Abu Dhar Arabic: أبو ذر |
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Born | Hejaz |
Died | 652 AD |
Resting place | al-Rabadha, Hejaz |
Known for | Being a loyal companion of Prophet Muhammad and Imam Ali |
Title | |
Children | Dhar (daughter) |
Abū Dhar al-Ghifari al-Kinani ( أبو ذر الغفاري الكناني), also Jundub ibn Junādah ibn Sufian (جُندب بن جَنادة), was the fourth or fifth person converting to Islam. He belonged to the Banu Ghifar, the Kinanah tribe. No date of birth is known. He died in 652 CE, at al-Rabadha, in the desert east of Medina.
Abu Dhar is remembered for his strict piety and also his opposition to Muawiyah I during the caliph Uthman ibn Affan era. He is venerated by Shia Muslims as one of The Four Companions, early Muslims who were followers (Shi'a) of Ali (Ali ibn Abi Talib).
He was one of the Muhajirun. He was regarded by many, including Ali Shariati, as the first Islamic socialist or the first socialist altogether, having first been referred to as such by the Arab scholar Ahmad Rida in 1910.
Little is known of his life before his conversion to Islam. Abu Dhar is said to have been a serious young man, an ascetic and a monotheist even before he converted. He was born to the Ghifar clan, found to the western south of Medina. Abu Dhar was apparently typical of the early converts to Islam, described by Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri as "young men and weak people". They were a branch of the Banu Kinanah tribe. Quraysh clan of Muhammad was also a branch of the Banu Kinanah tribe.