Ja'far b. Ali

Ja'far b. Ali
Native name	جعفر بن علی بن أبی طالب
Full Name	Ja'far b. Ali
Companion of	Imam al-Hussain
Wellknown Relatives	Imam Ali, Umm al-Banin (mother), Abbas b. Ali (brother)
Place(s) of Residence	Medina
Death/Martyrdom	61/680
Cause of Death/Martyrdom	Martyrdom in the Battle of Karbala
Burial Place	Holy Shrine of Imam Hussain, Karbala, Iraq
Activities	Participating in the Battle of Karbala

Jaʿfar b. Ali b. Abi Talib was a son of Imam Ali and Umm al-Banin. He and his brothers Abbas, Abd Allah, and Uthman accompanied Imam Hussain in his journey from Mecca to Kufa and were finally martyred at the Battle of Karbala.

Lineage

His mother, the daughter of Hizam b. Khalid b. Rabi’a from the Arab tribe of Banu Kilab, was the mother of three more sons of Ali b. Abi Talib, and for this reason she became known as Umm al-Banin. Imam Ali named him Ja'far due to the great love he had for his brother Ja'far b. Abi Talib.

According to some sources, Ja'far was 19 years old when he was martyred and thus was born after the martyrdom of his father. O thers state thathe was 21 years old so he was born two years before the martyrdom of Imam Ali.

Before Ashura

As Shimr b. Dhi l-Jawshan was from the same tribe as Umm al-Banin, in the evening of Tasu'a he came close to the camp of Imam al-Hussain and addressed 'Abbas and his brothers as nieces and wanted them to abandon Imam al-Hussain in return for a safe-conduct from Ubayd Allah b. Ziyad, but they refused and remained with Imam al-Hussain.

In the Battle of Karbala

Since the beginning of the movement of Imam Hussain from Medina, Ja'far accompanied him. According to the report of historians, in the evening of the Day of Ashura, Abbas encouraged his brothers Abd Allah, Ja'far, and Uthman to go to the battlefield before him and said, "Proceed, so that I see your sincerity and benevolence on the way of God and His Prophet, since you do not have any children."

So, Ja'far went to the battlefield and fought bravely. Finally, Khawli b. Yazid al-Asbahi threw an arrow at him which hit his temple or his eye and according to another report, Hani b. Thubayt al-Hadrami martyred him. Abul Faraj quotes Imam Mohammad al-Baqir saying, “Khawli Asbahi killed him”. Ibn Shahr Ashob says that Khawli Asbahi shot an arrow that pierced his temple or his eye.

Ja'far b. Ali was mentioned in Ziarat al-Shuhada among martyrs of Karbala.

Source

• WikiShia, An online encyclopedia of the school of Ahl al-Bayt
• Shaykh Abbas Qummi , Nafasul Mahmum; Relating to the heart rending tragedy of Karbala