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Abu Hurayrah
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Compiled by Abu Rumaysah
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"An Abi Hurayrata, radiyallahu anhu, qal.'
qala rasul Allahi, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam..."
Through this phrase millions of Muslims
from the early history of Islām 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 seerah,
fiqh and ibadah, the name Abu Hurayrah is mentioned in this
fashion:
"On the authority of Abu Hurayrah, may
Allāh be pleased with him who said: The Messenger of Allāh, may
Allāh 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
'Aaishah, 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 Allāh," 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 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 Allāh 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 Islām 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 Allāh Almighty to make the
heart of Abu Hurayrah's mother incline to Islām."
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 Allāh 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. Allāh has responded to your prayer and guided
the mother of Abu Hurayrah to Islām."
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 Allāh for his good fortune and say: "Praise be to
Allāh Who has guided Abu Hurayrah to Islām." Praise be to Allāh
Who has taught Abu Hurayrah the Qur'ān."
"Praise be to Allāh who has bestowed on
Abu Hurayrah the companionship of Muhammad, may Allāh 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 Allāh
Almighty and performing dhikr to Him, the Messenger of Allāh
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 Allāh 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 Islām.
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 Ab u 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 Islām 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
Allāh, 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 Qur'ān and some people discussing
about what is halaal and what is haraam."
"Woe unto you," replied Abu Hurayrah,"
that is the inheritance of Muhammad, may Allāh 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 Qur'ān 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 Allāh. 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 Allāh, 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 l ed their camels when they set out.
Then Allāh caused me to marry her (Busrah). So praise be to Allāh
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 Allāh. 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 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 b reeding 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 Allāh." 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 Allāh." Often, he would also say: "May Allāh have
mercy on you as you cared for me when I was small," and she would
reply: "May Allāh 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 Allāh bless him and grant him peace. He died
in the year 59 AH when he was seventy-eight years old.