Imam al-Sadiq (as) and the Questioners

A school open to all: Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (as), the sixth Imam, taught in Madina for many years. His circle was open to everyone — students of law, of Hadith, of reason — and even to those who disagreed with Islam. No questioner was turned away. — to be checked.

The atheist's question: A man named Abu Shakir, who believed there was no Creator, came to debate the Imam (as). The Imam (as) did not shout at him or call him names. He asked him to look at an egg: a smooth shell, with no door and no opening — yet from it comes a living chick. "Who made this?" he asked. A thing so perfectly made points to a Maker behind it — just as a house points to a builder. — to be checked.

Reason before anger: The Imam (as) answered doubts with reason, not with anger. He also trained his students — such as Hisham ibn al-Hakam — to debate in the same calm way, so that the school of the Ahlul Bayt (as) could answer every question of its time. His rule was simple: a question is never a crime, and an honest question deserves an honest answer.

Example

"This phone made itself": Someone says a phone made itself by chance. You open it and show the tiny, perfect parts fitted together — the screen, the battery, the wires. No one with sense says, "It happened by itself." Design points to a designer — that was the Imam's (as) argument from the egg.

Questions are welcome: A teacher who fears questions teaches fear. A teacher who welcomes questions teaches confidence. Imam al-Sadiq (as) welcomed every questioner.

Key Terms

• Dahri (دہری) — an atheist, one who says the world has no Creator
• Burhan (برہان) — a clear rational proof, like the argument from design
• Ilhad (الحاد) — atheism, denying the Creator

Quran or Hadith

None used in this topic.

The debates of Imam al-Sadiq (as) with questioners such as Abu Shakir are recorded in al-Kafi and al-Ihtijaj — the details still need to be checked against those books before publication. — to be checked.