This tomb in Damascus belongs to Abu Darda (رضي الله عنه), an eminent companion of the Prophet (ﷺ). His wife Umm al-Darda is also buried close to him.
- Kathir bin Qais narrates: “I was sitting with Abu Darda (رضي الله عنه) in a masjid in Damascus, when a person came to him and said, ‘O, Abu Darda (رضي الله عنه), I have come all the way from Madinah to learn one Hadith from you, as I understand you have heard it directly from the Prophet (ﷺ)’.”
- Abu Darda (رضي الله عنه) asked: “Have you any other business in Damascus?”. The person:“No.” Abu Darda (رضي الله عنه):“Are you sure that you have no other work in Damascus?”. The person: “I have come to this place with the sole purpose of learning this Hadith”. Abu Darda (رضي الله عنه) responded:“Listen. I have heard the Prophet (ﷺ) saying, ‘Allah eases the way to Paradise for one who traverses some distance to seek knowledge.The angels spread their wings under his feet, and all things in heavens and earth (even the fish in the water) pray for his forgiveness. The superiority of a person possessing knowledge over a person doing worship is as the superiority of the moon over the stars. The Ulama are the inheritors of the Prophet (ﷺ). The legacy of Prophets (Alaihis-salaam) is neither gold nor silver. Their legacy is knowledge. A person who acquires knowledge acquired a great wealth.”
The entrance to the tomb:
- Abu-Darda (رضي الله عنه) is foremost among the Sahabah who possessed very sound knowledge in religion. He is called ‘Hakeem-ul-Ummah’ (The Sage of Islam). He once said: “Before Islam, I lived on trade. After accepting Islam, I tried to combine the service of Allah with my business,but I could not do so. I therefore gave up business and devoted myself solely to the service of Allah. Now if I have a shop at the gate of a masjid and have no fear of losing a single salah thereby, and even if the shop gives me a daily profit of 40 dinars to spend the whole lot in the path of Allah, even then I am not willing to turn to business.” Somebody inquired the reason. He replied: “Because of the fear of reckoning.”
- Abu-Darda (رضي الله عنه) narrated 179 ahadith.
- He passed away in 32 AH.
Note that this entry has been shown for information purposes only. On no account should anybody pray to a grave or seek supplication through them as this is tantamount to committing shirk, associating partners with Allah (ﷻ)
Reference: Wikipedia