“Peace be upon you, O son of the Two Wings.” (1)

Abān ibn Taghlib reported: We were informed that ʿAbd Allāh ibn Jaʿfar came to Muʿāwiyah, and he used to visit him once every year. At each visit Muʿāwiyah would grant him one million dirhams and fulfil for him one hundred requests.

It is said that a Bedouin went to Marwān, who told him, “We have nothing to give you; go instead to ʿAbd Allāh ibn Jaʿfar.” So the Bedouin approached ʿAbd Allāh and began to recite:

Abu Jaʿfar, of the Prophet’s Household sublime—
Their prayers for the Muslims are cleansing, pure.
O Abu Jaʿfar! The governor hoards his wealth,
Yet you are master of all that you hold.
O Abu Jaʿfar! Son of the martyr who soars
On two wings through the highest Gardens above.
O Abu Jaʿfar! None but you do I seek today;
Do not leave me to roam the wasteland alone.

He said, “Bedouin! The caravan’s load has already gone on; take the riding beast and everything upon it, but do not be tricked out of the sword, for I bought it for one thousand dinars.” (2)

It is also related that a poet came to ʿAbd Allāh ibn Jaʿfar and recited:

I saw Abu Jaʿfar in a dream;
He clothed me in a silk-lined coat.
I told my companion what I had seen;
He said, “It will come to you this very hour.”
The noble Jaʿfarī will robe you in it,
Whose generous hand time ever finds open.
When he commands Generosity, “Do not pass me by,”
It answers, “I hear and I obey.”

ʿAbd Allāh thereupon said to his servant, “Give him my silk cloak.” Then he added, “Woe to you! Why did you not give him my brocaded cloak? I bought it for three hundred dinars, woven with gold.”

The poet replied, “I was asleep…"