Abu Dharr al-Ghifari - Biographies of the Companions (Sahabah)

In the Waddan valley which connects Makkah with the outside world,
lived the tribe of Ghifar. The Ghifar existed on the meagre offerings
of the trade caravans of the Quraysh which plied between Syria and
Makkah.It is likely that they also lived by raiding these caravans
when they were not given enough to satisfy their needs. Jundub ibn
Junadah, nicknamed Abu Dharr, was a member of this tribe.
He was known for his courage, his calmness and his far sightedness and
also for the repugnance he felt against the idols which his people
worshipped. He rejected the sillyreligious beliefs and the religious
corruption in which theArabs were engaged.
While he was in the Waddan desert, news reached Abu Dharr that a new
Prophet had appeared in Makkah. He really hoped that his appearance
would help to change the heartsand minds of people and lead them away
from the darkness ofsuperstition. Without wasting much time, he called
his brother, Anis, and said to him:
"Go to Makkah and get whatevernews you can of this man who claims that
he is a Prophet and that revelation comes to him from the heavens.
Listen to some of his sayings and come back and recite them to me."
Anis went to Makkah and met the Prophet, peace and blessingsof God be
on him. He listened to what he had to say and returnedto the Waddan
desert. Abu Dharrmet him and anxiously asked fornews of the Prophet.
"I have seen a man," reported Anis, 'who calls people to
noble qualities and there is no mere poetry in what he says."
"What do people say about him?" asked Abu Dharr.
"They say he is a magician, a soothsayer and a poet."
"My curiosity is not satisfied. I am not finished with this matter.
Will you look after my family while I go out and examine this
prophet's mission myself?"
"Yes. But beware of the Makkans."
On his arrival at Makkah, Abu Dharr immediately felt very apprehensive
and he decided to exercise great caution. The Quraysh were noticeably
angry over the denunciation of their gods. Abu Dharr heard of the
terrible violence they were meting out to the followers of the Prophet
but this was what he expected. He therefore refrained from asking
anyone about Muhammad not knowing whether that person might be a
follower or an enemy.
At nightfall, he lay down in the Sacred Mosque. Ali ibn Abi Talib
passed by him and, realizing that he was a stranger, asked him to come
to his house. Abu Dharr spent the night with him and in the morning
took his water pouch and his bag containing provisions and returned to
the Mosque. He had asked no questions and no questions were asked of
him.
Abu Dharr spent the following day without getting to know theProphet.
At evening he went to the Mosque to sleep and Ali again passed by him
and said:
"Isn't it time that a man knows his house?"
Abu Dharr accompanied him andstayed at his house a second night. Again
no one asked the other about anything.
On the third night, however, Ali asked him, "Aren't you going to tell
me why you came to Makkah?"
"Only if you will give me an undertaking that you will guide me to
what I seek." Ali agreed and Abu Dharr said: "I came to Makkah from a
distant place seeking a meeting with the new Prophet and to listen to
some ofwhat he has to say."
Ali's face lit up with happiness as he said, "By God, he is really the
Messenger of God," and he went on telling Abu Dharr more about the
Prophet and his teaching. Finally, he said:
"When we get up in the morning, follow me wherever I go. If I see
anything which I am afraid of for your sake, I would stop as if to
pass water. If I continue, follow me until you enter where I enter."
Abu Dharr did not sleep a wink the rest of that night because of his
intense longing to see the Prophet and listen to the words of
revelation. In the morning, hefollowed closely in Ali's footsteps
until they were in the presence of the Prophet.
As-salaamu Alayka Yaa Rasulullah, (Peace be on you, O Messenger of
God)," greeted AbuDharr.
Wa Alayka salaamullahi wa rahmatuhu wa barakaatuhu (And on you be the
peace of God,His mercy and His blessings)," replied the Prophet.
Abu Dharr was thus the first person to greet the Prophet with the
greeting of Islam. After that, the greeting spread and came into
general use.
The Prophet, peace be on him, welcomed Abu Dharr and invitedhim to
Islam. He recited some ofthe Quran for him. Before long, Abu Dharr
pronounced the Shahadah thus entering the newreligion (without even
leaving his place). He was among the first persons to accept Islam.
Let us leave Abu Dharr to continue his own story...
After that I stayed with the Prophet in Makkah and he taught me Islam
and taught me to read the Quran. Then he said to me, 'Don't tell
anyone in Makkah about your acceptance of Islam. I fear that they will
kill you."
"By Him in whose hands is my soul, I shall not leave Makkah until I go
to the Sacred Mosque and proclaim the call of Truth in the midst of
the Quraysh," vowed Abu Dharr.
The Prophet remained silent. I went to the Mosque. The Quraysh were
sitting and talking. I went in their midst and called out at the top
of my voice, "O people of Quraysh, I testify that there is no God but
Allah and that Muhammad is themessenger of Allah."
My words had an immediate effect on them. They jumped up and said,
'Get this one who has left his religion." They pounced on me and began
to beat me mercilessly. They clearly meant to kill me. But Abbas ibn
Abdulmuttalib, the uncle of the Prophet, recognized me. He bentover
and protected me from them. He told them:
"Woe to you! Would you kill a man from the Ghifar tribe and your
caravans must pass through their territory?" They then released me.
I went back to the Prophet, upon whom be peace, and whenhe saw my
condition, he said,"Didn't I tell you not to announce your acceptance
of Islam?" "O Messenger of God," I said, "It was a need I felt in my
soul and I fulfilled it." "Go to your people," he commanded,"and tell
them what you have seen and heard. Invite them to God. Maybe God will
bring them good through you and reward you through them. And when you
hear that I have come out inthe open, then come to me."
I left and went back to my people. My brother came up to me and asked,
"What have you done?" I told him that I had become a Muslim and that I
believed in the truth of Muhammad's teachings.
"I am not averse to your religion. In fact, I am also now a Muslim and
a believer," he said.
We both went to our mother then and invited her to Islam .
"I do not have any dislike from your religion. I accept Islam also," she said.
From that day this family of believers went out tirelessly inviting
the Ghifar to God and did not flinch from their purpose. Eventually a
large number became Muslims and the congregational Prayer was
instituted among them.
Abu Dharr remained in his desertabode until after the Prophet had gone
to Madinah and the battles of Badr, Uhud and Khandaq had been fought.
At Madinah at last, he asked the Prophet to be in his personal
service. The Prophet agreed and was pleased with his companionship and
service. He sometimes showed preference to Abu Dharr above others and
whenever he met him he would pat him and smile and show his happiness.
After the death of the Prophet, Abu Dharr could not bear to stayin
Madinah because of grief and the knowledge that there was to be no
more of his guiding company. So he left for the Syrian desert and
stayed there during the caliphate of Abu Bakr and Umar.
During the caliphate of Uthman, he stayed in Damascus and saw the
Muslims concern for the world and their consuming desire for luxury.
He was saddened and repelled by this. So Uthman asked him to come to
Madinah. At Madinah he was also critical of the people's pursuit of
worldly goods and pleasures and they were critical in turn of his
reviling them. Uthman therefore ordered that he should go to Rubdhah,
a small village near Madinah. There he stayed far away from people,
renouncing their preoccupation with worldly goods and holding on to
the legacy of the Prophet and his companions in seeking the
everlasting abode of the Hereafter in preference to this transitory
world.
Once a man visited him and began looking at the contents ofhis house
but found it quite bare. He asked Abu Dharr:"Where are your
possessions?""We have a house yonder (meaning the Hereafter)," said
Abu Dharr, "to which we send the best of our possessions." The man
understood what he 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.
Abu Dharr persisted in his simpleand frugal life to the end. Once the
amir of Syria sent three hundred diners to Abu Dharr to meet his
needs. He returned the money saying, "Does not the amir of Syria find
a servant moredeserving of it than I?"
In the year 32 AH the self-denying Abu Dharr passed away. The Prophet,
peace be upon him, had said of him: "The earth does not carry nor the
heavens cover a man more true and faithful than Abu Dharr."

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