Al-Mufaddal ibn Umar, teacher of Ismail ibn Jafar
In this following al-Kafi hadith, Ismail - son of Imam Jafar al-Sadiq dies.
Afterwards, Imam al-Sadiq orders his companion Yunus ibn Ya’qub to mourn al-Mufaddal for the loss of Ismail.
The Imam tells Yunus greet al-Mufaddal with “al-Salam [alaykum]” on behalf of Imam al-Sadiq, and to tell him:
“We have been struck by [the death] of Ismail, so we were patient. So be patient, [O Mufaddal], like we had been patient. We had wanted a matter [that Ismail become the next Imam], but Allah desired a different matter. So we had submitted our will to the will of Allah.”
16 - عنه، عن علي بن الحكم، عن يونس بن يعقوب قال: أمرني أبو عبد الله (عليه السلام) أن آتي المفضل وأعزيه بإسماعيل وقال: اقرأالمفضل السلام (1) وقل له: إنا قد أصبنا بإسماعيل فصبرنا، فاصبر كما صبرنا، إنا أردنا أمرا وأراد الله عز وجل أمرا، فسلمنا لأمر الله عزوجل. (1)
- The fact that Imam al-Sadiq sends his companion to mourn Al-Mufaddal for the death of Imam al-Sadiq’s own & asking him to be patient. This highlights a very strong relationship between Al-Mufaddal & Ismail ibn Jafar - which the following ahadith show was because al-Mufaddal excercised a “teacher” role with Ismail ibn Jafar.
I mention these ahadith in my booklet, “Labbayk Jafar! An examination of the first Imamite rebel movement”. It shows that al-Mufaddal had been teaching Ismail ibn Jafar the beliefs of the radical Khattabiya, often described with ghuluw, but both appeared to return to the mainstream:
“I heard Aba Abdilah tell al-Mufaddal ibn Umar [then a Khattabite]:
‘O kafir, o mushrik! You have nothing to do with my son’
[Narrator says]: He meant [his son] Ismail, who had joined the Khattabites but then returned [to the mainstream]’” (2)
In another narration, Imam al-Sadiq tells al-Mufaddal to stay away from Ismail - as al-Mufaddal’s activities will only kill Ismail. (3)
References:
(1) Al-Kafi, volume 2, page 92
(2) Rijal al-Kashi, vol 2, page 612
(3) Rijal al-Kashi, page 272-274
