It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) that he related: The first cause of my accepting Islam was that we were an Arab people, and a severe famine struck us, so I took my mother and my brother, whose name was Unays, to my maternal relatives in the upper region of Najd. When we stayed with them, they honoured us greatly. Then a man of that tribe, seeing this, went and incited my maternal uncle, saying: "Do you know that Unays goes to your family behind your back?" (That man was lying.) Anger filled my uncle's heart at this. When I returned from grazing the camels I found him grieved and weeping. I asked: "O uncle! Why are you weeping?" So he told me the whole story. I said: "May Allah protect us from that (accusation)! We fear indecency, however much hardship time may impose on us. You have clouded the sincere beginning of the kindness with which you began towards us; now it is not possible for us to stay together." So I set off from there with my mother and brother and settled on the outskirts of Makkah. My brother said: "I am a (influential) man who, by the force of my poetry, pushes people back from the watering place." I said: "Do not do it." But he persisted in his obstinacy until he staked his camels against those of Durayd bin al-Simmah. By Allah! At that time Durayd was a greater poet than my brother. Then the two of them went to al-Khansa (for judgement), and she preferred my brother over Durayd. The reason for this was that Durayd had asked her father for her hand, and she had refused, saying: This is an old man, I have no need of him; for this reason she bore a grudge against Durayd. So we joined his camels to our camels, and we had a large herd of camels. (Sayyiduna Abu Dharr says:) Then I came to Makkah and began with (the hill of) al-Safa, and there the chiefs of Quraysh were sitting. News had reached me that a Sabi' (one who changes his religion), a madman, a poet or a sorcerer had appeared in Makkah. I asked: "Where is this man about whom you say these things?" They said: "There he is, where you see." I turned towards him, and by Allah! I had not gone beyond them even the distance of a stone's throw when those people attacked me with bones, stones and clods of earth and left me covered in blood. I came to the House of Allah and hid between the covering of the Ka'bah and the building. I stayed there for thirty days, with no food or drink except Zamzam, until on a moonlit and bright night two women of the tribe of Khuza'ah came and circled the House of Allah. Then they mentioned Isaf and Na'ilah, these being two idols which they used to worship. I put my head out from under the covering and said (mockingly): "Mount one of them on the other?" They became angry and said: "By Allah! If our men were present here you would not dare to say such a thing." Then they turned back, and I followed behind them until they met the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "Who are you two? Where are you from? And for what purpose have you come?" They told him (peace and blessings be upon him) the whole story. He (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "Where did you leave the Sabi'?" They said: "We left him between the covering of the Ka'bah and the building." He (peace and blessings be upon him) asked them: "Did he say anything to you?" They said: "Yes." I came forward until I reached the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and at that moment greeted him (peace and blessings be upon him) with salam. He (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "Who are you? From which tribe are you? Where are you from and why have you come?" I informed him (peace and blessings be upon him) of all the details. He (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "What have you been eating and drinking?" I said: "I have lived only on the water of Zamzam." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed, it is a food that satisfies." Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) was with him (peace and blessings be upon him), and he said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! Permit me to give him his evening meal." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Very well." Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) walked on, and Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) held my hand, until the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) stopped at Abu Bakr's (may Allah be pleased with him) door. Then Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) went into his house and brought raisins of Ta'if and began giving them to us by handfuls, and we ate them to our fill. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to me: "O Abu Dharr!" I said: "Labbayk (at your service)." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "A land has been shown to me which is a land of wealth, and I think it can only be Tihamah (Madinah). So go to your people and invite them to the religion you have entered." Sayyiduna Abu Dharr says: I left from there and came to my mother and brother and told them the news. They said: "We too have no aversion to the religion you have entered." So both of them accepted Islam. Then we set out until we reached Madinah, and I told my people. They said: "We believe you; perhaps we will meet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)." When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came to Madinah, we met him (peace and blessings be upon him). The tribe of Ghifar said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! Abu Dharr has told us what you told him; we have accepted Islam and we bear witness that you are the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)." Then the people of the tribe of Aslam (of Khuza'ah) came forward and said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! We too are drawn to this religion and wish to enter into that which our brothers and allies have entered." Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "'Aslamu salamaha Allah, wa Ghifaru ghafara Allahu laha' (May Allah grant Aslam safety, and may Allah forgive Ghifar)." Then Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) took my hand and said: "O Abu Dharr!" I said: "Labbayk, O Abu Bakr!" He asked: "Did you also worship (ta'alluh) during the Jahiliyyah?" I said: "Yes. I saw myself standing at the time of (the rising of) the sun and praying continuously until its heat began to hurt me, and then I would fall down as a garment falls." He asked me: "In which direction did you face?" I said: "I do not know, except whichever direction Allah turned me, until Allah honoured me with the blessing of Islam."

It is narrated from Jubayr bin Nufayr that Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) used to say: "I saw myself as a quarter of Islam (that is, at that time there were only four Muslims); before me only the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), Abu Bakr and Bilal (may Allah be pleased with them both) had accepted Islam." This hadith has an authentic (sahih) chain of narration, but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it.

Malik bin Marthad narrates from his father, who narrates from Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him), that he said: "I was a quarter of Islam; three people accepted Islam before me and I was the fourth. I came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah! Peace be upon you. I bear witness that there is no true god except Allah, and that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is His servant and Messenger. (On hearing this) I saw signs of joy and delight on the blessed face of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)."