Jabir ibn Yazid al-Ju'fi

Jābir ibn Yazīd al-Juʿfī , died –750, was a Kufan transmitter of hadith and a companion of the Shi'a Imams Muhammad al-Baqir (677–732) and Ja'far al-Sadiq (–765). His reputation among later Muslims was uneven: while some Sunni and Shia scholars considered him a reliable authority, others rejected him for his alleged 'extremist' or 'exaggerated' ideas. Shia do not reject Jabir as a , possibly because he sided with al-Baqir in the conflict with al-Mughira bin Sa'id al-'Ijli, the well-known .

Jabir is also transmitter of the book , which contains Muhammad al-Baqir's answers to questions posed by his followers. According to Henry Corbin, this book resembles the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, thus illustrating a similarity between Shia Imamology and Gnostic Christology. A major concept of this work is the description of the numinous experience. Its central motif is the psychological and philosophical explanation of spiritual symbols, with believers instructed to perform acts of self-purification and renewal. Colors are used to symbolize theories and levels of consciousness which one must recognize in oneself.

Name His is mentioned in the sources as Abu Abdullah, Abu Muhammad and Abu Yazid, but it seems that Abu Muhammad is most commonly used. Apart from al-Ju'fi, in some sources his is also mentioned as al-Kufi.

Relationships with Shi'a Imams The year of his arrival in Medina will be around 96. According to the report that was quoted from Jabir, in his first meeting with the fifth Shi'a Imam Muhammad Baqir, he introduced himself as a Kufi and from the Ju'fi family, and his motivation was to learn from al-Baqir.