Abu-d Dardaa - Biographies of the Companions (Sahabah)

Early in the morning, Abu-d Dardaa awoke and went straightto his idol
which he kept in the best part of his house. He greeted it and made
obeisance to it. Then he anointed it with the best perfume from his
large shop and put on it a new raiment of beautiful silk which a
merchant had brought to him the day before from Yemen.
When the sun was high in the sky he left his house for his shop. On
that day the streets and alleys of Yathrib were crowded with the
followers of Muhammad returning from Badr. With them were several
prisoners of war. Abu-d Dardaa surveyed the crowds and then went up to
a Khazraji youth and asked about the fate of Abdullahibn Rawahah.
"He was put through the most severe tests in the battle," "but he
emerged safely..."
Abu-d Dardaa was clearly anxious about his close friend, Abdullah ibn
Rawahah. Everyone in Yathrib knew the bond of brotherhood which
existed between the two men from the days of Jahiliyyah, before the
coming of Islam to Yathrib. When Islam came to the city, IbnRawahah
embraced it but Abu-d Dardaa rejected it. This however did not rupture
the relationship between the two. Abdullah kept on visiting Abu-d
Dardaa and tried to make him! see the virtues, the benefits and the
excellence of Islam. But with every passing day, while Abu-d Dardaa
remained a mushrik, Abdullah felt more sad and concerned.
Abu-d Dardaa arrived at his shopand sat cross-legged on a high chair.
He began trading-buying and selling and giving instructions to his
assistants unaware of what was going on at his house. For at that very
time, Abdullah ibn Rawahah hadgone to the house determined on a course
of action. There, he saw that the main gate was open. Umm ad-Dardaa
was in the courtyard and he said to her:
"As-salaamu alayki - Peace be unto you, servant of God."
"Wa alayka-s salaam - And unto you be peace, O brother of Abu-dDardaa."
"Where is Abu-d Dardaa?" he asked. "He has gone to his shop. It won't
be tong before he returns." "Would you allow me to come in?" "Make
yourself at home," she said and went aboutbusying herself with her
household chores and looking after her children.
Abdullah ibn Rawahah went to the room where Abu-d Dardaa kept his
idol. He took out an adz which he had brought with him and began
destroying the idol while saying:
"Isn't everything batil which is worshipped besides Allah?"
When the idol was completely smashed, he left the house. Abu-d
Dardaa's wife entered the room shortly afterwards and was aghast at
what she saw. She smote her cheeks in anguishand said: "You have
brought ruinto me, Ibn Rawahah." When Abu-d Dardaa returned home,
hesaw his wife sitting at the door of the room where he kept his idol.
She was weeping loudly and she looked absolutely terrified. "What's
wrong with you?" he asked.
"Your brother Abdullah ibn Rawahab visited us in your absence and did
with your idols what you see." Abu-d Dardaa looked at the broken idol
and was horrified. He was consumedwith anger and determined to take
revenge. Before long however his anger subsided and thoughts of
avenging the idol disappeared. Instead he reflected on what had
happenedand said to himself:
"If there was any good in this idol, he would have defended himself
against any injury."
He then went straight to Abdullah and together they went to the
Prophet, peace be on him. There he announced his acceptance of Islam.
He was the last person in his district to become a Muslim.
From this time onwards, Abu-d Dardaa devoted himself completely to
Islam. Belief in God and His Prophet animated every fibre of his
being. He deeply regretted every moment he had spent as a mushrik and
the opportunities he had lost to do good. He realized how much his
friends had learnt about siam in the preceding two or three years, how
much of the Quran they had memorized and the opportunities they had to
devote themselves to God and His Prophet. He made up his mind to
expend every effort, dayand night to try to make up for what he had
missed. Ibadah occupied his days and his nights.His search for
knowledge was restless. Much time he spent memorizing the words of the
Quran and trying to understand the profundity of its message. When he
saw that business and trade disturbed the sweetness of his ibadah and
kept him awayfrom the circles of knowledge, he reduced his involvement
without hesitation or regret. Someone asked him why he did this and he
replied:
"I was a merchant before my pledge to the Messenger of God, may God
bless him and grant him peace. When I became a Muslim, I wanted to
combine trade (tijarah) and worship (ibadah) but I did not achieve
what I desired. So I abandoned trade and inclined towards ibadah.
"By Him in whose hand is the soul of Abu-d Dardaa, what I want to have
is a shop near the door of the masjid so that I would not miss any
Salat with the congregation. Then I shall sell and buy and make a
modest profit every day."
"I am not saying," said Abu-d Dardaa to his questioner, "that Allah
Great and Majestic is He hasprohibited trade, but I want to be among
those whom neither trade nor selling distracts form the remembrance of
God ."
Abu-d Dardaa did not only become less involved in trade but he
abandoned his hitherto soft and luxurious life-style. He ate only what
was sufficient to keep him upright and he wore clothes that was simple
and sufficient to cover his body.
Once a group of Muslims came to spend the night with him. The night
was bitterly cold. He gave them hot food which they welcomed. He
himself then wentto sleep but he did not give them any blankets. They
becameanxious wondering how they were going to sleep on such a cold
night. Then one of them said: "I will go and talk to him.""Don't
bother him," said another.
However, the man went to Abu-d Dardaa and stood at the door of his
room. He saw Abu-d Dardaa lying down. His wife was sitting near to
him. They were both wearing light clothing which could not protect
them from the cold and they had no blankets. Abu-d Dardaa said to his
guest: "If there was anythingwe would have sent it to you."
During the caliphate of Umar, Umar wanted to appoint Abu-d Dardaa as a
governor in Syria. Abu-d Dardaa refused. Umar persisted and then Abu-d
Dardaasaid:
"If you are content that I should go to them to teach them the Book of
their Lord and the Sunnah of their Prophet and pray with them, I shall
go."
Umar agreed and Abu-d Dardaa left for Damascus. There he found the
people immersed in luxury and soft living. This appalled him. He
called the people to the masjid and spoke to them:
"O people of Damascus! You are my brethren in religion, neighbors who
live together andhelpers one to another against enemies. "O people of
Damascus!What is it that prevents you from being affectionate
towardsme and responding to my advicewhile I do not seek anything from
you. Is it right that I see your learned ones departing (from this
world) while the ignorant among you are not learning. I see that you
incline towards such things which Allahhas made you answerable for and
you abandon what He has commanded you to do.
"Is it reasonable that I see you gathering and hoarding what you do
not eat, and erecting buildings in which you do not live, and holding
out hopes for things you cannot attain.
"Peoples before you have amassed wealth, made great plans and had high
hopes. But it was not long before what they had amassed was destroyed,
their hopes dashed and their houses turned into graves. Such were the
people of Aad, O people of Damascus. They filled the earth with
possessions and children.
"Who is there who will purchasefrom me today the entire legacy of Aad
for two dirhams?"
The people wept and their sobs could be heard from outside the masjid.
From that day, Abu-d Dardaa began to frequent the meeting places of
the people of Damascus. He moved around in their market-places,
teaching, answering questions and trying to arouse anyone who had
become careless and insensitive.He used every opportunity and every
occasion to awaken people, to set them on the right path.
Once he passed a group of people crowding around a man. They began
insulting and beating the man. He came up to them and said: "What's
the matter?" "This is a man who hascommitted a grave sin," they
replied.
"What do you think you would do if he had fallen into a well?" asked
Abu-d Dardaa. "Wouldn't you try to get him out?""Certainly," they
said. "Don't insult him and don't beat him. Instead admonish him and
makehim aware of the consequences of what he had done. Then give
praise to God Who has preservedyou from falling into such a
sin.""Don't you hate him?" they asked Abu-d Dardaa.
"I only detest what he had done and if he abandons such practice, he
is my brother." The man began to cry and publicly announced his
repentance.
A youth once came up to Abu-d Dardaa and said: "Give me advice, O
companion of the Messenger of God," and Abu-d Dardaa said to him:
"My son, remember Allah in good times and He will remember you in
times of misfortune.
"My son, be knowledgeable, seekknowledge, be a good listener and do
not be ignorant for you will be ruined.
"My son, let the masjid be your house for indeed I heard the Messenger
of God say: The masjid is the house of every God-conscious person and
God Almighty has guaranteed serenity, comfort, mercy and staying on
the path leading to His pleasure, to those for whom masjids are their
houses."
On another occasion, there was a group of people sitting in the
street, chatting and looking at passers-by. Abu-d Dardaa came up to
them and said:
"My sons, the monastery of a Muslim man is his house in which he
controls himself and lowers his gaze. Beware of sitting in
market-places because this fritters away time in vain pursuits."
While Abu-d Dardaa was in Damascus, Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan, its
governor, asked him to give his daughter in marriage to his
(Muawiyah's) son, Yazid. Abu-d Dardaa did not agree. Instead he gave
his daughter in marriage to a young man from among the poor whose
character and attachment to Islam pleased him. People heard about this
and began talking and asking: Why did Abu-d Dardaa refuse to let his
daughtermarry Yazid? The question was put to Abu-d Dardaa himself
andhe said: "I have only sought to do what is good for ad-Dardaa."
That was his daughter's name."How?" enquired the person.
"What would you think of ad-Dardaa if servants were to stand in her
presence serving her and if she were to find herself in palaces the
glamour ofwhich dazzled the eyes? What would become of her religion
then?"
While Abu-d Dardaa was still in Syria, the Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab
came on an inspection tour of the region. One night he went to visit
Abu-d Dardaa at his home. There was no light in the house. Abu-d
Dardaa welcomed the Caliph andsat him down. The two men conversed in
the darkness. As they did so, Umar felt Abu-d Dardaa's "pillow" and
realized it was an animal's saddle. He touched the place where Abu-d
Dardaa lay and knew it was just small pebbles. He also felt the sheet
with which he covered himself and was astonished to find it so flimsy
that it couldn't possibly protect him from the cold of Damascus. Umar
asked him:
"Shouldn't I make things more comfortable for you? Shouldn't I send
something for you?"
"Do you remember, Umar," said Abu-d Dardaa, "a hadith which the
Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, told us?""What is it?"
asked Umar. "Did he not say: Let what is sufficient for anyone of you
in this world be like the provisions of a rider?""Yes," said Umar.
"And what have we done after this, O Umar?" asked Abu-d Dardaa.
Both men wept no doubt thinking about the vast riches that had come
the way of Muslims with the expansion of Islam and their preoccupation
with amassing wealth and worldly possessions. With deep sorrow and
sadness, both men continued to reflect on this situation until the
break of dawn.

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