Jabir ibn Yazid al-Ju'fi

Jābir ibn Yazīd al-Juʿfī (Arabic: جابر بن یزید الجُعفی), died c. 745–750, was a Kufan transmitter of hadith and a companion of the Shi'a Imams Muhammad al-Baqir (677–732) and Ja'far al-Sadiq (c. 700–765).[1] His reputation among later Muslims was uneven: while some Sunni and Shia scholars considered him a reliable authority, others rejected him for his alleged 'extremist' or 'exaggerated' (ghulāt) ideas.[1] In some sources he is said to have followed the ideas of the 'exaggerator' al-Mughira ibn Sa'id, while other sources deny this.[1]

He was sometimes recognized as the bāb (gate) of the fifth Twelver Shia Imam Muhammad al-Baqir, who related 70 (or 70000) secret hadiths to him. Jabir is also the main narrator of some other hadiths which are collected in a book named Risālat al-Juʿfi.[2][3][4]

Jabir is also transmitter of the ghulāt book Umm al-Kitāb,[5] which contains Muhammad al-Baqir's answers to questions posed by his followers.[6] In the main part of this book, al-Baqir reveals secrets to al-Ju'fi, such as how the cosmos was created, how the human soul fell into this world, and how it could be delivered from it.[7] According to Henry Corbin, this book resembles the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, thus illustrating a similarity between Shia Imamology and gnostic Christology. A major concept of this work is the description of the numinous experience. Its central motif is the psychological and philosophical explanation of spiritual symbols, with believers instructed to perform acts of self-purification and renewal. Colors are used to symbolize theories and levels of consciousness which one must recognize in oneself.[8]

References
  1. Dakake 2007–2012.
  2. Lalani 2000, pp. 107–108
  3. صفری, نعمت اله (1393). جابر بن یزید جعفی (in Persian). دانشنامه جهان اسلام.
  4. Kohlberg 1993, p. 399
  5. Halm 2001–2012.
  6. Lalani 2000, pp. 107–108
  7. Kohlberg 1993, p. 399
  8. Corbin, Henry (2001). The History of Islamic Philosophy. Translated by Liadain Sherrard with the assistance of Philip Sherrard. London and New York: Kegan Paul International. pp. 75–76.

Works cited


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