https://www.khutbah.info/the-sage-abu-aldardaa/ All praise is due to Allah the Knowing Creator. Allah said: Ar Rum (30) 54- Allāh is the one who created you from weakness, then made after weakness strength, then made after strength weakness and white hair. He creates what He wills, and He is the Knowing, the Competent. He has preferred some from among His creation with virtues. He has protected them from heedlessness and immorality. Allah sent His Prophet ﷺ with light and guidance. So the guided were enlightened by it. And the misguided and immoral people are blind to it. Allah said: Al Shoora (42) 52- And indeed, [O Muḥammad], you guide to a straight path Be conscious of Allah the Most High and obey Him. Beware of His wrath and do not disobey Him. Take guidance from the righteous and take heed from the news of those before you. Verily, in reading history and pondering the path of those before and benefiting from their knowledge and experiences in life nurtures the mind and cultivates talents. It is as if the one who does this will never err. Success is the companion of those enlightened with the light of the Quran and the guidance of the Prophetic sunnah.
إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ ,نَحْمَدُهُ ,وَنَسْتَعِينُهُ وَنَسْتَغْفِرُهُ , وَنَعُوذُ بِاللهِ مِنْ شُرُورِ أَنْفُسِنَا وَمِنْ سَيِّئَاتِ أَعْمَالِنَا ,مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللهُ فَلَا مُضِلَّ لَهُ , وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَلَا هَادِيَ لَهُ , وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ
Verily, all praise is for Allah. We praise Him, we seek His assistance and we ask for His forgiveness. And we seek refuge in Him from the evils of our selves. Whoever Allah guides, none can misguide. Whoever He misguides, none can guide. And I bear witness that there is no deity other than Allah and I bear witness that Mohammad is His slave and messenger.
يَا أَيُّهَا الّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ – آل عمران:102
Al Imran 102 : O you who believe! Fear Allah as He should be feared, and die not except in a state of Islam.
Oh people:
All praise is due to Allah the Knowing Creator. Allah said:
خَلَقَكُمْ مِنْ ضَعْفٍ ثُمَّ جَعَلَ مِنْ بَعْدِ ضَعْفٍ قُوَّةً ثُمَّ جَعَلَ مِنْ بَعْدِ قُوَّةٍ ضَعْفًا وَشَيْبَةً يَخْلُقُ مَا يَشَاءُ وَهُوَ العَلِيمُ القَدِيرُ-الرُّوم 54
Ar Rum (30) 54- Allāh is the one who created you from weakness, then made after weakness strength, then made after strength weakness and white hair. He creates what He wills, and He is the Knowing, the Competent.
He has preferred some from among His creation with virtues. He has protected them from heedlessness and immorality. Allah sent His Prophet ﷺ with light and guidance. So the guided were enlightened by it. And the misguided and immoral people are blind to it. Allah said:
وَإِنَّكَ لَتَهْدِي إِلَى صِرَاطٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ- الشُّورى 52
Al Shoora (42) 52- And indeed, [O Muḥammad], you guide to a straight path
Be conscious of Allah the Most High and obey Him. Beware of His wrath and do not disobey Him. Take guidance from the righteous and take heed from the news of those before you.
Verily, in reading history and pondering the path of those before and benefiting from their knowledge and experiences in life nurtures the mind and cultivates talents. It is as if the one who does this will never err. Success is the companion of those enlightened with the light of the Quran and the guidance of the Prophetic sunnah.
It is from this standpoint that we need to look at the lives of those who have left and the conditions of those before us. Particularly those who embraced the correct path and did not deviate from it one bit until they attained dignity and a high station. Allah was pleased with the first men of this ummah (nation) and made them content, those who spread Islam, affirmed The Promise and fulfilled their pledges.
Today we will consider lessons from the life of one of these men. Famous for his intelligence and wisdom. Characterized by zuhd (detachment from worldly life) and worship. His words became a beacon for the seeker and a pathway for the explorer. He accepted Islam and participated in Uhud and what came after. He took the Quran from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. He was among those who recorded the revelation. He moved in the era of Omar to the Sham teaching the people the Quran, and it is reported that he was the first to establish circles for memorizing the Quran.
He was then deployed as a judge and was the first judge of Damascus. People came to congratulate him on his appointment as a judge. He said “You congratulate me on being appointed a judge. If people only knew what is involved in being a judge they would compete in avoiding it, not wanting it and hating it. If people knew what was in the athan they would compete in seeking it being attentive to offer it.
This was Abu al-Dardaa’ – Umair bin ‘Amir al Ansari Al Khazrajey. The sage of this nation as is found in some of the sayings of the predecessors.
Imam Al Dhahbi recounted in the story of him accepting Islam that Abdullah Bin Rawaaha and Mohammed Bin Musalamah entered his house and broke the idol that he worshipped. So when Abu al-Dardaa’ returned he started collecting the idol saying: Woe to you! Why did you not defend yourself? Umm al-Dardaa’ said- If he was able to benefit or safeguard he would have benefited and defended himself. Abu al-Dardaa’ said, prepare water for me in the washing basin. He took a bath and wore nice clothes and went to the Prophet ﷺ. Ibn Rawaha upon seeing him approach said Oh Messenger of Allah “This is Abu al-Dardaa’ and I do not see the reason for him coming except that he is coming for us for breaking his idol. The Prophet ﷺ said “Verily he came to accept Islam. Allah promised me that Abu al-Dardaa will embrace Islam.
He had sayings that affirmed that his speech was that of a sage (wise man). He (may Allah be pleased with him) said, I was a trader before the Prophet ﷺ was sent. When the Prophet ﷺ was sent I practiced trading and worship but found them to be incompatible so I embraced the worship and left the trading.
When he, may Allah be pleased with him, saw that the trading was interfering with his worship and he saw that he was not able to combine both he chose the better one.
There are people who can do both like Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him. He was a trader, worshipper and scholar. Likewise was the case of Abdulrahman bin Awf, may Allah be pleased with him. So the optimum is being able to combine them. This is better for whoever has the ability. As for the one who is unable to combine them, then worship is better.
Abu al-Dardaa’, may Allah be pleased with him was among the worshippers and among the scholars of the companions. The Prophet made a brotherhood between him and Salman. It was related in Sahih Al Bukhari that:
أن سلمان زار أبا الدرداء، فرأى أمَّ الدرداء متبذلة، فقال لها: ما شأنك؟ قالت: أخوك أبو الدرداء ليس له حاجة في الدنيا، فجاء أبو الدرداء فصنع له طعاماً فقال له: كل، قال: فإني صائم، قال سلمان: ما أنا بآكل حتى تأكل، قال: فأكل. فلما كان الليل ذهب أبو الدرداء يقوم قال: نَمْ، فنام، ثم ذهب يقوم فقال: نَمْ، فلما كان من آخر الليل قال سلمان: قم الآن، فصلَّيا. فقال له سلمان: إن لربك عليك حقاً، ولنفسك عليك حقاً، ولأهلك عليك حقاً، فأعطِ كلَّ ذي حق حقه. فأتى النبي -صلى الله عليه وسلم- فذكر ذلك له، فقال النبي -صلى الله عليه وسلم صدق سلمان. البخاري 1968
Salman paid a visit to Abu al-Dardaa’ and found Umm al-Dardaa’ (his wife) dressed in shabby clothes and asked her why she was in that state. She replied: “Your brother Abu al-Dardaa’ is not interested in (the luxuries of) this world. In the meantime Abu al-Dardaa’ came in and prepared a meal for Salman. Salman requested Abu al-Dardaa’ to eat (with him) but Abu al-Dardaa’ said: “I am fasting.” Salman said: “I am not going to eat unless you eat.” So, Abu al-Dardaa’ ate (with Salman). When it was night and (a part of the night passed), Abu al-Darda’ got up (to offer the night prayer) but Salman asked him to sleep and Abu al-Dardaa’ slept. After some time Abu al-Dardaa’ again got up but Salman asked him to sleep. When it was the last hours of the night, Salman asked him to get up and both of them offered night prayer. Then Salman told Abu al-Dardaa’: “You owe a duty to your Lord, you owe a duty to your body; you owe a duty to your family; so you should give to everyone his right. Abu al-Dardaa’ came to the Prophet ﷺ and mentioned what happened. The Prophet ﷺ said, “Salman is right”. [Bukhari 1968]
Insofar as his knowledge- It was related by Ibn Abee Hatem that Abu Dhar said to Abu al-Dardaa’, the earth did not carry nor did a tree shade anyone more knowledgeable than you.
And because of his knowledge, people were in need of him and crowded around him like people do so at the doors of the authorities. In spite of this he attended people’s gatherings and walked in the markets answering those who asked him, teaching the ignorant and alerting the heedless. He would capitalize on every opportunity and benefit from each occasion. He said to the people of Damascus, ask me before you lose me.
And the greatest proof of his intellect and wisdom was that he was always contemplating and reflecting. Umm al-Dardaa’ was asked, which worship did Abu Dardaa practice the most? She said contemplation and reflection. And how could he not be always contemplating and he was the one who said, contemplating one hour is better than the night prayer.
And from among his wisdom, may Allah be pleased with him, is what was related by Abu Qalaabah- That Abu Al-Dardaa’ passed by a man that had sinned and people were cursing at him. He said to them, if you found him in a well would you not take him out? They said, certainly. He replied, then do not curse your brother and praise Allah Who has relieved you. They said, should we not hate him. He said, hate what he did, hate his action. For, if he left it, he is my brother.
And from his sayings regarding knowledge and learning, you will not become a scholar until you become educated and you will not be educated until you practice what you have learned. The thing that I fear most when I stand for accounting is that it will be said to me, what did you do with what you have learned?
He addressed the people, saying, why is it that I see your scholars leaving and your ignorant not learning. Learn, for the scholar and the learner are partners in the reward.
A man came and said, advise me. He responded, remember Allah in ease, He will remember you in hardship, if you remember the dead put yourself in their place. If you desire something from this world look at what it becomes.
And from his wisdom regarding wealth and affluence. The wealthy eat and we eat. The wealthy drink and we drink. The wealthy wear clothes and we wear clothes. They have transportation and we have transportation. They have extra wealth that they look at and we also look at it with them. However, they will have to account for it and we will not have anything to do with it.
And he said, I seek refuge in Allah from scattering of the heart. It was said, what is scattering of the heart. He replied, that I would have wealth in every valley.
And from among his wisdom is that he would prioritize the most important supplications. His eye was giving him pain until he lost it and it was said to him, if only you supplicated to Allah. He replied, I have not finished supplicating to Him to forgive my sins so how could I supplicate for my eye?
Added to this virtue and wisdom is the great amount of remembrances that he would make. It was recounted that he would not let up on making remembrance. It was said to him, how much tasbih (glorification of Allah) do you recite every day? He replied, 100,000 unless my fingers have counted wrong.
So may Allah pleased with him and please him. And how great was his wisdom. May Allah be pleased with all of the companions, and gather us with them in the abode of bliss.
أَقُولُ مَا تَسْمَعُونَ وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ مِنْ كُلِّ ذَنْبٍ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
I say what you have heard and I seek forgiveness from Allah for me and you from every sin. So seek forgives from Him, Verily He is Oft-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.
Second Khutbah
الحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ, وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللهِ , وَ أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَاْ إِلَهَ إِلَّاْ اَللهُ وَحْدَهُ لَاْشَرِيْكَ لَهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدَاً عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُوْلُهُ
All praise is to Allah, and peace and blessings upon the Messenger of Allah, and I bear witness that there is no deity other than Allah and I bear witness that Mohammad is His slave and messenger.
Oh Muslims:
Abu al-Dardaa’, may Allah be pleased with him, liked to remain in this worldly life to increase in righteous deeds for the hereafter. He, may Allah be pleased with him, said, if it were not for three things, I would not have loved to remain in this world. Thirst while fasting during the exceptionally hot days. Prostrating during the night. Sitting with people who pick the best speech just as the best dates are selected.
The wisdom remained on his tongue even during the time of his sickness. He complained and his friends entered saying to him, oh Abu al-Dardaa’ of what do you complain? He replied, I complain from my sins. They said, what do you desire? He replied, I desire paradise. They said, should we not call a doctor for you? He said he is the one who ordered bed rest for me.
He, may Allah be pleased with him, kept advising the people even at the time of his passing and while he was advancing to his Lord, Umm al-Dardaa’ said, when Abu al-Dardaa’ was on his death bed he was saying, who does for this day of mine? Who does deeds for this day of mine? Who prepares for this day of mine? He cried at the time of his passing and umm al-Dardaa’ said to him, and you cry oh companion of the messenger of Allah ﷺ. He replied, yes, why is that I should not cry and I do not know if I will be saved from my sins.
He passed before Uthman, may Allah be pleased with them both. He passed with an attestation of his faith from the Prophet ﷺ. He said to the Prophet ﷺ one day:
بلغني أنك تقول إن ناساً من أمتي سيكفرون بعد إيمانهم. قال: أجل يا أبا الدرداء، ولستَ منهم. أخرجه الطبراني الشوكاني 389
It has reached me that you said that people from this ummah (nation) will disbelieve after having believed. He ﷺ said, yes that is the case and you are not among them. [Ashawkani 389]
This was a portion of the biography of this wise Imam. Parts of his days, life, knowledge and worship, his words and deeds. A biography from among the most brilliant that history has ever witnessed and one of the most beautiful images preserved in the Islamic books. Is it conceivable that Muslims would replace what is good with what is inferior?!
When will Muslims realize the value of their treasures that Allah the most High has preserved for them through their scholars? Realizing this means feeling the responsibility. And feeling the responsibility is a cause for reviving the Ummah. And that is close as long as each individual carries out their part and the generations of this ummah (nation) are raised with the character of their predecessors and follow their ways. And that is not difficult for Allah.Oh Allah make us among those who follow the sunnah of your beloved Prophet and the way and example of his companions. Indeed Allah is All Hearing, Answering.
هَذَا وَصَلُّوا وَسَلِّمُوا عَلَى نَبِيِّكُم كَمَا أَمَرَكُمْ بِذلِكَ رَبُّكُمْ , فَقَالَ
I conclude with this and send prayers of blessings and peace upon your Prophet as your Lord commanded:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ ۚ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا
Al Ahzaab (33) 56: Indeed, Allah confers blessing upon the Prophet, and His angels [ask Him to do so]. O you who have believed, ask [ Allah to confer] blessing upon him and ask [ Allah to grant him] peace.
اللَّهُمَّ اهْدِنا فِيمَنْ هَدَيْتَ وَعَافِنا فِيمَنْ عَافَيْتَ وَتَوَلَّنا فِيمَنْ تَوَلَّيْتَ وَبَارِكْ لنا فِيمَا أَعْطَيْتَ وَقِنا شَرَّ مَا قَضَيْتَ إِنَّكَ تَقْضِي وَلاَ يُقْضَى عَلَيْكَ وَإِنَّهُ لاَ يَذِلُّ مَنْ وَالَيْتَ تَبَارَكْتَ رَبَّنَا وَتَعَالَيْتَ
O Allah, guide us with those whom You have guided, grant us well-being among those You have granted well-being, be an ally to us along with those whom You are an ally to, and bless what You have bestowed upon us, and save us from the evil of what You have decreed. For verily You decree and none can decree over You. He whom You support can never be humiliated. Glory is to You, our Lord, You are Blessed and Exalted.
اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّا نَسْأَلُكَ مِنَ الْخَيْرِ كُلِّهِ عَاجِلِهِ وَآجِلِهِ مَا عَلِمْنا مِنْهُ وَمَا لَمْ نَعْلَمْ وَنَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ الشَّرِّ كُلِّهِ عَاجِلِهِ وَآجِلِهِ مَا عَلِمْنا مِنْهُ وَمَا لَمْ نَعْلَمْ اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّا نَسْأَلُكَ مِنْ خَيْرِ مَا سَأَلَكَ عَبْدُكَ وَنَبِيُّكَ وَنَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ مَا عَاذَ بِهِ عَبْدُكَ وَنَبِيُّكَ اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّا نَسْأَلُكَ الْجَنَّةَ وَمَا قَرَّبَ إِلَيْهَا مِنْ قَوْلٍ أَوْ عَمَلٍ وَنَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ النَّارِ وَمَا قَرَّبَ إِلَيْهَا مِنْ قَوْلٍ أَوْ عَمَلٍ وَنَسْأَلُكَ أَنْ تَجْعَلَ كُلَّ قَضَاءٍ قَضَيْتَهُ لَنا خَيْرًا
O Allah, We ask You for all that is good, in this world and in the Hereafter, what we know and what we do not know. O Allah, we seek refuge with You from all evil, in this world and in the Hereafter, what we know and what we do not know. O Allah, we ask You for the good that Your servant and Prophet has asked You for, and we seek refuge with You from the evil from which Your servant and Prophet sought refuge. O Allah, we ask You for Paradise and for that which brings one closer to it, in word and deed, and we seek refuge in You from Hell and from that which brings one closer to it, in word and deed. And we ask You to make every decree that You decree concerning us good
عِبَادَ اللّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالْإِحْسَانِ وَإِيتَاءِ ذِي الْقُرْبَىٰ وَيَنْهَىٰ عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنكَرِ وَالْبَغْيِ يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ
Servants of Allah. Indeed, Allah orders justice and good conduct and giving to relatives and forbids immorality and bad conduct and oppression. He admonishes you that perhaps you will be reminded.
اُذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ الْعَظِيمَ يَذْكُرْكُمْ واشْكُرُوهُ يَزِدْكُمْ واسْتَغْفِرُوهُ يَغْفِرْ لكُمْ واتّقُوهُ يَجْعَلْ لَكُمْ مِنْ أَمْرِكُمْ مَخْرَجًا وَأَقِمِ الصّلَاة
Remember Allah, the Great – He will remember you. Thank Him for His favors – He will increase you therein. And seek forgiveness from Him – He will forgive you. And be conscious of Him – He will provide you a way out of difficult matters. And, establish the prayer.
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