Page protected with pending changes

Abu Dharr al-Ghifari

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Abu Dharr
أَبُو ذَرّ
تخطيط اسم أبو ذر الغفاري.png
Title
  • Al-Ghifari
    (ٱلْغِفَارِيّ)
  • Al-Kinani
    (ٱلْكِنَانِيّ)
Personal
Born
Jundab ibn Junadah
(جُنْدَب ٱبْن جُنَادَة)

Hijaz
Died31 Hijri, Dhul Qadah / 652 CE
Al-Rabadha, Rashidun Caliphate
Resting placeAl-Rabadha, Hejaz, present day Saudi Arabia
ReligionIslam
ChildrenDharr (daughter)
Parents
  • Jundah (father)
  • Ramlah (mother)
Known forcompanion of Muhammad
RelativesUnais (Brother)

Abu Dharr Al-Ghifari Al-Kinani (أَبُو ذَرّ ٱلْغِفَارِيّ ٱلْكِنَانِيّ, Abū Dharr al-Ghifārī al-Kinānī), also spelled Abu Ẓarr, born Jundab ibn Junādah (جُنْدَب ٱبْن جُنَادَة), was the fourth or fifth person converting to Islam, and from the Muhajirun.[1] He belonged to the Banu Ghifar, the Kinanah tribe. No date of birth is known. He died in 652 CE, at Al-Rabadha, in the desert east of Medina.

Abu Dharr is remembered for his strict piety and also his opposition to Muawiyah during the caliph Uthman ibn Affan era. He is venerated by Shia Muslims as one of The Four Companions, early Muslims who were followers (Shia) of Ali ibn Abi Talib.

He was regarded by many, including Ali Shariati, Muhammad Sharqawi and Sami Ayad Hanna, as a principal antecedent of Islamic socialism,[2][3][4][5][6] the first Islamic socialist, or the first socialist altogether.

Early life[]

Little is known of his life before his conversion to Islam.[7] Abu Dharr is said to have been a serious young man, an ascetic and a monotheist even before he converted. He was born to the Ghifar clan, found to the western south of Medina.[8] Abu Dhar was apparently typical of the early converts to Islam, described by Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri as "young men and weak people".[9] They were a branch of the Banu Kinanah tribe. The Quraysh clan of Muhammad was also a branch of the Banu Kinanah tribe.

Popular accounts of Abu Dharr[10] 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 contention that a new prophet had arisen in Mecca, Abu Dhar and his brother travelled to Mecca to find the 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 religious belief. He did this three days in a row, after which the Islamic prophet Muhammad told him to return to his clan, where he taught his people about Islam. He and his tribe then joined Muhammad after the Hijra, or migration to Medina in 622 CE.

Muhammad once said that "the sky did not spread its canopy on any man who was more truthful than Abu Dharr."[11]

This seems to be a simplified account of stories reported in these hadiths, 31:6049, 31:6048 and 31:6046.

According to the early Islamic historian Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari, Abu Dhar claimed to have been the fourth or fifth convert to Islam. However, Saad bin Abi Waqqas made the same claim. While the exact order of conversion may never be established, no one doubts that he was a very early convert.

Military campaigns during Muhammad's era[]

Main article: List of expeditions of Muhammad

During the Expedition of Ka’b ibn 'Umair al-Ghifari his son Umair al-Ghifari was killed. In this expedition Muhammad ordered an attack on the Banu Quda‘a tribe because Muhammad received intelligence that they had gathered a large number of men to attack the Muslim positions[12]

In response Muhammad ordered the to take revenge for the killing of the son of Abu Dhar Ghifari at al-Ghaba[13][14][15]

Life after Prophet Muhammed's death[]

Abu Dharr was residing in Madinah during the Caliphate of Uthman Ibn Affan. Uthman Ibn Affan began expanding the area of Madina. According to Abu Dharr, The Prophet Muhammed had instructed him that when the construction of Madina reaches Sala, he should leave the city.[16]According to another report, the Prophet Muhammed instructed that he should go Syria [17]

Whilst in Syria, Abu Dharr had a juristic difference with the majority of the companions of the Prophet Muhammed. Abu Dharr believed that it was impermissible to gather and store silver and gold in excess of one's personal need. However the majority of the conpanions of the Prophet Muhammed believed that it was permissible after Zakah had been paid. This created uncertainty which caused the governor of Syria,Muawiyah, to write to Uthman explaining the situation. Uthman believed that it was best for Abu Dharr to return to Madina where he stayed for a short while.

Due to Abu Dharr's ascetic lifestyle, Uthman suggested that Abu Dharr move to another place near Madina,Abu Dharr refused and asked for permission to live in Al Rabadhah to which Uthman allowed him to.The reason for Abu Dharr's condemnation of accumulation of wealth is found within the Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal which states: "Abu Dharr would hear ahadith from the Rasul of Allah in which there was some strictness, then he would go back to his people and convey what he had heard with some strictness, then the Rasul of Allah would grant a concession later on, but Abu Dharr did not hear of it, so he continued to adhere to the strict instructions"[18]

Abū Dharr then moved to Rabadhah and built a Masjid there. ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān gave him a few camels and according to the narration of Ṭabarī, a flock of goats as well. He also gave him two servants and stipulated a stipend for him from the Bayt al-Māl. He would visit Madīnah now and then as the distance between Rabadhah and Madīnah was about three miles.[19]

Abu Dharr continued to show loyalty to Caliph Uthman. It is reported that some of the people of Kufa said to Abu Dharr when he was in al Rabdhah that Uthman had acted unjustly towards him and asking him why he does not fight or rebel. Abu Dharr refused to fight saying that "If Uthman asked me to march from east to west, I would obey him[20]

Death[]

During the Expedition of Tabuk, Abu Dharr had fallen behind the rest of the soldiers as his camel was moving very slowly. The Muslims stopped at a place and waited for Abu Dharr. The Prophet Muhammed made a prayer hoping for Abu Dharr to arrive.[21] Abu Dharr urged his camel to speed up but when it failed to do so, he set out on foot, carrying his luggage on his back. Abu Dharr was then spotted and the Prophet Muhammed was informed of his arrival. The Prophet Muhammed then said "May Allah have mercy on Abu Dhar; he is walking alone and he will die alone and be raised alone" [22]

When he was passing away, Abu Dharr told his wife and slave to wash him,shroud him and then place to place him at the side of the road. They were then to tell the first caravan that passed that this was the body of Abu Dharr. They did this for him however when a caravan appeared they did not see it until it nearly stepped on the bier of Abu Dhar. Then, Ibn Masud who was returning to Makkah from Kufa inquired as to what was on the side of the road, the family of Abu Dharr then replied that it was bier of Abu Dharr. Ibn Masud then began to cry and stated the Prophet Muhammed had been correct in his statement when he said "May Allah have mercy on Abu Dhar; he is walking alone and he will die alone and be raised alone".

After his body was washed and shrouded, the funeral prayer was offered for him and he was buried. Those present then prepared to finish their journey to Makkah, the daughter of Abu Dharr then said “Abu Dhar conveys salam to you and adjures you not to leave until you have eaten". They then ate and took the family of Abu Dharr to Makkah.In Makkah, they gave the news of the passing of Abu Dharr to Uthman and Uthman adopted the daughter of Abu Dharr into his family.[23]

In one report it says:

When we had buried him, his daughter invited us to eat and we wanted to take her with us, and Ibn Mas’ud said: “The Amir al Mu’minin is close by, let us consult him.” So we went to Makkah and told him the news, and he said: “May Allah have mercy on Abu Dhar and forgive him for staying in al Rabdhah.” On the way back, ‘Uthman went with them and travelled via al Rabdhah, and he added (Abu Dhar’s) family to his own, then he headed for Madinah and we headed for Iraq.[24]

See also[]

Notes[]

References[]

  1. ^ The Mirror of all the Prophets as Shown by The Hadith of Similitude
  2. ^ Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World. New York: Oxford University Press. 1995. p. 19. ISBN 0-19-506613-8. OCLC 94030758.
  3. ^ "Abu Dharr al-Ghifari". Oxford Islamic Studies Online. Retrieved 23 January 2010.
  4. ^ And Once Again Abu Dharr. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
  5. ^ Hanna, Sami A.; George H. Gardner (1969). Arab Socialism: A Documentary Survey. Leiden: E.J. Brill. pp. 273–274. Retrieved 23 January 2010.
  6. ^ Hanna, Sami A. (1969). "al-Takaful al-Ijtimai and Islamic Socialism". The Muslim World. 59 (3–4): 275–286. doi:10.1111/j.1478-1913.1969.tb02639.x. Archived from the original on 2010-09-13.
  7. ^ [Michael Molloy][Molloy], Experiencing the World's Religions: Traditions, Challenge, and Change, Sixth Edition, 2009, p. 853
  8. ^ Watt, Muhammad at Medina, 1956, p. 81
  9. ^ cited in Watt, Muhammad at Mecca, 1953, p. 87
  10. ^ "Islam Online". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2005-12-23.
  11. ^ Razwy, Sayed Ali Asgher. A Restatement of the History of Islam & Muslims. p. 67.
  12. ^ Mubarakpuri, Saifur Rahman Al (2005), The sealed nectar: biography of the Noble Prophet, Darussalam Publications, ISBN 978-9960-899-55-8
  13. ^ Sa'd, Ibn (1967). Kitab al-tabaqat al-kabir,By Ibn Sa'd,Volume 2. Pakistan Historical Society. p. 202. ASIN B0007JAWMK. THE SARIYYAH OF 'ALQAMAH IBN MUJAZZIZ AL-MUDLIJI AGAINST AL-HABASHAH
  14. ^ Muir, William (10 August 2003). Life of Mahomet. Kessinger Publishing Co. p. 451. ISBN 978-0766177413.
  15. ^ A. J. Cameron, A. J. Cameron (Ph.D.), Abû Dharr al-Ghifârî: an examination of his image in the hagiography of Islam, p. 33.
  16. ^ Siyar A’lam al Nubala’, 2/72
  17. ^ Al Madinah al Munawwarah Fajr al Islam, 2/219
  18. ^ Al Musnad, 5/125
  19. ^ Tārīkh Ibn Khaldūn vol. 2 pg. 1029, Al-Tamhīd wa al-Bayān pg. 74 to pg.76
  20. ^ Al Tabaqat, 4/227
  21. ^ Al Hakim 3/50
  22. ^ Al Sirah al Nabawiyyah by Ibn Hisham, 4/178
  23. ^ Al Tamhid wa al Bayan fi Maqtal al Shahid ‘Uthman, p. 87,88
  24. ^ Tarikh al Tabari, 5/314

Further reading[]

  • Madelung, Wilferd -- Succession to Muhammad, Cambridge University Press, 1997
  • Watt, Montgomery -- Muhammad at Mecca, Oxford University Press, 1953
  • Watt, Montgomery -- Muhammad at Medina, Oxford University Press, 1956

External links[]

Retrieved from ""