الرحلةThe Journey

أبو ذر الغفاري

Abu Dharr (RA)

Abu Dharr al-Ghifari

Also known as: Abu Zar, Abu Dzar, Jundab ibn Junadah

c. 38 BH – 32 AH · c. 585–652 CE

Companions

Early convert from the Ghifar tribe, famed for his truthfulness, asceticism and outspokenness.

Abu Dharr, Jundab ibn Junadah, came from the Ghifar, a tribe on the caravan road between Makkah and Syria. Hearing of the Prophet ﷺ, he came to Makkah, found him, and was among the first to accept Islam. He declared his faith aloud at the Ka'bah and was beaten until al-'Abbas rescued him. The Prophet ﷺ sent him back to his people, and much of Ghifar accepted Islam through him. He joined the Prophet ﷺ in Madinah after the Battle of the Trench.

The Prophet ﷺ said that no one under the sky was more truthful in speech than Abu Dharr. He lived simply and held that Muslims should not hoard wealth. In Syria he disagreed with the governor Mu'awiyah over the verse on those who hoard gold and silver (9:34), which Abu Dharr held applied to Muslims as well as to the People of the Book. 'Uthman called him back to Madinah, and, as Abu Dharr himself related, offered him a place apart if he wished; he chose al-Rabadhah, where he died in 652 with only his wife and a few travellers present.

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Life journey

  1. c. 585 CE Makkah مكة
    Came from the Ghifar tribe to meet the Prophet ﷺ, accepted Islam, and was beaten for declaring it at the Ka'bah; the year is approximate.
  2. 627 CE Madinah المدينة
    Came to Madinah after the Battle of the Trench.
  3. 635 CE Damascus دمشق
    Lived in Syria after the Prophet ﷺ passed away.
  4. 650 CE al-Rabadhah الربذة
    Died 652 CE · 32 AH
    Settled in al-Rabadhah, east of Madinah, where he died in 652.

Places in their life

The Ka'bah in al-Masjid al-Haram, Makkah
The Ka'bah in al-Masjid al-Haram, Makkah
Photo: Adli Wahid (minor modifications by Basile Morin), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
al-Masjid al-Nabawi, the Prophet's Mosque, Madinah
al-Masjid al-Nabawi, the Prophet's Mosque, Madinah
Photo: TheHadiRahim, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
The courtyard of the Umayyad Mosque, Damascus
The courtyard of the Umayyad Mosque, Damascus
Photo: Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Sources

  • Sahih al-Bukhari (Book of Virtues, the story of Abu Dharr's Islam; Book of Zakah, on al-Rabadhah)
  • Sunan al-Tirmidhi (Book of Virtues, on his truthfulness)
  • Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani, al-Isaba fi Tamyiz al-Sahaba
Draft, awaiting scholarly review.
His disagreement with Mu'awiyah and his move to al-Rabadhah are told in his own words in Sahih al-Bukhari; wording kept neutral. Birth year approximate. The Ghifar lands are not shown on the map.