Ja'far ibn Abi Talib

ProfileJa'far ibn Abi Talib

Ja'far (may Allah be pleased with him) was the son of Abu Talib and the brother of Ali, a cousin of the Prophet ﷺ. He accepted Islam early, and he was among the Muslims who fled the persecution in Makkah and migrated to Abyssinia. According to the early biographies, when Quraysh sent envoys with gifts to the Negus to ask for the Muslims to be sent back, Ja'far was their spokesman. He told the king that they had been a people who worshipped idols, buried their daughters alive and treated the weak badly, until Allah sent them a messenger whom they knew for his honesty, who told them to worship Allah alone, keep faith and be good to their relatives. The Negus listened to what he recited and sent the envoys away.

Abu Musa al-Ash'ari said that when his own group of Muslims reached Abyssinia from Yemen, they stayed with Ja'far, and then came together to the Prophet ﷺ at the time of Khaybar (Sahih al-Bukhari). According to the early biographies, Ja'far came to the Prophet ﷺ with the dust of the road on his feet and no show of rank. The Prophet ﷺ went to meet him and, with tears and laughter together, said that he did not know whether he was happier at the conquest of Khaybar or at the return of Ja'far.

Abu Hurayrah said that Ja'far was the most generous of people to the poor, and would take them to his house and give them whatever he had, even an empty skin that they would cut open and lick (Sahih al-Bukhari). At Mu'tah in 8 AH, the Muslims were about three thousand against a vastly larger Roman army. He was the second commander named by the Prophet ﷺ, after Zayd. According to the early biographies, when Zayd was killed, Ja'far took the banner. The enemy cut off his right hand, so he held it in his left. They cut off his left, and he held it against his chest, until he was killed. Ibn Umar was there and said that they found over ninety wounds on his body (Sahih al-Bukhari). The Prophet ﷺ told the people in Madinah of the deaths of the three commanders before any news arrived (Sahih al-Bukhari). He said that he had seen Ja'far flying in Paradise with the angels (Sunan at-Tirmidhi, graded hasan), and Ibn Umar used to greet Ja'far's son as the son of the one with two wings (Sahih al-Bukhari). Abu Hurayrah said that no one who wore sandals or rode a mount after the Prophet ﷺ was better than Ja'far (Sunan at-Tirmidhi, graded sahih).

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