Reports on Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him)

Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: On the Day of Resurrection I will be the closest of you to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), because I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "The closest of you to me on the Day of Resurrection will be the one who leaves the world in the same state in which I left him." (Then Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) said:) "By Allah! Every one of you has become entangled in something of the world, except me."
Ahmad recorded it, and its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy), except that Irak bin Malik did not, in my opinion, hear from Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him). And Allah knows best.
Al-Tabarani recorded something similar to it.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates: Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "The most beloved of you to me and the closest of you to me will be the one who, after me, remains upon the covenant on which he parted from me."
Al-Tabarani recorded it; its chain contains Musa bin Ubaydah, and he is da'if (weak).

Imam al-Tabarani said about Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him): He is Sayyiduna Jundub (may Allah be pleased with him) bin Junadah bin Sufyan bin Ubayd bin Haram bin Ghifar bin Mulayl bin Damrah bin Bakr bin Abd Manaf bin Kinanah bin Khuzaymah bin Mudrikah bin Ilyas bin Mudar bin Nizar bin Ma'add bin Adnan.

Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Numayr states: The name of Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) was "Jundub bin Junadah", and according to one view the name of Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) was "Burayr".
Imam al-Tabarani recorded it.

Zayd bin Aslam states: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him): "O Burayr!"
Imam al-Tabarani recorded it within a hadith which we have abridged.
This report is mursal, and its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy).

Jubayr bin Nufayr states: Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) used to say: I remember about myself that I was the fourth person to accept Islam; before me only the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) and Sayyiduna Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) had accepted Islam.
Imam al-Tabarani recorded it with two chains; one of them is muttasil (connected) in its chain, and its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy).

Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) states: I had a brother whose name was Unays; he was a poet. He had a contest with another poet. Unays said: "I am a greater poet than you." The other said: "I am the greater poet." Unays said: "Whom will you accept to judge between us?" He said: "I will accept that the soothsayer of Makkah judge between us." He said: "Very well." So the two of them set out and went to Makkah, and they gathered before that soothsayer. Unays recited his verses and the other also recited his verses. The soothsayer said to Unays: "You have fulfilled what was due from you," as if he judged the poetry of Unays to be better. My brother came and told me: "In Makkah there is a man who says that he is a prophet, and he is upon your religion." Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) says: I asked Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him): "What was your religion?" He said: "I had turned away from the deities that the people of my tribe worshipped." Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) says: I asked: "Then whom did you worship?" He said: "Nothing. I used to pray at night (or supplicate) until I would fall down as if I were a cloak, until the heat of the sun would wake me." He was asked: "Which direction did you face?" He said: "Wherever my Lord turned me, that way." Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) states: Unays said to me: "Those people have declared him detestable." Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) says: I came and entered Makkah, and I stayed between the Ka'bah and its coverings for fifteen nights and a day. Every night I would come out and drink Zamzam water, and I did not feel hunger; rather, folds began to appear on my belly. During this time, one night two women came; they were supplicating to their deities. One of them was saying: "O Isaf, give me a son!" The other was saying: "O Na'ilah, give me such and such!" I said: "These are nonsense." So the two of them went away saying: "A renegade is present between the coverings of the Ka'bah." Just then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) passed by there, and Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) was walking behind him. Those women said: "A renegade is present behind the coverings of the Ka'bah." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) condemned what they had said. Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) says: I realised that this was the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). I came out to him and said: "O Messenger of Allah, peace be upon you." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "And upon you be peace, and the mercy of Allah Almighty and His blessings." He said these words three times. Then he asked me: "How long have you been here?" I said: "For fifteen days." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "Where have you been eating from?" I said: "I come to Zamzam in the middle of the night and drink some of it, and I do not feel the pangs of hunger on my liver; rather, folds have appeared on my belly." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It satisfies the need for food and it satisfies the need for drink, and it is a blessed thing." He said these words three times. Then he asked me: "Which tribe do you belong to?" I said: "To the tribe of Ghifar." The narrator says: The people of the tribe of Ghifar used to rob the pilgrims, so the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) felt some hesitation about me. He said to Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him): "O Abu Bakr, go! O Abu Bakr, go!" Then he took us along to the house of Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him). He placed raisins before me, and we ate some of them. Then I stayed with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him); he taught me the teachings of Islam and taught me some Qur'an. I said: "O Messenger of Allah, I want to proclaim my religion openly." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I fear for you that you will be killed." I said: "But I will certainly do it." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I fear for you that you will be killed." I said: "O Messenger of Allah, I will certainly do it, even if I am killed." So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) fell silent. The people of Quraysh were sitting in circles around the Ka'bah, talking. I came and said: "I bear witness that there is no god but Allah Almighty, and that Sayyiduna Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is His servant and His Messenger." The circles broke up, and those people got up, came towards me and began to beat me, until they left me in such a state that I was like a red idol-stone; they thought they had killed me. I got up and came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saw my condition, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Did I not forbid you?" I said: "O Messenger of Allah, there was a desire in my heart and I have fulfilled it." Then I stayed with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Go back to your people. When you learn of my emergence, then come to me." So I went back to my people. I had been late in coming to them. I met (my brother) Unays, and he began to weep. He said: "O my brother, you were so late in coming that I thought you might have been killed. What happened to you? Did you meet that man whom you went to seek?" I said: "I bear witness that there is no god but Allah Almighty, and that Sayyiduna Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is the Messenger of Allah." So Unays also accepted Islam on the spot. Then I came to my mother. When she saw me, she began to weep and said: "O my son, you were so late in coming to us that I feared you had been killed. What happened to you? Did you meet that man whom you went to seek?" I replied: "Yes. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah Almighty, and that Sayyiduna Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is the Messenger of Allah." My mother asked: "What did Unays do?" I said: "He has accepted Islam." My mother said: "I too will not turn away from you two. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah Almighty, and that Sayyiduna Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is the Messenger of Allah." Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) says: So I remained among my people, and many of them accepted Islam, until, when we learned of the emergence of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), I presented myself before the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). (Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say:
This report is narrated in the Sahih in abridged form.
Imam al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat.

In a narration recorded by him there are these words: I mounted my mother and my sister, until we stopped near Makkah. My brother said: "I am going to contest a man at the water with poetry." He was a poet. I said: "Do not do it." But his stubbornness carried him away, until he contested Durayd bin al-Simmah, staking his herd of camels against Durayd's herd. The narrator says: By Allah, Durayd at that time was a greater poet than my brother. The two of them made a woman named Khansa' the arbiter, and that woman gave the verdict in favour of my brother against Durayd. The reason for this was that Durayd had sent a marriage proposal for that woman to her father, and the woman had said: "He is an old man; I have no interest in him." So the woman held a grudge against Durayd in her heart. We joined the prize camels with our own camels, and the number of our camels became close to a hundred. Then I came to Makkah. I first came to Safa, where some men of Quraysh were present. I had learned that they say: "That person is a renegade, or a madman, or a poet, or a sorcerer." So I said: "Where is that man about whom people say that he is like this?" The people said: "There he is." I set off towards the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). By Allah, I had gone only a little distance from them when they took every stone, bone and clod of earth they had and beat me until I was covered in blood. I came to the House of Allah and entered between its building and its coverings. I fasted for thirty days; during that time I ate and drank nothing except Zamzam water, until, when a moonlit night came, two women of the tribe of Khuza'ah came and circumambulated the House of Allah. (Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say: After this the narrator mentioned the whole hadith, similar to the narration mentioned in the Sahih. In the first chain there is a narrator, Abu al-Tahir, who narrated it from Abu Yazid al-Madini,
and I do not know Abu al-Tahir; the remaining narrators of this report are the narrators of the Sahih. In the second narration there is a group of narrators whom I do not know.

Sayyiduna Abu al-Darda' (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates this saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "The sky has not shaded, nor has the earth carried upon itself, anyone more truthful than Abu Dharr al-Ghifari."
Imam Ahmad, Imam al-Bazzar and Imam al-Tabarani recorded it. Its chain contains a narrator, Ali bin Zayd, who has been declared trustworthy, and there is weakness in him. The remaining narrators of this report are thiqat (trustworthy).

Abd al-Rahman bin Ghanm states: He went to Hims to visit Sayyiduna Abu al-Darda' (may Allah be pleased with him) and stayed with him for a few days. At his order a pack-saddle was placed on his donkey. Then Sayyiduna Abu al-Darda' (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I think that I will follow you." Then he gave orders about his own donkey, and a saddle was placed on it. Then the two of them set off riding on their two donkeys. They met a man who, the previous day, had attended the Friday prayer behind Sayyiduna Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) at al-Jabiyah. That man recognised the two of them, but these two gentlemen could not recognise him. The man told them about the state of the people. Then the man said: "There is another piece of news as well, and I do not like to tell you about it, because I think that you both will dislike it." Sayyiduna Abu al-Darda' (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Perhaps Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) has been exiled." The man replied: "Yes, by Allah." Sayyiduna Abu al-Darda' (may Allah be pleased with him) and his companion recited Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un (We belong to Allah and to Him we return) about ten times. Then Sayyiduna Abu al-Darda' (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Watch them and be patient, as was said to the people of the she-camel (that is, the people of Sayyiduna Salih (peace be upon him))." Then he said: "O Allah, if these people have called Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) a liar, I do not call him a liar. O Allah, if these people have levelled accusations against him, I do not accuse him. O Allah, if these people have deemed him deceitful, I do not deem him deceitful. For the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) entrusted him when he (peace and blessings be upon him) entrusted no one, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) confided secrets to him when he confided secrets to no one. By the One in whose Hand is the soul of Abu al-Darda', if Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) were to cut off my right hand, I would still not hate him, after I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: 'The sky has not shaded, nor has the earth carried upon itself, anyone more truthful than Abu Dharr.'"
Imam Ahmad recorded it, and Imam al-Tabarani recorded something similar, adding these words: Sayyiduna Abu al-Darda' (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Whoever wishes to look at Sayyiduna the Messiah, Isa bin Maryam (peace be upon him), at his righteousness, his truthfulness and his earnest striving, let him look at Abu Dharr."
Imam al-Bazzar recorded it in abridged form. The narrators of Imam Ahmad have been declared trustworthy, and there is disagreement about some of its narrators.

Sayyiduna Abu al-Darda' (may Allah be pleased with him) states: By Allah, it was the practice of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that when Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) was present, he would keep him close to himself, and when he was absent, he would inquire about him.
Imam al-Tabarani recorded it. Its chain contains a narrator, Abu Bakr bin Abi Maryam, who suffered from ikhtilat (confusion in memory).

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Abu Dharr resembles Sayyiduna Isa bin Maryam (peace be upon him) in his worship."
Imam al-Tabarani recorded it. Its chain contains a narrator, Ibrahim al-Hajari, and he is da'if (weak); and along with his weakness, the narrator Ibrahim did not reach the time of Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him).

With the same chain this is reported: Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) states: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever wishes to see a person who resembles Sayyiduna Isa bin Maryam (peace be upon him) in character and in outward form, let him look at Abu Dharr."

Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Abu Dharr, I saw as if I were weighed against forty people, among whom you were one, and I outweighed them."
Imam al-Bazzar recorded it, and its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy).

Sayyiduna Imam Husayn bin Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) states: Sayyiduna Jibril (peace be upon him) came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "O Sayyiduna Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), Allah Almighty loves three people from among your Companions, so you too should love them: Ali bin Abi Talib, Abu Dharr and al-Miqdad bin al-Aswad."
Imam Abu Ya'la recorded it. Its chain contains a narrator, al-Nadr bin Humayd, and he is matruk (abandoned).

Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates this as a marfu' hadith (the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said): "Paradise longs for three men: Ali, Ammar (the narrator says: I think the narration has these words:) and Abu Dharr." (Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say:
Imam al-Tirmidhi also recorded it, but he did not mention Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him).
Imam al-Bazzar recorded it, and its chain is hasan (good).

Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) states: Of whatever Sayyiduna Jibril (peace be upon him) and Sayyiduna Mika'il (peace be upon him) had given the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), he left nothing without placing it in my breast; and of whatever the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) placed in my breast, I left nothing without placing it in the breast of Malik bin Damrah.
Imam al-Tabarani recorded it, and its chain contains narrators whom I do not know.

Abdullah bin Khirash states: I saw Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) at al-Rabadhah in a black shelter. With him was a heavily built woman, and Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) was at that time sitting on a piece of a jawaliq (perhaps a sack is meant). It was said to him: "You are a man whose children do not survive." He said: "All praise belongs to Allah Almighty, who took them from the perishing world and stored them up in the abiding (Hereafter)." The people said: "O Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him), it would be better if you kept some other woman instead of this woman." He said: "That I marry a woman who keeps me humble is dearer to me than a woman who raises me up." The people said: "It would be better if you spread a softer bedding than this." He said: "O Allah, I ask Your forgiveness. Take from what You have granted as a gift whatever seems fitting to You."
Imam al-Tabarani recorded it. Its chain contains a narrator, Musa bin Ubaydah, and he is da'if (weak).

Muhammad bin Sirin states: There was a man in Syria from Quraysh whose name was al-Harith. He learned that Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) was in need, so he sent three hundred dinars to Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him). Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Abdullah could not find any servant of Allah more insignificant in his eyes than me! I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: 'Whoever asks while he has forty has asked importunately.'" The narrator says: Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) had forty dirhams, forty goats and two servants. Abu Bakr bin Ayyash says: By this (mahinan) servants are meant.
Imam al-Tabarani recorded it, and its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih, except for Abdullah bin Ahmad bin Abdullah bin Yunus, and he is thiqah (trustworthy).

Abu Shu'bah states: A man came to Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) and offered him money. Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "We have goats which we milk, donkeys on which we travel, a freed woman who serves us, and an extra cloak beyond our clothing. I fear that I may be held to account for what is surplus."
Imam al-Tabarani recorded it. I do not know the narrator Abu Shu'bah al-Bakri; the remaining narrators of this report are the narrators of the Sahih.

Abu al-Aswad al-Du'ali states: I have seen the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and I have not seen anyone like Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him).
Abdullah recorded it.

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.

Muhammad bin Ka'b states: Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) came along with the riders of Sayyiduna Ammar (may Allah be pleased with him). He passed by the funeral bier of Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him), which was on the road. So he and his companions dismounted and buried him. Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) had entered Egypt and had marked out a house there.
Imam al-Tabarani recorded it. The narrator Muhammad bin Ka'b did not reach the time of Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him), and the narrator Ibn Ishaq is a mudallis.

Yazid bin Abi Habib states: Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) is one of those who took part in the conquest (of Egypt) along with Sayyiduna Amr bin al-As (may Allah be pleased with him).
Imam al-Tabarani recorded it, and its chain is munqati' (broken).

Yahya bin Bukayr states: Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) passed away at al-Rabadhah in 32 AH. His name was Sayyiduna Jundub bin Junadah (may Allah be pleased with him). The chain of this report is munqati' (broken).