Abu Dharr al-Ghifari

ProfileAbu Dharr al-Ghifari

Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) was from the tribe of Ghifar, who lived along the trade road between Makkah and Syria and were known for robbing caravans. Even before Islam he did not worship idols and was looking for the truth. When he heard about the Prophet ﷺ, he sent his brother to find out, and then went to Makkah himself. He stayed in the mosque for days without anyone knowing who he was, until Ali took him in. Ali told him that the Prophet ﷺ was truly the Messenger of Allah, and took him to see the Prophet ﷺ in secret, and Abu Dharr accepted Islam on the spot. He is said to have been the fifth to do so. The Prophet ﷺ told him to go back to his people until he was told otherwise, but Abu Dharr said he would declare it aloud among them. He went to the mosque and said the declaration of faith out loud, and the Quraysh beat him until al-Abbas threw himself over him and reminded them that his tribe lay across their road to Syria. He did the same the next day and was beaten again (Sahih al-Bukhari).

He went back to his tribe, and Ghifar accepted Islam, and the neighbouring tribe of Aslam after them. The Prophet ﷺ prayed that Allah would forgive Ghifar (Sahih al-Bukhari) and grant safety to Aslam (Sahih Muslim). According to the early biographies, he did not come to the Prophet ﷺ in Madinah until years later, and the people there heard a rush of horses and camels and thought an army was coming, and it was Abu Dharr with all of Ghifar. According to the early biographies, at Tabuk his camel was too weak and he got off and went on on foot with his baggage on his back. When the Prophet ﷺ saw a man walking alone in the distance and was told it was Abu Dharr, he said that Allah would have mercy on him, that he walks alone, will die alone and will be raised alone.

He reported that the Prophet ﷺ gave him a number of pieces of advice: to love the poor and stay close to them, to look at those below him in worldly things and not those above him, to keep ties with his relatives even if they turned away, not to ask anyone for anything, to speak the truth even if it was bitter, not to fear the blame of anyone when acting for Allah, and to say often that there is no power or strength except with Allah (Musnad Ahmad, graded sahih by Shu'ayb al-Arna'ut). When he asked the Prophet ﷺ to appoint him to an office, the Prophet ﷺ patted his shoulder and told him that he was weak, and that authority is a trust which brings shame on the Day of Judgment for anyone who does not carry it out properly (Sahih Muslim).

Abu Dharr once insulted a man by his mother's lineage, and the Prophet ﷺ told him that he still had some of the ignorance of the old days in him, and that servants are brothers who should be fed and clothed as their masters are (Sahih al-Bukhari). According to the early biographies, the man was Bilal. Abu Dharr lay down on the ground and told Bilal to put his foot on his face, and Bilal refused and lifted him up.

He later lived in Syria, where he fell out with Mu'awiyah over who was meant by the verse about those who hoard gold and silver. Mu'awiyah believed it was about the People of the Book, and Abu Dharr believed it was also about Muslims who kept more than they needed. Mu'awiyah complained to Uthman, who asked him to come to Madinah, and then let him settle at al-Rabadhah nearby. Abu Dharr said that he would obey even an Ethiopian if one were appointed over him (Sahih al-Bukhari). According to the early biographies, his house there held hardly anything, and he said that he had sent his belongings ahead to another house. He died at al-Rabadhah in 32 AH, with only his wife beside him. She went looking for people to bury him, and met a party travelling from Madinah to Kufa that included Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, who wept and then smiled, and said that the Prophet ﷺ had told Abu Dharr that a group of Muslims would pray over him.

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