According to rahyafte (the missionaries and converts website): Allahreza Akbari said the Infallible Imams (AS) are all interpreters, guardians and promoters of Islam but because most of the Hadiths that have reaches us from the Infallibles are from Imam Sadiq (AS) we consider the sixth Imam as the founder of Shiism.
He said Imam Sadiq’s (AS) Imamate coincided with the transfer of power from Umayyads to Abbasids and he used the opportunity to elevate Shia school of thought in various aspects and in all ideological spheres and to train competent and prominent students in various fields such as Fiqh (jurisprudence), Usul, theology, new sciences and empirical sciences.
Even those who are not Shia can learn about different aspects of Shia Islam through Imam Sadiq’s (AS) statements, he noted.
The comprehensiveness of Imam Sadiq’s (AS) teachings are such that many of the heads of Sunni schools of thought consider themselves students of the 6th Imam (AS), he said.
Akbari added that each Imam (AS) acted in accordance with the requirements of the time, and that is why Imam Ali (AS) and Imam Hussein (AS) launched military confrontation with the oppressors of the time, Imam Sajjad (AS) provided the ground for society’s spiritual elevation through prayers and supplications and Imam Sadiq’s (AS) held scholarly and spiritual sessions to lead the society to the divine goal and defend Islam.
According to a Hadith from Imam Ali (AS), “When a Faqih and scholar dies an emptiness is created in Islam that cannot be replaced and nothing can fill that,” he said, adding that when a scholar has such a status in Islam, the status of an Infallible Imam is certainly much higher.
He said Imam Sadiq (AS) has a lofty scholarly status given his role in promoting and developing Islamic teachings in all dimensions.
Akbari added that a Shia society should get to a level in scientific and scholarly fields that all other people would come to them to acquire knowledge.
He cited a Hadith from Imam Baqir (AS) who said, “Go to the east or west, but you will never find true knowledge except for what comes from us, Ahl-ul-Bayt (AS).”
So those who seek true knowledge should go to the Ahl-ul-Bayt (AS) and those who follow the school of Ahl-ul-Bayt (AS) should promote their teachings, Akbari went on to say.
iqna
