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

                I have heard a great deal, and I get a lot of emails, about a Taabi‘i (and sometimes it is said that he was a Sahaabi) called Uywas al-Qarni, and how he honoured his mother. Can you do us the favour of telling us his story and biography? Did the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) really mention him as having a special status? How was his kind treatment of his mother, if it is true that his kindness towards his mother caused him to attain a special status? May Allah reward you with good and draw you near to Him.
Praise be to Allah.
      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.