Biography of Uways al-Qarni (may Allah have mercy on him)

Firstly: 

Uways al-Qarni – Abu ‘Amr – was Uways ibn ‘Aamir ibn Juz’ ibn Maalik al-Qarni
al-Muraadi al-Yamaani, one of the foremost Taabi‘een and righteous close
friends of Allah. He lived at the time of the Prophet (blessings and peace
of Allah be upon him) and became Muslim, but he did not meet him. What
prevented him from travelling to meet him was the fact that he was
preoccupied with taking care of his mother, as was narrated by al-Haafiz Abu
Nu‘aym in Hilyat al-Awliya’ (2/87) from Asbagh ibn Zayd. He was not
one of the Sahaabah; rather he was one of the Taabi‘een. 

He
was born and grew up in Yemen. 

Imam adh-Dhahabi said of him in Siyar A‘laam an-Nubala’ (4/19): 

The exemplary ascetic, leader of the Taabi‘een of his time, one of the pious
close friends of Allah and one of His devoted worshippers. 

Secondly: 

In
Sharh Saheeh Muslim, Imam an-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him)
wrote a chapter on his virtues, in which he quoted what Imam Muslim (may
Allah have mercy on him) had narrated of hadiths that speak of his virtues,
such as hadith no 2542: 

It
was narrated that Usayr ibn Jaabir said: 

Whenever reinforcements came from Yemen, ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allah be
pleased with him) would ask them: Is Uways ibn ‘Aamir among you? When he
found Uways he said: Are you Uways ibn ‘Aamir? He said: Yes. He said: Are
you from Muraad then from Qaran? He said: Yes. He said: Did you have
leprosy, then you recovered from it except for a spot the size of a dirham?
He said: Yes. He said: Do you have a mother? He said: Yes. He said: I heard
the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) say:
“There will come to you Uways ibn ‘Aamir with the reinforcements from Yemen,
from Muraad then from Qaran. He had leprosy but he recovered from it except
for a spot the size of a dirham. He has a mother and he honours her. If he
were to swear in the name of Allah that something should happen, Allah would
cause it to happen. If you can ask him to pray for forgiveness for you then
do so.” Pray for forgiveness for me. And he prayed for forgiveness for him.
‘Umar said to him: Where are you headed? He said: Kufa. He said: Shall I
write to the governor for you? He said: Being among the common folk is
dearer to me. 

The following year, a man from among their nobles performed Hajj and he met
‘Umar, who asked him about Uways. He said: I left him in a shabby house with
meagre provisions. 

He
said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) say: “There will come to you Uways ibn ‘Aamir with the reinforcements
from Yemen, from Muraad then from Qaran. He had leprosy but he recovered
from it except for a spot the size of a dirham. He has a mother and he
honours her. If he were to swear in the name of Allah that something should
happen, Allah would cause it to happen. If you can ask him to pray for
forgiveness for you then do so.” 

So
he went to Uways and said: Pray for forgiveness for me. He said: You have
just come from a sacred journey, so pray for forgiveness for me. He said:
Pray for forgiveness for me. He said: You have just come from a sacred
journey, so pray for forgiveness for me. He said: Did you meet ‘Umar? He
said: Yes. So he prayed for forgiveness for him, and the people came to know
of his piety, so he left. 

Usayr said: His garment (allocated annually by the state) was a cloak (burdah)
and every time anyone saw him he would say: From where did Uways get this
cloak? 

In
al-Mustadrak (3/455), Imam al-Haakim also wrote a chapter about his
virtues, and said of him: 

Uways was the monk of this ummah. End quote. 

Among the greatest of the reports about his virtue are the hadiths that
speak of the intercession of a man from among the ummah of Muhammad
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) for many people. This is
mentioned in many reports, the soundest of which is the marfoo‘ hadith of
‘Abdullah ibn Abi’l-Jad‘a’: “Because of the intercession of a man from my
ummah, more people than the tribe of Banu Tameem will surely enter
Paradise.” Narrated by at-Tirmidhi (no. 2438). He said: It is hasan saheeh.
It was classed as saheeh by al-Albaani. 

It
is soundly narrated from al-Hasan al-Basri that this intercessor is Uways
al-Qarni. This is narrated in other marfoo‘ hadiths, but they are da‘eef
(weak). 

There are also other da‘eef hadiths that speak of his virtues, such as a
lengthy hadith in which it says: “There will surely pray with you tomorrow a
man from among the people of Paradise… and that is Uways al-Qarni…” This
hadith also speaks of a lengthy discussion between him and ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab
and ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib. 

It
was narrated by Abu Nu‘aym in Hilyat al-Awliya’ (2/81), and he
referred to its being da‘eef. Shaykh al-Albaani said in as-Silsilah ad-Da‘eefah
(no. 6276): It is munkar jiddan (very odd). 

Ibn al-Jawzi (may Allah have mercy on him) – who wrote a chapter about Uways
in his book al-Mawdoo‘aat – said: 

The saheeh hadiths only mention a few words about Uways that he (the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)) said to ‘Umar, when the
Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) told him:
“Uways will come to you, and if you can ask him to pray for forgiveness for
you then do so.” The storytellers spoke at length about the hadith of Uways
but there is no benefit in quoting what they said in any detail. End quote. 

Al-Mawdoo‘aat
(2/44) 

Thirdly: 

The scholars quoted in his biography some stories that are indicative of his
righteousness and asceticism (may Allah have mercy on him). One of the most
famous of the scholars who narrated that is al-Haafiz Abu Nu‘aym in his
great book Hilyat al-Awliya’. One of the reports (2/79) he narrated
is that from Abu Nadrah, from Usayr ibn Jaabir, who said: 

A
muhaddith (hadith scholar) in Kufa used to narrate to us, and when he had
finished his talk he would say: You may leave now. A few people would remain
behind, among whom was a man who would start speaking in such a way that I
had never heard anyone speak before, and I liked it. One day he did not
come, so I said to my companions: Do you know a man who used to sit with us
(and I described him)? Someone said: Yes, I know him; that is Uways al-Qarni.
I said: Do you know where he lives? He said: Yes. So I went with him until I
came to his room, and he came out to me. I said: O my brother, what kept you
away from us? He said: Not having clothes. His companions used to make fun
of him and bother him. I said: Take this cloak and wear it. He said: Do not
do that, for if they see it, they will bother me. But I kept on at him until
he put it on and came out to them, and they said: Who did he cheat to get
this cloak? So he came and took it off and said: Do you see? 

I
went to the people and said: What do you want from this man? Why are you
bothering him? Sometimes the man has no clothes to wear and sometimes he
does. And I rebuked them in a very harsh manner. End quote. 

Fourthly: 

Many words full of light, wisdom and admonition have been narrated from
Uways. 

It
was narrated that Sufyaan ath-Thawri said: Uways had a cloak that touched
the ground when he sat down, and he used to say:

O
Allah, I offer my apology to You for every hungry stomach and unclothed
body, but I own nothing in this world except what is on my back and in my
stomach. End quote.

Narrated by al-Haakim in al-Mustadrak (3/458) 

He
(may Allah have mercy on him) also said, encouraging people to fear Allah
and remember that He is always watching:

Fear the punishment of Allah as if you are guilty of having killed all the
people. End quote.

Narrated by al-Haakim in al-Mustadrak (3/458) 

It
was narrated that Asbagh ibn Zayd said: 

Uways al-Qarni would say when evening came: This night is for bowing, and he
would bow until morning came. And he would say when (another) evening came:
This night is for prostrating, and he would prostrate until morning came.
And when (another) evening came, he would give in charity all that was
surplus in his house of food and clothing, then he would say: O Allah,
whoever dies hungry, do not take me to task for it, and whoever dies
unclothed, do not take me to task for it. End quote. 

Narrated by Abu Nu‘aym in Hilyat al-Awliya’ (2/87). The words “he
would bow until morning came… he would prostrate until morning came” mean
that he would bow at length in prayer until morning came, then on another
night he would prostrate at length in prayer until morning came. 

It
was narrated that ash-Sha‘bi said: 

A
man from Muraad passed by Uways al-Qarni and said: How are you this morning?
He said: I am this morning praising Allah. He said: How is life with you? He
said: How is life with a man who, in the morning, thinks that he will not
live until evening comes, and in the evening, he thinks that he will not
live until morning comes, and he will either be given glad tidings of
Paradise or tidings of Hellfire? O man of Muraad, death and remembrance of
death do not leave any moment of joy for the believer; his knowledge of the
rights of Allah did not leave him any of his wealth; and his standing up for
the truth did not leave him any friends. End quote. 

Hilyat al-Awliya’
(2/83); also narrated by al-Haakim in al-Mustadrak (3/458) 

Fifthly: 

Most of the scholars are of the view that he died on the Day of Siffeen in
37 AH, when he fought alongside ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib (may Allah be pleased
with him) and he was martyred there. Al-Haakim narrated that in al-Mustadrak
(3/460) with an isnaad going back to Shareek ibn ‘Abdullah, ‘Abd ar-Rahmaan
ibn Abi Layla and others. 

Other scholars stated that he went on campaign to Azerbaijan and was
martyred there. See: Hilyat al-Awliya’ (2/83) 

But the former is the view of the majority. 

And Allah knows best.