Muhammad bin Umar relates that the name and lineage of Sayyiduna Abu al-Darda (may Allah be pleased with him) is Uwaymir bin Zayd bin Qays bin A'ishah bin Umayyah bin Malik bin Amir bin Adi bin Ka'b bin al-Khazraj bin al-Harith bin al-Khazraj. It has also been said that Abu al-Darda's name was Amir, but it was made diminutive and he came to be called Uwaymir. His mother was Muhibbah bint Waqid bin Amr bin al-Itnabah bin Amir bin Zayd Manat bin Malik bin Tha'labah bin Ka'b. It is related that Abu al-Darda was the last of his household to accept Islam; he was devoted to an idol of his over which he had placed a cloth. Abdullah bin Rawahah (may Allah be pleased with him) used to invite him to Islam, but he would refuse. Abdullah bin Rawahah, who was his brother both in the Jahiliyyah and in Islam, was looking for an opportunity. When he saw that Abu al-Darda had left his house, he entered his house from behind him. He hurried Abu al-Darda's wife while she was combing her hair. Abdullah bin Rawahah asked: "Where is Abu al-Darda?" She said: "Your brother has just gone out." So he entered the room in which the idol was kept, and he had an adze with him. He brought the idol down and began to break it into pieces, reciting this rajaz verse as he did so: "Declare your innocence of all the names of the devils; listen! Everything that is called upon besides Allah is false." Then he went out, and the wife had heard the sound of the adze while he was breaking the idol, and she began to say: "O Ibn Rawahah! You have ruined me." He went out in that state. Then only a short while had passed when Abu al-Darda returned to his house. He went in and saw that his wife was sitting and weeping out of fear of him. He asked: "What is the matter with you?" She said: "Your brother Abdullah bin Rawahah came to me and did what you see." On hearing this he became intensely angry, then he thought to himself and said: "If there were any good in this (idol), it would certainly have defended itself." So he set off until he came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), taking Ibn Rawahah with him, and accepted Islam. It has also been said that on the day of the Battle of Uhud, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) looked at Abu al-Darda while the people were fleeing in defeat in every direction, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "What an excellent horseman Uwaymir is, not sluggish (heavy)." Muhammad bin Umar says: I have heard some people mention that Abu al-Darda did not take part in the Battle of Uhud. However, he was among the eminent Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and took part in many campaigns with him (peace and blessings be upon him). Muhammad bin Umar says: Abu al-Darda (may Allah be pleased with him) died in Damascus in the year 32 AH, during the caliphate of Uthman bin Affan (may Allah be pleased with him).

It is narrated from Abu Ibrahim al-Tarjumani that he said: I saw an old man in Damascus who was called Ishaq Abu Harith, and he was a freed slave of Banu Habbar al-Qurashi. He said: "I saw Abu al-Darda Uwaymir bin Qays bin A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with him), the Companion of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). His eyes were dark with a reddish tinge and his nose was high-bridged, and he used to dye his hair with yellow. I saw on his head a small quilted cap, and he had a turban which he had thrown over his shoulders." Al-Abbas says: I heard a man who was with me ask Ishaq: "How long ago did you see him?" He said: "I saw him more than a hundred years ago. And he was wearing two socks and sandals." The narrator says: And at that time Ishaq's age had reached about one hundred and twenty years. Chapter on the virtues of Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him).

It is narrated from Mus'ab bin Abdullah al-Zubayri that he said: The name of Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) is Jundub bin Junadah, and according to one view Burayr bin Junadah. He died at al-Rabadhah in the year 32 AH. There is disagreement about who led his funeral prayer: according to one view it was Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), and according to another it was Jarir bin Abdullah al-Bajali (may Allah be pleased with him).

It is narrated from Mujahid that he said: Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) said to a few people who were with him: "As you can see, the time of my death has drawn near. If I had a garment sufficient as a shroud for me or for my wife, I would be shrouded only in it. I adjure you that no man among you should shroud me who has been a chief of a people, a representative (naqib), a governor or a courier (a government official)." All those people were from among the notables; among them were Hujr al-Madari and Malik al-Ashtar, and with them was a man of the Ansar. Apart from the Ansari, every one of them had held one or another of those posts. So that Ansari said: "I will shroud you in this cloak of mine and in the two garments that are in my bag; they are made from yarn spun by my mother, and she wove them for me so that I might enter ihram in them." On hearing this Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "They are sufficient for me."

Abu Ubaydah Ma'mar bin al-Muthanna relates that the name and lineage of Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) is Jundub bin Junadah bin Sufyan bin Ubayd bin Haram. Ibn Sallam says that according to one view his name is Burayr.

Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Numayr relates that the name and lineage of Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) is Jundub bin Junadah bin Qays bin Amr bin Su'ayr bin Haram bin Ghifar, and his mother was Ramlah bint Waqi'ah bin Ghifar. As for the mention of his name Burayr, it has been narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) called him by that name.

It is narrated from Zayd bin Aslam that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him): "O Burayr! How will you be?" This is part of a long hadith.

Abu Jamrah narrates from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that he said to us: "Shall I not tell you the story of Abu Dharr's acceptance of Islam?" We said: Yes, certainly, tell us. Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said that Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) related his story thus: "I was a man of the tribe of Ghifar. News reached us that a man had appeared in Makkah who claimed to be a prophet. I said to my brother: Go to this man, speak with him and bring me news of him. So he went, met him and then came back. I asked: What news do you have? He said: By Allah! I have seen a man who commands good and forbids evil. I said to him: You have not given me news that satisfies me. Then I took a provision bag and a staff and set off for Makkah. (On arriving there) I did not recognise him (the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him), and I did not think it proper to ask anyone about him; I would drink the water of Zamzam and stay in the (Sacred) Mosque. One day Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) passed by me and said: It seems this man is a stranger? I said: Yes. He said: Then come (with me) to (my) house. So I went with him; he did not ask me anything and I did not tell him anything. Then in the morning I went to the (Sacred) Mosque to enquire about him (the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him), but no one would tell me anything about him. Then Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) passed by me (again) and said: Has the time not yet come for this man to know his lodging? I said: No. He said: Come with me. Then he asked: For what purpose have you come to this city? I said: If you guarantee to keep my secret, I will tell you. He said: I will do so. I said to him: News has reached us that a man has appeared here who claims to be a prophet. I sent my brother to speak with him, but when he returned he did not give me satisfying news, so I intended to meet him myself. Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: You have certainly found the right path; I am heading that way. Follow behind me, and wherever I enter, you enter too. And if on the way I see anyone from whom I fear danger for you, I will stand by the wall as if I am fixing my sandal, and you keep walking (without stopping). Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) says: Then he set off and I set off with him, until he entered and I too entered with him into the presence of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). I said: O Messenger of Allah! Present Islam to me. He (peace and blessings be upon him) presented Islam to me, and I accepted Islam on the spot. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said to me: O Abu Dharr! Keep this matter hidden and go back to your land, then when news of our prevailing reaches you, come. I said: By the One who sent you with the truth! I will proclaim it loudly, standing among them (the idolaters). So he came to the (Sacred) Mosque, and Quraysh were there at the time. He called out: O people of Quraysh! I bear witness that there is no true god except Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is His servant and Messenger. On hearing this they said: Seize this renegade (Sabi'). They rose and beat me so much that I was near to death. Then Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) arrived and threw himself over me (to protect me), then he turned to them (the idolaters) and said: Woe to you! You are killing a man of the tribe of Ghifar, when your trade and your route pass through Ghifar! At this they let me go. Then the next morning I came back again and said the same words I had said the day before. They again said: Seize this renegade. Then Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) again arrived, rescued me and threw himself over me, and said the same thing he had said the previous day." (Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said:) So this was the beginning of Sayyiduna Abu Dharr's (may Allah be pleased with him) Islam. This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim). As for the detailed hadith about Sayyiduna Abu Dharr's (may Allah be pleased with him) acceptance of Islam, it is the hadith of the people of Syria.

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.