Imam Jaafar
Sadiq's (a.s.) priceless legacy of
scientific and spiritual knowledge. Mind boggles as to why the books listed on islamic
websites (at least the ones in English) have so little to offer on the amazing
scientific gems from the Imam. These need wide publicity not so much for
trumpeting our past but in order to excite our youth into becoming top
scientists and thinkers. Our love and respect for the Prophet and the Imams,
peace be on them, should surely put us at an advantage when tapping into the
treasures of their knowledge.
Some of Imam Sadiq's theories have been
proven to be true more than a thousand years later, confirmed by science in the
last few hundred years once science developed the needed tools like the
telescope. Is it not possible that there are many others waiting to be confirmed
as science develops further capabilities. We urge all to read the excerpts from a French thesis and
from the Tradition of Mufaddal (see links below)
and to contribute other materials they may be aware of.
Pearls of Wisdom from Imam Ja'far
al-Sadiq (`a), narrated by his companion Mufaddal ibn `Umar .As recorded by 'Allamah
Majlisi (d. 1110 AH) in Bihar al-'Anwar, volume 3, page 57, chapter (bab) 4,
tradition (riwayah) no. 29. Pl click :Tradition
of Mufaddal
Excerpts from the book "The Great
Muslim Scientist and Philosopher", an English translation by Kaukab Ali Mirza of
the famous Persian book "Maghze Mutafakkir Jehan Shia", which is a translation
from a French thesis published by The Research Committee of Strasbourg, France,
about the contribution made by Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (A.S.) to science,
philosophy, literature and irfan (gnosticism). Please click here for more:
Athenaeum Library of Philosophy
Theory of the Four Elements: ........ He
remarked : "I wonder how a man like Aristotle could say that in the world there
are only four elements - Earth, Water, Fire, and Air. The Earth is not an
element. It contains many elements. Each metal, which is in the earth, is an
element.... Imam Jafar as-Sadiq proved that Water, Air, and Fire were also not
elements, but a mixture of elements. This he said 1,100 years before the
European scientists discovered that air was not an element and had separated its
constituents. .....
He said that there are many elements in
the air and that all of them are essential for breathing....It was only in the
18th century, which was considered the golden age of science, after Lavoisier
separated oxygen from the air and demonstrated the important role it plays in
breathing and combustion that they accepted that it is not an element. However,
even then they were of the opinion that other elements do not play a part in
breathing. In the middle of the 19th century scientists changed their views
about the part played by other elements in breathing. By that time it was also
proved that although oxygen purifies blood, it also burns combustible materials,
which come in contact with it. If living beings breath pure oxygen for a long
time, their breathing organs would be oxidised. Oxygen does not damage them
because it is mixed with other gases. Therefore, they concluded that the
presence of other gases which are in very minute quantities in the air is also
essential for breathing.
Moreover, oxygen being the heaviest of all other gases in the air would have
settled at the bottom and covered the surface of the earth up to a certain
depth. As a result, breathing organs of all animals would have been burnt and
animal life would have become extinct. Moreover it would have cut off the supply
of carbon dioxide, which plants need so badly, and made it impossible for them
to grow on the surface of the earth. Presence of other gases in the air does not
let oxygen settle down to the bottom and destroy animal and plant life.At last,
after more than 1000 years, the theory of Jafar as-Sadiq (a) that presence of
all gases in the air is essential for breathing was proved to be correct. He was
the first person to discover that oxygen produces acidity.
Origin of the Universe: .... When modern
scientists read this theory they confirm that it totally agrees with the modern
theory, which has not yet become a law of physics. However, it has the unique
distinction that it was enunciated 12 centuries ago. The theory reads as follows
" The universe was born out of a tiny particle, which had two opposite poles.
That particle produced an atom. In this way matter came into being. Then the
matter diversified. This diversification was caused by the density or rarity of
the atoms." The most significant point in this theory is the description of two
opposite poles. The importance of this point was realised when the presence of
two opposite poles was proved by modern science. Today it is an undisputed fact
in atomic science and electronics.
Another of his interesting theory was that the universe is not always in one and
the same condition. In one periods it expands and in another it
contracts....This phenomenon was considered for centuries as inconceivable and
the theory remained quite incomprehensible to the leading astronomers. After the
18th century more and more powerful telescopes were built and astronomers could
see beyond our solar system. It was in 1960 that it was observed and confirmed
by astronomers that distances between our galaxy and the neighbouring galaxies
are increasing. These observations have provided sufficient proof that the
universe is in a state of expansion. We do not know when this expansion started.
The discovery of black holes has proved his other statement that the universe
sometimes contracts was also proved true. Hence the Imam's theory was proved to
be correct.
The Imam also stated that everything in the universe including inanimate
objects, is always in motion although we may not see it....This theory, which
was unacceptable in his time, is a scientific fact today.
Contribution in Physics .....One of the laws
worked out by him is about opacity and transparency of materials. He said that
materials which are solid and absorbent are opaque, and materials which are
solid and repellent are more or less transparent. When he was asked about the
thing which is absorbed by an opaque material, he replied "Heat"....today this
theory is one of the Laws of Physics....
Composition of the Human Body: The Imam said that while all human beings were made from the earth, which
was a known fact, he also said that whatever is in the earth is also in the
human body, but all elements are not in the same proportion. Four elements are
in very large quantity, eight elements in small quantities and eight elements in
minute quantities. This theory was proved to be correct as late as the 18th
century with the dissection of the human body. Results of these analysis show
that the ratio of the major elements in human bodies is the same throughout the
world as Imam Jafar as-Sadiq had said. The four elements which are in large
quantities in the human body are: Oxygen, Carbon, Hydrogen and Nitrogen. The
eight elements which are in small quantities are : Magnesium, Sodium, Potassium,
Calcium, Phosphorus, Sulphur, Iron, and Chlorine. The other eight elements which
are in very minute quantities are : Molybdenum, Cobalt, Manganese, Copper, Zinc,
Fluorine, Silicon and Iodine.
Discovery of Hydrogen.... According to the
Western world, the greatest miracle of the Imam was his revelation of the
presence of oxygen in the air... Imam Baqar had said about the presence of
hydrogen in water and that water can be turned into fire, as hydrogen was a
highly inflammable gas. The discovery of these two gases depended upon their
separation from air and water..... Pure oxygen is available in the air, but pure
hydrogen is not available anywhere. Hence hydrogen could not be obtained till
sufficient power was developed and water was hydrolysed. The world amazes as to
how both our Imams could reveal the presence of hydrogen in air which was a
colourless, odourless and tasteless gas and does not exist freely in nature.
They could not have identified this gas and found out its properties without
separating it from water through the process of hydrolysis, which was impossible
without a strong current of electricity....The first person who was able to
separate hydrogen from water in modern times was the English scientist Henry
Cavendish, who died in 1810. ...He was also able to confirm that hydrogen gas
was highly inflammable as a result of a freakish accident that he had while
doing his experiments, which resulted in his house catching fire. It was
eventually Lavoisier, the French chemist, who gave the name of hydrogen to this
gas...
Theory of Light: Another great contribution to science of Imam Jafar as-Sadiq was his
Theory of Light. He said that light reflected by different objects comes to us,
but only a part of the rays enter our eyes. That is the reason why we do not see
distant objects clearly.If all the rays of light which come from them entered
our eyes, objects would appear near to us. If we make a device through which all
the rays of light coming from the camels grazing at a distance of 3000 zirah
(one zirah is 40 inches) entered our eyes we would see them grazing at a
distance of only 60 zirah ie. All these objects would look 50 times nearer to
us.It was this theory, which helped Lippershey of Flanders to make his first
binoculars in 1608. Galileo made use of this and invented his telescope in
1610..... When Galileo was asked why his telescope made heavenly bodies look so
near that they could see the mountains of the moon, he repeated the words of
Imam Jafar as-Sadiq and said : "This telescope collects all the rays of light
coming from the heavenly bodies. When all the rays of light coming from the
heavenly bodies are concentrated, the objects which are at a distance of 3,000
feet away appear to us as if they were at a distance of only 60 feet."
Before the time of the Imam, it was believed that light from our eyes falls upon
different objects so that they could be seen. He was the first to have said that
" the rays of the light from different objects come to our eyes and enable us to
see them. The rays of light from our eyes do not go out and fall on other
objects, otherwise we would be able to see them in the darkness also." The Imam
also put forward a very interesting theory about the speed of light. He has said
that light is a kind of motion which is very fast. This is in harmony to the
modern theory of light.The Imam had once said during the course of his lectures
that a powerful beam of light could move heavy objects. The light which Moses
saw at Mount Sinai was of that kind. It could have moved the mountain if God had
so desired. It can be said that by making this statement, he laid the foundation
of the theory of the laser.
Theory of Matter and Anti-Matter ... One of the unique theories of Imam Jafar as-Sadiq
is that everything except Allah has its opposites, but this does not result in a
conflict, otherwise the whole universe would be destroyed. This is the theory of
matter and anti-matter. The difference between matter and anti-matter is that in
matter the electrons are negatively charged and protons are positively charged.
But in anti-matter, the electrons are positively charged and protons are
negatively charged. Scientists have concluded that if one kilogram of matter
collides with one kilogram of anti-matter, so much energy will be released that
the whole world will be destroyed.....
Theory of the Light of the Stars.....
Imam Jafar as-Sadiq has said that among the clusters of stars which
we see at night, some are so bright that our sun, in comparison, is quite
insignificant.Because of man's limited knowledge, many people during the Imam's
time and centuries after him, considered this theory to be illogical, irrational
and unacceptable. They could not believe that these small specks of light which
are called stars, can have more light than the light of our big bright sun.
About twelve and a half centuries later, it was proved that what he said was
quite correct. It has been discovered that there are stars in the universe,
which are billions of times brighter than the sun. They are called quasars. The
light of quasars is about quadrillion times (ten thousand billion times) the
light of our sun. Some of them are at a distance of about 9000 million light
years from the earth. The first such quasar was discovered in 1927.Another
important theory was that there are many worlds other than our own, that we
cannot even count them. Their number is only in the knowledge of Allah (swt).
Just as we have living beings on this planet, there are living beings on many
other planets in the universe where conditions are suitable.....
Pollution of Environment......
Imam Jafar as-Sadiq has said that we should not pollute our
environment otherwise it would become impossible to live on this planet.
Definitely he had our times in mind when he made those remarks. Pollution was
not a problem in his time. There was not a single factory in existence and
metals were smelted in small furnaces by burning wood. This was not a theory but
a scientific fact which cannot be refuted. It is estimated that if air pollution
increases at the present rate for 50 years more, 50% of plankton will die and
the quantity of oxygen in the air would be reduced by the same proportion....
Good Advice for Mothers: Imam Jafar as-Sadiq has advised mothers that they should put their new
born babies to sleep on their left side. For centuries this advice was
considered by many as meaningless and absurd since no one could see any use in
putting babies to sleep on the left side of mothers....In 1865, Ezra Cornell
founded the Cornell University in NYK. In this university he set up under the
department of medicine, an institute for the Research on New Born and Suckling
Babies. A research scholar of this institute who travelled to different parts of
the world, observed that mothers in every country carried their babies in the
left arms. Doctors in this institute observed that babies who are put to sleep
on the left side of their mothers sleep more soundly and peacefully but those
who are put on the right side, wake up every now and then and cry....After the
invention of holography, holographic pictures of unborn babies were taken which
revealed that the mother's heartbeat reached the ears of the baby in the womb.
Experiments were made of different mammals to find out the reaction of the
foetus. All experiments showed that whenever the heart of the mother stopped
beating, the foetus became restless and agitated, because it feeds on the blood,
which comes to it with each and every heartbeat.... Heartbeats mean to them a
constant supply of food...They depend so much upon the heartbeat that even after
they are born, they become restless, if they do not hear it.
