For seven years, Islam was practiced by only three people: Rasulullah SA, Maulatona Khadija SA, the first to answer his call towards Islam and Amirul Mumineen Maulana Ali SA the first among males to embrace Islam. One day, Maulana Abu Talib SA, along with his son Ja’far al-Tayyar passed by them as they were praying namaz in Makkah. He instructed his son to join Rasulullah SA. Thus, he was the third to accept Islam. Maulana Ja’far al Tayyar SA was the elder brother of Maulana Ali SA. He was preceded by two more brothers elder to him, Aqeel and Talib. Each brother was older than his sibling by ten years.
When Muslimeen complained to Rasulullah SA over the ever increasing atrocities committed on them by those who denied Islam in Makkah, he gave them permission to travel to the land of Abyssinia and seek refuge under the shelter of its Christian king, Najashi. Eighty-three people along with their families travelled, headed by Maulana Ja´far al Tayyar SA who carried with him a letter written by his father Maulana Abu Talib SA addressed to the king and informing him of the situation in Makkah Mukarramah and seeking protection for the group. Maulana Abu Talib’s SA epistle ensured that the Najashi welcomed them wholeheartedly and offered them protection with respect and hospitality.
When the mushrikeen came to know of the privileges afforded to Muslimeen in Abyssinia, they sent two of their most cunning men to instigate the king against them. They sent with them various gifts in order to bribe the king’s courtiers. In this manner the two managed to reach his court and alleged that the people who had sought his haven were actually a group of foolish renegades who not only had abandoned their own faith but also refused to convert to the king’s faith. They requested the king to send them back. The kings aides who were bribed by the two also accorded. Upon hearing their allegations the king became angry and called on the Muslimeen to offer an explanation. Maulana Ja´far al Tayyar SA spoke on behalf of all Muslimeen and informed him about the depraved way of life that people of Makkah were living before Rasulullah SA brought forth the deen of Islam and salvaged them. He then recited the opening verses from Surat Maryam, upon hearing which Najashi and the bishops present in his court wept copiously to the extent that their beards and their scrolls became wet with tears. Finally Najashi dismissed the two and expelled them. Later he embraced Islam. During Asharah Mubaraka 1435 H, Syedna Aali Qadr Mufaddal Saifuddin TUS explained that the Najaashi and those in his presence wept upon hearing these verses, since they knew that these verses narrated the events that befell Maulana Imam Husain AS.
Years later, when Maulana Ja’far al TayyarSA returned from Abyssinia to Madina Munawwarah, it coincided with the victory of Khaibar. Rasulullah’s SA joy knew no bounds and he declared, “Which of the two makes me more happy, the victory of Khaibar or the advent of Ja´far?” It was on this occasion that Rasulullah SA bestowed him with the namaaz of ‘Tasbeeh e ´Aazam.’
