The Great Companions – Abu Dhar Al Ghifari R.A

A Glimpse in to the life, merits and qualities of a great companion of our beloved Nabi ﷺ, Abu Dharr Al Ghifari رضي الله عنه

Who is Sayyiduna Abu Dharr Al Ghifari رضي الله عنه ?

  • Name: Sayyiduna Abu Dharr Al Ghifari رضي الله عنه
  • Born: Not known
  • Demise: 21 years after our beloved Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam (32 AH)

● Abu Dharr Al Ghifari whose real name was Jundub Ibn Junadah رضي الله عنه was known for his piety, truthfulness, and knowledge. He was also known to be very abstinent from the things of this world.

● His father’s name was Junadah, and his mother’s name was Ramlah. He was from the Ghifar tribe, that is why he is referred to as Ghifari.

● He was mostly known by his title Abu Dharr Al Ghifari رضي الله عنه.

● Before Islam, it was well known that his tribe (Ghifar) used to loot caravans. As for Abu Dharr, he was a very serious young man who did not worship idols. His occupation was that of a shepherd.

● He accepted Islam in the very early days of Islam at a young age. It is said he was the 4th/5th person to accept Islam.

● He participated in a few battles, Notably the battle of Hunayn, in which he was honoured to be the flag bearer.

● One outstanding quality he possessed was his truthful nature. Due to this, our beloved ﷺ praised him by saying, “There is no one on earth, or under the sky, who speaks more truthfully than Abu Dharr” (Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah)

● He was also very knowledgeable and would issue Fatawa (rulings) in the time of Sayyiduna Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman رضي الله عنهم

● Our beloved Nabi ﷺ regarded him as one of his very close companions. He was among the fourteen very close companions of our beloved Nabi ﷺ.

● He also had little interest with worldly possessions. Our beloved Nabi ﷺ said that Abu Dharr walks on this earth with the piety of Eesa Ibn Maryam. (Tirmidhi)

● He was also described as someone who spoke Haqq not fearing the blame of the blamers.

●After our beloved Nabi ﷺ passed away, he continued to serve deen and give strength to Islam.

● He passed away in a place called Rabadhah, during the reign of Sayyiduna Uthman رضي الله عنه. Sayyiduna Abdullah Ibn Mas’ood رضي الله عنه led his Janazah Salah and he is buried in a place called Rabadhah.

May Allah Ta’ala grant a great amount of reward for all of his services to our beloved Nabi ﷺ and to deen and give us all the ability to emulate his great companions in every way.

Qualities

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1) Sayyiduna Abu Dharr رضي الله عنه had a keen interest to acquire knowledge. He has narrated over 200 Ahadith from our beloved Nabi ﷺ.

2) He had great leadership skills and had very Akhlaq (good character and manners)

3) He was very simple and was detached from the material items of this world.

4) He was very trustworthy and precious in everything he done.

5) He always stood for the truth and was firm against falsehood.

Merits

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1) Our beloved Nabi ﷺ said : There is no one on earth, or under the sky, who speaks more truthfully than Abu Dharr. (Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah)

2) Sayyiduna Ali radhiyallahu anhu said, “He was a treasury of Ilm, stingy in his Deen (full follower of Deen, he did not accept anything other than Deen) and zealous for Ilm and this is why he would ask alot.
(Siyar A’lam al-Nubala)

3) He once said, “By Allah, if you knew what I knew, you would not sleep with your women nor on your beds. By Allah I wish Allah created me, when he did, as a tree, (and) planted and (have) its fruits eaten. (Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah, Hilyah)

A very beneficial Hadith narrated by Sayyiduna Abu Dharr radhiyallahu anhu

My beloved friend (Our beloved Nabi ﷺ) commanded me with regards to 7 things;

(1) to love the poor and stay close to them

(2) to always look at those who have less than me and not at those who have more than me

(3) to always join ties with my relatives even if they do not

(4) to never beg anyone for anything

(5) to always speak the truth even if it is bitter

(6) to not fear the blame of the blamers

(7) to excessively read ‘la hawla wa laa quwwata illa billah’ as these are words from the treasures beneath the throne of Allah Ta’ala.

(Musnad Ahmad)

Accepting Islam

Sayyiduna Abu Dhar radhiyallahu anhu initially sent his brother to find out more about the man who claimed to be a prophet. When his brother returned, he told him that this man, Muhammad ﷺ, has come to complete noble character. Abu Dhar radhiyallahu anhu was still not satisfied so he decided to go himself.

Our beloved Nabi ﷺ presented Islam to him and he accepted. Our beloved Nabi ﷺ told him to return to his people and stay there until his next command comes.

Before returning back, he said to our beloved Nabi ﷺ, I will definitely make clear my accepting Islam in front of the Quraysh. When he did, they beat him until Sayyiduna Abbas radhiyallahu anhu told the people, the tribe he belonged to (a tribe who loot and are bandits) could possibly attack Quraysh when they travel.

So, they stopped. The next day the same thing happened and Sayyiduna Abbas radhiyallahu anhu said the same thing so the people left him.

He went back to his people. His dawah and preaching was so effective that half of the tribe accepted Islam. The other half said that when Rasoolullah ﷺ reaches Madeenah then we will accept.

When our beloved Nabi ﷺ migrated to Madeenah, the remaining accepted Islam.

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