ABU HURAIRAH
"An Abi Hurairah, Radiyallaahu'anhu, qal.' qala rasul
Allahi, sallallahu alayhi wa sailam..."
Through this phrase millions of Muslims from the early
history of Islam to the present have come to be
familiar with the name Abu Hurairah. In speeches and
lectures, in Friday khutbahs and seminars, in the
books of Ahaadeeth and sirah, fiqh and ibadah, the
name Abu Hurairah is mentioned in this fashion:
"On the authority of Abu Hurairah, who said: The
Messenger of God, , said... ".
Through his Prodigious efforts, hundreds of ahadith or
sayings of the Prophet were transmitted to later
generations. His is the foremost name in the roll of
hadith transmitters. Next to him comes the names of
such companions as Abdullah the son of Umar, Anas the
son of Malik, Umm al-Mumininin Aishah, Jabir ibn
Abdullah and Abu Said al-Khudri all of whom
transmitted over a thousand sayings of the Prophet.
Abu Hurayrah became a Muslim at the hands of at-Tufayl
ibn Amr the chieftain of the Daws tribe to which he
belonged. The Daws lived in the region of Tihamah
which stretches along the coast of the Red Sea in
southern Arabia. When at-Tufayl returned to his
village after meeting the Prophet and becoming a
Muslim in the early years of his mission, Abu Hurayrah
was one of the first to respond to his call. He was
unlike the majority of the Daws who remained stubborn
in their old beliefs for a long time.
When at-Tufayl visited Makkah again, Abu Hurayrah
accompanied him. There he had the honor and privilege
of meeting the noble Prophet who asked him: "What is
your name?"
"Abdu Shams - Servant of a Sun," he replied.
"Instead, let it be Abdur-Rahman - the Servant of the
Beneficent Lord," said the Prophet .
"Yes, Abdur-Rahman (it shall be) O Messenger of God,"
he replied. However, he continued to be known as Abu
Hurayrah, "the kitten man", literally "the father of a
kitten" because like the Prophet he was fond of cats
and since his childhood often had a cat to play with.
Abu Hurairah stayed in Tihamah for several years and
it was only at the beginning of the seventh year of
the Hijrah that he arrived in Madinah with others of
his tribe. The Prophet had gone on a campaign to
Khaybar. Being destitute, Abu Hurayrah took up h is
place in the Masjid with other of the Ahl as-Suffah.
He was single, without wife or child. With him however
was his mother who was still a mushrik. He longed, and
prayed, for her to become a Muslim but she adamantly
refused. One day, he invited her to have faith in God
alone and follow His Prophet but she uttered some
words about the Prophet which saddened him greatly.
With tears in his eyes, he went to the noble Prophet
who said to him:
"What makes you cry, O Abu Hurairah?"
"I have not let up in inviting my mother to Islam but
she has always rebuffed me. Today, I invited her again
and I heard words from her which I do not like. Do
make supplication to God Almighty to make the heart of
Abu Hurairah's mother incline to Islam."
The Prophet responded to Abu Hurairah's request and
prayed for his mother. Abu Hurairah said: "I went
home and found the door closed. I heard the splashing
of water and when I tried to enter my mother said:
"Stay where you are, O Abu Hurairah." And after
putting on her clothes, she said, "Enter!" I entered
and she said: "I testify that there is no god but
Allah and I testify that Muhammad is His Servant and
His Messenger."
"I returned to the Prophet, peace be on him, weeping
with joy just as an hour before I had gone weeping
from sadness and said: "I have good news, O Messenger
of Allah. God has responded to your prayer and guided
the mother of Abu Hurairah to Islam."
Abu Hurairah loved the Prophet a great deal and found
favor with him. He was never tired of looking at the
Prophet whose face appeared to him as having all the
radiance of the sun and he was never tired of
listening to him. Often he would praise God for h is
good fortune and say: "Praise be to God Who has guided
Abu Hurairah to Islam." Praise be to God Who has
taught Abu Hurairah the Qur'ân."
"Praise be to God who has bestowed on Abu Hurairah
the companionship of Muhammad, ." On reaching
Madeenah, Abu Hurairah set his heart on attaining
knowledge. Zayd ibn Thabit the notable companion of
the Prophet reported : "While Abu Hurairah and I and
another friend of mine were in the Masjid praying to
God Almighty and performing dhikr to Him, the
Messenger of God appeared. He came towards us and sat
among us. We became silent and he said: "Carry on with
what you were doing."
"So my friend and I made a supplication to God before
Abu Hurairah did and the Prophet began to say Ameen
to our dua.
"Then Abu Hurairah made a supplication saying: "O
Lord, I ask You for what my two companions have asked
and I ask You for knowledge which will not be
forgotten."
"The Prophet, peace be on him, said: 'Ameen.' "We then
said: 'And we ask Allah for knowledge which will not
be forgotten, and the Prophet replied: 'The Dawsi
youth has asked for this before you." "With his
formidable memory, Abu Hurairah set out to memorize in
the four years that he spent with the Prophet, the
gems of wisdom that emanated from his lips. He
realized that he had a great gift and he set about to
use it to the full in the service of I slam.
He had free time at his disposal. Unlike many of the
Muhajirin he did not busy himself' in the
market-places, with buying and selling. Unlike many of
the Ansar, he had no land to cultivate nor crops to
tend. He stayed with the Prophet in Madeenah and went
with him on journeys and expeditions.
Many companions were amazed at the number of Ahaadeeth
he had memorized and often questioned him on when he
had heard a certain Ahaadeeth and under what
circumstances.
Once Marwan ibn al-Hakam wanted to test Abu Hurairah's
power of memory. He sat with him in one room and
behind a curtain he placed a scribe, unknown to Abu
Hurairah, and ordered him to write down whatever Abu
Hurairah said. A year later, Marwan called Abu
Hurayrah again and asked him to recall the same
ahaadeeth which the scribe had recorded. It was found
that he had forgotten not a single word.
Abu Hurairah was concerned to teach and transmit the
Ahaadeeth he had memorized and knowledge of Islam in
general. It is reported that one day he passed through
the sooq of Madeenah and naturally saw people
engrossed in the business of buying and selling.
"How feeble are you, O people of Madeenah!" he said.
"What do you see that is feeble in us, Abu Hurairah?"
they asked.
"The inheritance of the Messenger of God, peace be on
him, is being distributed and you remain here! Won't
you go and take your portion?"
"Where is this, O Abu Hurairah?" they asked.
"In the Masjid," he replied.
Quickly they left. Abu Hurairah waited until they
returned. When they saw him, they said: "O Abu
Hurairah, we went to the Masjid and entered and we did
not see anything being distributed."
"Didn't you see anyone in the Masjid?" he asked.
"O yes, we saw some people performing Salah, some
people reading the Qur'ân and some people discussing
about what is Halaal and what is Haraam."
"Woe unto you," replied Abu Hurairah," that is the
inheritance of Muhammad, may God bless him and grant
him peace."
Abu Hurairah underwent much hardship and difficulties
as a result of his dedicated search for knowledge. He
was often hungry and destitute. He said about himself:
"When I was afflicted with severe hunger, I would go
to a companion' of the Prophet and asked him about an
ayah of the Qur'ân and (stay with him) learning it so
that he would take me with him to his house and give
food. "
One day, my hunger became so severe that I placed a
stone on my stomach. I then sat down in the path of
the companions. Abu Bakr passed by and I asked him
about an ayah of the Book of God. I only asked him so
that he would invite me but he didn't.
"Then Umar ibn al-Khattab passed by me and I asked
him about an ayah but he also did not invite me. Then
the Messenger of God, peace be on him, passed by and
realized that I was hungry and said: "Abu Hurairah!"
"At your command" I replied and followed him until we
entered his house. He found a bowl of milk and asked
his family: "From where did you get this?"
"Someone sent it to you" they replied.
He then said to me: "O Abu Hurairah, go to the Ahl
as-Suffah and invite them." Abu Hurairah did as he
was told and they all drank from the milk.
The time came of course when the Muslims were blessed
with great wealth and material goodness of every
description. Abu Hurairah eventually got his share of
wealth. He had a comfortable home, a wife and child.
But this turn of fortune did not change his
personality. Neither did he forget his days of
destitution. He would "I grew up as an orphan and I
emigrated as a poor and indigent person. I used to
take food for my stomach from Busrah bint Ghazwan. I
served people when they returned from journeys and l
ed their camels when they set out. Then God caused me
to marry her (Busrah). So praise be to God who has
strengthened his religion and made Abu Hurairah an
imam." (This last statement is a reference to the time
when he became governor of Madeenah.)
Much of Abu Hurairah's time would be spent in
spiritual exercises and devotion to God. Qiyam al-Layl
staying up for the night in prayer and devotion - was
a regular practice of his family including his wife
and his daughter. He would stay up for a third o f the
night, his wife for another third and his daughter for
a third. In this way, in the house of Abu Hurairah no
hour of the night would pass without ibadah, dhikr and
Salah.
During the caliphate of Umar, Umar appointed him as
governor of Bakrain. Umar was very scrupulous about
the type of persons whom he appointed as governors. He
was always concerned that his governors should live
simply and frugally and not acquire much wealth even
though this was through lawful means.
In Bahrain, Abu Hurairah became quite rich. Umar
heard of this and recalled him to Madeenah. Umar
thought he had acquired his wealth through unlawful
means and questioned him about where and how he had
acquired such a fortune. Abu Hurairah replied: "From
breeding horses and gifts which I received."
"Hand it over to the treasury of the Muslims," ordered
Umar.
Abu Hurairah did as he was told and raised his hands
to the heavens and prayed: "O Lord, forgive the Amir
al-Muminin." Subsequently, Umar asked him to become
governor once again but he declined. Umar asked him
why he refused and he said:
"So that my honor would not be besmirched, my wealth
taken and my back beaten."
And he added: "And I fear to judge without knowledge
and speak without wisdom."
Throughout his life Abu Hurairah remained kind and
courteous to his mother. Whenever he wanted to leave
home, he would stand at the door of her room and say:
As-salaamu alaykum, yaa ummataah, wa rahrnatullahi wa
barakatuhu, peace be on you, mother, and th e mercy
and blessings of God." She would reply: "Wa alayka-s
salaam, yaa bunayya, wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu -
And on you be peace, my son, and the mercy and
blessings of God." Often, he would also say: "May God
have mercy on you as you cared for me when I was
small," and she would reply: "May God have mercy on
you as you delivered me from error when I was old."
Abu Hurairah always encouraged other people to be kind
and good to their parents.
One day he saw two men walking together, one older
than the other. He asked the younger one: "What is
this man to you?"
"My father," the person replied.
"Don't call him by his name. Don't walk in front of
him and don't sit before him," advised Abu Hurairah.
Muslims owe a debt of gratitude to Abu Hurairah for
helping to preserve and transmit the valuable legacy
of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace.
He died in the year 59 AH when he was seventy-eight
years old.
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{Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom
(i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue
with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone
astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.}
(Holy Quran-16:125)
{And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in
His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites
(men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I
am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33)
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if
Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of
camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim]
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, "Whoever
calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who
follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all."
[Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah]
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