جَابِر
Boy Arabic origin Jābir
Companion“One who mends”, who comforts and restores what is broken
Jabir ibn ʿAbd Allah al-Ansari, whose father fell at Uhud, is one of the Companions who reported the most hadiths. While the trench was being dug, he invited the Prophet ﷺ to a modest meal; the Prophet ﷺ brought all the workers along, and a thousand people ate their fill while the pot stayed full (al-Bukhari 4102). Jabir ibn Samura is another Companion who reported many hadiths.
Jabir is the active participle of jabara, “to set a bone, to mend what is broken”, and figuratively “to lift someone out of poverty, to comfort” (root j-b-r): a jabir is one who mends, consoles and restores. Arabic says jabara khatirahu, “he mended his heart”, that is, he comforted him. The same root gives al-Jabbar, one of the names of Allah, which the Quran mentions among His most beautiful names (59:23).
The name Jabir does not appear as such in the Quran, but its root (ج ب ر) occurs 10 times. Examples:
هُوَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِى لَآ إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ٱلْمَلِكُ ٱلْقُدُّوسُ ٱلسَّلَٰمُ ٱلْمُؤْمِنُ ٱلْمُهَيْمِنُ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْجَبَّارُ ٱلْمُتَكَبِّرُ سُبْحَٰنَ ٱللَّهِ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ ٢٣
He is Allāh, other than whom there is no deity, the Sovereign, the Pure, the Perfection, the Grantor of Security, the Overseer, the Exalted in Might, the Compeller, the Superior. Exalted is Allāh above whatever they associate with Him.
وَتِلْكَ عَادٌ جَحَدُوا۟ بِـَٔايَٰتِ رَبِّهِمْ وَعَصَوْا۟ رُسُلَهُۥ وَٱتَّبَعُوٓا۟ أَمْرَ كُلِّ جَبَّارٍ عَنِيدٍ ٥٩
And that was ʿAad, who rejected the signs of their Lord and disobeyed His messengers and followed the order of every obstinate tyrant.
وَٱسْتَفْتَحُوا۟ وَخَابَ كُلُّ جَبَّارٍ عَنِيدٍ ١٥
And they requested decision [i.e., victory from Allāh], and disappointed, [therefore], was every obstinate tyrant.
All the words of the root ج ب ر in the Quran (10 occurrences)
لَمَّا حُفِرَ الْخَنْدَقُ رَأَيْتُ بِالنَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم خَمَصًا شَدِيدًا، فَانْكَفَأْتُ إِلَى امْرَأَتِي فَقُلْتُ هَلْ عِنْدَكِ شَىْءٌ فَإِنِّي رَأَيْتُ بِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم خَمَصًا…
No text or scholarly opinion concerns the name Jabir in particular: the general rules of Islam apply.
Read the rules for choosing a name
This page is an aid to reflection, not a fatwa. For a personal case, ask a person of knowledge.
