Ja'far ibn Abi Talib

c. 590 - 629 CE

Elder brother of Ali. Led the Muslim delegation to the Christian Negus of Abyssinia, who wept at his recitation of Surah Maryam and refused to hand the refugees over. At Mu'tah he took the banner after Zayd fell. Both arms were cut off. He held the banner with his chest until he was cut down.

Life

Ja'far ibn Abi Talib was the elder brother of Ali ibn Abi Talib and a cousin of the Prophet ﷺ. He accepted Islam in its earliest days. When the persecution in Mecca became intolerable, he led the Muslim emigration to Abyssinia in the fifth year of the mission.

There, before the Christian Negus (Najashi), he spoke on behalf of the refugees. The Quraysh had sent an embassy demanding their extradition. Ja'far stood in the Negus's court and delivered one of the most preserved speeches of early Islamic history, a description of the pre-Islamic condition of the Arabs, of what the Prophet ﷺ had taught them, and of the mercy and justice of Islam. He recited the opening of Surah Maryam. The Negus wept until his beard was wet, and refused to hand the refugees over.

Ja'far returned to Medina in 7 AH just as Khaybar was being taken. The Prophet ﷺ said: "I do not know which pleases me more today: the return of Ja'far or the conquest of Khaybar."

In 8 AH he was sent north with the army to Mu'tah. When Zayd ibn Harithah, the commanding officer, fell, Ja'far took the banner. He fought on foot to eliminate any thought of retreat. His right arm was cut off. He held the banner with his left. His left arm was cut off. He held the banner cradled against his chest until he was cut down. His body was found with more than seventy wounds, every one on the front.

The Prophet ﷺ said: "Allah has replaced his two arms with two wings in Paradise. He flies with them wherever he wishes." He is remembered by that epithet, Ja'far al-Tayyar, Ja'far the Flying, ever since.

Stories

Each story below is drawn from the classical Islamic historical sources.