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'They are people with high status prestige' (qasida 15:48) This is the motto of this section, which is for talking about the companions and beloved ones to our prophet Mohammad [PPBUH]. You can find all special expressions in the Glossary. We need your comments to develop this site for you.
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The Great Companion: Abo-ed-Dardaa [AAH]
What a wise man was Abo-ed-Dardaa! As the Muslim armies were fighting in all direction of earth, wining and spreading Islam, he was staying in Medina as a strange philosopher and a wise man with gushing out springs of wisdom in his words. He used to continuously say to those around him "Do I tell you about the best thing to do, the most pure for your Creator, the most increasing in your ranks, better than fighting your enemy; killing them and being killed by them, and better than money; Dirhams & Dinars?" They would all listen carefully, and they would ask quickly: What is that, o, Abo-ed-Dardaa? Then he would continue to say with a shining face with the lights of faith and wisdom "Dhikr of Allah, and the Dhikr of Allah is greater".
This strange man was
not calling for isolating
philosophy or for negativity. He was not calling for retreat from
the religious responsibilities especially Jihad. Abo-ed-Dardaa would
not do that, as he used to carry his sword in Jihad with the
Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] ever since he embraced Islam, until victory of Allah and the
conquest was attained. But he was the kind of person who finds
himself in the full existence whenever he thinks attentively and
resorts to the niche of wisdom. He wanted to devote himself to
seeking the truth and
Now let us get closer to this wise man and saint, close enough to see the light sparkling out of his forehead, and to smell the exuding scent coming from his way. It is the light of wisdom and the scent of faith, where they met happily within this man. His mother was asked about what he liked to do best. She answered "attentive thinking and considering". He understood the words of Allah [So consider, O you who have sights] al-Hashr 59:2. He used to urge his fellow brothers to think and consider, saying "an hour of thinking is better than a night of worship". so worship, thinking, and seeking the truth has occupied all of his soul and his whole life. At the day he embraced Islam and pledge allegiance to the Messenger [PPBUH], he was a successful merchant of Medina's brilliant merchants who spent half his life trading, before embracing Islam, and even before the Hijra of the Messenger and the Muslims to Medina. However, it was not long before he became like that… Did you see how he talks and fulfills the case, and how the wisdom and honesty rises out of his words, he answers quickly even before we ask him: Did Allah forbid trade, o, Abo-ed-Dardaa? He would quickly say, and takes away this wondering, and points out the higher goal that he sought and left trading because of it, in spite of being successful at it. He was a man who seeks the spiritual specialty and the superiority that touches the highest ranks of perfection available to humans. He wanted worship to be his ascension to the world of greater good, and to get him to truth at its rising. If he wanted worship to be just duties to be fulfilled and forbidden things to be avoided, then he would have been able to do it along with his trading and business. As how many merchants are good ones, and how many good persons are merchants. Many of the companions of the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] were of those who were not distracted by their trade or selling from the Dhikr of Allah. Rather they worked hard to increase their trade and money to use it in serving the Islam cause, and to satisfy the needs of the Muslims.
Happy men are those who came and listened to him. Let us get closer to his wisdom, you men of minds, and let us start with his philosophy toward the worldly life and its ornament and garnish; he is deeply affected by the Qur'an verse that said [Who has gathered wealth and increased it ¤ He thinks that his wealth will render him immortal] al-Homazah 104:2-3. he was also deeply affected by the Messenger's saying [PPBUH] (what is less and enough is better than what is more and distracting), and also his saying (leave the worries of the worldly life as much as you can. As he who has the worldly life as the greatest of his worries, then Allah will scatter his union and make his poverty in-between his eyes. And he whoever has the hereafter as the greatest of his worries, then Allah will gather his union, make his richness within his heart, and be faster to him with all what is good).
For that he used to
feel pity for those fell
captured by the wealth ambition, and he used to say "O, Allah,
protect me from the dispersion of the heart". He was asked: what is
the dispersion of the heart, o, Abo-ed-Dardaa? He said "to money in
every valley". He used to call people to own the worldly life but to
be satisfied without it, as this is the real owning of it, not
running after its greed which never ends, as that is the worst
slavery. He used to say about that "he who is not satisfied without
the worldly life, has no worldly life". Money was means to moderate
content living, no more, so people has to get it from a lawful way,
and earn it with ease and moderate way, not in a greedy rushing way.
He said "do not eat except good things, do not earn except good
things, and do not bring home except good things". He wrote to a
friend of his "You do not have any thing of the worldly life that
was not for someone else before you and will be for someone else
after you. You will not have of it except what you introduce to
yourself, so prefer it above those for whom you collect the money of
your sons to be there inheritance. As you are collecting for one of
two: either a
The whole worldly life was merely borrowed in the eyes of Abo-ed-Dardaa. When Cyprus was conquered and the spoils of war were carried to Medina, people saw Abo-ed-Dardaa crying. So they came to him wondering and asked him, Jabir ibn Nafir did the asking and said: O, Abo-ed-Dardaa, what makes you cry in a day when Allah fortified Islam and its people? Abo-ed-Dardaa answered with great wisdom and understanding "Woe, Jabir, what so valueless people are to Allah if they forgot about His commands. That was a victorious mighty nation which had the domain but left the commands of Allah so they ended up with what you saw". That is how he explained the quick failure of the conquered countries to the Islamic countries. It was due to their lack of true spirituality to protect it and a correct religion to connect them to Allah. That is how he was afraid for Muslims when the bonds of faith become unwound and their connections with Allah, truth, and righteousness become weak, the borrowed world will be transferred from their hands with the same ease it was transferred to them before.
As the was like
something borrowed in his belief,
it was a bridge to cross to a better and more remaining life. His
fellows came to him once visiting while he was sick. They found him
sleeping on a bed of leather, so they said: If you wanted you would
have had a better and more comfortable bed. He answered them,
pointing with his forefinger to the far front "Our home is there,
we, collect, set out travel, go back, and work for it". This way of
thinking of Abo-ed-Dardaa about the worldly life was not just a
belief, but also a way of life. Yazid ibn Mouawiya asked for his
daughter's hand in marriage. He did not accept his engagement. Then
one of the poor righteous Muslims asked for her hand, and
Abo-ed-Dardaa married her to him. People wondered for that, so
Abo-ed-Dardaa taught them saying "what do you ad-Dardaa would do
when she would be surrounded with the servants and slaves? When she
would be dazzled by the garnishment of the palaces? Where would her
religion be then?" This is a wise righteous man with a smart heart
who refuses whatever attracts the self and distracts the heart of
the worldly life. He is not running away from happiness, rather
running to it. As real happiness is not when the worldly life owns
you, but when you own it. The more you stop at limits of
satisfaction and moderation, the more you realize that the worldly
life is like a bridge you cross it to the resting, final, and
everlasting home, and then their share of real happiness will be the
most. He used to say "The good thing is not increasing
In the caliphate of Osman [AAH], when Mouawiya was the prince of Sham, Abo-ed-Dardaa accepted the caliphate' wish to be the judge. In Sham, he stood in the face of all those who were seduced by the garnish of the worldly life. He started reminding them with the method of the Messenger in his life, his asceticism, and the spring of the leading group of martyrs and honest ones. Sham was the modern front welling with joys and bliss. Its people were unable to bear this man who spoils their enjoyment and worldly life with his preaching. Abo-ed-Dardaa gathered them and gave them a speech “O, people of Sham, you are the brothers in religion, the neighbors in home, and the supporters against the enemies. But, why do I see you not ashamed? You collect what you do not eat, you build what you do not inhibit, and you hope for what you do not reach. People of the centuries before you used to collect and contain, have long hopes, and build and firmly establish. Now their gathering became fallow, their hopes became conceit, and their homes became graves. Those were the people of Aad, and they filled between Aden and Oman with money and sons”. Then he has a sarcastic smile, waved with his hand to the wondering gathering, and shouted in sarcasm “Who wants to buy the inheritance of the people of Aad with two Dirhams?” What a wonderful, excellent, and enlightened man, with believing wisdom, pious feelings, and apposite logic. Worship for Abo-ed-Dardaa was not conceit or arrogance. It was seeking goodness, exposing to mercy, and continuous supplication that reminds a man with his weakness and the favor of his Lord. He used to say “Seek goodness all your life. Get exposed to the gifts of Allah’s Mercy. As Allah has gifts of His Mercy that he gives whoever He wills of His servants. Ask Allah to cover your defects and relieve your fears”. This wise man had an open eye on the conceit of worshiping. He always warned people of it. That conceit that fills the people of weak faith with pride of their worship, then they would be arrogant with others. He said “a particle of a good deed from a pious faithful man is better than mountains of worship from conceited men”. He also said “Do not obligate people to do what they were not obliged to do. Do not settle the accounts with them without the accounting of their Lord. Settle your own accounts. As he who traces what he sees in people will have long sadness”. He does not want a worshiper to be accountant for the other servants, no matter how high his rank became. A worshiper has to thank Allah for adding him to succeed in worshiping. He also has help those who was not that successful with his prayers, noble feelings, and good intentions. Do you know of any one with more shining wisdom than this man? Abo-Qulabah, his friend, said: Abo-ed-Dardaa passed once by a man with guilt, and people were cursing him, so he stopped them and said “if you found someone in hole, would not you help out?” They said: Yes. He said “Then do not curse him, and thank Allah who has spared you”. They said: do we hate him? He said “No, but hate his deed, and if he abstained from it, then he is my brother”.
His wisdom calls for good brotherhood, and he sees that the relation of a man to another is based of the human nature itself. So he says “the admonition of a brother is better than losing him. Where could you replace a brother? Give your brother and be lenient to him. Do not obey an envious man in you your brother, then you would become like him. Death will come to you tomorrow, so then you would lose him. How would you cry for his death, while you did not give him his rights while he was alive?” Watching Allah in His servants is a solid base that Abo-ed-Daraa used to build the rights of the brotherhood over. He [AAH] said “I hate to wrong anyone. But I hate more and more to wrong someone who can not have support from anyone but Allah, the Big Almighty”. What a great rising soul! He warns people against the deceit of the illusion, when they think that those deemed weak are easy to get with their hands and power. He reminds them that those will possess great devastating power when they supplicate to Allah, Almighty, with their weakness and put their case in His Hands, and how people took them for insignificant. This is Abo-ed-Daraa the wise, the worshiper, the ascetic, and the repenting man. That was the man who refused the praising of the people when asked him for prayer, saying with great humbleness “I am not a good swimmer and I am afraid of drowning”. All this and he is not a good swimmer! But this is not strange, as he is educated by the Messenger [PPBUH], a student of Qur’an, a son of the early Islam, and a companion of Abo-Bakr and Omar and the rest of men. May Allah, by the Loved Beloved, be generous with us because of Sd. Abo-ed-Daraa [AAH], make us follow his good traces, and gather us with them all and with our Imams in the hereafter. Amen, Amen. And prayers and peace be upon Sd. Muhammad, his family, and companions to the end of days.
Written by Az-Zhraa Yasin Translated by Ahmed
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Whoever wants to read more about the great companions, can browse the companions pages in al-Ahbab site.
Editors Team |
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certainty.
That days wise man, Abo-ed-Dardaa, was a man with a great yarning to
seeing and meeting the 
However
the methodology of these companions
does not fault the methodology of Abo-ed-Dardaa or the other way
around. As everyone is made easy for what he was created for. And
Abo-ed-Dardaa truly felt that he was created for what he devoted
himself for which is seeking the truth with the utmost devotion to
worship according to the faith that his Lord, his Messenger, and
Islam guided him to. You can call that Sufism, but it is the Sufism
of a man who had the cleverness of the believer, the ability of the
philosopher, the experience of the worrier, and the Fiqh of the
companion. That was what made this Sufism real and alive in building
his soul. Not just some good shadows of that building. That is
Abo-ed-Dardaa, the companion of the Messenger of Allah [
good son who will go with the money according to
Allah's obedience, then he will be happy with what you have been
miserable with, or a bad son who will go with it with Allah's
disobedience, then you will be miserable with what you have
collected for him. So trust in what Allah has got for them of
provision, and save yourself".
your money
and sons, but increasing your tolerance and your knowledge, and keep
up with the people in worshiping Allah, Almighty".
If this was one of the
two faces of worship for
Abo-ed-Dardaa, then the other face was knowledge and information.
Abo-ed-Dardaa held knowledge so sacred as a wise man would do. He
also held it sacred as a worshiper, as he said “no one of you would
be a worshiper unless he becomes a knowledgeable man. And he will
not be good with knowledge until he works with it”. So knowledge
for him is an understanding of method and a way of life. Because of
his holding the knowledge as sacred as a wise man, we see him
calling for the fact that both the knowledgeable and learner are
equal in credit, rank, and reword. He saw that the greatness of life
is related to the knowledgeable of goodness before anything else. He
said “Why do I see that your knowledgeable people are passing away?
and your ignorant ones do not learn? Lo, the teacher of goodness and
the learner are equal in reword, and there is no good in all other
people”. He also said “people are three types: a scholar, a learner,
and the third is riffraff with no goodness”. As we saw before;
knowledge for Abo-ed-Daraa [