Abdullah bin Ja’far and the Karbala Uprising

Abdullah bin Ja’far bin Abi Talib was one of the prominent figures in the history of Islam and one of the close companions of the first Shi’i Imams. He had been with the Prophet and transmitted traditions from him. Abdullah enjoys a prominent position in the eyes of Shi’i and Sunni historians, and they have treated him with great respect. Many traditions have been transmitted by him and about him. Although he was one of Imam Hussein’s special and close companions and a prominent Hashemite figure, he was absent in the Karbala uprising. There are various views on his absence in that uprising, which have been studied in the present paper.