He is the king in whom all hope for righteousness and piety is placed—
the peril of his onslaughts none can withstand.

Vizier of the Commander of the Faithful, his sword and his dagger (1),
when war breaks out its blades drip blood.

Whatever secrets of the caliph are folded away from every eye,
with you they find their refuge, in you their lasting home.

Whenever weighty calamities alight upon Jaʿfar, son of Yaḥyā,
even their greatest terrors cannot startle him.

Over Syria a cloud has risen from you—
its bounty is longed for, its devastation feared.

It is a lengthy ode; we have cited only this portion (2).

He was renowned for eloquence, rhetorical power, brilliance, and exceptional generosity. His father entrusted him to the judge Abū Yūsuf, under whom he studied jurisprudence, and this secured for him a special position with al-Rashīd. On one night in the caliph’s presence he issued more than a thousand signed decrees, not one of which departed from the requirements of the law.

He transmitted a ḥadīth through his father, from ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd the Scribe, from ʿAbd al-Malik b. Marwān, secretary to ʿUthmān, from Zayd b. Thābit, the recorder of revelation, who said:
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: ‘When you write bismi Allāh al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm, make the sīn clear.’”
Al-Khaṭīb and Ibn ʿAsākir report this through Abū al-Qāsim al-Kaʿbī the theologian—his name was ʿAbd Allāh b. Aḥmad al-Balkhī—who had been secretary to Muḥammad b. Zayd, from his father, from ʿAbd Allāh b. Ṭāhir b. al-Ḥusayn b. [Muṣʿab b.] Ruzayq (3), from al-Faḍl b. Sahl, “the man of the two ministries,” from Jaʿfar b. Yaḥyā, with this chain (4).

ʿAmr b. Baḥr al-Jāḥiẓ relates: Jaʿfar said to al-Rashīd, “Commander of the Faithful, my father Yaḥyā told me: ‘When the world turns toward you, give—its resources will not be exhausted; and when it turns away, still give—for it will not remain.’ He then recited to me:

Do not withhold from a world that comes to you in welcome—
Waste and extravagance can never make it less;
But should it turn its back, all the more be generous,
For only praise remains when fortune has departed.” (5)

Al-Khaṭīb (6) said: “By reason of his lofty rank, decisive authority, exalted standing, and eminent position with al-Rashīd, Jaʿfar occupied a place unmatched by anyone else. He was gracious in manner, cheerful of face, and manifestly affable.”