Adversities for the Sake of Allah The Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “O Abu Dharr! You are a righteous man indeed, and you will suffer adversities after I leave this world.” Abu Dharr (radi Allahu anhu) inquired: “Adversities in Allah?” He (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) replied: “In Allah.” Hearing that, Abu Dharr (radi Allahu anhu) said: “I welcome and salute Allah’s commands.” [Hilyat-ul Awliya Wa Tabaqaat al-Asfiya] By the time of the caliphate of Uthman (radi Allahu anhu) the Islamic State had grown rich. Some of the richer Muslims began to be neglectful of Islam, particularly in the manner in which they dealt with their wealth. Abu Dharr (radi Allahu anhu) believed that, albeit lawfully acquired, wealth could not be accumulated and hoarded. He strongly denounced those who were rich for not spending more to alleviate the sufferings of the poor. As a result, Abu Dharr (radi Allahu anhu) became very unpopular. He was asked to leave Medina. In Damascus he saw Muslims just as concerned about the things of this life. Their desire for luxury upset him. So he continued his criticism of the Muslims way of life and neglect of the needy. Someone asked Abu Dharr (radi Allahu anhu), “O Abu Dharr, why do people leave your company upset every time they visit you?” He replied, “They leave upset because I admonish them against hoarding the treasures of this world.” [Hilyat-ul Awliya] Muawiyah (radi Allahu anhu), the governor of Damascus, tried to cool down the intensity of his criticism but was not able to. Abu Dharr criticized Muawiya (radi Allahu anhuma) for having more than one kind of food on his table. Abu Dharr (radi Allahu anhu) was ordered to accompany the Muslim army and preach to them. However, whenever he would return to Damascus, he would resume his struggle against the lifestyle of the Muslims and ask them to return to the Islam that had been practiced by the Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam). Abu Dharr (radi Allahu anhu) would recite the Ayat, “They who hoard up gold and silver and spend them not in the way of Allah; announce to them a painful torment.” [Quran 9:34] Muawiya (radi Allahu anhu) answered, “This Ayat is not for us, but for the people of the Scripture.” Thereupon, Abu Dharr replied, “But it is both for us (Muslims) and for them.” It was this dispute that finally resulted in Abu Dharrs expulsion from Damascus. [Sahih Bukhari] Muawiya wrote a letter to Uthman about this and Uthman asked Abu Dharr (radi Allahu anhum) to come back to Medina. Some people in Damascus did not want him to leave, but Abu Dharr (radi Allahu anhu) acted on the advice of the Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) to obey his Caliph so long as he implemented the Shariah. He, therefore, obediently returned to Medina. The hypocrites who were trying to break up the Islamic State tried to exploit Abu Dharrs corrections of the rulers, but Abu Dharr did not join their rebellion. He (radi Allahu anhu) remained true to his promise to his beloved friend Muhammad (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) to obey the Caliph as long as the state was run by the rulings of Islam. At Medina he continued to be critical of the peoples pursuit of worldly goods and pleasures and they were in turn critical of his reviling them. Abu Dharr (radi Allahu anhu) was asked to keep himself away from people. Uthman asked Abu Dharr to come and live with him, but Abu Dharr (radi Allahu anhum) instead asked for permission to be allowed to live at a place called Rabadha by himself. He was allowed to do so.
Posted on: Sat, 09 Aug 2014 19:53:49 +0000
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