Jafar ibn Abi Talib In spite of his noble standing among the Quraysh, Abu Talib, an uncle of the

Prophet, was quite poor. He had a large family and did not ha e enough means to support them adequately. His po erty!stric"en situation became much worse when a se ere drought hit the Arabian peninsula. The drought destroyed egetation and li estoc" and, it is said, people were dri en to eat bones in the struggle for sur i al. It was during this time of drought, before his call to prophethood, that #uhammad said to his uncle, al Abbas$ %&our brother, Abu Talib, has a large family. People as you see ha e been afflicted by this se ere drought and are facing star ation. 'et us go to Abu Talib and ta"e o er responsibility for some of his family. It will ta"e one of his sons and you can ta"en another and we will loo" after them.% %(hat you suggest is certainly righteous and commendable,% replied al!Abbas, and together they went to Abu Talib and said to him$ %(e want to ease some of the burden of your family until such time as this distressing period has gone.% Abu Talib agreed. %If you allow me to "eep Aqeel )one of his sons older than Ali*, then you may do whate er you li"e ,% he said. It was in this way that #uhammad too" Ali into his household and al!Abbas too" Jafar into his. Jafar had a ery close resemblance to the Prophet. It is said there were fi e men from the Hashim clan who resembled the Prophet so much, they were often mista"en for him. They were$ Abu +ufyan ibn al!Harith and Qutham ibn al!Abbas both of whom were cousins of his. As!+aib ibn ,bayd, the grandfather of Imam ash +hafi$ al! Hasan ibn Ali, the grandson of the Prophet, who resembled him most of all- and Jafar ibn Abi Talib. Jafar stayed with his uncle, al!Abbas, until he was a young man. Then he married Asma bint ,mays, a sister of #aymunah who was later to become a wife of the Prophet. After his marriage, Jafar went to li e on his own. He and his wife were among the first persons to accept Islam. He became a #uslim at the hands of Abu .a"r as!+iddiq, may /od be pleased with him. The young Jafar and his wife were de oted followers of Islam. They bore the harsh treatment and the persecution of the Quraysh with patience and steadfastness because they both reali0ed that the road to Paradise was strewn with. thorns and pa ed with pain and hardship. The Quraysh made life intolerable for them both and for their brethren in faith. They tried to obstruct them from obser ing or performing the duties and rites of Islam. They pre ented them from tasting the full sweetness of worship undisturbed. The Quraysh waylaid them at e ery turn and se erely restricted their freedom of mo ement. Jafar e entually went to the Prophet, peace be upon him, and sought permission for himself and a small group of the +ahabah, including his wife, to ma"e hi1rah to the land of Abyssinia. (ith great sadness, the Prophet ga e his permission. It pained him that these pure and righteous souls should be forced to lea e their homes and the familiar and cherished scenes and memories of their childhood and youth, not for any crime but only because they said, %2ur 'ord is 2ne. Allah is our 'ord.% The group of #uha1irin left #a""ah bound for the land of Abyssinia. 'eading them was Jafar ibn Abi Talib. +oon they settled down in this new land under the care and protection of the 3egus, the 1ust and righteous ruler of Abyssinia. 4or the first time since they became #uslims, they sa oured the taste of freedom and security and en1oyed the sweetness of worship undisturbed. (hen the Quraysh learnt of the departure of the small group of #uslims and the peaceful life they en1oyed under the protection of the 3egus, they made plans to secure their e5tradition and their return to the great prison that was #a""ah. They sent two of their most formidable men, Amr ibn al!Aas and Abdullah ibn Abi 6abiah, to accomplish this tas" and loaded them with aluable and much sought after presents for the 3egus and his bishops.

In Abyssinia, the two Quraysh emissaries first presented their girls to the bishops and to each of them they said$ %There are some wic"ed young people mo ing about freely in the 7ing8s land. They ha e attac"ed the religion of their forefathers and caused disunity among their people. (hen we spea" to the 7ing about them, ad ise him to surrender them to us without his as"ing them about their religion. The respected leaders of their own people are more aware of them and "now better what they belie e.% The bishops agreed. Amr and Abdullah then went to the 3egus himself and presented him with gifts which he greatly admired. They said to him$ %2 7ing, there is a group of e il persons from among our youth who ha e escaped to your "ingdom. They practice a religion which neither we nor you "now. They ha e forsa"en our religion and ha e not entered into your religion. The respected leaders of their people ! from among their own parents and uncles. and from their own clans ! ha e sent us to you to request you to return them. They "now best what trouble they ha e caused.% The 3egus loo"ed towards his bishops who said$ %They spea" the truth, 2 7ing. Their own people "now them better and are better acquainted with what they ha e done. +end them bac" so that they themsel es might 1udge them.% The 3egus was quite angry with this suggestion and said$ %3o. .y /od, I won8t surrender them to anyone until I myself call them and question them about what they ha e been accused. If what these two men ha e said is true, then I will hand them o er to you. If howe er it is not so, then I shall protect them so long as they desire to remain under my protection.% The 3egus then summoned the #uslims to meet him. .efore going, they consulted with one another as a group and agreed that Jafar ibn Abi Talib and no one else should spea" on their behalf. In the court of the 3egus, the bishops, dressed in green surplises and impressi e headgear, were seated on his right and on his left. The Qurayshite emissaries were also seated when the #uslims entered and too" their seats. The 3egus turned to them and as"ed$ %(hat is this religion which you ha e introduced for yourself and which has ser ed to cut you off from the religion of your people9 &ou also did not enter my religion nor the religion of any other community.% Jafar ibn Abi Talib then ad anced and made a speech that was mo ing and eloquent and which is still one of the most compelling descriptions of Islam. the appeal of the noble Prophet and the condition of #a""an society at the time. He said$ %2 7ing, we were a people in a state of ignorance and immorality, worshipping idols and eating the flesh of dead animals, committing all sorts of abomination and shameful deeds. brea"ing the ties of "inship, treating guests badly and the strong among us e5ploited the wea". %(e remained in this state until Allah sent us a Prophet, one of our own people whose lineage, truthfulness, trustworthiness and integrity were well!"nown to us. %He called us to worship Allah alone and to renounce the stones and the idols which we and our ancestors used to worship besides Allah. %He commanded us to spea" the truth, to honor our promises, to be "ind to our relations, to be helpful to our neighbors, to cease all forbidden acts, to abstain from bloodshed. to a oid obscenities and false witness, not to appropriate an orphan8s property nor slander chaste women. %He ordered us to worship Allah alone and not to associate anything with him, to uphold +alat, to gi e :a"at and fast in the month of 6amadan. %(e belie ed in him and what he brought to us from Allah and we follow him in what he has as"ed us to do and we "eep away from what he forbade us from doing. %Thereupon, 2 7ing, our people attac"ed us, isited the se erest punishment on us to ma"e us renounce

our religion and ta"e us bac" to the old immorality and the worship of idols. %They oppressed us, made life intolerable for us and obstructed us from obser ing our religion. +o we left for your country, choosing you before anyone else, desiring your protection and hoping to li e in Justice and in peace m your midst.% The 3egus was impressed and was eager to hear more. He as"ed Jafar$ %;o you ha e with you something of what your Prophet brought concerning /od9% %&es,% replied Jafar. %Then read it to me,% requested the 3egus. Jafar, in his rich, melodious oice recited for him the first portion of +urah #aryam which deals with the story of Jesus and his mother #ary. 2n hearing the words of the Quran, the 3egus was mo ed to tears. To the #uslims, he said$ %The message of your Prophet and that of Jesus came from the same source...% To Amr and his companion, he said$% /o. 4or, by /od, I will ne er surrender them to you.% That, howe er, was not the end of the matter. The wily Amr made up his mind to go to the 7ing the following day %to mention something about the #uslims belief which will certainly fill his heart with anger and ma"e him detest them% 2n the morrow, Amr went to the 3egus and said$ %2 7ing. these people to whom you ha e gi en refuge and whom you protect say something terrible about Jesus the son of #ary )that he is a sla e*. +end for them and as" them what they say about him.% The 3egus summoned the #uslims once more and Jafar acted as their spo"esman. The 3egus put the question$ %(hat do you say about Jesus, the son of #ary9% %6egarding him, we only say what has been re ealed to our Prophet ,% replied Jaffar. %And what is that9% enquired the 3egus. %2ur Prophet says that Jesus is the ser ant of /od and His Prophet. His spirit and His word which He cast into #ary the <irgin.% The 3egus was ob iously e5cited by this reply and e5claimed$ %.y /od, Jesus the son of #ary was e5actly as your Prophet has described him% The bishops around the 3egus grunted in disgust at what they had heard and were reprimanded by the 3egus. He turned to the #uslims and said$ %/o, for you are safe and secure. (hoe er obstructs you will pay for it and whoe er opposes you will be punished. 4or, by /od, I would rather not ha e a mountain of gold than that anyone of you should come to any harm.% Turning to Amr and his companion, he instructed his attendants$ %6eturn their gifts to these two men. I ha e no need of them.% Amr and his companion left bro"en and frustrated. The #uslims stayed on in the land of the 3egus who pro ed to be most generous and "ind to his guests. Jafar and his wife Asma spent about ten years in Abyssinia which became a second home for them. There, Asma ga e birth to three children whom they named Abdullah, #uhammad and Awn. Their second child was possibly the first child in the history of the #uslim ,mmah to be gi en the name #uhammad after the noble Prophet, may /od bless him and grant him peace. In the se enth year of the hi1rah, Jafar and his family left Abyssinia with a group of #uslims and headed for #adinah. (hen they arri ed the Prophet was 1ust returning from the successful conquest of 7haybar. He was so o er1oyed at meeting Jafar that he said$ %I do not "now what fills me with more happiness, the conquest of 7haybar or the coming of Jafar.%

#uslims in general and the poor among them especially were 1ust as happy with the return of Jafar as the Prophet was. Jafar quic"ly became "nown as a person who was much concerned for the welfare of the poor and indigent. 4or this he was nic"named, the %4ather of the Poor%. Abu Hurayrah said of him$ %The best of men towards us indigent fol" was Jafar ibn Abi Talib. He would pass by us on his way home and gi e us whate er food he had. = en if his own food had run out, he would send us a pot in which he had placed some butterfat and nothing more. (e would open it and lic" it clean...% Jafar8s stay in #adinah was not long. At the beginning of the eighth year of the hi1rah, the Prophet mobili0ed an army to confront .y0antine forces in +yria because one of his emissaries who had gone in peace had been treacherously "illed by a .y0antine go ernor. He appointed :ayd ibn Harithah as commander of the army and ga e the following instructions$ %If :ayd is wounded or "illed, Jafar ibn Abi Talib would ta"e o er the command. If Jafar is "illed or wounded, then your commander would be Abdullah ibn 6awahah. If Abdullah ibn 6awahah is "illed, then let the #uslims choose for themsel es a commander.% The Prophet had ne er gi en such instructions to an army before and the #uslims too" this as an indication that he e5pected the battle to be tough and that they would e en suffer ma1or losses. (hen the #uslim army reached #utah, a small illage situated among hills in Jordan, they disco ered that the .y0antines had amassed a hundred thousand men bac"ed up by a massi e number of >hristian Arabs from the tribes of 'a"hm, Judham, Qudaah and others. The #uslim army only numbered three thousand. ;espite the great odds against them, the #uslim forces engaged the .y0antines in battle. :ayd ibn al! Harithah, the belo ed companion of the Prophet, was among the first to fall. Jafar ibn Abi Talib then assumed command. #ounted on his ruddy!comple5ioned horse, he penetrated deep into the .y0antine ran"s. As he spurred his horse on, he called out$ %How wonderful is Paradise as it draws near? How pleasant and cool is its drin"? Punishment for the .y0antines is not far away?% Jafar continued to fight igorously but was e entually slain. The third in command, Abdullah ibn 6awahah, also fell. 7halid ibn al!(alid, the in eterate fighter who had recently accepted Islam, was then chosen as the commander. He made a tactical withdrawal, redeployed the #uslims and renewed the attac" from se eral directions. = entually, the bul" of the .y0antine forces fled in disarray. The news of the death of his three commanders reached the Prophet in #adinah. The pain and grief he felt was intense. He went to Jafar8s house and met his wife Asma. +he was getting ready to recei e her absent husband. +he had prepared dough and bathed and clothed the children. Asma said$ %(hen the #essenger of /od approached us, I saw a eil of sadness shrouding his noble face and I became ery apprehensi e. .ut I did not dare as" him about Jafar for fear that I would hear some unpleasant news. He greeted and as"ed, 8(here are Jaffar8s children98 I called them for him and they came and crowded around him happily, each one wanting to claim him for himself. He leaned o er and hugged them while tears flowed from his eyes. 82 #essenger of /od,8 I as"ed, 8why do you cry9 Ha e you heard anything about Jafar and his two companions98 8&es,8 he replied. 8They ha e attained martyrdom.8 The smiles and the laughter anished from the faces of the little children when they heard their mother crying and wailing. (omen came and gathered around Asma. %2 Asma,% said the Prophet, %don8t say anything ob1ectionable and don8t beat your breast.% He then prayed to /od to protect and sustain the family of Jafar and assured them that he had attained Paradise. The Prophet left Asma8s house and went to his daughter 4atimah who was also weeping. To her, he said$ %4or such as Jafar, you can )easily* cry yourself to death. Prepare food for Jafar8s family for today they are beside themsel es with grief.%

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