Ihyaaud Deen An Effort to Revive Deen in Totality
Glimpses of the Austerity and Asceticism of Hazrat Abu Zar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu):
Sa‘eed bin ‘Ataa’ bin abi Marwaan (rahimahullah) narrates the following from his father:
I once saw Hazrat Abu Zar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) performing Salaah while wearing only a lower garment. I therefore said to him, “O Abu Zar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu)! Do you have no clothing besides this sheet?” Hazrat Abu Zar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) replied, “If I had another sheet, you would see me wearing it.” I replied, “But a few days did pass in which I saw you wearing two sheets.” To this, Hazrat Abu Zar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) replied, “O my nephew! I gave those two sheets to someone who was more in need of them than me.” On hearing this, I exclaimed, “By Allah! You are definitely in need of those two sheets!” Hazrat Abu Zar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) responded saying, “O Allah! You forgive!” He then addressed me and said, “Indeed you attach much importance to the dunya! Do you not see me wearing this sheet while I possess another which I wear to the musjid? I possess goats which I milk, camels on which I carry my provisions and we have slaves who serve us and suffice for us by seeing to the preparation of our food. Which favor of Allah can be greater than the favors which we are enjoying?”
(Ibn Sa’d 4/178)
Abu Qilaabah narrates that Abu Asmaa’ Rahabi (rahimahullah) once entered into the presence of Hazrat Abu Zar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) in Rabzah. On entering, he found that the wife of Hazrat Abu Zar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) was with him. She was a dark skinned woman who wore earrings and had no trace of saffron or khalooq (a type of perfume) on her body. Hazrat Abu Zar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) addressed him and said, “Do you not see what this dark skinned woman is instructing me to do? She is instructing me to go to Iraq. When I go to Iraq, the people will overcome me with their dunya. Behold! Indeed my beloved friend (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) promised and warned me that there is a path which is very slippery before reaching the bridge which is over Jahannum. It is more likely that we will be saved if we traverse this path with a load that is easy to bear than if we traverse it with a full load.
(Ibn Sa’d 4/178)
Ja’far bin Burqaan narrates that Ghaalib bin Abdir Rahmaan met a man who mentioned the following: If all the items in the home of Hazrat Abu Zar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) had to be gathered, the shawl of this person (referring to a person who was nearby) would be more valuable than all those items combined. Ja’far bin Burqaan thereafter mentions that he recounted this narration to Mahraan bin Maymoon (rahimahullah) who said, “I do not think that the combined contents of the home of Hazrat Abu Zar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) equaled even two dirhams in value.”
(Ibn Sa’d 4/175)
Source: Whatisislam.co.za
