SERMON 129
Delivered when Abu Dharr href="#1">(1) was exiled towards ar-Rabadhah
O' Abu Dharr! You showed anger in the name of Allah
therefore have hope in Him for whom you became angry. The people were afraid of you in the
matter of their (pleasure of this) world while you feared them for your faith. Then leave
to them that for which they are afraid of you and get away from them taking away what you
fear them about. How needy are they for what you dissuade them from and how heedless are
you towards what they are denying you. You will shortly know who is the gainer tomorrow
(on the Day of Judgement) and who is more enviable. Even if these skies and earth were
closed to some individual and he feared Allah, then Allah would open them for him. Only
rightfulness should attract you while wrongfulness should detract you. If you had accepted
their worldly attractions they would have loved you and if you had shared in it they would
have given you asylum.
(1).
Abu Dharr al-Ghifari's name was Jundab ibn Junadah. 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 enquires 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 Abu Dharr is the
like of Isa (Jesus) son of Maryam (Mary) in renunciation and piety.
In the reign of Caliph Umar, Abu
Dharr left for Syria and during Uthman'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 Shiism now
found in Syria and Jabal Amil (north of Lebanon) are the result of his preaching and
activity and the fruit of seeds sown by him.
The Governor of Syria, Muawiyah,
did not like the conduct of Abu Dharr and was much disgusted with his open criticism and
mention of the money-making and other wrongful activities of Uthman. But he could do
nothing. At last he wrote to Uthman 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, Uthman wrote to him that Abu Dharr should be seated on an unsaddled camel and
dispatched to Medina. The order was obeyed and Abu 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
Uthman 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 Banu Umayyah will become
thirty in number they will regard the cities of Allah as their property, His creatures
their slaves and His religion the tool of their treachery."
Abu Dharr replied that he had heard
the Prophet say so. Uthman 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. Abu Dharr then
said that enquiry should be made from Amir al-mu'minin Ali ibn Abi Talib (p.b.u.h.). He
was sent for and asked about it. He said it was correct and Abu Dharr was telling the
truth. Uthman enquired on what basis he gave evidence for the correctness of this
tradition. Amir al-mu'minin replied that he had heard the Holy Prophet say that:
There is no speaker under the sky
or over the earth more truthful than Abu Dharr.
Now Uthman could do nothing. If he
still held him to be 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 Abu
Dharr began speaking against the usurping of Muslims' property quite openly and whenever
he saw Uthman he would recite this verse:
And those who hoard up gold and
silver and spend it not in Allah'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'an,
9:34-35)
Uthman promised him money but
could not entrap this free man in his golden net, then resorted to repression but could
not stop his truth-speaking tongue. At last he ordered him to leave and go to ar-Rabadhah
and deputised Marwan, son of the man (al-Hakam) 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 Amir al-mu'minin, Imam Hasan, Imam Husayn, Aqil ibn Abi Talib, Abdullah
ibn Jafar and Ammar ibn Yasir did not pay any heed to this order and accompanied him to
see him off, and Amir al-mu'minin uttered these sentences (i.e., the above sermon) on that
occasion.
In ar-Rabadhah, Abu Dharr had to
put up with a very had 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 Abu
Dharr: "Father, how long shall we go on like this. We should go somewhere in search
of livelihood." Abu 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 them that the Prophet's companion Abu Dharr has died."
Consequently, after his death she went and sat by the roadside. After some time a caravan
passed that way. It included Malik ibn al-Harith al-Ashtar an-Nakhai, Hujr ibn Adi
at-Ta'i, Alqamah ibn Qays an- Nakhai, Sasaah ibn Suhan al-Abdi, al-Aswad ibn Yazid
an-Nakhai etc. who were all fourteen persons in number. When they heard about the passing
away of Abu Dharr they were shocked at his helpless death. They stopped their riding
beasts and postponed the onward journey for his burial. Ma1ik 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-hijjah, 32 A.H.
.Forward to Sermon 130.Back to Sermon 128.