History of Islam


It was during this time of drought, before his call to prophethood, that Muhammad said to this uncle, Al-'Abbas: "Your brother Abu Talib, has a large family. People as you see have been afflicted by this severe drought and are facing starvation. Let us go to Abu Talib and take over responsibility for some of his family. I will take one of his sons and you can take another and we will look after them."

"What you suggest is certainly righteous and commendable," replied Al-'Abbas, and together they went to Abu Talib and said to him:

"We want to ease some of the burden of your family until such a time as this distressing period has gone."

Abu Talib agreed.

"If you allow me to keep 'Aqil (one of his sons older than 'Ali), then you may do whatever you like," he said.

It was in this way that Muhammad took 'Ali into his household and Al-'Abbas took Ja'far into his.

Ja'far had a very close resemblance to the Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam. It is said that there were five men from the Hashim clan who resembled the Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam so much, they were often mistaken for him. They were: Abu Sufyan ibn al-Harith and Qutham ibn al-'Abbas - both of whom were cousins of his; As-Sa'yb ibn 'Ubayd, the grandfather of Imam ash-Shafi'i; al-Hasan ibn 'Ali, the grandson of the Prophet, who resembled him most of all; and Ja'far ibn Abi Talib.

Ja'far stayed with his uncle, Al-'Abbas, until he was a young man. Then he married Asma' bint Umays, a sister of Maymunah who was later to become a wife of the Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam. After his marriage, Ja'far went to live on his own. He and his wife were among the first persons to accept Islam. He became a Muslim at the hands of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, may God be pleased with him.

The young Ja'far and his wife were devoted followers of Islam. They bore the harsh treatment and the persecution of the Quraysh with patience and steadfastness because they both realised the road to Paradise was strewn with thorns and paved with pain and hardship.

The Quraysh made life intolerable for them both and for their brethren in faith. They tried to obstruct them from observing of performing the duties and rites of Islam. They prevented them from tasting the full sweetness of worship undisturbed. The Quraysh waylaid them at every turn and severely restricted their freedom of movement.

Ja'far eventually went to the Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam and sought permission for himself and a small group of Sahabah, including his wife, to make hijrah to the land of Abyssinia. With great sadness, the Prophet gave his permission. It pained him that these pure and righteous souls should be forced to leave their homes and the familiar and cherished scenes and memories of their childhood and youth, not for any crime but only because they said, "Our Lord is One. Allah is our Lord."


When the Quraysh learnt of the departure of the small group of Muslims and the peaceful life they enjoyed under the protection of the Negus, they made plans to secure their extradition and their return to the great prison that was Makkah. They sent two of their most formidable men, 'Amr ibn al-'As and 'Abdullah ibn Abi Rabi'ah, to accomplish this task and loaded them with valuable and attractive presents for the Negus and his bishops.

In Abyssinia, the two Quraysh emissaries presented their gifts to the bishops and to each of them they said:


The bishops agreed.

'Amr and 'Abdullah then went to the Negus himself and presented him with gifts which he greatly admired. They said to him:


The Negus looked towards his bishops who said:

"They speak the truth, O King. Their own people know better than them and are better acquainted with what they have done. Send them back so that they themselves might judge them."

The Negus was quite angry with this suggestion and said:



In the court of the Negus, the bishops, dressed in green surplises and impressive headgear, were seated on his right and left. The Quraysh emissaries were also seated when the Muslims entered and took their seats.

The Negus turned to them and asked:


Ja'far ibn Abi Talib then advanced and made a speech that was moving and eloquent and which is still one of the most compelling descriptions of Islam, the appeal of the noble Prophet and the message and method of Islam. He said:



"He called us to worship God alone and to renounce the stones and the idols which we and our ancestors used to worship besides God.

"He commanded us to speak the truth, to honour our promises, to be kind to our relations, to be helpful to our neighbours, to cease all forbidden arts, to abstain from bloodshed, to avoid obscenities and false witness, not to appropriate an orphan's property nor slander chaste women.

"He ordered us to worship God alone and not to associate anything with Him, to uphold Prayer, to give Zakat and fast in the month of Ramadhan.

"We believed in him and what he brought to us from God and we follow him in what he has asked us to do and we keep away from what he forbade us from doing.



It was a passionate and moving speech. The Negus was greatly impressed and was eager to hear more. He asked Ja'far:


"Yes," replied Ja'far.

"Then read it to me," requested the Negus.


On hearing the words of the Qur'an, the Negus was moved to tears. To the Muslims, he said:

"The message of your Prophet and that of Jesus came from the some source ... ''

To 'Amr and his companion, he said:

"Go. For, by God, l will never surrender them to you."

That, however, was not the end of the matter. The wily 'Amr made up his mind to go to the King the following day "to mention something about the Muslims' belief which will certainly fill his heart with anger and make him detest them." On the morrow, 'Amr went to the Negus and said:

"O King, these people to whom you have given refuge and whom you protect say something terrible about Jesus the son of Mary - that he is a slave. Send for them and ask them what they say about him.''




"And what is that?" enquired the Negus.

"Our Prophet says that Jesus is the Servant of God and His Prophet, His spirit and His word which He cast into Mary the Virgin."

The Negus was obviously excited by this reply and exclaimed:



He turned to the Muslims and said:

"Go, for you are safe and secure. Whoever obstructs you will pay for it and whoever opposes you will be punished. For, by God I would rather not have a mountain of gold than that anyone of you should come to any harm."

Turning to 'Amr and his companion, he instructed his attendants:

"Retum their gifts to these two men. I have no need of them."


Ja'far and his wife Asma' spent about ten years in Abyssinia which became a second home for them. There, Asma' gave birth to three children whom they named 'Abdullah, Muhammad and 'Awn. Their second child was possibly the first child in the history to be given the name Muhammad after the noble Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace.

In the seventh year of the Hijrah, Ja'far and his family left Abyssinia with a group of Muslims and headed for Madinah. When they arrived the Prophet was just returning from the successful conquest of Khaybar. He was so overjoyed at meeting Ja'far that he said: "I do not know what fills me with more happiness, the conquest of Khaybar or the coming of Ja'far."

Muslims in general and the poor among them especially were just as happy with the return of Ja'far as the Prophet was. Ja'far quickly became known as a person who was much concerned for the welfare of the poor and indigent. For this he was nicknamed, "the Father of the Poor". Abu Hurayrah said of him:


Ja'far's stay in Madinah was not long. At the beginning of the eighth year of the Hijrah, the Prophet mobilized an army to confront Byzantine forces in Syria because one of his emissaries who had gone in peace had been treacherously killed by a Byzantine governor. He appointed Zayd ibn Harithah as commander of the army and gave the following instructions:

"If Zayd is wounded or killed, Ja'far ibn Abi Talib would take over the command. lf Ja'far 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."


When the Muslim army reached Mu'tah, a small village situated among hills in Jordan, they discovered that the Byzantines had amassed a hundred thousand men backed up by a massive number of Christian Arabs from the tribes of Lakhm, Judham, Qudah and others. The Muslim army only numbered thirty thousand.

Despite the great odds against them, the Muslim forces engaged the Byzantines in battle. Zayd ibn Harithah, the beloved companion of the Prophet, was among the first to fall. Ja'far ibn Abi Talib then assumed command. Mounted on his ruddy-complexioned 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. The third in command, 'Abdullah ibn Rawahah, also fell. Khalid ibn al-Walid, the inveterate fighter who had recently accepted Islam, was then chosen as the commander. He made a tactical withdrawal, redeployed the Muslims and renewed the attack from several directions. Eventually, the bulk of the Byzantine forces fled in disarray.

The news of the death of his three commanders reached the Prophet in Madinah. The pain and grief he felt was intense. He went to Ja'far's house and met his wife Asma'. She was getting ready to receive her absent husband. She had prepared dough and bathed and clothed the children. Asma' said:

''When the Messenger of God 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 Ja'far for fear that I would hear some unpleasant news. He greeted and asked, 'Where are Ja'far'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 God,' I asked, 'Why do you cry? Have you heard anything about Ja'far and his two companions?'

'Yes,' he replied, 'They have attained martyrdom.' "


"O Asma'," said the Prophet, "Don't say anything objectionable and don't beat your breast." He then prayed to God to protect and sustain the family of Ja'far and assured them that he had attained Paradise. The Prophet left Asma's house and went to his daughter Fatimah who was also weeping. To her, he said: "For such as Ja'far, you can (easily) cry yourself to death. Prepare food for Ja'far's family for today they are beside themselves with grief."

(s) The Companions of the Prophet