Abu Dharr al-Ghifari
Who was Abu Dharr al-Ghifari? The desert Bedouin who accepted Islam in Mecca before the emigration, was sent back to his tribe to teach them, and returned to Madinah after Khaybar as one of the most beloved Companions.
The desert Bedouin who accepted Islam in Mecca before the emigration, was sent back to his tribe to teach them, and returned to Madinah after Khaybar as one of the most beloved Companions.
Life
Jundub ibn Junadah, better known as Abu Dharr, was of the Bani Ghifar. His tribe controlled the road between Mecca and Syria and were highwaymen. Abu Dharr renounced idolatry before Islam entered his life; he simply refused to worship stones.
He heard of the new prophet in Mecca and sent his brother to investigate. When his brother returned uncertain, Abu Dharr went himself. He arrived in Mecca in secret, met the Prophet ﷺ in the sanctuary at night, and immediately accepted Islam. He then walked into the courtyard of the Kaaba the next morning and declared his Islam publicly, becoming one of the first to do so. He was beaten severely by the Quraysh.
He was sent back to his tribe. Under his teaching, most of Bani Ghifar and their neighbors Bani Aslam accepted Islam before he himself returned to the Prophet ﷺ. He rejoined the Prophet ﷺ at Khaybar.
The Prophet ﷺ said of him: no man on earth speaks more truthfully than Abu Dharr. He was known for extreme personal poverty and for openly criticizing the wealth of the later Umayyad governors. He was exiled by the Caliph Uthman to Rabadha in the desert outside Madinah, where he died alone.
When Abu Dharr died, his wife had no cloth to shroud him. A caravan passing by, which happened to include Abdullah ibn Masud, stopped, gave the cloth, and buried him. Abdullah ibn Masud wept, remembering the Prophet's ﷺ words: you will live alone, die alone, and be resurrected alone, O Abu Dharr.
Stories
Each story is drawn from the classical Islamic sources.