"O Messenger of Allah, increase me!"

The long hadith of Abu Dharr al-Ghifari, may Allah be pleased with him

مفام ابي ذر الغفاري رضي الله عنه وارضاه

Muḥammad ibn Ḥusayn al-Ājurrī said:  Abū Bakr Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad ibn al-Firyābī related to us in the month of Rajab in the year two hundred and ninety seven, Ibrahim ibn Hishām ibn Yaḥyā al-Ghassāni related to us, my father related to us, on the authority of his grandfather, on the authority of Abū Idrīs al-Khawlāni, on the authority of Abū Dharr, who said:

‘I entered the masjid and The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was sitting by himself, so I sat with him and said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, indeed you have commanded me to pray, so what is Prayer (ṣalat)?’[1] He said: ‘Prayer is the greatest matter, so do more or less.’

 I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, which action is the most virtuous?’ He said: ‘Faith in Allah, and struggling for His sake.’ I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, which of the believers is most virtuous?’ He said: ‘The best of them in manners.’

I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, which of the Muslims is most submissive (aslam)? He said: ‘The one from whose tongue and hand the people are safe.’[2]

 I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, what is the best emigration?’ He said: ‘Whoever leaves off abuse.’[3]

I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, what is the best prayer?’ He said: ‘Lengthening the duʿāʾ of qunūt.’

 I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, what is the best fast?’ He said: ‘The obligatory that is rewarded, and with Allah it is multiplied many times over.’

I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, what is the best struggle?’ He said: ‘The one who pours his sweat and his blood is shed’.

 I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, which is the best slave?’ He said: ‘The most expensive in price and the most precious to its people.’

 I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, what is the best charity?’ He said: ‘Effort from a destitute person, and something for a poor person.’[4]

 I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, which āya is the most awesome of that which has been sent down to you?’ He said: ‘Āyat ul-Kursī.’ Then he said: ‘O Abū Dharr, the sevens heavens in comparison to the Kursī are like a ring thrown into an open field. The virtue of the ʿArsh over the Kursī is like the virtue of the open field over the ring.’

 I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, how many Prophets are there?’ He said: ‘One hundred and twenty-four thousand.’ 

I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, how many of them are Messengers? He said: ‘Three hundred and thirteen, a large group, all of them pure.’

 I said: ‘Who was the first of them?’ He said: ‘Ādam.’

 I said: ‘Is he a prophet that was sent?’ He said:

 ‘Yes, Allah created him with His hand, breathed into him from His spirit, and formed him.’[5] Then he said: ‘O Abū Dharr, four are Syriac; Ādam, Seth (Shīth), Eunuch, who is Idrīs and the first person to write with a pen, and Noah (Nūḥ). Four are from the Arabs: Hūd, Shuʿayb, Ṣāliḥ and your Prophet. ‘O Abū Dharr, the first of the Prophets of the Children of Israel is Moses (Mūsā) and the last of them is Jesus (ʿIsā). The first of the Messengers[6] is Ādam and the last of them is Muḥammad.’

 I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, how many books has Allah sent down?’ He said: ‘One hundred and four books. Allah sent down fifty scriptures to Seth, thirty to Eunuch, ten to Abraham (Ibrāhīm), and He sent down to Moses, before the Torah, ten scriptures, and then the Injīl, the Zabūr and the Furqān [the Qurʾān].’

I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, what were the scriptures of Abraham?’ He said: ‘In their entirety they were: “O king, who is dominating[7] and deluded. Indeed I have not sent you to gather the life of this world (ad-dunyā), one part after another. Rather, I sent you so that the supplication of the oppressed would be answered by Me, because I do not refuse the supplication of the oppressed, even if the person is a disbeliever.” It also contains some proverbs: “The intelligent person must have four times; a time in which he is in intimate conversation with his Lord, Mighty and Majestic is He , a time in which he takes himself to account, a time in which he ponders over God’s making and a time in which he fulfils his needs for food and drink.

“The intelligent person must not move away except for three things: supplying himself for the Hereafter, or repairing one’s current life, or pleasure that is not forbidden. The intelligent person must have insight into the age he lives in, get on with his business and hold back his tongue. Whoever reckons his speech in comparison to his action speaks little, unless it is something that concerns him.”’

I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, what were the scriptures of Moses?’ He said:

‘They were all lessons: “I am amazed at how someone can rejoice when they are certain of death. I am amazed at the person who is certain of destiny. How much does he prepare? I am amazed at the person who sees the life of this world and accepts it with its inhabitant. How can he have confidence in it? I am amazed at the person who knows that the reckoning is tomorrow and then doesn’t act!’

Then I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, does mankind have anything that was in the hands of Abraham and Moses, peace be upon them, which God, Mighty and Majestic, also sent down to you?’ He said:

‘Yes, read, O Abū Dharr: “To happiness [in the life to come] will indeed attain he who attains to purity [in this world], and remembers his Sustainer’s name, and prays [unto Him].” [Al-ʿAlā 87:14-15] to the rest of the sūra, i.e. including the āya: “Verily, [all] this has indeed been [said] in the earlier scriptures –the scriptures of Abraham and Moses.” [87:18-19]

I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, advise me.’ He said:

‘I advise you to be conscious of Allah, for indeed it is the peak of your affair.’

I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, increase me.’ He said:

‘You must recite the Qurʾān and remember Allah, for indeed it is a mention of you in the heavens and a light for you on earth.’

I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, increase me.’ He said:

‘Beware of laughing too much, for indeed it kills the heart and takes the light away from one’s face.’

I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, increase me.’ He said:

‘Struggling (jihad) is obligatory for you, for it is the monasticism of my Ummah.’

I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, increase me.’ He said:

‘You must remain silent unless it is something good, for indeed doing so drives Satan away and helps you with your Dīn.’

I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, increase me.’ He said:

‘Look at those below you and don’t look at those above you, for indeed it is more appropriate that you do not think little of God’s blessings upon you.’

I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, increase me.’ He said:

‘Love the poor, and keep their company.’

I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, increase me.’ He said:

‘Maintain your ties of kinship, even if they cut you off.’

I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, increase me.’ He said:

‘Say the truth, even if it’s bitter.’

I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, increase me.’ He said:

‘When it comes to Allah, don’t fear the blame of those who blame.’

I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, increase me.’ He said:

‘What you know about yourself should keep you away from looking at people, and you don’t have a grudge against them regarding it.[8] It is enough of a blemish that you know things about people that you don’t know about yourself, or you envy them because of what you love.’[9]

Then he struck my chest with his hand and said: ‘O Abū Dharr, there is no intelligence like planning, no piety like abstention, and no nobility like good manners.’[10]

[Translated from Kitāb Ash-Sharīʿah by Imām Abū Bakr al-Ājurrī, (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyyah, 1417/1995) p.448-451]

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[1] (tn): In another narration, ‘What is Prayer?’ is omitted (Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr). This hadith is mentioned by Imam Ibn Kathīr in his commentary of Sūrat an-Nisāʾ 4:163-165.

[2] (tn): In another narration it says ‘from whose tongue and hand the believers are safe’ (Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr)

[3] (tn): In another narration it says ‘The one who migrates from evil deeds.’ (Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr)

[4] (tn): In another narration it says ‘pleasing to a poor person.’ (Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr)

[5] (tn):  In two other versions of Ibn Kathīr’s Tafsīr we find the word qabilan in one and qablan in another, meaning that he was created before the rest of creation. The exception is Muḥammad, The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Please see this article for further details.

[6] (tn): Another narration says ‘Prophets’. (Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr)

[7] (tn): In another narration the word tested is mentioned (mubtalī). (Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr)

[8] (tn):In the Tafsīr of Ibn Kathīr the wording is: ‘…and you don’t have a grudge against them regarding what you love.’

[9] (tn): In the Tafsīr of Ibn Kathīr the wording is: ‘…and you don’t have a grudge against them regarding what you love.’

[10] (tn): Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan Ismāʿīl, in his taḥqīq of Kitāb ash-Sharīʿah (Dar al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyyah, p.451)) says:

‘It’s attribution (isnād) is very weak, if not fabricated. It is narrated by Ibn Ḥibbān (3/129-130) in Al-Majrūḥīn and (94) in his Ṣaḥīḥ, Abū Naʿīm (1/166-167) in Al-Ḥilya, At-Ṭabarānī (1651) in Al-Kabīr. Its chain of transmission (sanad) includes Ibrāhīm ibn Hishām, and he has been declared weak by Abū Ṭāhir Al-Maqdisī and accused of lying by Abū Ḥātim, Abū Zarʿa, and Ibn Al-Jawzī. Adh-Dhahabī said that he is abandoned (matrūk). See al-Mīzān (1/72-73), al-Lisān (1/122).

·         Narrated by Ibn Mājah (4218) in an extremely abridged version via Al-Māḍī ibn Muḥammad on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Sulaymān, on the authority of Al-Qāsim ibn Muḥammad on the authority of Abū Idrīs Al-Khawlānī. Al-Būṣayrī said: ‘This isnād is weak, due to the weakness of Al-Māḍī ibn Al-Ghāfiqī.’

·         Narrated by Al-Kharāʾiṭī (p.80) in Makārim al-Akhlāq via Ismāʿīl ibn Abū Zayd on the authority of Sulaymān Al-Filasṭīnī, on the authority of al-Qāsim. Its sanad includes Ismāʿīl ibn Abū Zayd, and he is abandoned (matrūk) and has been accused of lying. See al-Mīzān (1/230).

·         Narrated by At-Ṭabarānī (1648) in Al-Kabīr via Yaḥyā ibn Abū Zakariyyā al-Ghassānī, on the authority of Ismāʿīl ibn Abu Khālid, on the authority of Badīl ibn Maysarah, on the authority of ʿAbdullah ibn as-Ṣāmit, on the authority of Abū Dharr, in an abridged version. Its sanad includes Ibn Abu Zakariyyā, and he is amongst those considered weak, as in At-Taqrīb (2/348).

·         Narrated by At-Ṭabarānī (1649) in Al-Kabīr via Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdullah ibn Namur, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Bishr, on the authority of Ibn Abu Khālid, on the authority of ʿĀmir Ash-Shaʿbī, on the authority of Abū Dharr. Its sanad is cut (munqatiʿ) between Ash-Shaʿbī and Abū Dharr.

·         Mentioned by as-Suyūṭī (6/341) in Ad-Durr Al-Manthūr, and he attributed it to ʿAbd ibn Ḥamīd, Ibn Mardawayh and Ibn ʿAsākir, and all of them from Abū Dharr.’