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k.ibrahim
04-09-2019, 08:57 PM

Bismillah Ir-Rahman, Ir-Raheem. I begin with ALLAH's auspiciousness,whose Name is the Best among all the names. All Revences, All Sanctities and All Worships are due to ALLAH alone. Ashahadu An Laa illaaha illal llahu
Wa Ash Hadu Anna Muhammadan Abdu Hu Wa Rasooluhu
''I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah
who is without partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad (Peace be upon Him) is the Rasool.''
"O Allah, Shower Your Peace come upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as you have brought peace to Ibrahim and his family. ------------------------------------
When Abu Dharr came late, alone - to follow the Muslims in the battle of Tabuk. Allah's Messenger saw him coming late from afar, and said [meaning]; "Let it be Abu Dharr". As the man came closer, it was Abu Dharr. He was coming on his camel, and his camel was too slow. So he got off it and ran towards the Muslim army and caught up. ​This is when Allah's Messenger mentioned this -"May Allah have mercy upon Abu Dharr! Lonely will he live, lonely will he die and lonely will he be resurrected. And Allah knows best.)------------It was inthe Waddan valley, which connects Makkah to the outside world, lived the tribe of Ghifar. Ghifar were notorious for raiding trade caravans and for invading weaker neighbouring tribes. So lawless were they, that they did not even respect the four sacred months held inviolable by all Arabs, in which they did not allow killing. All in all, their interests were focused on ways to rob others. [Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal]

Jundub ibn Junadah, nicknamed Abu Dharr, was a member of this tribe. He, like his peers, was a professional raider and used all means available to kill to survive. However, he didn't like this life style and eventually, he with his brother and mother, left the tribe and moved close to Makkah.

Abu Dharr (radiAllahuanhu) had started praying more than three years before the advent of Islam. He would pray at night and remain engaged in prayer until the morning. He would pray in whichever direction and whatever manner Allah (subhanawata'ala) guided him to. He would pray to the Lord of the heavens, as he had rejected the idols and religious corruption in which the Arabs were engaged. Every time he went out in the desert he was amazed by the bright stars that glittered far above him and wondered at the vast universe around him. His innate nature had put him on the right path. [Hilyat-ulAwliyaWaTabaqaat al-Asfiya]

Once Abu Dharr's brother, Unays, went to Makkah to do some business. When he came back he told Abu Dharr (radiAllahuanhu) that he had met a man in Makkah who claimed to be a prophet. He was preaching a religion which said to worship Allah (subhanawata'ala) alone. Reported Unays, "he calls people to noble qualities and there is no mere poetry in what he says." "What do people say about him?" asked Abu Dharr (radiAllahuanhu). Unays replied that they said that Muhammad (salAllahualaihiwasallam) was a soothsayer, a magician, a liar, and he went down the list of labels that the media of Makkah had labeled him with. Abu Dharr (radiAllahuanhu) said, "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" cautioned his brother. Abu Dharr (radiAllahuanhu) did not trust the media of Makkah and decided to investigate the matter himself by meeting this prophet personally.---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.

Another narration is that on his arrival in Makkah, Abu Dharr (radiAllahuanhu) asked a man about Prophet Muhammad (salAllahualaihiwasallam). That man immediately called the Quraish and they started pelting him with stones, rocks and whatever they could get their hands on. The physical assault continued until Abu Dharr (radiAllahuanhu) became unconscious. When he regained consciousness, he saw that he was soaked with blood from head to toe. He went to the well of Zamzam, drank water, and washed the blood off his body. He, thereafter, refrained from asking anyone about Prophet Muhammad (salAllahualaihiwasallam) not knowing whether that person would be a follower or an enemy. [Ahmad ibn Hanbal]

Abu Dharr (radiAllahuanhu) stayed next to the Kaaba for thirty days, not knowing where to meet the Messenger of Allah (salAllahualaihiwasallam), drinking nothing but the water of Zamzam. More surprising than this is that Abu Dharr (radiAllahuanhu) said, "And I started gaining weight until I began to get folds on my stomach." [Ahmad ibn Hanbal] Abu Dharr spent the following days without getting to know the Prophet. And as many evening passed he went to the Mosque to sleep and until one evening -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. Ali again passed by him and said:

"Isn't it time that a man knows his house?"

Abu Dharr accompanied him and stayed 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 of what he has to say."

Ali's face lit up with happiness as he said, "By ALLAH, he is really the Messenger of ALLAH," 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, he followed closely in Ali's footsteps until they were in the presence of the Prophet.

As-salaamuAlaykaYaaRasulullah, (Peace be on you, O Messenger of ALLAH)," greeted Abu Dharr.

Wa Alaykasalaamullahiwarahmatuhuwabarakaatuhu (And on you be the peace of ALLAH, 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.

Prophet Muhammad (salAllahualaihiwasallam) asked Abu Dharr (radiAllahuanhu) where he was from. When Abu Dharr (radiAllahuanhu) replied that he was from Ghifar, the Messenger of Allah (salAllahualaihiwasallam) put his hand to his head in amazement. A man from Ghifar! These were killers and raiders, who obeyed no laws of any kind! It was amazing that a man of a tribe of murderers and looters had come to Makkah in search of the truth, while Muhammad's (salAllahualaihiwasallam) own people, who were the religious authorities of Arabia, had rejected his message!(commentary-When ALLAH touch the hearts of men,nothing can hold them back from searching out the truth!


Abu Dharr's (radiAllahuanhu) meeting with the Messenger of Allah (salAllahualaihiwasallam) resulted in his conversion to Islam. Prophet Muhammad (salAllahualaihiwasallam) told Abu Dharr (radiAllahuanhu) to keep his Eeman (belief in Islam) secret.

Abu Dharr's (radiAllahuanhu) story in his own words is: "After that I stayed with the Prophet (salAllahualaihiwasallam) in Makkah and he taught me Islam and taught me to read the Qur'an. Then he said to me, 'Don't tell anyone in Makkah about your acceptance of Islam. I fear that they will kill you.'"

But Abu Dharr (radiAllahuanhu) vowed, "By Him in whose hands is my soul, I shall not leave Makkah until I go to the Kabbah and proclaim the call of Truth in the midst of the Quraish."

Abu Dharr (radiAllahuanhu) said, "The Prophet (salAllahualaihiwasallam) remained silent. I went to the Kabbah. The Quraish were sitting and talking. I went in their midst and called out at the top of my voice, 'O people of Quraish, I testify that there is no God but Allah and that Muhammad (salAllahualaihiwasallam) is the Messenger of Allah (subhanawata'ala).'"

"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 Abdul Muttalib, the uncle of the Prophet (salAllahualaihiwasallam), recognised me. He bent over 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."

Abu Dharr (radiAllahuanhu) repeated his proclamation the next day and the day after, with the same result. Abbas ibn Abdul Muttalib (radiAllahuanhu) saved Abu Dharr (radiAllahuanhu) by telling people that he was from Ghifar, and that if anything happened to him, none of their caravans would be safe, as the Ghifar would loot them regularly, cutting off the trading pipeline of the Quraish, in revenge.

Abu Dharr (radiAllahuanhu) says, "I went back to the Prophet (salAllahualaihiwasallam) and when he saw my condition, he said, 'Didn't I tell you not to announce your acceptance of Islam?' 'O Messenger of Allah,' 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 Allah (subhanawata'ala). Maybe Allah (subhanawata'ala) will bring them good through you and reward you through them. And when you hear that I have come out in the 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 ALLAH 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 desert abode 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 stay in 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 of his 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 simple and 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 more deserving 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." Prophet Muhammad (salAllahualaihiwasallam) said about him: "No one walking on the earth and under the sky is more truthful than Abu Dharr." [Ibn Majah] --

What we learn from Abu Dharr's (radiAllahuanhu) story is that whenever anybody sincerely looks for guidance, Allah (subhanawata'ala) does not leave that person to wander in the darkness of ignorance and disbelief. Abu Dharr (radiAllahuanhu) was looking for Islam and Allah (subhanawata'ala) brought him to it. ----------We look back and say"May Allah have mercy upon Abu Dharr! He came to Islam a lone, he lived alone, He die alone and He will be resurrected alone!




















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