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Abu Darda' al-Ansari

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ʿUwaymir b. Zayd al-Khazrajī al-Anṣārī (Arabic: عُوَیمر بن زید الخزرجي الانصاري), known as Abū Dardāʾ al-Anṣārī (Arabic: اَبودَرْداء الانصاری), was a companion of the Prophet (s) and a compiler of the Qur'an. He attended the Conquest of Syria and Cyprus Island as well as the Battle of Yarmuk. He was a judge in Damascus for a while.

Abu Darda' al-Ansari
Personal Information
Full Name'Uwaymir b. Zayd al-Khazraji al-Ansari
TeknonymAbu Darda'
Epithet'Uwaymir
Well Known AsAbu Darda' al-Ansari
Lineageal-Khazraji
Muhajir/AnsarAnsar
Burial PlaceBab al-Saghir Cemetery
Religious Information
Conversion to IslamDay of Badr
Presence at ghazwasBattle of Uhud, Battle of Yarmuk

Lineage

There are disagreements over the name of his father and his lineage. On some accounts, the name of his father is said to be Tha'laba, on others it is 'Amir or Malik.[1] Moreover, some people take "'Uwaymir" to be Abu Darda'’s title, and others take it to be his name.[2] Abu Darda' was merchant before the prophethood of the Prophet (s), and he was the last person in his family who converted to Islam.

Characteristics

Abu Darda' is known in the oldest sources as a worshiping sage.[3] Abu Nu'aym al-Isfahani characterizes him as a thoughtful mystic and worshiping sage, and then quotes some of his aphorisms.[4] Abu Darda'’s sermons have been noted in many ethical works.[5]

Abu Darda'’s Conversion to Islam

He had an idol in his house. His intimate friend during the periods of Jahiliyya and Islam, 'Abd Allah b. Rawaha, broken down the idol, and then he met the Prophet (s) together with 'Abd Allah, and converted to Islam.[6] The Prophet (s) made a brotherhood contract between him and Salman al-Farsi, probably before the Battle of Badr.[7].[8] On al-Suyuti's account, he converted to Islam on the day of Badr, and attended the Battle of Uhud as well.[9]

Compilation and Teaching of the Qur'an

Abu Darda' was one of the few people who contributed to the compilation of the Qur'an.[10] At the command of 'Umar, he went to Syria and lived in Damascus in order to teach the Qur'an.[11] Over one thousand people attended his circle of the recitation of the Qur'an.[12] In a trip from Syria to Medina, he compared the Qur'an of the people of Syria with those of Medina.[13]

A Transmitter of the Prophet’s Hadiths

Abu Darda' transmitted many hadiths from the Prophet (s).[14] A remarkable number of these hadiths appear in Musnad Ahmad b. Hanbal.[15]

Abu Darda'’s Military and Political Activities

In the Conquest of Syria, Abu Darda' joined the Islamic army and went to Syria. He was the supervisor of one of the two Muslim bases in the region.[16] Moreover, in the Battle of Yarmuk (13/634-5), he was the judge of the Islamic army.[17] Allegedly, Abu Darda' was present in the Conquest of Cyprus Island in 27 AH/648.[18] He is mentioned by Ibn Kathir and Abu Umama al-Bahili as one of those who encouraged people to avenge for 'Uthman.[19] These accounts are, nevertheless, congruent only with a less advocated view about the date of his death (38 AH/658 or 39 AH/659 after the Event of Siffin), and is incongruent with more widely accepted accounts of the date of his death.[20]

As to the period of Imam 'Ali (a)'s caliphate, Nasr b. Muzahim reports that, after their objections to Mu'awiya in the Battle of Siffin and their dialogues with Imam 'Ali (a), Abu Darda' and Abu Umama al-Bahili withdrew from the battle.[21]

As to his judgeship in Syria, it is said that the position was assigned to him by 'Umar himself, and in the absence of the ruler or governor, the judge counted as their successor.[22] On another account, the position was assigned to him by Mu'awiya at the command of 'Umar.[23] On another account, he was appointed as the judge of Damascus in the period of 'Uthman's caliphate.[24] It seems, however, that he was just kept in the position in the period of 'Uthman.

Death

He died in Damascus, and people visited his mausoleum in Bab al-Saghir Cemetery for a while.[25]27 There are two mausoleums attributed to Abu Darda' around Istanbul.[26]

Notes

  1. ↑ Ibn Hishām, al-Sīra al-nabawīyya, vol. 2, p. 152; Ibn Qutayba al-Dīnawarī, al-Maʿārif, p. 268; Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, al-Istīʿāb, vol. 3, p. 1227.
  2. ↑ Rāzī Ibn Abī l-Ḥātam, al-Jarḥ wa l-taʿdīl, vol. 3, p. 26; Ḥākim al-Nayshābūrī, al-Mustadrak ʿala l-ṣaḥīḥayn, vol. 3, p. 336.
  3. ↑ Ibn Saʿd, al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā, vol. 7, p. 392; Bukhārī, Tārīkh al-kabīr, vol. 4, p. 77.
  4. ↑ Abū Nuʿaym, Ḥilyat al-awlīyāʾ, vol. 1, p. 208, 227.
  5. ↑ Abū ʿAlī Miskawayh, al-Ḥikmat al-khālida, p. 126, 176; Māwardī, Adab al-dunyā wa al-dīn, p. 102.
  6. ↑ Ibn Saʿd, al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā, vol. 7, p. 391.
  7. ↑ Ibn Hishām, al-Sīra al-nabawīyya, vol. 2, p. 152; Baghdādī, al-Muḥabbar, p. 75.
  8. ↑ Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī, Tahdhīb al-tahdhīb, vol. 8, p. 176.
  9. ↑ Suyūṭī, Ḥusn al-muḥāḍira fī tārīkh Miṣr wa al-Qāhira, vol. 1, p. 244.
  10. ↑ Bukhārī, Tārīkh al-kabīr, vol. 4, p. 76.
  11. ↑ Ibn ʿAsākir, Tārīkh madīnat Dimashq, vol. 13, p. 731.
  12. ↑ Dhahabī, Siyar aʿlām al-nubalāʾ, vol. 2, p. 346.
  13. ↑ Ibn Abi Dawud, al-Maṣāḥif, p. 155.
  14. ↑ Ibn Saʿd, al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā, vol. 7, p. 392; Dhahabī, Siyar aʿlām al-nubalāʾ, vol. 2, p. 337.
  15. ↑ Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal, Musnad al-Imām Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal, vol. 6, p. 440-452.
  16. ↑ Fasawī, al-Maʿrifat wa al-tārīkh, vol. 3, p. 298.
  17. ↑ Ṭabarī, Tārīkh al-Ṭabarī, vol. 3, p. 397.
  18. ↑ Ṭabarī, Tārīkh al-Ṭabarī, vol. 4, p. 258; Balādhurī, Futūḥ al-buldān, p. 154.
  19. ↑ Ibn Kathīr al-Dimashqī, al-Bidāya wa l-nihāya, vol. 7, p. 228.
  20. ↑ Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, al-Istīʿāb, vol. 3, p. 1229; Ibn al-Athīr al-Jazarī, Usd al-ghāba, vol. 4, p. 20.
  21. ↑ Naṣr b. Muzāhim, Waqʿat Ṣiffīn, p. 197.
  22. ↑ Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, al-Istīʿāb, vol. 3, p. 1230.
  23. ↑ Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī, Tahdhīb al-tahdhīb, vol. 8, p. 176.
  24. ↑ Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, al-Istīʿāb, vol. 4, p. 1646-1647.
  25. ↑ Ibn Ḥabbān, Mashāhīr ʿulamā al-amṣār, p. 50.
  26. ↑ Necdet İŞli. Istanbul da sahabe Kabir ue makamalan, p. 33-34; 102-105.

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