Abu Turab

Priority: c, Quality: a
From wikishia

Abū Turāb (Arabic: أبو تُراب) is one of Imam Ali's (a) titles which was given to him by the Prophet (s).

Origin

"Abu Turab" is an Arabic term, which literally means "the father of dust". There are some hadiths explaining why Imam Ali (a) was titled as Abu Turab.

First Tradition

'Abaya b. Rib'i asked 'Abd Allah b. al-'Abbas: "Why did the Prophet (s) give the title "Abu Turab" to 'Ali (a)?" He replied: "Because he [Ali (a)] is the owner of the earth and God's representative among people. The earth continues to exist and remain calm because of his presence. I heard the Prophet (s) saying: 'In the Hereafter, the non-believer sees the position and the reward of the followers of Ali's and says: 'I wish I were of the dusty' (so I was related to the father of dust ['Ali (a)] and was one of his Shi'a) and this is what Qur'an reads 'and the faithless will say 'I wish I were dust' (Quran 78:40).'"[1]

Second Tradition

Katwari[2] says: "The first person titled as 'Abu Turab' was 'Ali b. Abi Talib (a). When the Prophet (s) saw him laying on the ground and saw the dust on his clothing and body, he gently and kindly said to him: 'Get up, O' Abu Turab!' and 'Ali b. Abi Talib (a) liked this title the most. After this incident and because of the Prophet (s), it became a special feature for him, that the dust (earth) told him the news of the past and the future to the Day of Resurrection."[3]

Third Tradition

In a different hadith, it is said: "In the middle of the month of Jumada I 2/November 623, the Prophet (s) and a group of his companions left Medina seeking the caravan of Quraysh led by Abu Sufyan. They reached a place named 'Ashira but they did not find the caravan. During their stay in 'Ashira, the Prophet (s) encountered 'Ali (a) and 'Ammar while they were asleep on soil and there was dust over Ali's face and head. The Prophet (s) gently and kindly woke them up and said to 'Ali (a): O' Abu Turab! Get up. Do you not want me to tell you who are the most vicious people on earth? One of them is Ihmir who killed the she-camel of the Prophet Salih (a) and the other is the one who hits you on the head by a sword and dyes your beard with your blood.'"[4] From the time 'Ali (a) became famous as 'Abu Turab'... Ali loved this title; because the Prophet (a) had given it to him.[5]

According to the last tradition, the literal meaning of "Abu Turab" (i.e. the father of dust) may not be an exact meaning of "Abu Turab" as a title but rather the term "dusty person" would convey the meaning better.

During the Umayyad Period

Umayyad Caliphs issued that every speaker in any Muslim city should curse 'Ali (a). In this period, the title "Abu Turab" was used as a derogatory title for Imam Ali (a).

It has been narrated that a person came to Sahl b. Sa'd and said, "The governor of Medina is planning to force you to curse 'Ali (a) publicly on pulpit." He said, "How should I curse him?" He replied, "By calling him Abu Turab." Sahl said, "By God! The Prophet (s) gave him this title… by God, Abu Turab was Ali's best name [title]."[6]

It has also been narrated from Jabir b. Yazid al-Ju'fi that "I complained about Umayyad and their supporters to Imam al-Sajjad (a) and said: 'They are killing us wherever we go. They are uprooting us. They are cursing our master Amir al-Mu'minin (a) publicly on pulpits and minarets, in bazaars and alleys. They repudiate Imam 'Ali to the point that they gather in al-Masjid al-Nabi (the mosque of the Prophet (s)) and curse 'Ali (a) openly while no one prevents them doing so or expresses his disagreement with their action; and if one of us opposes them, they all attack him and say he is Rafidi and Abu Turabi (related to Abu Turab). They take him to their governor and claim that he praised Abu Turab and then beat him up, jail him and finally kill him.'"[7]

See Also

Notes

  1. Al-Majlisi, Bihar al-anwar, vol. 35, p. 51; Al-Saduq, 'Ilal al-sharayi' , vol. 1, p. 151
  2. Katwari, Muhadara al-awa'il wa musamara al-awakhir, p. 113
  3. Amini, al-Ghadir, v. 6, pp. 327-328
  4. Ibn Athir, al-Kamil fi l-tarikh, vol. 1, p. 522; Ibn Shahrashub, Manaqib, vol. 3, p. 133
  5. Baladhuri, Jumal min ansab al-ashraf, vol. 2, p. 343
  6. Amin, al-Ghadir, vol. 2, p. 101
  7. Al-Majlisi, Bihar al-anwar, vol. 4, p. 10

References

  • Majlisi, Muhammad Baqir al-. Bihar al-anwar
  • Katwari, 'Ala' al-Din 'Ali al-. Muhadara al-awa'il wa musamara al-awakhir
  • Amini, 'Abd al-Husayn. Al-Ghadir
  • Ibn Athir. Al-Kamil fi al-tarikh
  • Ibn Shahrashub. Manaqib Al Abi Talib
  • Baladhuri, Ahmad b. Yahya al-. Jumal min ansab al-ashraf. Ed. Suhayl Al-Zakar and Riyad Al-Zirkili. Beirut: Dar al-Fikr, 1996.
  • Amin, al-Sayyid Muhsin al-. A'yan al-Sh'ia. Ed. Sayyid Hasan Amin. Beirut: Dar al-Ta'aruf li-al-Matbu'at