Abu Dharr al-Ghifari
Encyclopedia
Jundub ibn Junādah ibn Sakan , better known as Abū Dharr al-Ghifārī was an early convert to Islam
. When he converted, Muhammad
gave him a new name, Abdullah. He belonged to the Banu Ghifar, the Ghifar tribe. No date of birth is known. He died in 652 CE, at al-Rabadha
, in the desert near Medina
.
Abu Dharr is remembered for his strict piety and also his opposition to the caliph
Uthman ibn Affan. He is venerated by Shia Muslims as one of The Four Companions
, early Muslim
s who were followers (Shi'a) of Ali
(Ali ibn Abi Talib).
He was one of the Muhajirun
. He was regarded by many, including Ali Shariati
, as the first Islamic socialist
, or the first socialist altogether, and was first referred to as such by Ahmad Reda
in 1910. He is credited with bringing Shi'ite Islam to Jabal Amel
.
. Abu Dharr is said to have been a serious young man, an ascetic
and a monotheist
even before he converted. He was also of lowly birth, since his tribe, the Ghifar, was small and poor. The Ghifar were a branch of the Banu Kinanah
, found to the western south of Mecca
and Medina. Abu Dharr was apparently typical of the early converts to Islam, described by Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri
as "young men and weak people".
Popular accounts of Abu Dharr say that his tribe lived by pillaging caravans
, but that he preferred to live a poor but honest life as a shepherd. Having heard the supposition that a new prophet had arisen in Mecca, Abu Dharr and his brother travelled to Mecca to find the claimed prophet
. The young seeker converted instantly and rushed out to declare his new faith in front of the Kaaba
, which at that time was a pagan
temple. He was beaten for his presumption. He did this three days in a row, after which the Prophet Muhammed told him to return to his tribe, where he taught his people about Islam. He and his tribe then joined Muhammad after the Hijra
, or migration to Medina in 622 CE.
This seems to be a simplified account of stories reported in these hadith
s, , and .
According to the early Islamic historian Tabari
, Abu Dharr claimed to have been the fourth or fifth convert to Islam. However, several other early Muslims made the same claim. While the exact order of conversion may never be established, no one doubts that he was an early convert.
and prominent historians of both Shi`ah and Sunni
have confirmed this.
According to the historian Wilferd Madelung
, Abu Dharr fell into disfavor during the caliphate
of Uthman Ibn Affan. Uthman was appointing his relatives as governors and giving them money from the public treasury. Abu Dharr felt that this was a betrayal of the principles of Islam.
Abu Dharr had begun his agitation in Medina after Uthman had given 500,000 dirhams to Marwan I
, 300,000 to al-Harith b. al-Hakam, and 100,000 to the Medinan Zayd ibn Thabit
from the khums
of the booty seized in Ifriquiya in 27/647. He then quoted relevant Qur'an
ic passages threatening the horders (sic) of riches with hell-fire. Marwan complained to Uthman, who sent his servant Natil to warn Abu Dharr, but to no avail. Uthman displayed patience for some time until, in the presence of the caliph, Abu Dharr launched an angry verbal attack on Ka'ab al-Ahbar
, who had backed Uthman's free use of public money. Uthman now chided Abu Dharr and sent him to Damascus
.
There is a tradition that Muhammad predicted this sad end, saying, "May Allah
have mercy upon Abu Dharr! Lonely will he live, lonely will he die and lonely will he be resurrected".
, with everything he had to give.
After the death of Muhammad, he left for the Syria
n desert and stayed there during the caliphate of Abu Bakr
and Umar
.
During the caliphate of Uthman, he stayed in Damascus and witnessed Muslims deviating from Islam, going after worldly pleasures and desires.
He was saddened and repelled by this. So Uthman invited him to come to Madinah. where he was also hurt by people's pursuit of worldly goods and pleasures.
Al-Rabathah
Uthman therefore ordered that he should go to Al-Rabathah, a small village near Madinah. Abu Dharr stayed there away from people, holding on to the traditions (sunnah
) of Muhammad and his companions.
A man visited him once and when he found his house almost bare, he asked Abu Dharr: "Where are your possessions?"
Abu Dharr said: "We have a house yonder (meaning the Hereafter), to which we send the best of our possessions."
The man understood what Abu Dharr meant and said: "But you must have some possessions so long as you are in this abode."
"The owner of this abode will not leave us in it," replied Abu Dharr.
Also, when the Prince (Amir) of Syria sent Abu Dharr three hundred diners to meet his needs, he returned the money saying, "Does not the Amir find a servant more deserving of it than I?"
Abu Dharr continued in his simple life, and dedicated himself to Allah only until he died, in 32 A.H.
Abu Dharr was exiled first to Syria, so that he would be under the eyes of Muawiya. In Sham(Lebanon and Syria), Abu Dharr started spreading the Shiaa belief, where it's still found till now mainly in South Lebanon where he had residency there. And he was fighting Muwaiya. Muwaiya sent to Uthman that we are not able to take him anymore, we'll send him back to you. Uthman ordered that he would be returned to Madina on a horse with no saddle to sit on. Later in Madina, Uthman faced the same problem like that of Muwayia's, so he exiled him to Rabada where he died from famine.
The Muslims were afraid of the Caliph's power. So, only a few companions saw him off. They were Ali bin Abu Talib, his brother Aqeel, al-Hasan and al-Husain (Muhammad's grandsons), and the great companion Ammar bin Yasir.
Imam Ali advanced to see him off. He said:
Abu Dhar, you've become very angry for Allah. The people are worried about their religion, and you are worried about your religion. So, leave what they are worried about in your hands and escape from them with what you're worried about. They're in need of what you've prevented them from. And you're in no need of what they've prevented you from. Tomorrow you'll know who will be the winner. Abu Dhar, nothing amuses you but the truth and nothing annoys you but the untruth.
Aqeel advanced and said:
You know we like you, and you like us. Fear Allah because the fear of Allah is salvation. And be patient because patience is generosity.
The Prophet's grandson, al-Hasan bin Ali advanced and said:
Uncle, be patient till you meet your Prophet [s]. He will be pleased with you.
Al-Husain advanced and said:
Uncle, ask Allah to grant you patience and victory.
While Ammar bin Yasir was in tears, he advanced and said:
May not Allah amuse those who annoy you. And He may not make safe those who have dismayed you. By Allah! If you want their world, they'll make you safe. And if you're pleased with their actions, they'll love you.
Abu Dhar wept and said:
People of the House of Mercy, may Allah have mercy upon you all. When I see you, I remember Allah's Apostle.
Abu Dhar, his wife and his daughter went to al-Rabathah Desert. He was recalling our Master Muhammad's words:
Abu Dhar, may Allah have mercy upon you. You'll live alone, die alone, rise from the dead alone and enter Paradise alone.
Prophet Mohammad said about him " Aba Dhar is like Issa (AS) of my nation in his "zohod" and "waraa"
Muhammad also said, "Abu Dharr walks on earth with the piety of Isa bin Maryam." from Tirmidhi
During the Battle of Tabouk
, Abu Dharr was left behind because his camel was ill or too weak. So he alighted from it and, placing the pack on his back, walked to the rest of the army. Muhammad saw him and exclaimed, "May Allah have Mercy on Abu Dharr!." He then said, "He spends his life all alone. Death will single him out and on the Day of Resurrection, he will stand up all alone!"
. The Ghaffari clan of Kashan claims descent from Abu Dharr and has spawned numerous politicians and intellectuals such as the governor under Karim Khan
of Kashan
, Natanz, and Qom Moezzedin; the painter Kamal-ol-molk
; and the amabassador to France Farrokh Khan Amin Ed-Doleh.
Timing of Sahaba becoming muslims
Among Muslims, the timing of Sahaba becoming Muslims is of importance. Because Muhammad was not a Sahaba, he is not included.-Introduction:After the Muslim conquests began, a Muslim's standing in the Islamic state depended on his services to the community, and especially on the length of time he...
. When he converted, Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
gave him a new name, Abdullah. He belonged to the Banu Ghifar, the Ghifar tribe. No date of birth is known. He died in 652 CE, at al-Rabadha
Al-Rabadha
Al-Rabadha is a settlement in Saudi Arabia located some 200 km to the north-east of Medina on the pilgrim route from Kufa to Mecca, known as Darb Zubaydah....
, in the desert near Medina
Medina
Medina , or ; also transliterated as Madinah, or madinat al-nabi "the city of the prophet") is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, and serves as the capital of the Al Madinah Province. It is the second holiest city in Islam, and the burial place of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, and...
.
Abu Dharr is remembered for his strict piety and also his opposition to the caliph
Caliph
The Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word which means "successor" or "representative"...
Uthman ibn Affan. He is venerated by Shia Muslims as one of The Four Companions
The Four Companions
The Four Companions, also called the Four Pillars of the Sahaba is a Shi'a term that refers to the four Sahaba Shi'a believe stayed most loyal to ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib after the death of Muḥammad:*Miqdadu bni Aswādi l-Kindiyy*Abū Dharri l-Ghifāriyy...
, early Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s who were followers (Shi'a) of Ali
Ali
' |Ramaḍān]], 40 AH; approximately October 23, 598 or 600 or March 17, 599 – January 27, 661).His father's name was Abu Talib. Ali was also the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and ruled over the Islamic Caliphate from 656 to 661, and was the first male convert to Islam...
(Ali ibn Abi Talib).
He was one of the Muhajirun
Muhajirun
Muhajirun are the early, initial Muslims who followed Muhammad on his Hijra . The early Muslims from Medina are called the Ansar .-List:*Muhammad*Ali*Umar *Abu Bakr .*Salman the Persian*Bilal ibn Ribah...
. He was regarded by many, including Ali Shariati
Ali Shariati
Ali Shariati was an Iranian revolutionary and sociologist, who focused on the sociology of religion. He is held as one of the most influential Iranian intellectuals of the 20th century and has been called the 'ideologue of the Iranian Revolution'.-Biography:Ali....
, as the first Islamic socialist
Islamic socialism
Islamic socialism is a term coined by various Muslim leaders to describe a more spiritual form of socialism. Muslim socialists believe that the teachings of the Qur'an and Muhammad are compatible with principles of equality and the redistribution of wealth....
, or the first socialist altogether, and was first referred to as such by Ahmad Reda
Ahmad Reda
Sheikh Ahmad Reda was one of the foremost scholars of Arab literature and linguistics.-Early life:Born in Nabatiyeh, he was a main supporter of King Faisal's Greater Syrian rule , following the Arab Revolt in the First World War...
in 1910. He is credited with bringing Shi'ite Islam to Jabal Amel
Jabal Amel
Jabal Amel or Amil is a mountainous region of Southern Lebanon.The region is named after the Banu 'Amilah, a Yemenite tribe who, along with the kindred tribes of Hamadan, Lakhm, and Judham, settled in Syria, Palestine, parts of Jordan, and Lebanon. The area was known in ancient times as Jabal...
.
Early life
Little is known of his life before his conversion to IslamIslam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
. Abu Dharr is said to have been a serious young man, an ascetic
Asceticism
Asceticism describes a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from various sorts of worldly pleasures often with the aim of pursuing religious and spiritual goals...
and a monotheist
Monotheism
Monotheism is the belief in the existence of one and only one god. Monotheism is characteristic of the Baha'i Faith, Christianity, Druzism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Samaritanism, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism.While they profess the existence of only one deity, monotheistic religions may still...
even before he converted. He was also of lowly birth, since his tribe, the Ghifar, was small and poor. The Ghifar were a branch of the Banu Kinanah
Banu Kinanah
Banu Kinanah is the largest Adnanite tribe of western Saudi Arabia in Hejaz. Since Islamization they started to claim that they are descended from Kinanah, who was a grandson of Ilyas who was named after the prophet Elijah.- Ancestry :The tribe traces a genealogical history backwards from their...
, found to the western south of Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
and Medina. Abu Dharr was apparently typical of the early converts to Islam, described by Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri
Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri
For the geographer from Al-Andalus see Mohammed Ibn Abu Bakr al-ZuhriMuhammad ibn Muslim ibn Ubaydullah ibn Shihab al-Zuhri , usually called simply Ibn Shihab or al-Zuhri...
as "young men and weak people".
Popular accounts of Abu Dharr say that his tribe lived by pillaging caravans
Camel train
A camel train is a series of camels carrying goods or passengers in a group as part of a regular or semi-regular service between two points. Although they rarely travelled faster than the walking speed of a man, camels' ability to handle harsh conditions made camel trains a vital part of...
, but that he preferred to live a poor but honest life as a shepherd. Having heard the supposition that a new prophet had arisen in Mecca, Abu Dharr and his brother travelled to Mecca to find the claimed prophet
Prophets of Islam
Muslims identify the Prophets of Islam as those humans chosen by God and given revelation to deliver to mankind. Muslims believe that every prophet was given a belief to worship God and their respective followers believed it as well...
. The young seeker converted instantly and rushed out to declare his new faith in front of the Kaaba
Kaaba
The Kaaba is a cuboid-shaped building in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and is the most sacred site in Islam. The Qur'an states that the Kaaba was constructed by Abraham, or Ibraheem, in Arabic, and his son Ishmael, or Ismaeel, as said in Arabic, after he had settled in Arabia. The building has a mosque...
, which at that time was a pagan
Paganism
Paganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....
temple. He was beaten for his presumption. He did this three days in a row, after which the Prophet Muhammed told him to return to his tribe, where he taught his people about Islam. He and his tribe then joined Muhammad after the Hijra
Hijra (Islam)
The Hijra is the migration or journey of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE. Alternate spellings of this Arabic word are Hijrah, Hijrat or Hegira, the latter following the spelling rules of Latin.- Hijra of Muhammad :In September 622, warned of a plot to...
, or migration to Medina in 622 CE.
This seems to be a simplified account of stories reported in these hadith
Hadith
The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
s, , and .
According to the early Islamic historian Tabari
Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari
Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari was a prominent and influential Sunni scholar and exegete of the Qur'an from Persia...
, Abu Dharr claimed to have been the fourth or fifth convert to Islam. However, several other early Muslims made the same claim. While the exact order of conversion may never be established, no one doubts that he was an early convert.
After Muhammad's death
Abu Dharr was a strong supporter of Ali ibn Abi Talib in the political conflicts after Muhammad's deathSuccession to Muhammad
The Succession to Muhammad concerns the various aspects of successorship of Muhammad after his death, comprising who might be considered as his successor to lead the Muslims, how that person should be elected, the conditions of legitimacy, and the role of successor...
and prominent historians of both Shi`ah and Sunni
Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam. Sunni Muslims are referred to in Arabic as ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah wa āl-Ǧamāʿah or ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah for short; in English, they are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis or Sunnites....
have confirmed this.
According to the historian Wilferd Madelung
Wilferd Madelung
Wilferd Ferdinand Madelung is a scholar of Islam. He was born in Stuttgart, Germany, where he completed his early education at Eberhard-Ludwigs-Gymnasium....
, Abu Dharr fell into disfavor during the caliphate
Caliphate
The term caliphate, "dominion of a caliph " , refers to the first system of government established in Islam and represented the political unity of the Muslim Ummah...
of Uthman Ibn Affan. Uthman was appointing his relatives as governors and giving them money from the public treasury. Abu Dharr felt that this was a betrayal of the principles of Islam.
Abu Dharr had begun his agitation in Medina after Uthman had given 500,000 dirhams to Marwan I
Marwan I
Marwan ibn al-Hakam was the fourth Umayyad Caliph, who took over the dynasty after Muawiya II abdicated in 684. Marwan's ascension pointed to a shift in the lineage of the Umayyad dynasty from descendants of Abu Sufyan to those of Hakam, both of whom were grandsons of Umayya...
, 300,000 to al-Harith b. al-Hakam, and 100,000 to the Medinan Zayd ibn Thabit
Zayd ibn Thabit
Zayd ibn Thabit was the personal scribe of Muhammad and an Ansar.-Early life: 610 – 612:When Zayd was 6 years old his father died in the Battle of Bu'ath. Zayd was 13 years old when he asked permission to participate in the Battle of Badr. Since he was younger than 15 years old, Muhammad...
from the khums
Khums
Khums is the Arabic word for One Fifth . According to Shia Islamic legal terminology, it means "one-fifth of certain items which a person acquires as wealth, and which must be paid as an Islamic tax"....
of the booty seized in Ifriquiya in 27/647. He then quoted relevant Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
ic passages threatening the horders (sic) of riches with hell-fire. Marwan complained to Uthman, who sent his servant Natil to warn Abu Dharr, but to no avail. Uthman displayed patience for some time until, in the presence of the caliph, Abu Dharr launched an angry verbal attack on Ka'ab al-Ahbar
Ka'ab al-Ahbar
Ka‘b al-Aḥbār was a prominent rabbi from Yemen of the clan of Dhu Ra'in or Dhu al-Kila. He is counted among the Tabi‘in and narrated many Isra'iliyat.-Umar's era:...
, who had backed Uthman's free use of public money. Uthman now chided Abu Dharr and sent him to Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
.
There is a tradition that Muhammad predicted this sad end, saying, "May Allah
Allah
Allah is a word for God used in the context of Islam. In Arabic, the word means simply "God". It is used primarily by Muslims and Bahá'ís, and often, albeit not exclusively, used by Arabic-speaking Eastern Catholic Christians, Maltese Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Mizrahi Jews and...
have mercy upon Abu Dharr! Lonely will he live, lonely will he die and lonely will he be resurrected".
Sunni view
Many hadith, oral traditions, are traced to Abu Dharr. He is respected as an early and observant Muslim, and a man who was honest and direct to a fault. He was, according to the Sunni tradition, a rough, unlettered Beduin who held no high office, but who served the Muslim community, the UmmahUmmah
Ummah is an Arabic word meaning "community" or "nation." It is commonly used to mean either the collective nation of states, or the whole Arab world...
, with everything he had to give.
After the death of Muhammad, he left for the Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
n desert and stayed there during the caliphate of Abu Bakr
Abu Bakr
Abu Bakr was a senior companion and the father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He ruled over the Rashidun Caliphate from 632-634 CE when he became the first Muslim Caliph following Muhammad's death...
and Umar
Umar
`Umar ibn al-Khattāb c. 2 November , was a leading companion and adviser to the Islamic prophet Muhammad who later became the second Muslim Caliph after Muhammad's death....
.
During the caliphate of Uthman, he stayed in Damascus and witnessed Muslims deviating from Islam, going after worldly pleasures and desires.
He was saddened and repelled by this. So Uthman invited him to come to Madinah. where he was also hurt by people's pursuit of worldly goods and pleasures.
Al-Rabathah
Uthman therefore ordered that he should go to Al-Rabathah, a small village near Madinah. Abu Dharr stayed there away from people, holding on to the traditions (sunnah
Sunnah
The word literally means a clear, well trodden, busy and plain surfaced road. In the discussion of the sources of religion, Sunnah denotes the practice of Prophet Muhammad that he taught and practically instituted as a teacher of the sharī‘ah and the best exemplar...
) of Muhammad and his companions.
A man visited him once and when he found his house almost bare, he asked Abu Dharr: "Where are your possessions?"
Abu Dharr said: "We have a house yonder (meaning the Hereafter), to which we send the best of our possessions."
The man understood what Abu Dharr meant and said: "But you must have some possessions so long as you are in this abode."
"The owner of this abode will not leave us in it," replied Abu Dharr.
Also, when the Prince (Amir) of Syria sent Abu Dharr three hundred diners to meet his needs, he returned the money saying, "Does not the Amir find a servant more deserving of it than I?"
Abu Dharr continued in his simple life, and dedicated himself to Allah only until he died, in 32 A.H.
Shi'a view
Aba Dharr is considered one of the greatest and most loyal sahaba, along with Salman Al-farsi, Miqdad and Ammar bin Yasser. In time of Hijra to Madina, he was in Syria and followed later. Mohammad during this time he used to stand on the doors of the Madina waiting for him. Until he saw a shadow from far ,he said to the shadow" Be Aba Dharr". After the Prophet's death, and division of the sahaba; those who agreed on Abu Bakr and those who didn't accept anyone but Ali, working by the Prophet's will in Ghadir saying"For whom I was his mawla (leader)Ali is now his mawla". Aba Dhar was one of the strongest, most knowledgeable companions of Imam and was fighting by the word this new government, since Imam Ali didn't want to fight by the sword so that there won't be any division in the nation.Abu Dharr was exiled first to Syria, so that he would be under the eyes of Muawiya. In Sham(Lebanon and Syria), Abu Dharr started spreading the Shiaa belief, where it's still found till now mainly in South Lebanon where he had residency there. And he was fighting Muwaiya. Muwaiya sent to Uthman that we are not able to take him anymore, we'll send him back to you. Uthman ordered that he would be returned to Madina on a horse with no saddle to sit on. Later in Madina, Uthman faced the same problem like that of Muwayia's, so he exiled him to Rabada where he died from famine.
The Muslims were afraid of the Caliph's power. So, only a few companions saw him off. They were Ali bin Abu Talib, his brother Aqeel, al-Hasan and al-Husain (Muhammad's grandsons), and the great companion Ammar bin Yasir.
Imam Ali advanced to see him off. He said:
Abu Dhar, you've become very angry for Allah. The people are worried about their religion, and you are worried about your religion. So, leave what they are worried about in your hands and escape from them with what you're worried about. They're in need of what you've prevented them from. And you're in no need of what they've prevented you from. Tomorrow you'll know who will be the winner. Abu Dhar, nothing amuses you but the truth and nothing annoys you but the untruth.
Aqeel advanced and said:
You know we like you, and you like us. Fear Allah because the fear of Allah is salvation. And be patient because patience is generosity.
The Prophet's grandson, al-Hasan bin Ali advanced and said:
Uncle, be patient till you meet your Prophet [s]. He will be pleased with you.
Al-Husain advanced and said:
Uncle, ask Allah to grant you patience and victory.
While Ammar bin Yasir was in tears, he advanced and said:
May not Allah amuse those who annoy you. And He may not make safe those who have dismayed you. By Allah! If you want their world, they'll make you safe. And if you're pleased with their actions, they'll love you.
Abu Dhar wept and said:
People of the House of Mercy, may Allah have mercy upon you all. When I see you, I remember Allah's Apostle.
Abu Dhar, his wife and his daughter went to al-Rabathah Desert. He was recalling our Master Muhammad's words:
Abu Dhar, may Allah have mercy upon you. You'll live alone, die alone, rise from the dead alone and enter Paradise alone.
Prophet Mohammad said about him " Aba Dhar is like Issa (AS) of my nation in his "zohod" and "waraa"
Hadiths mentioning his virtuous status
Muhammad is reported to have said, "Neither has the sky shaded one more truthful and honest than Abu Dharr nor has the earth had anyone walk over it like him. (In these matters) he is like Isa bin Maryam ." from TirmidhiMuhammad also said, "Abu Dharr walks on earth with the piety of Isa bin Maryam." from Tirmidhi
During the Battle of Tabouk
Battle of Tabouk
The Battle of Tabouk was a military expedition, which, according to Muslim biographies, was initiated by the Prophet Muhammad in October, AD 630. Muhammad led a force of as many as 30,000 north to Tabouk in present-day northwestern Saudi Arabia, with the intention of engaging the Byzantine army...
, Abu Dharr was left behind because his camel was ill or too weak. So he alighted from it and, placing the pack on his back, walked to the rest of the army. Muhammad saw him and exclaimed, "May Allah have Mercy on Abu Dharr!." He then said, "He spends his life all alone. Death will single him out and on the Day of Resurrection, he will stand up all alone!"
Descendants
Abu Dharr's grandson Yahya and great grandson Aqeel died in the battle of Karbala. Aqeel's descendants migrated to Iran where descendants still carry the last name GhaffariGhaffari
Ghaffari is an Iranian family name denoting descent from Abu Dharr al-Ghifari. The Ghaffari clan of Kashan has been the most prominent branch and has spawned numerous politicians, artists, and intellectuals. The Ghaffari clan of Rezayeh has also been a very prominent branch and has spawned...
. The Ghaffari clan of Kashan claims descent from Abu Dharr and has spawned numerous politicians and intellectuals such as the governor under Karim Khan
Karim Khan
Karim Khan Zand, , , was a ruler of Iran, and the founder of the Zand Dynasty.He was born to a family of the Zand tribe of Lur or Lak deportees...
of Kashan
Kashan
Kashan is a city in and the capital of Kashan County, in the province of Isfahan, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 248,789, in 67,464 families....
, Natanz, and Qom Moezzedin; the painter Kamal-ol-molk
Kamal-ol-molk
Mohammad Ghaffari , better known as Kamal-ol-Molk , was an Iranian painter and part of the Ghaffari Clan in Kashan.-Biography:...
; and the amabassador to France Farrokh Khan Amin Ed-Doleh.
See also
- SahabaSahabaIn Islam, the ' were the companions, disciples, scribes and family of the Islamic prophet...
- Abu Zar GhaffariAbu Zar GhaffariAbu Zar Ghaffari is one of the neighbourhoods of New Karachi Town in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.There are several ethnic groups in Abu Zar Ghaffari including Muhajirs, Punjabis, Sindhis, Kashmiris, Seraikis, Pakhtuns, Balochis, Memons, Bohras, Ismailis, etc. Over 99% of the population is Muslim...
- Sulaym ibn QaysSulaym ibn QaysSulaym Ibn Qays was one of the purported Companions of Ali but he "is widely considered an anti-Umayyad polemical invention" by Sunni scholarship. He has a well-known book known as The book of Sulaym ibn Qays...
- GhaffariGhaffariGhaffari is an Iranian family name denoting descent from Abu Dharr al-Ghifari. The Ghaffari clan of Kashan has been the most prominent branch and has spawned numerous politicians, artists, and intellectuals. The Ghaffari clan of Rezayeh has also been a very prominent branch and has spawned...
- Sunni view of the Sahaba
- Muadh ibn Jabal