جَعْفَر
Boy Arabic origin Jaʿfar
Family of the Prophet ﷺCompanion“Stream, small river”
Jaʿfar ibn Abi Talib, the Prophet’s cousin ﷺ, led the Muslim emigrants to Abyssinia and defended Islam there before the Negus. He was martyred at Muʾta in the year 8 of the Hijra; he was called “Dhu al-Janahayn”, “the one with two wings” (al-Bukhari 3709), and Abu Hurayra said he was the best of men towards the poor (al-Bukhari 3708).
Jaʿfar is an old Arabic word meaning a small river, a stream that never runs dry; lexicographers also give it as “abundant river”. The name thus evokes living water and generosity. It is given in memory of Jaʿfar ibn Abi Talib, the Prophet’s cousin ﷺ, and of the scholar Jaʿfar al-Sadiq.
No: neither the name Jafar nor its root appears in the Quran. A name can be beautiful and permissible without coming from the Quran.
إِذَا سَلَّمَ عَلَى ابْنِ جَعْفَرٍ قَالَ السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكَ يَا ابْنَ ذِي الْجَنَاحَيْنِ.
، وَكَانَ أَخْيَرَ النَّاسِ لِلْمِسْكِينِ جَعْفَرُ بْنُ أَبِي طَالِبٍ، كَانَ يَنْقَلِبُ بِنَا فَيُطْعِمُنَا مَا كَانَ فِي بَيْتِهِ، حَتَّى إِنْ كَانَ لَيُخْرِجُ إِلَيْنَا الْعُكَّةَ الَّتِي لَيْسَ فِيهَا شَىْءٌ…
No text or scholarly opinion concerns the name Jafar 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.
