Abud-Darda - The Wise and Pious Man
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This is the story of a man whose wisdom and piety was well-known even before he accepted Islam. He was a known philosopher in Medina who always had wonders about the world. When he became a Muslim, he was one who preferred to sit in isolation to contemplate and worship Allah SWT. He was often heard reciting a specific verse of the Quran from Surah Anam:
… إِنَّ صَلَاتِى وَنُسُكِى وَمَحْيَاىَ وَمَمَاتِى لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ
“Indeed, my prayers, my devoutness, my life, and my death
are all for Allah - Lord of all the worlds” {6.162}
However, he also had significant roles in battle as he understood the importance of jihad in the early years of Islam.
Background
Abud-Darda was a man of contemplation, lots of worship, and complete trust in Allah SWT. His mother said that he liked to recite the Quran in order to learn the lessons which are in it. He would tell the Muslims in Medina, “To consider (contemplate) for an hour is better than to worship Allah for a night”. SubhanAllah, he was a man who recognized the importance of meaning behind ‘ibadah, or worship. This is a skill most people do not have often, as we rush to complete acts of worship without contemplating and thinking of how they change us.
A Merchant Who Stopped Trade
Long before the Muslims made Hijrah, or emigrated, to Medina, Abud-Darda was a wealthy and successful merchant. When he became a Muslim, he began to rethink his work. This is what he said about working and his relationship to Allah SWT:
“I embraced Islam with the the Prophet ﷺ, and I was a trader. I wanted to practice both worship and trade at the same time, but I could not get them together with the same competence [meaning, do work and worship equally]. So, I rejected the trade and devoted myself to the worship. Now, I will not be pleased to practice trading, with the profit of three hundred Dinars a day, even if my shop will be at the door of the mosque. Indeed, I am not saying to you that Allah prohibited trade and selling, but I would like to be of those whom no trade or selling could occupy from praising Allah”
His words always poured with this same wisdom and thoughtfulness. He was able to answer the people’s questions before they asked, and always had wise sayings. To Abud-Darda, he wanted his life to focus on worshiping Allah SWT and praising Him. Although working was not prohibited in Islam, Abud-Darda worried that he would not fulfill enough worship to Allah SWT if his time was spent at work as well. However, other merchants chose not to do that and continued their work while maintaining appropriate worship of Allah. Abud-Darda’s approach did not mean they were wrong and their approach did not mean Abud-Darda was wrong. Each person did what they found appropriate and meaningful for their life.
The Words of Abud-Darda
Abud-Darda’s intense desire to be a devout worshiper led him to say many words of wisdom. He was one to take the words of the Prophet ﷺ to heart and try to implement as best as he can. Here are some of the words that he would think about often:
“What is little and sufficient is better than what is more and occupying one from worship” Abī Ya’lá 1039
“Set yourselves free from the concerns of this world as possible as it could be. For he whose greatest concern is the world (and its vanities), then Allah would disperse his property and people, and make his poverty in his eyes [meaning intense and near]. And he who whose greatest concern is the Hereafter, then Allah would gather him with his loved ones and make his richness so great and within his heart.” At-Tirmithi 2465
To Abud-Darda, money was to be used only as a means of living a simple life. Rather than chasing after fame and money and letting it occupy your entire mind, he said that one should only work and get enough money to live and satisfy oneself. He would say, “do not eat but a good thing, earn but a lawful good thing, or take into your home but a legally earned good thing”.
Once, Abud-Darda wrote to one of his companions,
The World is a Loan
The mindset that helped Abud-Darda remove the world from his heart and focus only on worship was that he thought of the world as a loan. A loan is something that you have but is borrowed; you do not own it. When he thought of the world as a loan, he could easily remember how temporary this life was. It helped him focus on what was actually permanent and work to get as many good deeds as possible.
The conviction that he had with this mindset also spread into his family values as well. Yazid ibn Mo’awiyah, was a wealthy and powerful man who asked for the hand of Abud-Darda’s daughter, Ad-Darda. Abud-Darda rejected this marriage for his daughter because riches and money in excess could fill all her time and attention that there would be no space left for her worship. Instead, she married a humble and religious man with only enough wealth as needed.
Abud-Darda famously said, “It is not better to have much more wealth and children, but it is better to be more patient, more knowledgeable, and to compete with people in worshiping Allah, the Almighty.”
Don’t Be Prideful in Worship
Abud-Darda (RA) was one who regularly encouraged people to increase in worship, but warned them from being prideful in their worship. To him, ibadah should be an act to increase one’s closeness to Allah SWT and to glorify Him. If a person was showing off how good they are and how much they worship, Abud-Darda saw that as a weakness of faith.
He always encouraged people to remember Allah SWT and their purpose in life. With this encouragement, he said that people can only be one of three types. “There are three types of people: A tutor, a learner, and the third is nothing, in whom there is no good.” With these words, he reminded people to be seekers of knowledge and good with pure intentions.
His life was filled with moments of worship, wisdom, and reminding other Companions about ways to be good Muslims. Our story of Abud-Darda will conclude with one more quote of wisdom, “You will never be pious (a person of taqwā) until you become knowledgeable, and you will never be beautiful with your knowledge until you act [by it].”