Ja’far ibn Abi Talib رضي الله عنه was the cousin of the Prophet ﷺ and the son of Abu Talib.
At a certain time, Abu Talib went through some financial difficulties. So Muhammad ﷺ went to Al-Abbas ibn Abdul Muttalib and told him, “O Abbas, you see your brother is going through difficulty. Why don’t we each take one of his sons so that it can become lighter on him?”
Rasulullah ﷺ took Ali ibn Abi Talib رضي الله عنه, and Al-Abbas ibn Abdul Muttalib took Ja’far ibn Abi Talib رضي الله عنه.
It is reported that Ja’far accepted Islam together with his wife, Asma bint Umays رضي الله عنها.
He was one of those who migrated to Africa, where they remained for ten years.
After a few days, Quraysh heard that they had gone to Africa. They sent Amr ibn al-As, and they wanted to bribe An-Najashi and tell him, “Send these people back.”
At that time, Amr ibn al-As was not yet a Muslim. He went to An-Najashi carrying many gifts.
When they were brought before An-Najashi, Amr said:
“We have a group of people who have abandoned our religion. They have left Makkah and come here, and they are speaking badly about us, our forefathers, and the religion that we follow. We want you to send them back.”
An-Najashi replied:
“I will never do that. I always listen to both sides of the story.”
So he called Ja’far ibn Abi Talib رضي الله عنه and the Muslims.
They had already decided that only one person would speak on their behalf, and that spokesman would be Ja’far رضي الله عنه.
When An-Najashi asked them, “What do you have to say?”
Ja’far ibn Abi Talib رضي الله عنه stood up and delivered his famous speech.
He said:
“O Najashi, we were people who were lost. We worshipped stones, sticks, and idols. We buried our daughters alive. Then Allah blessed us by sending to us a man from amongst ourselves. We know his lineage. We know his family. We know that he is truthful and trustworthy. He taught us to worship Allah alone and to abandon idols. We believed in him, so our people began to persecute us.”
An-Najashi listened carefully and then asked:
“You say revelation comes to this man? I want you to recite some of that revelation.”
Ja’far ibn Abi Talib رضي الله عنه recited the opening verses of Surah Maryam.
An-Najashi began to cry until his beard became wet with tears.
He said:
“By Allah, what you have recited and what I know about Isa (Jesus) have come from exactly the same source.”
His tears are even mentioned in the Qur’an.
Then An-Najashi declared:
“You may stay in my land for as long as you wish.”
He then ordered that all the gifts be returned to Amr ibn al-As.
Later in Madinah, Ja’far رضي الله عنه became well known for his kindness to the poor.
He cared for them, fed them, and looked after them so much that he became known as Abu al-Masakin (the Father of the Poor).
Later he participated in the Battle of Mu’tah.
The Prophet ﷺ appointed the commanders before the army departed.
He said:
“If Zayd ibn Harithah is martyred, then Ja’far ibn Abi Talib رضي الله عنه will take command. If he is martyred, then Abdullah ibn Rawahah رضي الله عنه will take command. If he is martyred, then the Muslims may choose whoever they wish.”
While the Prophet ﷺ was sitting in Madinah, Allah informed him of what was taking place on the battlefield of Mu’tah.
When Ja’far رضي الله عنه took the banner, one of his hands was cut off.
He took the banner with the other hand, and that hand too was cut off.
He continued carrying the banner until he was finally martyred.
The Prophet ﷺ later said:
“I saw Ja’far in Paradise with wings instead of hands, flying wherever he wished.”
Because of this, he became known as Ja’far al-Tayyar (Ja’far, the one who flies).
His wife, Asma bint Umays رضي الله عنها, later married Abu Bakr as-Siddiq رضي الله عنه, and they had children together.
After Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه passed away, she married Ali ibn Abi Talib رضي الله عنه until he too was martyred.
This was Ja’far ibn Abi Talib رضي الله عنه.
Aal-e-Qutub Aal-e-Syed Abdullah Shah Ghazi 