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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books The Great Companion of the Prophet (s) Abu Dharr (ra) Chapter 20 Abu Dharr was passing his days at Rabzah in utter solitude and loneliness. There was nobody to look after him too to inquire about his condition. He had no means of solace. Had his family been with him he would not have felt his loneliness so painful. They were still in Syria and Abu Dharr was driven out of Syria to Medina and then banished to Rabzah.

Abdul Hamid Jaudatus Sihar writes that when Mu'awiyah came to know that Uthman had exiled Abu Dharr he sent his wife (with others) to Rabzah. When Abu Dharr's wife came out of her house she had only a bag with her. Mu'awiyah said to the people, "Look at the belongings of the preacher of austerity". At this Abu Dharr's wife said, "It contains a few coins and not dirhams or dinars and those too, only to suffice for the expenses".

When the wife reached Rabzah she saw that Abu Dharr had constructed a masjid there. Various historians have mentioned the construction of a masjid by Abu Dharr at Rabzah. We find its mention in the books of Tabari, Ibn Athir and Ibn Khaldun. In the Arabic copy of Tabari there is a sentence that “Abu Dharr had drawn a line of a masjid" there and at that place he used to offer his prayers, just as today also people collect some earth in a jungle and name it a masjid.

It was not a proper masjid, nor was it possible for him to construct a masjid like the one of today. According to Abdul Hamid during the days of Hajj when people passed through Rabzah they offered prayers in the masjid of Abu Dharr. This means that, that was not a populated place.

If there had been a population there it would have been mentioned in some book of history that the people of that place offered prayers in that masjid, just as a mention is found of the pilgrims offering their prayers in it. Allamah Subaiti writes that Abu Dharr was in a state of loneliness and was passing his days in such a condition at Rabzah that no human being could be seen there except an occasional wayfarer who sometimes passed that way. There was not a place where he could take refuge.

There was a tree under which he lived. There was no arrangement for his food. There were poisonous grasses all around, and they caused his and his wife's death"[^1]. After that the author adds that the reason to send Abu Dharr to such a place was only to stop his speeches, so that nobody could hear him, since he had a charm in his tongue.