Al-Bukhārī (1) relates—through Ibn ʿUmar—that whenever he greeted ʿAbd Allāh ibn Jaʿfar he would say, “Peace be upon you, son of the one with two wings.” Some transmit this wording from ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb himself, yet the sound report is the one found in the Ṣaḥīḥ via Ibn ʿUmar. They explained that Allah, exalted is He, compensated him for his severed hands with two wings in Paradise; part of what has been narrated on this matter has already been cited.

Al-Ḥāfiẓ Abū ʿĪsā al-Tirmidhī (2) recorded: ʿAlī ibn Ḥujr narrated to us, ʿAbd Allāh ibn Jaʿfar narrated to us, from al-ʿAlāʾ ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, from his father, from Abū Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ declared, “I saw Jaʿfar flying in Paradise with the angels.”

It has been mentioned earlier that he ﷺ was martyred at the age of thirty-three. Ibn al-Athīr states in al-Ghābah (3) that he was forty-one when slain, and notes that other opinions also exist.

I say: On the view that he was ten years older than ʿAlī, his age at death would be thirty-nine. For ʿAlī embraced Islam, according to the well-known report, when he was eight; he then remained in Mecca thirteen years, migrated at twenty-one, and the Battle of Muʾtah occurred in the eighth year after the Hijrah. Allah knows best.

After his martyrdom Jaʿfar was called al-Ṭayyār, “the Flyer,” for the reason stated above. Owing to his generosity he was also known as Abū al-Masākīn—the Father of the Poor—because of the kindness he showed them.

Imām Aḥmad (4) reports: ʿAffān narrated to us; Wuhaib narrated to us; Khālid narrated to us, from ʿIkrimah, from Abū Hurayrah, who said: “No one has worn sandals, mounted riding beasts, or put on clothes—after the Messenger of Allah ﷺ—better than Jaʿfar ibn Abī Ṭālib.” This chain to Abū Hurayrah is sound. It appears, however, that he was praising Jaʿfar specifically for his generosity. As for overall religious merit, it is well-known that al-Ṣiddīq, al-Fārūq, and even ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān are superior to him. Regarding his brother ʿAlī, the most evident view is that the two are equal, or that ʿAlī is superior.

Abū Hurayrah wished to extol Jaʿfar’s generosity, as is made clear by the ḥadīth transmitted by al-Bukhārī (5): Aḥmad ibn Abī Bakr narrated to us; Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm ibn Dīnār Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Juhanī narrated to us; from Ibn Abī Dhīb; from Saʿīd al-Maqburī; from Abū Hurayrah that