Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn ʿUthmān ibn Saʿīd al-ʿAmrī al-Asadī (Arabic:أبو جعفر محمد بن عثمان بن سعيد العمري الأسدي) was the second of theFour Deputies, who are believed byTwelver Shia Muslims to have successively represented their twelfthImam,Muhammad al-Mahdi, during hisMinor Occultation (874–941 CE). Abu Ja'far in this role succeeded his father,Uthman ibn Sa'id al-Asadi, the first deputy. After some forty years in office, Abu Ja'far died in 304 or 305AH (917 or 918CE) and was succeeded byIbn Ruh al-Nawbakhti, the third deputy. Abu Ja'far has been credited with the unification of the mainstream Shia.

Until their deaths, the tenth and eleventh Shia Imams (Ali al-Hadi andHasan al-Askari, respectively) were held in the garrison town ofSamarra under close surveillance (or house arrest^[1][2]) by the Abbasids,^[3][4] who are often responsible in Shia sources for poisoning the two Imams.^[5] The two Imams witnessed the deterioration of the Abbasid caliphate,^[6] as the imperial authority rapidly transitioned into the hands of the Turks,^[7] particularly afteral-Mutawakkil.^[8]

Contemporary to the tenth Imam, the Abbasidal-Mutawakkil violently prosecuted the Shia,^[9][10] partly due to a renewedZaydi opposition.^[11] The restrictive policies of al-Mutawakkil towards the tenth Imam were later adopted by his son,al-Mu'tamid, who is reported to have kept the eleventh Imam under house arrest without any visitors.^[1] Instead, al-Askari is known to have primarily communicated with his followers through a network of representatives.^[10][12] Among them wasUthman ibn Sa'id,^[13] who is said to have disguised himself as a seller of cooking fat to avoid the Abbasid agents, hence his nickname al-Samman.^[14]Tabatabai suggests that these restrictions were placed on al-Askari because the caliphate had come to know about traditions among the Shia elite, predicting that the eleventh Imam would father the eschatologicalMahdi.^[15]

Immediately after the death of al-Askari in 260 (874),^[16]Uthman ibn Sa'id (d. 880) claimed that the eleventh Imam had a young son, named Muhammad, who had entered a state ofoccultation (ghayba) due to the Abbasid threat to his life.^[17][18] As the special agent of al-Askari, Uthman also claimed that he had been appointed to represent the son of the eleventh Imam.^[19] Twelver sources detail that Muhammad al-Mahdi made his only public appearance to lead the funeral prayer for his father instead of his uncle,Ja'far.^[20][21]

Thus began a period of about seventy years, later termed theMinor Occultation (al-ghaybat al-sughra, 260-329 AH, 874–940 CE), during which it is believed that four successive agents represented the Hidden Imam,^[22] collectively known as theFour Deputies (al-nuwwab al-arba').^[23] An agent (wakil) was variously called deputy (na'ib), emissary (safir), and gate (bab).^[24]

Abu Ja'far succeeded his father, Uthman ibn Sa'id, in this role. As with his father, Abu Ja'far was earlier a representative of al-Askari.Tusi in hisRijal reports that the eleventh Imam had appointed Abu Ja'far and his father as agents of his son, Muhammad, in the presence of a group ofYemeni followers.^[25] Shortly after the death of his father, Abu Ja'far is said to have received a letter of condolence from the Hidden Imam.^[26] Abu Ja'far, who served for some forty years in this office, has been credited with the unification of the mainstream Shia behind the son of al-Askari as the twelfth Imam in concealment.^[27] In this task, Abu Ja'far was assisted byAbu Sahl al-Nawbakhti (d. 923), a renowned Twelver theologian of this period, whose ties with the Abbasid court helped spread the Twelver beliefs.[27]^[28] Abu Ja'far died in 304 or 305 (917 or 918) and was succeeded byIbn Ruh al-Nawbakhti.^[29]

Sometime after 279 (879), the office of deputyship relocated toBaghdad from Samarra, following the footsteps of the Abbasid court.^[30] Especially during the caliphates ofal-Muqtadir andal-Radi, the Twelver leadership in Baghdad could also rely on the support and protection of some powerful Twelver families who were in the service of the Abbasids, such as the Ibn al-Furat and Banu Nawbakht families.^[24]

Among other books about Islamic jurisprudence,^[31] Abu Ja'far wroteKitab al-Ashriba (lit. 'book on beverages'). This book, according to his daughter, was handed down to the third agent, Ibn Ruh al-Nawbakhti, and then to the last agent,al-Samarri.^[29]

• Uthman ibn Sa'id al-Asadi
• Abu al-Qasim al-Husayn ibn Ruh al-Nawbakhti
• Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Muhammad al-Samarri

• Iraqi Shia Muslims
• Mahdism
• 9th-century Twelvers
• 10th-century Twelvers

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