لما نُفي أبو ذر إلى الربذة

[1] Abū Dharr al-Ghifārī’s name was Jundab ibn Junādah. He was an inhabitant of ar-Rabadhah which was a small village on the east side of Medina. When he heard about the proclamation of the Prophet, he came to Mecca and after making enquiries saw the Prophet and accepted Islam whereupon the unbelievers of Quraysh gave him all sorts of troubles and inflicted pain after pain, but he remained steadfast. Among the acceptors of Islam he is the third, fourth or fifth. Along with this precedence in Islam his renunciation and piety was so high that the Prophet said: Among my people Abū Dharr is the like of ‘Īsā (Jesus) son of Maryam (Mary) in renunciation and piety. In the reign of Caliph ‘Umar, Abū Dharr left for Syria and during ‘Uthmān’s reign also remained there. He spent his days in counselling, preaching, acquainting people with the greatness of the members of the Prophet’s family and guiding the people to the rightful path. The traces of Shī‘ism now found in Syria and Jabal ‘Āmil (north of Lebanon) are the result of his preaching and activity and the fruit of seeds sown by him. The Governor of Syria, Mu‘āwiyah, did not like the conduct of Abū Dharr and was much disgusted with his open criticism and mention of the moneymaking and other wrongful activities of ‘Uthmān. But he could do nothing. At last he wrote to ‘Uthmān that if he remained there any longer he would rouse the people against the Caliph. There should therefore be some remedy against this. On this, ‘Uthmān wrote to him that Abū Dharr should be seated on an unsaddled camel and dispatched to Medina. The order was obeyed and Abū Dharr was sent to Medina. On reaching Medina he resumed his preaching of righteousness and truth. He would recall to the people the days of the Holy Prophet and refrain them from displays of kingly pageantry, whereupon ‘Uthmān was much perturbed and tried to restrict his speaking. One day he sent for him and said: “I have come to know that you go about propagating that the Holy Prophet said that : ‘When Banū Umayyah will become thirty in number they will regard the cities of Allāh as their property, His creatures their slaves and His religion the tool of their treachery’.” Abū Dharr replied that he had heard the Prophet say so. ‘Uthmān said that he was speaking a lie and enquired from those beside him if any one had heard this tradition and all replied in the negative. Abū Dharr then said that enquiry should be made from Amīr al-mu’minīn ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib عليه السلام. He was sent for and asked about it. He said it was correct and Abū Dharr was telling the truth. ‘Uthmān enquired on what basis he gave evidence for the correctness of this tradition. Amīr al-mu’minīn replied that he had heard the Holy Prophet say that : There is no speaker under the sky or over the earth more truthful than Abū Dharr. Now ‘Uthmān could do nothing. If he still held him to be a liar it would mean falsification of the Prophet. He therefore kept quiet despite much perturbation, since he could not refute him. On the other side Abū Dharr began speaking against the usurping of Muslims’ property quite openly and whenever he saw ‘Uthmān he would recite this verse : And those who hoard up gold and silver and spend it not in Allāh’s way; announce thou unto them a painful chastisement. On the day (of Judgement) when it shall be heated in the fire of hell, then shall be branded with it their foreheads and their sides and their backs; (saying unto them) “This is what ye hoarded up for yourselves, taste ye then what ye did hoard up.” (Qur’ān, 9:34 -35) ‘Uthmān promised him money but could not entrap this free man in his golden net, then resorted to repression but could not stop his truthspeaking tongue. At last he ordered him to leave and go to ar-Rabadhah and deputed Marwān, son of the man (al-Ḥakam) exiled by the Prophet, to turn him out of Medina. At the same time he issued the inhuman order that no one should speak to him nor see him off. But Amīr al-mu’minīn, Imām Ḥasan, Imām Ḥusayn, ‘Aqīl ibn Abī Ṭālib, ‘Abdullāh ibn Ja‘far and ‘Ammār ibn Yāsir did not pay any heed to this order and accompanied him to see him off, and Amīr al-mu’minīn uttered these sentences (i.e., the above sermon) on that occasion. In ar-Rabadhah, Abū Dharr had to put up with a very hard life. It was here that his son Dharr and his wife died and the sheep and goats that he was keeping for his livelihood also died. Of his children only one daughter remained, who equally shared his starvation and troubles. When the means of subsistence were fully exhausted and day after day passed without food she said to Abū Dharr: “Father, how long shall we go on like this. We should go somewhere in search of livelihood.” Abū Dharr took her with him and set off for the wilderness. He could not find even any foliage. At last he was tired and sat down at a certain place. Then he collected some sand and, putting his head on it, lay down. Soon he began gasping, his eyes rolled up and pangs of death gripped him. When the daughter saw this condition she was perplexed and said, “Father, if you die in this vast wilderness, how shall I manage for your burial quite alone.” He replied, “Do not get upset. The Prophet told me that I shall die in helplessness and some Iraqis would arrange for my burial. After my death you put a sheet over me and then sit by the roadway and when some caravan passes that way tell there that the Prophet’s companion Abū Dharr has died.” Consequently, after his death she went and sat by the roadside. After some time a caravan passed that way. It included Mālik ibn al-Ḥārith al-Ashtar an-Nakha‘ī, Ḥujr ibn ‘Abdī at-Ṭā’ī, ‘Alqamah ibn Qays an-Nakha‘ī, Sa‘sa‘ah ibn Ṣūhān al-‘Abdī, al-Aswad ibn Yazīd an-Nakha‘ī etc. who were all fourteen persons in number. When they heard about the passing away of Abū Dharr they were shocked at his helpless death. They stopped their riding beasts and postponed the onward journey for his burial. Mālik al-Ashtar gave a sheet of cloth for his shroud. It was valued at four thousand Dirhams. After his funeral rites and burial they departed. This happened in the month of Dhi’l-ḥijjah, 32 A.H.