Muḥammad b. Jāʿfar b. Aḥmad b. Jāʿfar b. Ḥasan b. Wahb Abū Bakr al-Jarīrī. He is famously known by the name Zawj al-Ḥurrah (the spouse called al-Ḥurrah). He heard ḥadīth from Ibn Jarīr, al-Bāghawī, Ibn Abī Dāwūd, and others. Ibn Rizqawayh, Ibn Shāhin, and al-Barkānī also heard ḥadīth from him and transmitted them. He was among the just, highly esteemed, ṣīqah (reliable) and trustworthy narrators.
According to the reports of Ibn al-Jawzī and al-Ḥāṭib al-Baghdādī, the reason Muḥammad b. Jāʿfar was given the name Zawj al-Ḥurrah is as follows: Muḥammad b. Jāʿfar used to go to the kitchen where his father worked, which belonged to the wife of al-Muqtaḍir Billāh, and he worked there. When al-Muqtaḍir Billāh passed away, his wife was spared from monetary penalties and other punishments. She lived comfortably and had a great fortune.
Muḥammad b. Jāʿfar was young and handsome. He would take some kitchen utensils, place them on his head, and go to work in the kitchen together with the other servants. He was lively and possessed striking beauty. He made an agreement with Kahramānah, who eventually promoted him to kitchen clerk. Then he was appointed as the agent over the lady’s estates. He supervised the farms and managed the goods. Then the lady began to speak with him behind the curtain. Her heart was drawn to him. She loved him and became enamored. She wanted to marry him. But Muḥammad b. Jāʿfar did not consider himself equal to her; he saw himself of lower status. He feared the bad consequences of this. However, the lady encouraged him. She gave him a large sum of money so that he could hire and employ servants and attendants to become a suitable spouse worthy of marrying her. After that, she gave gifts to judges and prominent people to raise his status in their eyes and to make him a suitable match for marriage. Then she decided to marry him. She declared her consent to marry him in the presence of the judges. However, the lady’s guardians objected to this. The lady won their hearts by giving them gifts and made them consent to this matter. Finally, Muḥammad b. Jāʿfar consummated the marriage with her. They lived a married life for a long time. But she died before Muḥammad.
Muḥammad b. Jāʿfar inherited about 300,000 dinars from her. After his wife’s death, he lived for a long time. Finally, he passed away in this year. Allah knows best.