Abu ad-Darda al-Ansari

ProfileAbu ad-Darda al-Ansari

Abu ad-Darda (may Allah be pleased with him) was named Uwaymir, and the sources differ on his father's name. He was from the Khazraj of Madinah, a handsome and well-dressed merchant who owned several businesses and kept out of the old feuds of the city. According to the early biographies, he was one of the last of the Ansar to accept Islam. He kept an idol at home and dressed and perfumed it, while his close friend Abdullah ibn Rawahah became Muslim early. One day Ibn Rawahah went into his house and broke the idol. When Abu ad-Darda came home and found his wife Umm ad-Darda crying, she told him that if the idol could have protected anyone, it would have protected itself. He washed, put on his best clothes, and went to the Prophet ﷺ to accept Islam. According to the early biographies, he stayed beside the Prophet ﷺ at Uhud, fighting with his sword, then with arrows, and then with stones.

He then tried to catch up with what he had missed. According to the early biographies, he found that he could not balance his trade with his worship, and gave up his business. The Prophet ﷺ made Salman his brother, and when Salman found that Abu ad-Darda was neglecting his family to worship, he told him that his Lord, his own self and his family each had a right over him. The Prophet ﷺ said that Salman had spoken the truth (Sahih al-Bukhari).

He narrated hadith on character and on being good to others. He reported that nothing is heavier on the believer's scale on the Day of Judgment than good character (Sunan at-Tirmidhi, graded sahih), that whoever defends his brother's honour will have his face protected from the Fire (Sunan at-Tirmidhi, graded hasan), and that putting things right between people is better than fasting, prayer and charity (Sunan Abi Dawud, graded sahih). He also reported that where three men live in a village and do not pray together, Satan has taken hold of them, because the wolf eats only the straggler (Sunan Abi Dawud, graded hasan). When Alqamah came to him in Syria from Kufa, Abu ad-Darda asked whether they did not have Ibn Mas'ud, Ammar and Hudhayfah among them, and then asked Alqamah to recite Surat al-Layl as Ibn Mas'ud did. He said that it was the way the Prophet ﷺ had taught it to him (Sahih al-Bukhari).

According to the early biographies, Umar sent him to Syria, with Mu'adh ibn Jabal and Ubadah ibn as-Samit, to teach the people the Quran and the lawful and unlawful. He became the judge and teacher of Damascus, where he sat in the mosque with a great number of circles of students, each led by one of his own students, who read to him in turn. According to the early biographies, he feared hypocrisy more than most, and he lived very simply, content that his belongings would all fit on a camel. His wife Umm ad-Darda, who married him later, became a respected teacher of hadith. He died around 32 AH, and according to the early biographies no one came forward with a complaint against him.

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