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"An Abi Hurayrata, radiyallahu 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 Hurayrah. In speeches and lectures, in Friday
khutbahs and seminars, in the books of hadith and sirah, fiqh and ibadah, the name Abu
Hurayrah is mentioned in. this fashion: "On the authority of Abu Hurayrah, may God be
pleased with him who said: The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace,
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 Hurayrah 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 his 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
Hurayrah?" "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 Hurayrah's mother incline to
Islam."
The Prophet responded to Abu Hurayrah's request and prayed for his mother. Abu Hurayrah
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 Hurayrah." 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 Hurayrah to Islam."
Abu Hurayrah 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 his good fortune
and say: "Praise be to God Who has guided Abu Hurayrah to Islam." Praise be to
God Who has taught Abu Hurayrah the Quran."
"Praise be to God who has bestowed on Abu Hurayrah the companionship of Muhammad, may
God bless him and grant him peace." On reaching Madinah, Abu Hurayrah set his heart
on attaining knowledge. Zayd ibn Thabit the notable companion of the Prophet reported:
"While Abu Hurayrah 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 Hurayrah did and the
Prophet began to say Ameen to our dua. "Then Abu Hurayrah 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 Hurayrah 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 Islam. 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 Madinah and went with him on journeys and expeditions. Many companions were
amazed at the number of hadith he had memorized and often questioned him on when he had
heard a certain hadith and under what circumstances. Once Marwan ibn al-Hakam wanted to
test Abu Hurayrah's power of memory. He sat with him in one room and behind a curtain he
placed a scribe, unknown to Abu Hurayrah, and ordered him to write down whatever Abu
Hurayrah said. A year later, Marwan called Abu Hurayrah again and asked him to recall the
same ahadith which the scribe had recorded. It was found that he had forgotten not a
single word. Abu Hurayrah was concerned to teach and transmit the ahadith he had memorized
and knowledge of Islam in general. It is reported that one day he passed through the suq
of Madinah and naturally saw people engrossed in the business of buying and selling.
"How feeble are you, O people of Madinah!" he said. "What do you see that
is feeble in us, Abu Hurayrah?" 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 Hurayrah?" they asked. "In the
Masjid," he replied. Quickly they left. Abu Hurayrah waited until they returned. When
they saw him, they said: "O Abu Hurayrah, 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 Salat, some people
reading the Quran and some people discussing about what is halal and what is haram."
"Woe unto you," replied Abu Hurayrah," that is the inheritance of Muhammad,
may God bless him and grant him peace."
Abu Hurayrah 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 Quran 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 Hurayrah!" "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 Hurayrah, go to the Ahl
as-Suffah and invite them." Abu Hurayrah 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 Hurayrah 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 led 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 Hurayrah an imam." (This last
statement is a reference to the time when he became governor of Madinah.)
Much of Abu Hurayrah'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 of the night,
his wife for another third and his daughter for a third. In this way, in the house of Abu
Hurayrah no hour of the night would pass without ibadah, dhikr and Salat. 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 Hurayrah became quite rich. Umar heard of this and
recalled him to Madinah. Umar thought he had acquired his wealth through unlawful means
and questioned him about where and how he had acquired such a fortune. Abu Hurayrah
replied: "From breeding horses and gifts which I received." "Hand it over
to the treasury of the Muslims," ordered Umar. Abu Hurayrah 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 Hurayrah 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 the 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 Hurayrah 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 Hurayrah. Muslims owe a debt of gratitude
to Abu Hurayrah 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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