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Ja‘far ibn Abī Tālib (Arabic: جعفر ابن أبي طالب / جعفر الطيار) (died 629), also known as Ja‘far at-Tayyār, was the son of Abu Talib ibn 'Abdul Muttalib (the uncle of the Islamic prophet Muhammad), and the elder brother of the fourth Sunni and first Shia caliph, Ali ibn Abi Talib. Jafar was raised by his uncle, Abbas ibn 'Abdul Muttalib, for his father was a poor man and had to support a big family. He embraced Islam in jaround 613.
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Jafar left his uncle Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib’s house when he became a young man and got married to Asma bint Umays. They were among the very first persons to embrace Islam, and as a result suffered greatly at the hands of the Quraish. The Quraish restricted their movements and freedom until they could not bear it anymore. That is why Jafar went to Muhammed and took his permission to immigrate to Ethiopia along with a small group of Sahabas.
They settled down in this new land under the protection of Negus Ashama ibn Abjar, and for the first time since they had become Muslims they knew what freedom was, and could worship God without any hindrances. However, Quraish would not let them enjoy freedom and peace for long; soon they sent Abdullah ibn Abu Rabiah and another man from Quraish in order to negotiate with Negus and get all the Muslims back to Mecca.
They took a lot of presents to the Negus, which pleased him a lot, and then told him that there is a group of wicked men moving about freely in his country and asked him to capture them before they cause any harm to his kingship as they did in Quraish. But the Negus refused to do that until he calls them and questions them regarding Quraish’s allegations. So he asked the group Muslims, among which was Jafar ibn Abu Talib, to come and meet him and the Muslims chose Jafar to be their spokesman.
The Negus asked them "what is this religion that has cut you off from your people, and made you in no need of our religion..?"
Jafar answered him saying "we were living in darkness and this religion came and commanded us to speak the truth, to honor our promises, to be kind to our relations, to cease all forbidden acts, to abstain from bloodshed. To avoid obstinacies and false witness, nor to appropriate an orphan's property or slander chaste women, Muhammed ordered us to worship Allah only and not to associate any god with Him, to uphold Salat, to give Zakat and fast in the month of Ramadan, so we believed in him and what he brought to us from Allah and we follow him in what he has asked us to do and we keep away from what he forbade us from doing."
The Negus was eager to know more about what Jafar said, and so he asked Jafar to read him a part from what Muhammed brought concerning God. Jafar recited for him the first portion of Surah Maryam, which narrates the story of Jesus and his mother Mary. On hearing the words of the Qur'an, the Negus was moved and the bishops around him began to weep. The Negus said that he will never harm them.
However the two Quraish emissaries did not stop at that, they went to the Negus again and told him that the Muslims say that Jesus is a slave, and asked him to call them and ask them what they think of Jesus.
The Negus called the Muslims and asked them, so Jafar answered him saying, "Our Prophet says that Jesus is Allah’s prophet." The Negus gave back the gifts to Amr so he and his companion left broken and frustrated.
Jafar ibn Abu Talib headed the second batch of immigrants to Abyssinia in 616. Jafar was the name of Abi Talib’s eldest son. Abi Talib was Muhammad's protective uncle who never embraced Bani Qurashs religion and helped his nephew. Jafar headed the first emigration of Muslims to Abyssinia, where they sought refuge amongst Christians of the time, following the orders of Muhammad. Upon attempts to sabotage their peaceful inhabitation in Abyssinia by the Quraysh, Jafar took a brave step in relaying the story of Maryam to the King of Abyssinia from the Qur’an, sealing trust between the Muslims and Christians during a dangerous time. Because of Jafar’s bold move, the King welcomed the Muslims into his homeland and granted them protection as long as they chose Abyssinia as their abode. Jafar and his wife Asma spent about ten years in Ethiopia, which became a second home for them. There Asma gave birth to three children whom they named Abdullah, Muhammad and Awn. In the seventh year of the Hijra, Jafar and his family left Abyssinia with a group of Muslims and headed for Medina.
Jafar ibn Abu Talib was one of the Sahabas who left Abyssinia in 614-5 for overseas preaching and later returned to Abyssinia by the same route. Jafar ibn Abu Talib accompanied Sad ibn abi Waqqas and other Sahabas in their mission to Chittagong-Manipur-Tibet-Khotan-China region. Jafar ibn Abu Talib headed the second batch of immigrants to Abyssinia in 616. Jafar was the name of Abi Talib’s eldest son. Abi Talib was Muhammad's protective uncle who always showed his loyalty towards his nephew. Jafar headed the first emigration of Muslims to Abyssinia, where they sought refuge amongst Christians of the time, following the orders of Prophet Muhammad. Upon attempts to sabotage their peaceful inhabitation in Abyssinia by the Quraysh, Jafar took a brave step in relaying the story of Maryam to the King of Abyssinia from the Qur’an, sealing trust between the Muslims and Christians during a dangerous time. Because of Jafar’s bold move, the King welcomed the Muslims into his homeland and granted them protection as long as they chose Abyssinia as their abode. Jafar and his wife Asma spent about ten years in Ethiopia, which became a second home for them. There Asma gave birth to three children whom they named Abdullah, Muhammad and Awn. In the seventh year of the Hijra, Jafar and his family left Abyssinia with a group of Muslims and headed for Madina.
The Muslims of Khotan (west of Tibet, China) trace their origin to Jafar, a cousin of Prophet Muhammad.[1] He is Jafar ibn Abu Talib.The oasis city of Khotan is located in the Xinjiang Province just six miles south of the Taklamakan Desert.[2] The Muslims of Chams (Cambodiya) also trace their origin to a father-in-law of Prophet Muhammad[3] who is Jahsh (Geys), the father of Zainab (wife of Muhammad). Chinese Muslims dedicated a mauseleum in Hami, 400 miles east of Urumqi in Xinxiang, to Jahsh's (Geys') memory that was misconstrued as Geys' tomb by later generations.[4]
On their arrival at Medina, Muhammad was returning from the Battle of Khaybar and on seeing Jafar he was very happy and said, "I don't know which event is more cheerful – Jafar's coming or the Conquest of Khaybar!"
Muslims in general and the poor among them specifically were as happy with the return of Jafar as Muhammad was. And quickly Jafar became a well known as a person who was much concerned with the welfare of the poor.
Ja'far did not stay in Medina for long. In the eighth year of the Hijra, Muhammad mobilized an army to confront Byzantine forces in the Levant(Jordan), because a Byzantine governor had treacherously killed one of his emissaries. He appointed Zayd ibn Harithah as commander of the army and gave the following instructions: "If Zayd is wounded or killed, Ja'far ibn Abu Talib would take over the command. If Jafar ibn Abu Talib is killed or wounded, then your commander would be Abdullah ibn Rawahah. If Abdullah ibn Rawahah is killed, then let the Muslims choose for themselves a commander."
Despite all the hardship they faced, the Muslim army battled the Byzantines. Zayd ibn Harithah, the beloved companion of Muhammad, was among the first Muslims who was killed in the battle. Jafar ibn Abu Talib then assumed command. Mounted on his horse, he penetrated deep into the Byzantine ranks. As he spurred his horse on, he called out: "How wonderful is Paradise as it draws near! How pleasant and cool is its drink! Punishment for the Byzantines is not far away!" Ja'far continued to fight vigorously but was eventually slain.
In the battle of Mu'tah, Ja'far at-Tayyar carried the Banner of Islam and was out-numbered by the enemies and killed. The two arms of one of Muhammad's bravest followers and his army's standard-bearer, Jafar at-Tayyar, brother of Ali, were cut off in the battle and he was martyred. When the news reached Muhammad he cried and prayed for Jafar's soul and the angel Gabriel came down and consoled Muhammad, saying "Jafar was a brave and loyal soldier. God has given him everlasting life, and in place of his arms which were cut off in the battle, the Lord has given him a pair of wings".
The news of the death of the three commanders reached Muhammad in Medina. The pain and grief he felt was intense. He went to Jafar's house and met his wife Asma. She was somehow prepared to receive her absent husband. Asma said: "When the Messenger of Allah approached us, I saw a veil of sadness shrouding his noble face and I became very apprehensive. But I did not dare ask him about Jafar for fear that I would hear some unpleasant news. He greeted and asked, 'Where are Jafar's children?' I called them for him and they came and crowded around him happily, each one wanting to claim him for himself. He leaned over and hugged them while tears flowed from his eyes.
"O Messenger of Allah," I asked, "why do you cry? Have you heard anything about Jafar and his two companions?" "Yes," he replied. "They have attained martyrdom."
The smiles and the laughter vanished from the faces of the little children when they heard their mother crying and wailing.
His tomb is located near Amman, Jordan and enclosed in an ornate shrine made of gold and silver, made by the Dawoodi Bohra's 52nd Da'i, Mohammed Burhanuddin.