Some objectors criticize the hadiths narrated by Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him), claiming they are not authentic. They say that some companions rejected the hadiths of Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah, for example, Sayyiduna Umar struck and scolded Abu Hurairah for narrating many hadiths, and Uthman and Ali (may Allah be pleased with them) also rejected him.
No companion rejected the hadiths of Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah in terms of authenticity; however, the few incidents mentioned in this regard are presented here with their reality.
There is no authentic chain of narration proving that Sayyiduna Umar struck or scolded him
Regarding the claim that Sayyiduna Umar struck him, this is not correct because the narrations implying this are themselves unreliable in terms of their chains of transmission, so how can they be used as evidence?
◄ For example, the narration mentioned in this context is cited with reference to
Reference: "Sharh Nahj al-Balagha"
that Umar struck Abu Huraira for narrating hadiths and prevented him from narrating excessively
Reference: (Sharh Nahj al-Balagha by Ibn Abi al-Hadid: 4/67)
. The narrator of this hadith, Abu Ja'far al-Sakkafi al-Mu'tazili, is not trustworthy. For details, see
Reference: (Al-Sunnah Qabl al-Tadwin: 457)
.◄ As far as the strictness mentioned in some narrations regarding narrating many hadiths is concerned, for example, Saib bin Yazid narrates that he heard Sayyiduna Umar telling Abu Hurairah, "Stop narrating hadiths, otherwise I will send you away," and he said to Ka'b, "Stop narrating hadiths, otherwise I will send you to the land of monkeys."
Reference: (Siyar A'lam al-Nubala: 2/600, 601)
The reason for such strictness from Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was not that he was criticizing Abu Hurairah or did not trust him to narrate false hadiths, but the purpose was that people might derive incorrect meanings from those narrations or rely solely on hadiths related to permissions and leave-taking, so he stopped it. Accordingly, Hafiz Ibn Kathir states:وهذا محمول من عمر على أنه خشي من الأحاديث التي تضعها الناس على غير مواضعها٬ وأنهم يتكلون على ما فيها من أحاديث الرخص٬ وأن الرجل إذا أكثر من الحديث ربما وقع في أحاديثه بعض الغلط أو الخطأ٬ فيحملها الناس عنه أو نحو ذلك
Reference: (Al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya: 4/591)
Translation: Sayyiduna Umar feared that people might make incorrect inferences from the hadiths and be content with the permissions mentioned in the hadiths alone. Also, because when a person narrates many hadiths, there is sometimes a risk of error, and people might take it as such.
◄ Furthermore, it is also established that Sayyiduna Umar later permitted them to narrate hadiths, as Hafiz Ibn Kathir himself has stated.
Reference: (Al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya)
◄ In fact, in Musnad Ahmad, it is mentioned that Sayyiduna Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) would say before narrating hadiths that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, which are true, that whoever deliberately fabricates a lie against me should prepare his place in Hell. (Then he would narrate the hadith.)
Reference: (Musnad Ahmad: 15/204, verified by Sheikh Shuayb al-Arna'ut)
It is clear that Sayyiduna Umar did this as a precaution, not because he considered the hadiths of Sayyiduna Abu Huraira unreliable.It is also not established that Sayyiduna Uthman and Ali rejected the narrations of Abu Huraira
Some people narrate that Sayyiduna Uthman and Ali rejected the hadiths of Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah. The narration on which this claim is based
Reference: (See: Al-Muhaddith Al-Fasil Bayn Al-Rawi wal-Wa'i p.553)
indicates that this is the same incident related to Sayyiduna Umar, which has already been mentioned. Due to the mistake of the narrators, it was attributed to Sayyiduna Uthman. Even if, hypothetically and impossibly, this attribution to Sayyiduna Uthman is accepted, it only shows that Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah was prevented from narrating, but it does not mean that his narrations were rejected.◄ The narration attributed to Sayyiduna Ali in which he called Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah "اکذب”
Reference: (False)
Reference: (Sharh Nahj al-Balagha: 1/468)
is weak in chain of transmission because the narrator is Abu Ja'far al-Askafi, who was a weak narrator with desires.Did Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) reject the narrations of Abu Hurairah?
Some people say that when Abu Huraira رضي الله عنه narrated this hadith: "مَن غسّل میتًا فلیغتسل ومن حملہ فلیتوضأ”
Reference: (Jami` at-Tirmidhi: 993)
, Ibn Mas'ud and Ibn Abbas rejected this hadith of his. This is mentioned in some books of hadith, but the reality is that denial of this by Ibn Abbas, Ibn Mas'ud, etc., is not proven.◄ The statement of Ibn Abbas is brought by Imam Bukhari رحمه الله in the translation of the chapter that a believer is not impure (najis).
◄ Imam Tirmidhi, after mentioning the narration, states that on this subject there are also narrations from Sayyiduna Ali and Sayyiduna Aisha. He further states that there is disagreement among the Companions on this topic. In fact, he also mentions later disagreements. Therefore, Sayyiduna Abu Huraira does not narrate this hadith alone, and there remained a difference of opinion among the Companions on this issue.
