Ja'far
ibn Abi Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib al-Hashimi al-Qurashi, famously known as
Ja'far al-Tayyar (Ja'far the Flyer) and Dhu al-Janahayn (the One with Two
Wings), was the cousin of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon
him) and the full brother of Ali ibn Abi Talib. He was ten years older than
Ali. His mother was Fatimah bint Asad ibn Hashim ibn Abd Manaf al-Hashimiyyah
al-Qurashiyyah. She embraced Islam, emigrated to Medina, and died there. His
wife was Asma' bint Umays, who bore him three sons in Abyssinia: Abdullah, Awn,
and Muhammad. Abdullah was born in 1 AH in Abyssinia, the first child born in
Islam there. Muhammad was born in 2 AH and was martyred at the Battle of Siffin
in 37 AH. Awn was born in 3 AH and was martyred at the Battle of Karbala.
Ja'far ibn Abi Talib embraced Islam before the Prophet Muhammad entered Dar
al-Arqam and began preaching there. He converted shortly after his brother Ali,
and was among the first to accept Islam, following twenty-five men, or,
according to another account, thirty-one, making him the thirty-second. He
emigrated with a group of Muslims to Abyssinia, where they stayed with its
king, the Negus. Ja'far migrated to Medina on the day of the conquest of
Khaybar, thus having made two migrations: one to Abyssinia and one to Medina.
The Prophet established a bond of brotherhood between him and Mu'adh ibn Jabal
al-Khazraji al-Ansari. Ja'far ibn Abi Talib participated in the Battle of Mu'tah,
which took place in Jumada al-Ula of the eighth year of the Hijra, between the
Muslims and the Romans. The Prophet Muhammad appointed him commander of the
Muslim army in case their first commander, Zayd ibn Haritha, was killed. He
said, "If Zayd is killed, then Ja'far ibn Abi Talib will be in command. If
Ja'far is killed, then Abdullah ibn Rawaha will be in command." The people
prepared themselves and made ready to depart. They numbered three thousand.
When the time came for their departure, the people bid farewell to the
Prophet's commanders and greeted them.
Then
they proceeded until they reached Ma'an in the land of Syria. News reached the
people that Heraclius had encamped at Ma'ab in the land of Balqa' with one
hundred thousand Romans, and that he had been joined by one hundred thousand
men from the tribes of Lakhm, Judham, Qayn, Bahra', and Bali. When this reached
the Muslims, they stayed at Ma’an for two nights, thinking about their
situation. They said: “Let us write to the Messenger of God, may God bless him
and grant him peace, and inform him of the number of our enemy. He will either
send us men, or he will give us his order, and we will go to him.” Abdullah ibn
Rawahah encouraged the people, saying, “O people, by God, what you dislike is
precisely what you came out seeking: martyrdom. We do not fight people because
of numbers, strength, or abundance; we fight them only because of this religion
with which God has honored us. So go forth, for it is one of two good outcomes:
either victory or martyrdom.” The people said, “By God, Ibn Rawahah has spoken
the truth,” and they went forth.
The
Muslims continued until they reached the borders of Balqa, where they
encountered the armies of Heraclius, comprised of Romans and Arabs, at a
village in Balqa called Masharif. The enemy drew near, and the Muslims withdrew
to a village called Mu'tah. The two armies met there, and the Muslims prepared
for battle. They placed a man from the Banu Udhrah tribe named Qutbah ibn
Qatada on their right flank and a man from the Ansar named Ubayyah ibn Malik
(or Ubadah ibn Malik) on their left flank. Then the people met and fought. Zayd
ibn Haritha fought with the Prophet's banner until he was pierced by the
enemy's spears, meaning his blood flowed and he died.
Then
Ja'far took the banner and fought with it. When the fighting became intense, he
dismounted from his chestnut horse (i.e., threw himself off), hamstrung it, and
then fought until he was killed. Ja'far was the first Muslim to hamstring an
animal in Islam. Hamstringing it means striking its legs with a sword while it
was standing, for fear that the enemy would seize it and use it to fight the
Muslims. As-Suhayli said: No one criticized him for this, which indicates its
permissibility if there is fear that the enemy will seize it and use it to
fight the Muslims. This does not fall under the prohibition against torturing
or killing animals needlessly. It is narrated that Ja'far ibn Abi Talib took
the banner in his right hand, which was then cut off. He then took it in his
left hand, which was also cut off. He then embraced it with his arms until he
was killed at the age of thirty-three, or so it is said. It is also said that
he was forty-one years old, and other accounts exist. Muslims believe that God
Almighty rewarded him for this with two wings in Paradise, with which he flies
wherever he wills. The Prophet Muhammad said: "I saw Ja'far ibn Abi Talib
as an angel flying in Paradise with the angels, with two wings." (Narrated
by Abu Hurayrah; Source: Al-Jami' al-Saghir; Hadith classification: Sahih by
Al-Suyuti). It was narrated that Ibn Umar told him: “I stood over Ja`far that
day, and he was slain. I counted fifty wounds on him, between stabs and blows,
none of which were on his back.” (Narrator: Nafi`, the freed slave of Ibn Umar;
Source: Sahih al-Bukhari; Summary of the Hadith scholar’s ruling
(al-Bukhari): Authentic).
Ja'far
ibn Abi Talib died in the Battle of Mu'tah in the eighth year of the Hijra and
was buried in Jordan, in the town of Al-Mazar Al-Janoubi. His shrine is located
within the administrative district of Mu'tah and Al-Mazar in Jordan, about 10
kilometers south of the city of Karak, and one kilometer east of the main road
leading to Al-Mazar, within the grounds of the Great Mosque of Ja'far ibn Abi
Talib. The site dates back to the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods, when the shrine
and dome were built. Later, the Ottomans took an interest in the shrine,
building domes and covering the tombs with marble tiles.
After
Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib was killed in the Battle of Uhud. It was narrated by
Ali ibn Abi Talib that Hamza's daughter followed them, calling out: "O
uncle, O uncle!" So Ali took her by the hand and said to Fatima:
"Here is your cousin, so take her." Then Ali, Zayd, and Ja'far disputed
over her. Ali said: "I took her, and she is my cousin." Ja'far said:
"She is my cousin, and her aunt is under my care." Zayd said:
"She is my brother's daughter." The Messenger of God, may God bless
him and grant him peace, ruled in favor of her maternal aunt, and said: The
maternal aunt is like the mother. Then he said to Ali: You are from me, and I
am from you. And he said to Ja’far: You resemble me in appearance and
character. And he said to Zayd: You are our brother and our master. Then Ali,
may God be pleased with him, said to him: O Messenger of God, will you not
marry the daughter of Hamza? He said: “She is my foster niece.” (Source:
Takhrij al-Musnad by Shakir; Summary of the hadith scholar’s ruling (Ahmad
Shakir): Its chain of narration is authentic).
Ja’far
ibn Abi Talib loved the poor, treated them kindly, and served them, to the
point that he was called the Father of the Poor. Abu Hurayrah narrated: “I used
to stay close to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to satisfy my
hunger, when I neither ate leavened bread nor wore silk, and no one served me.
I would press my stomach against the pebbles and ask a man to recite a verse,
even though I knew it, so that he would take me home and feed me.” The best of
people to the poor was Ja`far ibn Abi Talib. He would take us home and feed us
whatever he had in his house, even if he brought out an empty container, we
would tear it out and lick what was in it. (Source: Sahih al-Bukhari; Summary
of the Hadith scholar's ruling (al-Bukhari): Its chain of narration is
authentic).
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