Imam Al-Sadiq

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HIS CHILDREN
The historians disagree on the number of his children. But their famous number is what al-
Shaykh al- Mufid, may Allah rest him in peace, has mentioned in his book al- Irshad. In this
connection he said: "The children of Abu Abd Allah, peace be on him, were ten:
Isma'il, Abd Allah, Um Farwa. Their mother was Fatima bint (the daughter of) al- Husayn b.
al- Hasan b. 'Ali, peace be on Them. Musa (peace be on him), Mohammed, (his mother was
Um Hamid), al- Abbas, 'Ali, Asma', Fatima. They belonged to various mothers.
Isma'il:
Isma'il was the eldest of the children of al- Sadiq, peace be on him. Al-Sadiq loved him very
much, and was very kind to him, and felt pity for him.(529)
Al- Sadiq, peace be on him, said to al- Mufaddal b. 'Amr, one of his reliable companions, at
the time when Abu al- Hasan Musa, peace be on him, was still young: "This child, namely,
Musa al- Kazim, is the most blessed one for our followers." Then he said: "And do not forget
Isma'il."(530)
These words indicate that al- Sadiq, peace be on him, transferred the Imamate from Isma'il to
Musa. But when al- Sadiq felt that his words would hurt Isma'il's dignity, he said: "And do
not forget Isma'il."
Also al- Sadiq, peace be on him, said: "Isma'il was liable to killing twice. So, I asked Allah,
the Glorified to raise it (death) from him (Isma'il) and He (Allah) raised it from him."(531)
Besides, al- Sadiq's words and actions which indicated his love for Isma'il was great. For this
reason, a group of the Shi'a thought that Isma'il would be the Imam after his father. That is
because his father treated him kindly and took care of him, and because Isma'il was the eldest
of his brothers. And the priority in age was among the marks of the Imamate. But the death of
Isma'il during the days of his father removed the idea of the Imamate from the heads of that
group of the Shi'a.
Al- Sadiq, peace be on him, showed great sadness when Isma'il died. After he had died and
his face had been covered, al- Sadiq ordered those men who were near him to uncover the
face of Isma'il while he was laying back. Then al- Sadiq kissed his forehead, his chin, and his