Hazrat Abu Zar Ghaffari ((a.s.)), Companion of Prophet Muhammad (Sahabi E Rasool)
During those few years in Madina, Abu Zar a.s became very friendly with Imam Ali bin Abi Talib a.s. The four people named Salman al-Farsi a.s, Abu Zar Ghaffari a.s, Miqdad bin Aswad a.s and Ammar Yasir a.s were always seen in the company of Imam Ali bin Abi Talib a.s. They came to be known as the Shia. In the 9th year of Hijra, the Prophet Muhammad (saw) prepared a large contingent to confront the Romans and moved out towards Tabuk. Imam Ali bin Abi Talib a.s was appointed the administrator of Madina. Abu Zar a.s also accompanied the Prophet Muhammad (saw). However, at that time, he had a very weak and old camel. It could not keep up with the rest of the group. Finally, when he was left behind by a great distance, he left the camel, took a back-pack and decided to walk. Finally, people saw Abu Zar a.s coming and they reported to the Prophet Muhammad (saw) that Abu Zar a.s was coming on foot. The Prophet Muhammad (saw) looked at him and said: *"This is Abu Zar, my companion (Sahabi). He is walking alone, he will live alone, and one day, die alone. A group of strangers from Iraq will take care of his funeral and bury him." * Hazrat Abu Zar Ghaffari ((a.s.)) lived a pious life and spent his days in prayer and worship. His daily meal used to be a handful of dates. He lived a contented life, always spoke the truth and he was firm in his faith. Once someone asked him that he was always seen in one pair of clothes. Abu Zar a.s replied: Yes, I had another pair of clothes but I saw some one who needed it more than I did. How could I keep a second pair of clothes while there was another person who did not have even one? That one episode speaks volumes of the thinking of Abu Zar a.s. Hazrat Abu Zar Ghaffari ((a.s.)) seems to have kept a very low profile after the passing of our Prophet Muhammad (saw) and during the first two Caliphates of both Abu Bakr and Umar ibn Khattab. During the third Caliphate of Uthman ibn Affan, things moved from good to bad and from bad to worse. Uthman refused to take advice from his well-wishers such as Imam Ali bin Abi Talib and Abdur-Rahman bin Awf. When Usman ibn Affan began misappropriating the public treasury for his own use and began distributing it lavishly on his cousins and in-laws, Abu Zar a.s become active again and began reacting to it. Usman ibn Affan was very displeased about that. When Abu Zar's activities became unbearable for him, Usman ibn Affan ordered a complete boycott of Abu Zar a.s. No one was allowed to speak to him in the Masjid, nobody was allowed to visit him or invite him to his place. Abu Zar's voice, in spite of all that, was hard to silence. When Usman ibn Affan was not able to silence Abu Zar a.s then, he ordered Abu Zar a.s to be transported to Muawiyah in Damascus, Syria. What Abu Zar a.s saw in Damascus was even worse. People were building palaces for themselves and living in luxury. He realized that all that was a far cry from the Islamic heritage that the Prophet Muhammad (saw) had given to the community. He built a hut out of blankets on the outskirts of the city and began living in that with his family. One day Abu Zar a.s passed by the location where Muawiyah was having his Green Palace built. He went upto Muawiyah and said: "O Muawiyah, if you are spending Allah's wealth in this project, you are being dishonest because you are embezzling Allah's wealth; if this is being built of your personal wealth then it is disgusting extravagance." Muawiyah could not say a word in reply. Abu Zar a.s then proceeded to the central mosque. He stood among the people and delivered a speech. People began to gather round Abu Zar a.s and listen to his discourses. The poor and the dispossessed were attracted to him and the rich were scared of him. A man named Habib bin Muslim Fehri saw all this and said to himself: This is a big Fitna. He then went up to Muawiyah and said: "If you wish to continue to rule over Syria, do something about Abu Zar a.s , otherwise he will bring a revolution here." Muawiyah was greatly perturbed. He considered it one of his great failures if he could not control one old 'fool' such as Abu Zar. First Muawiyah tried to silence Abu Zar a.s by bribing him. He sent three hundred Dinar to Abu Zar a.s. He immediately returned it to him saying: "I do not need your money." Continue..... -- * فبای الاء ربکما تکذبن.* * * -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "shiagroup" group. To post to this group, send email to shiagroup@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to shiagroup+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/shiagroup?hl=en.
