Abu Dhar al-Ghifari

Who was Abu Dhar al-Ghifari?

Abū Dhar al-Ghifari al-Kinani Jundub ibn Junādah ibn Sufian, was the fourth or fifth person converting to Islam. He belonged to the Banu Ghifar, the Kinanah tribe. No date of birth is known. He died in 652 CE, at al-Rabadha, in the desert east of Medina.

Abu Dhar is remembered for his strict piety and also his opposition to Muawiyah I during the caliph Uthman ibn Affan era. He is venerated by Shia Muslims as one of The Four Companions, early Muslims who were followers of Ali.

He was one of the Muhajirun. He was regarded by many, including Ali Shariati, as the first Islamic socialist or the first socialist altogether, having first been referred to as such by the Arab scholar Ahmad Rida in 1910.