Abu Dharr al-Ghifari

This is an accepted version of this pageAbu Dharr Al-Ghifari Al-Kinani (أَبُو ذَرّ ٱلْغِفَارِيّ ٱلْكِنَانِيّ, ʾAbū Ḏarr al-Ghifārīy al-Kinānīy), also spelled Abu Tharr or Abu Zar, born Jundab ibn Junādah (جُنْدَب ٱبْن جُنَادَة), was the fourth or fifth person converting to Islam, and a member of the Muhajirun.

Abu Dharr is remembered for his strict piety and also his opposition to Muawiyah during the caliphate of Uthman ibn Affan.

[8] Abu Dharr was apparently typical of the early converts to Islam, described by Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri as "young men and weak people".

He converted instantly and rushed out to declare his new faith in front of the Kaaba, which at that time was a pagan temple.

[12] In response Muhammad ordered the third expedition led by Dhu Qarad to take revenge for the killing of the son of Abu Dharr Ghifari at al-Ghaba.

[16] There is a Shia tradition that Muhammad predicted this sad end during the Battle of Tabouk, when Abu Dharr was left behind because his camel was ill or too weak.

According to Sunni tradition, he was a rough and unlettered Bedouin who held no high office, but who served the Muslim community with everything he had to give.

During the caliphate of Uthman, he stayed in Damascus and witnessed Muslims deviating from Islam, going after worldly pleasures and desires.

[citation needed] Abu Dharr then asked Uthman for permission to live in al-Rabathah, a small village in eastern Madinah.

A relevant story about him is:[18] A man visited him once and when he found his house almost bare, he asked Abu Dharr: "Where are your possessions?"

Muhammad said about him: "The earth does not carry nor the heavens cover a man more true and faithful than Abu Dharr.

[19][20] When Abu Dharr was exiled to al-Rabathah by Caliph Uthman bin Affan under duress from Muawiyah,[a] Ali and his sons, Hasan and Husayn, went to see him off.

[17]Lebanon has two shrines dedicated to Abu Dharr commemorating his effort in spreading Islam, one in Sarepta and the other in Meiss al-Jabal.