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The Prophet (PBUH) could see with his unmistaken insight- across remote distances and the far
unknown future - all the different difficulties Abu Dhar had to face due to his truthfulness and firmness.
He therefore was always ordering him to let patience and deliberateness be his manner.
The Prophet once asked him, "O Abu Dhar! What would you do if you witnessed a time when
commanders monopolize the war booty?" He replied, "I swear by Allah Who sent you with the truth, I
would strike them with my sword!" The Prophet (PBUH) said to him, "Shall I guide you to what is
better? Be patient till you meet me."
Why did the Prophet (PBUH) ask him this specific question? Commanders, money? It was the
cause Abu Dhar was going to devote his life to and the problem he was to encounter with society in the
future.
The Prophet (PBUH) knew it; therefore he asked him this question in order to provide him with this
precious advice: "Be patient till you meet me."
Abu Dhar kept his teacher and Prophet's instruction unforgotten. Therefore, he did not carry a sword
against those commanders who enriched themselves by taking what was the public money. But also, he
did not keep silent, and he did not let them rest. Indeed, although the Prophet (PBUH) had forbidden him
to carry his sword against them, he did not forbid him to carry a sharp truthful tongue. And that is what
he did.
The era of the Prophet (PBUH) and of Abu Bakr and `Umar passed with its complete transcendence
over all worldly temptations. Even the tempted desirous and greedy souls could not find a paved and
open way for their devious desires. In those days there were no deviations to be oppossed loudly by Abu
Dhar's sharp words. As long as the Commander of the Faithful `Umar lived, Muslim governors, rulers,
and even the wealthy, were forced to live a humble, modest, aesthetic and just life, almost beyond human
capacity. No governor of the Caliph, whether in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, or anywhere else in the region,
could ever eat a kind of sweet unaffordable by ordinary people without such a piece of information soon
reaching Umar, who would immediately order that governor to return to Al-Madiinah, where he would
face a severe punishment. Therefore, Abu Dhar lived without trouble and happily, with much inward
peace, as long as `Umar was Commander of the Faithful. Nothing ever annoyed Abu Dhar more than the
abuse of power and the monopoly of wealth. `Umar's firm control over power and his fair distribution of
wealth allowed him tranquility and satisfaction.
It was because of this that he was able to devote himself to Allah's worship and jihaad in the cause
of Allah, never keeping silent if any infringement was seen here or there, which rarely happened.
However, the greatest, most just and most magnificent ruler that human beings were ever to
experience left our world one day, leaving behind a tremendous gap, causing inevitable reactions beyond
human expectations.
The Islamic campaigns continued, thus bringing under control more regions. At the same time,
desires and longing for ambition to enjoy the comforts and luxury of life started to float to the surface. In
these events, Abu Dhar saw the impending danger. The banners of personal glory were about to tempt
those whose role in life was to lift the standard of Allah. Life with its false embellishments and its wild
arrogance was about to tempt those whose role was to make out of life a plantation of good deeds.
Money - created by Allah to be obedient to His servants for the benefit of mankind - was about to
turn into a tyrant master. A master of whom? The Prophet's Companions.
The Prophet (PBUH) died with a pawned shield, although piles of war booty were under his service.
The excellence of the earth created by Allah for all human beings and with their rights upon it mutually
corresponding - was about to turn into a monopoly and privilege Power - a responsibility that pious
people tremble at when thinking about its horrible charge in the Hereafter - turned into a means of
authority, wealth, and destructive luxury.