While the armies of Islam were advancing
victoriously, there lived in Al-Madiinah
a wonderful philosopher and wise man
whose wisdom flowed in his blooming
bright words. He kept saying to those
around him, "Can I tell you about
the best of your deeds which are more
thriving and better than invading your
enemies, cutting their throats and
cutting yours, and better than dirhams
and dinars?"
Those who listened to him craned and
hurried to ask him;
"And what is that, O Abu Ad-Dardaa'?"
Abu Al-Dardaa' resumed his speech and
his face glittered with the light of
faith and wisdom, "The remembrance
of Allah; the remembrance of Allah is
the greatest thing in life."
That wonderful wise man was not
preaching an isolationist philosophy nor
by his own words. He was not preaching
negativism nor the retirement from the
responsibilities of the new religion
that considers struggle its cornerstone.
Yes, Abu Ad-Dardaa' was not that kind of
man, but rather he was the man who took
up his sword and struggled with the
Prophet of Allah (PBUH) since he had
embraced Islam till the help and victory
of Allah came.
However, he was that type who finds
himself in his full lively existence
whenever he is alone contemplating under
shelter of the sanctuary of wisdom, and
he dedicated his life to seeking truth
and certitude. Abu Ad-Dardaa', the wise
man of those great days (May Allah be
pleased with him) was a person who
looked forward to His Prophet (PBUH),
and he also believed that this faith,
with its duties and understanding, was
the only ideal way to truth.
Thus, he was engrossed with his faith,
dedicating himself to it and forming his
life strictly, wisely, and seriously
according to it. He walked on that path
till he arrived at the truth and took
his high position among the truthful
ones when communing with his Lord and
reciting this verse: < Truly,
my prayer and my devotion, my life and
my death are all for GOD, the Lord of
the Worlds > (6 : 162).
Yes, the struggle of Abu Ad-Dardaa
against and with himself ended in the
attainment of this high spiritual
position, remote superiority, and
personal sacrifice which made him
dedicate all his life to Allah, the
Cherisher of the Worlds.
Now, let us approach the saint and wise
man. Do you observe the light that
radiates round his forehead? Do you
smell the good perfume coming from his
direction? It is the light of wisdom and
the perfume of faith. Faith and wisdom
have come together happily in this man.
His mother was asked about what he liked
best; she answered, "Contemplation
and consideration." This is
completely in accord with the saying of
Allah in more than one verse <
. . . Therefore take warning, you, who
have eyes to see! > (59 : 2).
When he urged his brothers to
contemplate and think, he said to them,
"Contemplation for an hour is
better than worshipping for the whole
night." Worshipping and
contemplation and seeking after truth
overpowered him and all his life.
On the day he embraced Islam and pledged
his allegiance to the Prophet (PBUH) in
this glorious religion, he was a
successful trader of Al-Madiinah. He
spent a part of his life in trade before
he embraced Islam and before the Prophet
(PBUH) and the Muslims migrated to Al-Madiinah.
He had just embraced Islam a short time
before when... But, let him complete the
speech for us: I embraced Islam at the
hands of the Prophet (PBUH) and I was a
trader. I wanted to combine trade and
worship, but they would never go
together. I abandoned trade and retained
worship. Today, it doesn't please me to
sell and buy to earn 300 dinars a day,
although my shop is at the door of the
mosque. I can't say that Allah forbids
selling, but I'd like to be of those
whom neither traffic nor merchandise can
divert from remembrance of Allah.
Do you see how he speaks completely and
correctly, while wisdom and truth shine
through his words. He hurries before we
ask him, "Does Allah forbid trade,
0 Abu Ad-Dardaa'?" He hurries to
sweep away this question from our minds
and refers us to the superior goal that
he was seeking and for which he left
trade, in spite of his success as a
trader. He was a man searching for
spiritual excellence and superiority and
looking for the maximum degree of
perfection available to human beings. He
wanted worship as a ladder that raises
him to the highest level of goodness and
approaches right in its glory and truth
in its shining origin. If he wanted
worship to be merely duties to be done
and prohibition to be left, he could
manage both his worship and his trade
and deeds.
There are many good traders, and there
are many good and pious persons working
in trade. Among the Companions of the
Prophet of Allah (PBUH), there were men
whom neither traffic nor merchandise
could divert from the remembrance of
Allah. But they worked hard to develop
their trade and their money by which
they served the cause of Islam and
satisfied the needs of the Muslims. But
the method of those Companions does not
diminish the method of Abu Ad-Dardaa',
nor does his method diminish theirs, as
everyone is fit for what he is created.
And Abu Ad-Dardaa' felt that he was
created for what he devoted his life to:
excellence in seeking after the truth by
practicing the ultimate expression of
celibacy according to the faith to which
he was guided by Allah, His Prophet and
Islam.
Call it mysticism if you wish, but it
was the mysticism of a man who had
plenty of them. keenness of a believer,
the capability of a philosopher, the
experience of a fighter, and the
jurisprudence of the Prophet's
Companions. This made his mysticism a
lively movement in establishing the soul
and not merely shadows of this building.
Yes, that was Abu Ad-Dardaa', the
Companion of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH)
and his pupil. That was Abu Ad-Dardaa',
the saint and the wise man, a man who
repelled life with both his hands, a man
who secluded himself till he burnished
and sanctified his soul and it became a
clear mirror so that wisdom, rightness,
and good reflected in it. That made Abu
Ad-Dardaa' a great teacher and an
upright wise man.
What happy persons are those who come
and listen to him! Come and seek his
wisdom, 0 people of understanding. Let
us begin with his philosophy towards
life and towards its delights and
vanities. He was influenced to the
depths of his soul by the saying of
Prophet, "Little and satisfied is
better than much and diverted."
Allah Almighty said, < Woe to
every taunting slanderer, backbiter, who
piles up wealth and counts over it again
and again, thinking that his wealth will
make him immortal! > (104 : 1-3).
The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said,
"Leave the worries of life as far
as possible," and "He who
makes life his only aim, Allah will
sunder his unity and make poverty
between his two eyes. He who makes the
Hereafter his only goal, Allah makes
riches in his heart and makes every good
hurry to him."
Therefore, he lamented over those who
fell captive to the ambition of wealth
and said, "I seek refuge with the
Lord from the dispersion of the
heart." He was asked, "What is
dispersion of the heart, Abu Ad-Dardaa'?"
He answered," That means I have
money everywhere." He called people
to possess life by doing without it,
that is the real possessing of it. But
running after its endless enticements is
the worst kind of slavery. Then he said,
"He who can not do without life is
lifeless."
In his opinion, money is only a means to
a mild satisfied living. Thus, people
should take it legitimately (in a halaal
way) and earn it kindly and mildly and
not covet it greedily. He said,
"Don't eat anything unless it is
good, don't earn any money unless it is
good, don't take anything to your house
unless it is good."
He wrote to his companions, "After
that, any temporary thing you possess in
life was possessed by someone else
before you, and will be owned by another
after you, and you have nothing except
what you offered to yourself.
"Give preference over yourself to
him from whom you are collecting money
for your sons to inherit, since you
collect money for one of the two: either
a good son who spends the money in
obedience to Allah, thus he will be
happy with what you earned and free from
b x.bles; or a disobedient son who
spends it in sins and disobedience to
Allah, and so you will be tortured by
what you had collected for him. Entrust
their living to the Bounty of Allah and
save yourself."
The whole of life from Abu Ad-Dardaa's
point of view is merely a loan.
When Cyprus was conquered and the booty
was carried to Al-Madiinah, people saw
Abu Ad-Dardaa' weep. Astonished, they
approached and Jubair Ibn Nufair said to
him, "Why are you weeping on the
day that Allah supported Islam and the
Muslims?" Abu Ad-Dardaa' replied
with wisdom and deep understanding,
"Woe to you, Jubair! What a
trifling thing creatures are if they
leave the commands of Allah. It was the
best nation, having dominion, but if
left the commands of Allah, and
therefore it came to what you see."
Yes, thus he reasoned the quick collapse
to the armies of Islam in the conquered
countries was caused by the bankruptcy
of true spiritualism that protected them
and connected them with Allah. So he
feared for the Muslims in the coming
days when the ties of faith would
decline and the bonds to Allah, truth,
and goodness would languish.
Consequently, the loan would be taken
from their hands as easily as it had
been put in their hands before.
As the whole of life was merely a loan
in his view, it was also a bridge to an
immortal and more magnificent life.
Once his companions went to visit him
when he was ill and found him sleeping
on a piece of leather. They said to him,
"If you wish, you will have better
and more comfortable bedding." He
replied pointing with his forefinger and
looking with his bright eyes at the far
distance, "Our home is there. For
it, we gather and to it we return. We
travel to it and we work for it."
This look at life was not only a point
of view but also a way of life. Yaziid
Ibn Mu'aawiyah wanted to marry his
daughter, Ad-Dardaa', but he refused him
and married her to a poor pious Muslim.
People were greatly astonished by that
behavior but Abu Ad-Darda'a taught them,
saying, "What about Ad-Dardaa' if
she had the servants and splendors and
she was dazzled by the decorations and
pleasures of the palace? What then would
happen to her religion?"
This was a wise man of upright morals
and clear heart. He refused everything
that attracted the brain and fascinated
the heart and by doing so he did not
escape from happiness but escaped to it.
Real happiness, in his belief, was to
possess life, not to be possessed by it.
Whenever the needs of people are limited
by contentment and uprightness, they
will realize the reality of life as a
bridge on which they cross to the home
of permanence, return, and immortality.
Whenever they do so, their share of real
happiness is greater and plentiful. He
also said, "It is not better to
have much money and many sons, but it is
better to have much clemency, much
knowledge, and to compete with people in
the worship of Allah."
During the caliphate of "Uthmaan
(May Allah be pleased with him),
MiTaawiyah was the governor of Syria and
Abu Ad-Dardaa' agreed to occupy the
position of the judge according to the
caliph's desire. There in Syria, he
stood strictly as an example to all
those who were tempted by the pleasures
of life. He began to remind them of the
method of the Prophet (PBUH), his
asceticism and that of the early
righteous Muslims and martyrs.
Syria at that time was an urbanized
region overflowing with the pleasures
and amenities of life, and the
inhabitants were greatly annoyed by that
person who embittered their lives by his
preaching. He gathered them and stood
among them preaching, "0 people of
Syria, you are brothers in religion,
neighbors at home, and supporters
against your enemies. But, why aren't
you ashamed? You earn what you don't
eat, and build what you don't dwell in,
and hope for what you can't achieve. The
peoples before you collected cautiously,
and rnped confidently, and built firmly,
but their gatherings became perdition,
their hope became delusion, and their
homes became graves.
Those were the people of "Aad who
filled the region from Adan to Oman with
wealth and sons. Then a wide sarcastic
smile would be drawn on his two lips,
and he would wave his arm to the
astonished multitude and cry
sarcastically, "Who will buy the
inheritance of 'Aad people from me for
two dirhams?"
He was a brilliant, magnificent, and
luminous man. His wisdom was faithful,
his feelings were pious, and his logic
was perfect and cautious. In his point
of view, worship was neither vanity nor
pride but a request for good and
exposure to the mercy of Allah and
continuous supplication that reminded
man of his weakness and the favor of his
Lord upon him.
He said, "Request the good all your
life, and expose yourselves to the mercy
of Allah. Allah has fragrance in His
mercy which He ushers upon those whom He
pleases among His servants. Ask Allah to
hide your defects and make your hearts
steady and firm in times of
trouble."
This wise man was always open-eyed to
vanity in worship, of which he warned
people. That vanity makes those who have
weak faith worship proudly and boast of
their worship to others. Listen to him
saying, "An atom's weight of
benevolence from a pious man is much
better than a mountain's weight of
worship from the boaster."
He also said, "Don't charge people
with unwanted affairs and don't call
them to account as if you are their
Lord. Guard your own souls. He who
follows up the deeds of people will have
his grief increased."
Abu Ad-Dardaa' did not want the
worshipper, whatever rank he reaches in
worship, to call people to account as if
he were the Lord. He should praise Allah
for His reconciliation and help by
prayer, noble feelings, and good
intentions for those who cannot achieve
such success. Do you know any better and
brighter wisdom than that of this wise
man?
His companion Abu Qalaabah, tells us
about him: One day Abu Ad-Dardaa' passed
by a man who had committed a sin, and
people were insulting him. He prohibited
them and said, "If you found him in
a ditch, would you not take him out of
it?" They said, "Yes." He
said to them, "Don't insult him.
Praise Allah that He protected you from
such an evil." They said to him,
"Don't you hate him?" He said,
"No, I hate his deed, and if he
leaves it, he will be my brother."
If this is one of the two aspects of
worship, the second phase is knowledge
and learning. Abu Ad-Dardaa' as a wise
man and as a worshipper sanctified
knowledge to a great extent and so he
said, "None of you can be pious
unless he is knowledgeable, and he
cannot enjoy knowledge unless he applies
it practically."
Yes, knowledge, in his opinion, was
understanding, behavior, learning,
method, idea, and life. Because this
sanctification is of the wise, we find
him claiming that the teacher is like
the student in favor, recompense, and
position. He saw that the greatness of
life was dependent on goodness before
anything else. He said, "Why do I
see your scholars going away and your
ignorant people learning nothing? The
teacher and the student of goodness are
equal in recompense and there is
goodness in the other people besides the
two." He also said, "People
are of three types : a scholar, an
educated person, and a savage."
As we have seen before, knowledge was
not separate from following the wisdom
of Abu Ad-Dardaa' (May Allah be pleased
with him). He said, "The greatest
fear of my soul is that it should say to
me on the Day of Resurrection, in front
of all the creatures, 0 owner, did you
know? and I would reply. Yes . It will
say to me, What did you do with what you
knew?
He used to respect scholars and honor
them very much. Moreover, he used to
pray to Allah saying, "O Lord
Almighty, I take refuge in You against
the curse of the scholars' hearts.
It was said to him, "How could you
be cursed by their hearts?" He
said, "Their hearts hate me."
Do you see, he believed that the
scholars hate is an unbearable curse;
therefore he implored Allah to grant him
refuge.
The wisdom of Abu Ad-Dardaa' (May Allah
be pleased with him) recommended
fraternity and established human
relations on the basis of human nature
itself. Thus he said, "To admonish
your brother is better than to lose him.
Give your brother advice and be tender
with him, but do not agree with his
covetousness lest you should be like
him. Tomorrow death comes and you will
lose him. And how can you weep over him
after death when you did not give him
his right whilehe lived?"
The fear of Allah in His servants is the
strongest and hardest basis upon which
Abu Ad-Dardaa' established the rights of
fraternity. He (May Allah be pleased
with him) said, "I hate to wrong
anyone but I hate more and more to
oppress the person who resorts to Allah,
the Most High and the Most Great, for
help against my injustice."
Abu Ad-Dardaa', what a great personality
and bright soul you are! He warned
people against delusion when they
thought that unarmed weak people fell
easy prey in their hands and power. He
reminded them that those in their
weakness have a destructive power when
they implore Allah in their disability
and offer their plea and the disgrace
done to them by people.
This was Abu Ad-Dardaa', the wise man.
He was Abu Ad-Dardaa' the hermit, the
worshipper, ever seeking Allah. When
people praised his piety and asked him
to implore Allah for them, he replied in
humility, "I can't swim well and I
fear drowning."
All your wisdom, and you can not swim
Well, 0 Abu Ad-Dardaa'? But what an
astonishment, and you are nutured by the
Prophet (PBUH), a student of the Qur'aan,
son of early Islam, and a companion of
Abu Bakr and 'Umar and the rest of those
men!
Sheikh Abdulfattah Abu-Abdullah Adelabu (Ph. D. Damas),
a West African Islamic Academic founded AWQAF Africa, of
which he's the first al Amir (i.e. President).
Sheikh Dr. Adelabu was studying Postgraduate Degrees in
Damascus early 1990's during when Syria reviewed its
national security after an ‘Oslo Accord'...
Syria like many other countries around the world
witnessed, during this period, the flood of refugees
from war troubled nations like Somalia, arrival of
people from Algeria during the brutal struggling between
the Mujahidun and the government, resettlement of the
Palestinians fleeing from sophisticated guns of the
Israelis as well as adventure of African migrants for
reasons uncountable…
Back
Forward