Islam Guidance

AL-MANSUR CLOSES MEDINA ACADEMY

It is reported on the authority of Mufazzal bin Umar that al-Mansur wanted to kill Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.). He called him many times with this intent, but when he saw him, he was filled with fear and could not carry out his vicious plan. Instead, he placed the Imam (a.s.) under house arrest. For a long time, the followers of Imam (a.s.) were not allowed to see him and he was not permitted to see them. This put the Shias under great hardship. They could not consult their Imam (a.s.), even on such matters as marriage, divorce, and etc.
After the death of Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.), no Imam was allowed to live permanently in Medina and spread knowledge among Muslims. They were exiled to Basra, Baghdad, Samarrah or Marv, where they were either held in prison or placed under house arrest.
It was easy for al-Mansur to close the Academy of Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.) by putting him under house arrest or by killing him, but it was very difficult to eradicate his influence from among the Muslims. They loved him for his ancestry, his piety and his knowledge. Moreover, he had taught and trained 4,000 to 12,000 students, who were spreading knowledge among the masses. Some of them were great scholars of Qur’an, Tafsir, Islamic jurisprudence, history and literature and some were great physicists, chemists, astronomers and mathematicians.
Since al-Mansur could not find in the Muslim world anyone who could rival the Imam in physics, chemistry, astronomy, mathematics and other sciences, he spent large sums of money and imported books from different countries on scientific subjects. They were translated into Arabic, and taught in schools and colleges. Gradually the names of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and Ptolemy became household words and their scientific and philosophical theories captured the imagination and dominated the thoughts of Muslims for centuries. The scheme proved so successful that in the course of time, Muslims totally forgot about the scientific achievements of the Imam (a.s.) and important discoveries made by him.

Imam Reza (AS) Network

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