Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (2/69)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

The narration goes on to relate that Abu Dharr gashed Kaʿb’s head. ʿUthmān then asked Kaʿb to forgo his right of retaliation, and Kaʿb agreed. ʿUthmān said, “Abu Dharr, fear Allah, and keep your hand and your tongue in check.”

Mūsā ibn ʿUbaydah reported: Ibn Nufayʿ (1) told us, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, that Abu Dharr once sought permission to enter upon ʿUthmān. They ignored him for a while, so I said, “Commander of the Believers, Abu Dharr is at the door.”

He replied, “Let him in—if you wish to distress us and make things difficult for us.”

I allowed him in. He sat down on a marble-inlaid couch (2), and the couch shook beneath him—he was a tall, heavy man. ʿUthmān said, “Are you not the one who claims to be better than Abu Bakr and ʿUmar?”

Abu Dharr replied, “I never said that.”

ʿUthmān said, “I will bring evidence against you.”

Abu Dharr answered, “By Allah, I have no idea what evidence you will bring, though I know exactly what I have said.”

ʿUthmān asked, “Then what did you say?”

He replied, “I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say, ‘The most beloved of you to me, the one closest to me, is the one who meets me while holding fast to the covenant upon which I left him.’ All of you have taken your portion of this world, whereas I remain upon that covenant; and with Allah lies the completion of grace.”

ʿUthmān posed other questions, which Abu Dharr answered according to his knowledge. ʿUthmān then ordered him to set out for Syria and join Muʿāwiyah. Once there, Abu Dharr would relate traditions, and the hearts of the people were captivated by him. Muʿāwiyah, however, disliked certain effects this had on his subjects, for Abu Dharr used to say:

“Let none of you keep a single dinar or dirham, or any gold or silver, overnight unless he spends it in the path of Allah or sets it aside to pay a debt.”

Muʿāwiyah once sent him a thousand dinars in the depths of night, and Abu Dharr distributed every last coin.

(1) I have found no biographical entry for Ibn Nafiʿ; the name may be a scribal corruption of Ibn Nuwayfiʿ, whose full name is Muhammad ibn al-Walid. Al-Tabarani relates the hadith in his al-Kabir (no. 1628) with the elevated isnad: Musa ibn ʿUbayda → Muhammad ibn al-Walid → Ibn ʿAbbas. If this is indeed the man intended, the chain is interrupted, for, according to the biographical sources, he reports from Ibn ʿAbbas only through the intermediary of Kuraib, Ibn ʿAbbas’s freedman. (2) That is, a bed plaited with palm fronds and ropes; such a piece is also called a sariir marmul when ornamented with jewels or similar embellishments.

وَفِيْهِ: فَشَجَّ كَعْباً، فَاسْتَوْهَبَهُ عُثْمَانُ، فَوَهَبَهُ لَهُ، وَقَالَ: يَا أَبَا ذَرٍّ! اتَّقِ اللهَ، وَاكْفُفْ يَدَكَ وَلِسَانَكَ. مُوْسَى بنُ عُبَيْدَةَ: أَخْبَرَنَا ابْنُ نُفَيْعٍ (١) ، عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ، قَالَ: اسْتَأْذَنَ أَبُو ذَرٍّ عَلَى عُثْمَانَ، فَتَغَافَلُوا عَنْهُ سَاعَةً، فَقُلْتُ: يَا أَمِيْرَ المُؤْمِنِيْنَ! هَذَا أَبُو ذَرٍّ بِالبَابِ. قَالَ: ائْذَنْ لَهُ إِنْ شِئْتَ أَنْ تُؤْذِيَنَا وَتُبَرِّحَ بِنَا. فَأَذِنْتُ لَهُ، فَجَلَسَ عَلَى سَرِيْرٍ مَرْمُوْلٍ (٢) ، فَرَجَفَ بِهِ السَّرِيْرُ - وَكَانَ عَظِيْماً طَوِيْلاً -. فَقَالَ عُثْمَانُ: أَمَا إِنَّكَ الزَّاعِمُ أَنَّكَ خَيْرٌ مِنْ أَبِي بَكْرٍ وَعُمَرَ! قَالَ: مَا قُلْتُ. قَالَ: إِنِّي أَنْزِعُ عَلَيْكَ بِالبَيِّنَةِ. قَالَ: وَاللهِ مَا أَدْرِيْ مَا بَيِّنَتُكَ، وَمَا تَأْتِي بِهِ؟! وَقَدْ عَلِمْتُ مَا قُلْتُ. قَالَ: فَكَيْفَ إِذاً قُلْتَ؟ قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ رَسُوْلَ اللهِ ﷺ يَقُوْلُ: (إِنَّ أَحَبَّكُمْ إِلَيَّ، وَأَقْرَبَكُمْ مِنِّي الَّذِيْ يَلْحَقُ بِي عَلَى العَهْدِ الَّذِي عَاهَدْتُهُ عَلَيْهِ) وَكُلُّكُمْ قَدْ أَصَابَ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا، وَأَنَا عَلَى مَا عَاهَدْتُهُ عَلَيْهِ، وَعَلَى اللهِ تَمَامُ النِّعْمَةِ. وَسَأَلَهُ عَنْ أَشْيَاءَ، فَأَخْبَرَهُ بِالَّذِي يَعْلَمُهُ، فَأَمَرَهُ أَنْ يَرْتَحِلَ إِلَى الشَّامِ، فَيَلْحَقَ بِمُعَاوِيَةَ، فَكَانَ يُحَدِّثُ بِالشَّامِ، فَاسْتَهْوَى قُلُوْبَ الرِّجَالِ، فَكَانَ مُعَاوِيَةُ يُنْكِرُ بَعْضَ شَأْنِ رَعِيَّتِهِ، وَكَانَ يَقُوْلُ: لاَ يَبِيْتَنَّ عِنْدَ أَحَدِكُمْ دِيْنَارٌ، وَلاَ دِرْهَمٌ، وَلاَ تِبْرٌ، وَلاَ فِضَّةٌ، إِلاَّ شَيْءٌ يُنْفِقُهُ فِي سَبِيْلِ اللهِ، أَوْ يُعِدُّهُ لِغَرِيْمٍ. وَإِنَّ مُعَاوِيَةَ بَعَثَ إِلَيْهِ بِأَلْفِ دِيْنَارٍ فِي جُنْحِ اللِّيْلِ، فَأَنْفَقَهَا.

(١) لم أجد لابن نفيع ترجمة، وقد يكون محرفا عن ابن نويفع، واسمه محمد بن الوليد، فقد روى الطبراني في " الكبير " (١٦٢٨) : المرفوع من الحديث، من طريق موسى بن عبيدة، عن محمد بن الوليد، عن ابن عباس، فإن يكنه ففيه انقطاع، لأنه لا يروي عن ابن عباس إلا بواسطة كريب مولاه فيما ذكروه في ترجمته. (٢) أي: مسوج بالسعف والحبال، ويقال أيضا: سرير مرمول: إذا كان مزينا بالجوهر ونحوه.