Majma al-Zawaid — Hadith 15829

Ibrahim bin al-Ashtar states: When the time of death of Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) drew near, he was at that time at al-Rabadhah. His wife began to weep. Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) asked: "Why are you weeping?" The woman replied: "I am weeping because I can do nothing for you, and I do not even have enough cloth to suffice for your shroud." Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Do not weep, for one day I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say, while I was with him (peace and blessings be upon him) along with some other people, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'One man among you will die in a wilderness, and a group of the believers will attend his funeral.'" Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "All the people who were present in that gathering have died among communities and in settlements; none of them remains now except me, and I too am now about to die in a wilderness. So keep watch on the road; you will soon see what I have described, for by Allah, I have neither spoken falsely nor been told falsely." The woman said: "How can that possibly happen now, when the pilgrims have already departed?" Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Keep watch on the road." The narrator states: The woman was on the road when some people passed by from there, urging their mounts on swiftly. Those people came there and stopped by that woman. They asked: "What is your matter?" She said: "The shroud of a Muslim man has to be arranged; you will receive its reward." The people asked: "Who is that man?" The woman said: "Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him)." Those people began to say: "May our fathers and mothers be sacrificed for him!" Then they hurried towards Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him). Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Receive the glad tidings that you are the people about whom the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said something. Receive the glad tidings, for I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: 'Whenever two Muslims (husband and wife) lose two or three children, and the two of them hope for the reward and remain patient, they will never see Hell.'" Then Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "My condition is before you. If I had enough cloth to suffice for my shroud, I would be shrouded in that very cloth (you have to arrange my shroud). But I adjure you by Allah that no one among you should provide me a shroud who has been an arif (tribal officer), an amir or a barid (that is, held any government post)." The narrator says: Every one of those people had held one post or another, except a young man from the Ansar who was with those people. He said: "I will do this task for you. In my bag there are two garments which my mother made, and one of these two garments is on my body." Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "You are my man; you shroud me."
Imam Ahmad recorded it through two routes; one of them is this, and the other narration is abridged: he recorded it from Ibrahim bin al-Ashtar from Sayyidah Umm Dharr (may Allah be pleased with her). The narrators of the route of the first narration are the narrators of the Sahih.
Imam al-Bazzar recorded something similar in abridged form.