, ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib.
Ja’far himself was a descendant of ‘Ali and his wife Fatima, the esteemed daughter of the Prophet Muhammad. The couple and their children – Hasan, Husayn, and Zaynab – were the Prophet’s closest family members, and they were respected and revered by nearly all who followed the Prophet’s teachings. ‘Ali’s descendants and their families, the ‘Alids, were consistently at odds with the Umayyad dynasty throughout its reign. Many ‘Alid leaders lost their lives in open rebellion against the Umayyads, or because they were suspected of plotting against the dynasty. The stories of injustices endured by Muhammad’s descendants garnered sympathy among Muslims throughout the empire, and those communal memories served as reference points for all those who had grievances against the government….
About the Author
Matthew Pierce (PhD, Boston University) is Associate Professor of Religion at Centre College and Director of Centre Global. He is the author of Twelve Infallible Men: The Imams and the Making of Shiism (Harvard University Press, 2016), winner of Iran’ s Book of the Year Award. Matthew Pierce has lived and studied in Egypt, Yemen, and Iran. He specialized in Islamic history, religion and sexuality, and sectarianism. Pierce has published his work in premier reference volumes, such as The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought (2012) and the Encyclopedia of Islam (Brill).
Bibliographic Information
Title: The Life and Legacy of Jafar al-Sadiq: At the Nexus of Islam
Author(s): Matthew Pierce
Publisher: Fons Vitae
Language: English
Length: 144 pages
ISBN: 979-8896400066
Pub. Date: January 1, 2026
