Biography of Jafar ibn Abi Talib

No. 34: Ja'far ibn Abi Talib Abd Manaf al-Hashimi.

The master, the martyr, the great in standing, the banner of the strivers, Abu Abd Allah, cousin of the Messenger of Allah, peace and the salutation of Allah be upon him, Abd Manaf ibn Abd al-Muttalib ibn Hashim ibn Abd Manaf ibn Qusayy al-Hashimi, brother of Ali ibn Abi Talib, and he is older than Ali by ten years.

He emigrated by the two emigrations; he emigrated from Abyssinia to Medina, joined the Muslims while they were at Khaybar after its capture, and dwelt in Medina a month; then the Messenger of Allah, peace and the salutation of Allah be upon him, put him at the head of the army of the campaign of Mu'tah, in the region of al-Karak, and he was slain a martyr.

The Messenger of Allah, peace and the salutation of Allah be upon him, rejoiced greatly at his arrival, and grieved, by Allah, at his death.

He narrated little.

The narrators of Jafar ibn Abi Talib

And those who narrated from him: Ibn Mas'ud, Amr ibn al-As, Umm Salama and his son Abd Allah.

Hudayj ibn Mu'awiya: from Abu Ishaq, from Abd Allah ibn Utba, from Ibn Mas'ud, who said:

The emigration to the Negus

The Messenger of Allah, peace and the salutation of Allah be upon him, sent us to the Negus, eighty men: I, Ja'far, Abu Musa, Abd Allah ibn Urfuta and Uthman ibn Maz'un.

Quraysh sent Amr ibn al-As and Umar a ibn al-Walid with a gift; they arrived at the Negus; when they entered they prostrated to him and pressed forward; one sat at his right and the other at his left, and they said:

"A group of our people has settled in your land and renounced our religion."

He said: "And where are they?"

They said: "In your land."

He sent in search of them.

Ja'far said: "I am your speaker."

They followed him; he entered and greeted.

They said: "Why do you not prostrate to the king?"

He said: "We prostrate only to Allah."

They said: "And why is that?"

He said: "Allah sent us a messenger, and commanded us to prostrate only to Allah, and commanded us prayer and zakat."

Amr said: "They contradict you concerning the son of Maryam and his mother."

He said: "What do you say of the son of Maryam and his mother?"

Ja'far said: "We say what Allah said: the Spirit of Allah and His word, which He cast upon the chaste virgin whom no human touched."

He said: the Negus took a stick of earth and said:

"O people of Abyssinia, bishops and monks! What do you want? This does me no harm! I bear witness that he is the messenger of Allah, and that he is the one whose coming Isa announced in the Gospel; and by Allah, were it not for the kingship I am in, I would have gone to him, and I would have been the one to carry his sandals and wash them for him."

He said: "Settle wherever you wish."

He ordered that the gift of the two others be returned to them.

He said: Ibn Mas'ud hastened and was present at Badr.

And its like was narrated by Mujalid, from al-Sha'bi, from Abd Allah ibn Ja'far, from his father.

And its like was narrated by Ibn Awn, from Umara ibn Ishaq, from Amr ibn al-As.

Muhammad ibn Ishaq: from al-Zuhri, from Abu Bakr ibn Abd al-Rahman, from Umm Salama, who said:

When Mecca became narrow for us, and the companions of the Messenger of Allah, peace and the salutation of Allah be upon him, were ill-treated and tried, and saw the calamity befalling them, and the Messenger of Allah could not ward it off them, while he himself was protected by his clan and his uncle, nothing he disliked that befell his companions reaching him,

the Messenger of Allah, peace and the salutation of Allah be upon him, said to them: "In the land of Abyssinia there is a king with whom no one is wronged: join his country, until Allah makes for you a respite and a way out."

We went out to him in waves, until we were gathered; we settled in the best of dwellings, beside the best of neighbors, secure for our religion.

Al-Sha'bi said: Ali married Asma bint Umays, and her two sons boasted against each other: Muhammad ibn Ja'far and Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr.

Each of the two said: "My father is better than your father."

Ali said: "O Asma, judge between them."

She said: "I have seen no young man better than Ja'far, nor any man in maturity better than Abu Bakr."

Ali said: "You left us nothing; and had you said other than this, I would have detested you."

She said: "By Allah, you are, of three chosen men, the most despicable."

Mujalid: from al-Sha'bi, from Abd Allah ibn Ja'far, who said:

"I never asked Ali anything on account of Ja'far but he gave it to me."

Ibn Mahdi: al-Aswad ibn Shayban narrated to us, from Khalid ibn Shumayr, who said:

Abd Allah ibn Rabah came to us; people gathered to him, and he said:

Abu Qatada narrated to us, who said:

The fight of Jafar ibn Abi Talib at Mu'tah

The Messenger of Allah, peace and the salutation of Allah be upon him, sent the army of the commanders and said: "Yours is Zayd; if he is struck, then Ja'far; if Ja'far is struck, then Ibn Rawaha."

Ja'far leapt up and said: "May my father and mother be your ransom! I did not fear you would put Zayd above me."

He said: "Go forth: you do not know which of the two is better."

The army set out, and they remained as long as Allah willed.

Then the Messenger of Allah, peace and the salutation of Allah be upon him, mounted the minbar and ordered the call: prayer is assembled!

He said, peace and the salutation be upon him: "Shall I not inform you of your army? They met the enemy: Zayd was struck as a martyr: ask forgiveness for him; then Ja'far took the banner and pressed upon the people until he was killed; then Ibn Rawaha took it, planted his two feet, until he was struck as a martyr; then Khalid took the banner."

He was not of the commanders: he commanded himself.

The Messenger of Allah, peace and the salutation of Allah be upon him, raised his two fingers and said: "O Allah, he is a sword of Your swords: grant him victory."

That day he was named: the Sword of Allah.

Then he said: "Go forth: reinforce your brothers, and let none stay behind."

The people went out in a fierce heat.

Ibn Ishaq: Yahya ibn Abbad narrated to us, from his father, who said:

My father, who had nursed me, was of the Banu Murra ibn Awf, narrated to me:

"It is as if I see Ja'far on the day of Mu'tah, when he charged from a reddish horse he had, slaughtered it, then fought until he was killed."

Ibn Ishaq said: he was the first to slaughter in Islam, and he said:

O how lovely is Paradise, and its nearness
Sweetened: cool is its drink
The Rum, Rum whose punishment has drawn near
Upon me if I meet them: their blows

Al-Waqidi: Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Umar ibn Ali narrated to us, from his father, who said:

A Rum struck him, cutting him in two halves; there were found in his half seventeen and tens of wounds.

Abu Uways: from Abd Allah, from Nafi', from Ibn Umar, who said:

We missed Ja'far on the day of Mu'tah, and we found between stab and arrow ninety, and we found that in the front part of his body.

Usama ibn Zayd al-Laythi: from Nafi', that Ibn Umar said:

I gathered Ja'far against my breast on the day of Mu'tah, and I found in the front of his body forty, between sword blow and stab.

Abu Ahmad al-Zubayri: from Amr ibn Thabit, from his father:

The Messenger of Allah, peace and the salutation of Allah be upon him, asked about Ja'far, and a man said:

"I saw him when a man stabbed him; he walked against him upon the spear and struck him: they died together."

Sa'dan ibn al-Walid: from Ata, from Ibn Abbas:

While the Messenger of Allah, peace and the salutation of Allah be upon him, sat, and Asma bint Umays was near, he said: "O Asma, this is Ja'far passing with Jibril and Mika'il; he has told me he met the polytheists on such and such a day and greeted them: return the greeting to him."

He said: "He met the polytheists; seventy-three [blows] reached his extremities; he took the banner in his right hand: it was cut; then he took it in the left: it was cut.

He said: Allah then replaced for me my two hands with two wings with which I fly with Jibril and Mika'il in Paradise, eating of its fruits."

And from Asma, who said:

The Messenger of Allah, peace and the salutation of Allah be upon him, entered upon me and called the sons of Ja'far; I saw him smell them and his eyes shed tears.

I said: "Messenger of Allah! Has anything about Ja'far reached you?"

He said: "Yes: he was killed today."

We rose to weep; he returned and said: "Prepare food for the family of Ja'far: they are occupied beyond tending to themselves."

And from Aisha, who said:

When the news of Ja'far's death came, we knew grief on the face of the Prophet, peace and the salutation of Allah be upon him.

Abu Shayba al-Absi: al-Hakam narrated to us, from Miqsam, from Ibn Abbas:

The Messenger of Allah, peace and the salutation of Allah be upon him, said: "I saw Ja'far ibn Abi Talib in Paradise, an angel whose foreparts are dyed with blood, flying in Paradise."

Abd Allah ibn Ja'far al-Madini: from al-Ala', from his father:

From Abu Hurayra, as a stopped report: "I saw Ja'far with two wings in Paradise."

And its like came from Ibn Abbas and al-Bara, from the Prophet, peace and the salutation of Allah be upon him.

It is said: he lived thirty-seven years, may Allah be pleased with him.

Abd Allah ibn Numayr: from al-Ajlah, from al-Sha'bi, who said:

When the Messenger of Allah, peace and the salutation of Allah be upon him, returned from Khaybar, Ja'far met him; the Messenger of Allah, peace and the salutation of Allah be upon him, clasped him, kissed between his two eyes and said: "I know not for which of the two I am gladder: the coming of Ja'far, or the conquest of Khaybar."

And in the narration of Muhammad ibn Rabi'a, from al-Ajlah:

He kissed what is between his two eyes, embraced him and hugged him.

Ibn Ishaq said: the Messenger of Allah, peace and the salutation of Allah be upon him, made brotherhood between Ja'far ibn Abi Talib and Mu'adh ibn Jabal.

Al-Waqidi disputed this and said: the brotherhood was before Badr; then the verse of inheritance came down, and the brotherhood was abrogated; and Ja'far was then in Abyssinia.

Hafs ibn Ghiyath: from Ja'far ibn Muhammad, from his father:

The daughter of Hamza would pass among the men; Ali took her hand and cast her toward Fatima in her palanquin; they disputed over her: he, Ja'far and Zayd.

Ali said: "Daughter of my paternal uncle, and I brought her out."

Ja'far said: "Daughter of my paternal uncle, and her maternal aunt is in my home."

He adjudged her to Ja'far and said: "The maternal aunt is as a mother."

Ja'far rose and circled around the Prophet, peace and the salutation of Allah be upon him, dancing.

He said: "What is this?"

He said: "Something I saw the Abyssinians do to their kings."

Her mother is Salma bint Umays, and her aunt: Asma.

Ibn Ishaq: from Ibn Qusayt, from Muhammad ibn Usama ibn Zayd, from his father:

He heard the Prophet say to Ja'far: "Your creation most resembles my creation, and your character most resembles my character: you are of me and of my tree."

Isra'il: from Abu Ishaq, from al-Bara; and from Hubayra ibn Maryam and Hani' ibn Hani', from Ali, they said:

The Messenger of Allah, peace and the salutation of Allah be upon him, said to Ja'far: "You have resembled my creation and my character."

Hammad ibn Salama, from Thabit: sahih.

And 'Awf, from Muhammad:

That the Prophet, peace and the salutation of Allah be upon him, said that to Ja'far.

Al-Sha'bi said: Ibn Umar, when he greeted Abd Allah ibn Ja'far, would say:

"Peace be upon you, O son of the one of the two wings."

Ibn Ishaq: from al-Zuhri, from Abu Bakr ibn Abd al-Rahman, from Umm Salama, concerning their emigration to the land of the Negus, part of which has already passed; she said:

When Quraysh saw that, they gathered to send to him; they sent Amr ibn al-As and Abd Allah ibn Abi Rabi'a; they gathered gifts for him and for his patrician women.

They came to the king and said: "Young men of ours, fools, have left our religion, have not entered yours, and have brought an innovated religion we do not know; they have taken refuge in your land: we have been sent to you to return them."

His patrician said: "They speak truly, O king."

He grew angry, then said: "No, by the life of Allah: I shall not return them to them until I have questioned them: a people who have taken refuge in my land and chosen my protection; and nothing was more hateful to Amr and Ibn Abi Rabi'a than the king hearing their speech.

When the messenger of the Negus came, the people gathered, and the one to speak was Ja'far ibn Abi Talib.

The Negus said: "What is this religion?"

They said: "O king! We were an idolatrous people: we worshipped idols, ate carrion, dealt ill with neighbors, held lawful the forbidden and the bloods; Allah sent us a prophet from among us, whose loyalty, truth and trustworthiness we know; he called us to worship Allah alone, to join kinship, to be good to neighbors, to pray and to fast."

He said: "Do you have with you anything of what he brought?" And he had called his bishops,

and ordered them, and they spread the books around him.

Ja'far said to them: "Yes."

He recited to them the opening of Surah Maryam, kaf-ha-ya-ayn-sad.

The Negus wept, by Allah, until his beard was wet, and his bishops wept until their books were wet; then he said:

"This speech indeed issues from the lamp Musa brought: go, in safety; by Allah, I shall not return them to you, and I shall not grant you a favor."

The two went out from him, and Amr said:

"Tomorrow I shall come to him with that by which I shall uproot their greenery," and he mentioned to him what they say concerning Isa.

Shabbab said: Ali, Ja'far and Aqil: their mother is Fatima bint Asad ibn Hashim ibn Abd Manaf.

Al-Waqidi said: Ja'far emigrated to Abyssinia with his wife Asma bint Umays, and she bore there Abd Allah, Awn and Muhammad.

Ibn Ishaq said: Ja'far embraced Islam after thirty-one souls.

Isma'il ibn Uways: my father narrated to us, from al-Hasan ibn Zayd:

That Ali was the first male to embrace Islam; then Zayd embraced Islam, then Ja'far; and Abu Bakr was the fourth or the fifth.

Abu Ja'far al-Baqir said: the Messenger of Allah, peace and the salutation of Allah be upon him, on the day of Badr, allotted to Ja'far ibn Abi Talib his share and his reward.

And it is narrated by ways:

That when Ja'far arrived, the Prophet, peace and the salutation of Allah be upon him, said: "I am gladder at the coming of Ja'far than at the conquest of Khaybar."

In a narration: he met him, hugged him and kissed him.

And in the Sahih, from the hadith of al-Bara and others:

That the Prophet, peace and the salutation of Allah be upon him, said to Ja'far: "You have resembled my creation and my character."

Ahmad: 'Affan narrated to us; Wuhayb narrated; Khalid narrated, from Ikrima, from Abu Hurayra, who said:

"None followed the sandals nor rode the mounts after the Messenger of Allah, peace and the salutation of Allah be upon him, better than Ja'far ibn Abi Talib."

Meaning: in generosity and nobility.

A group narrated it from Khalid; it has a defect: Ubayd Allah ibn Amr narrates it, from Khalid, from Abu Qilaba, from Abu Hurayra.

Ibn Ajlan: from al-Maqbari, from Abu Hurayra, who said:

We used to call Ja'far Abu al-Masakin, father of the poor: he would take us to his house; when he found nothing for us, he would bring out a skin whose scent was honey: we would suck it and lick it.