Lessons from the stances of Abu Dharr (may God be pleased with him)
6 days ago
-Islam and Life-اسلام والحياة
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### 06 – H – Confronting Misguidance
Abu Dharr said:
“I was in Syria, and Muʿāwiyah and I disagreed regarding this verse: *‘Those who hoard gold and silver…’* (Qur’an 9:34).
He said: ‘It was revealed concerning the People of the Book.’
But I said: ‘It concerns both us and them!’”
Muʿāwiyah sought to mislead people by restricting the Qur’an to the circumstances of its revelation and to a specific group only. But Abu Dharr—who had accompanied the Messenger of God since the earliest days of the call—rejected this misleading reinterpretation, affirming that the Qur’an applies to every society, in every time and place.
### 07 – W – Confronting Hunger
Abu Dharr said:
“I am amazed at the one who does not find food in his house—how does he not go out against the people with his sword drawn?”
Indeed, poverty is not cured merely through preaching; it must also be confronted with strength in the face of the wealthy. This is because “there is no abundant blessing except that beside it lies a neglected right.”
### 08 – Z – Confronting the Temptation of Power
Abu Dharr was offered a governorship in Iraq, but he said:
“No, by God! You will never incline me toward your worldly life.”
Once Abu Musa al‑Ashʿari met him and said:
“Welcome, Abu Dharr… welcome, my brother.”
Abu Dharr replied:
“You are not my brother. You were my brother before you became a governor and a ruler.”
On another occasion, Abu Hurayrah embraced him, but Abu Dharr moved him away and said:
“Keep away from me! Were you not appointed to authority? Then you raised lofty buildings and acquired livestock and farmland!”
### 09 – H – Uprightness (Steadfastness)
Abu Dharr said:
“By God, if ʿUthmān were to crucify me upon the tallest piece of wood, I would hear and obey, remain patient, and seek my reward from God—and I would consider that better for me.”
He also said:
“By the One in whose hand is my soul, if you were to place the sword upon my neck, and I believed that I could carry out a word I heard from the Messenger of God before you cut it off, I would carry it out.”
### 10 – T – Society in the Face of the Oppressors
At the gates of Syria, Abu Dharr stood to bid farewell to its people. A large gathering of good and righteous people had assembled to see him off, in a clear demonstration against the injustice of Muʿāwiyah and against the ruler of the land.
There Abu Dharr stood and addressed them:
“O people, I advise you with what will benefit you, and I leave aside elaborate speech and rhetoric.
Praise God, the Mighty and Exalted.”
The people replied: “Praise be to God.”
He then said:
“I bear witness that there is no god but God and that Muhammad is His servant and His Messenger.”
They responded with the same testimony.
Then he said:
“I bear witness that the resurrection is true, that Paradise is true, and that Hellfire is true. I affirm what has come from God—so bear witness for me to that.”
The people said: “We bear witness to that.”
He said:
“Give glad tidings to whoever among you dies upon these qualities of God’s mercy and honor—so long as he is not a supporter of criminals, nor a reformer of the deeds of the oppressors, nor a helper to them.
O people, along with your prayer and fasting, show anger for the sake of God when He is disobeyed on earth. Do not please your leaders at the cost of God’s displeasure. If they introduce what you know to be wrong, then distance yourselves from them and condemn them—even if you are punished, deprived, or exiled—until God, the Mighty and Exalted, becomes pleased. For God is higher and more exalted, and it is not fitting that He be displeased for the sake of pleasing His creation.
May God forgive me and you.
I entrust you to God, and I convey to you my greetings and the mercy of God.”
11-Y-In the face of death, when his son (Dhar) died in exile in Al-Rabadha from hunger and thirst, he stood at his grave saying: “May God have mercy on you, O Dharr. By God, you were dutiful to me, and you were taken while I was pleased with you. By God, I have no grief over your loss, nor do I feel any shame, and I have no need of anyone but God. Were it not for the horror of the grave, I would have been pleased to be in your place. Grief for you has preoccupied me from grief over you. By God, I did not weep for you, but I wept over you. I wish I knew what you said and what was said to you (referring to the questioning of Munkar and Nakir). O God, I have given him what You have obligated him to do of my right, so give me for him what You have obligated him to do of Your right, for You are more deserving of generosity than I am.” /Al-Bihar p. 435.
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