Abu Turab: Difference between revisions

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

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

'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 permanency and calmness of the earth is tied to 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 one will say 'I wish I were dust' (Quran 78:40).'"<ref>Al-Majlisi, ''Bihar al-anwar'', vol. 35, p. 51; Al-Saduq,'' 'Ilal al-sharayi' '', vol. 1, p. 151</ref>

Katwari<ref>Katwari, ''Muhadara al-awa'il wa musamara al-awakhir'', p. 113</ref> 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 [[resurrection|Day of Resurrection]]."<ref>Amini, ''al-Ghadir'', v. 6, pp. 327-328</ref>

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 b. Yasir|'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.'"<ref>Ibn Athir, ''al-Kamil fi l-tarikh'', vol. 1, p. 522; Ibn Shahrashub, ''Manaqib'', vol. 3, p. 133</ref> From the time 'Ali (a) became famous as 'Abu Turab'... Ali loved this title; because the Prophet (a) had given it to him.<ref>Baladhuri, ''Jumal min ansab al-ashraf'', vol. 2, p. 343</ref>

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.

[[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]."<ref>Amin, ''al-Ghadir'', vol. 2, p. 101</ref>

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.'"<ref>Al-Majlisi, ''Bihar al-anwar'', vol. 4, p. 10</ref>

{{ref}}

* 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 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

{{Imam 'Ali (a)}}