Author: Hafiz Sher Muhammad
Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that by Allah, every believer who hears about me, loves me. Abu Kathir Yahya bin Abdur-Rahman al-Suhaimi asked: How do you know this? He replied: My mother was a polytheist, and I used to invite her to Islam, but she refused. One day, when I invited her, she said things about the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) that I disliked. I went to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) crying and narrated the whole incident to him. I requested him to pray for my mother's guidance. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "O Allah, guide the mother of Abu Hurairah." I rushed out to convey this good news, and when I reached home, I found the door closed and heard the sound of water flowing. My mother heard my voice and said: Stay where you are. Then she dressed and opened the door while still not covering her head and said:
(I bear witness that there is no deity except Allah and that Muhammad is His servant and messenger). Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) crying with joy. I said: O Messenger of Allah, rejoice, Allah has accepted your prayer and guided the mother of Abu Hurairah. The Prophet (peace be upon him) praised Allah and said good things. I then requested: Pray to Allah to make me and my mother beloved to the believers. The Prophet (peace be upon him) prayed:
(O Allah, make this servant of Yours (Abu Hurairah) and his mother beloved to the believers and make the believers beloved to them).
[Muslim: 2491]
Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) firmly believed that the prayers of the Prophet (peace be upon him) are accepted; thus, he confidently said that every believer loves him.
Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I was a poor man and used to stick to the service of the Prophet (peace be upon him) on a full stomach, while the Muhajirun were busy in the markets and the Ansar in looking after their properties. One day, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
(Whoever spreads his garment will not forget anything he hears from me). So, I spread my garment until the Prophet (peace be upon him) finished speaking, then I clasped it to my chest, and I never forgot anything I heard from him after that.
[Sahih Bukhari: 2047 & Sahih Muslim: 2492]
Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) once said to Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him): You were always with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) among us and the most remembering of his Hadith.
[Sunan al-Tirmidhi: 3836, and its chain is authentic, Al-Hadith Monthly: 32 p. 10, 11]
Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) appointed Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) as an announcer during the Farewell Hajj.
[Sahih Bukhari: 369]
Once Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated a Hadith, and Ummul Mu'minin Sayyidah Aisha said:
(Abu Hurairah has spoken the truth).
[Tabaqat Ibn Sa'd 4/332 and its chain is authentic, Al-Hadith: 32 p. 11]
Imam Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated with a good chain:
[Al-Tarikh al-Kabir 6/132, entry 1938]
It is evident that before accepting Islam, Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) was named Abd Shams.
Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I spent three years in the company of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him).
[Kitab al-Ma'rifah wa al-Tarikh 3/161, and its chain is authentic]
The famous Tabi'i Humayd bin Abdur-Rahman al-Himyari narrated that Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) spent four years with the Prophet (peace be upon him).
[Sunan Abi Dawood: 81, and its chain is authentic, Sunan al-Nasa'i 1/130, Hadith 239, authenticated by Hafiz Ibn Hajar in Bulugh al-Maram: 6]
The reconciliation between these two narrations is that Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) was with the Prophet (peace be upon him) for a complete three years and part of the fourth year, which the narrators mentioned according to their knowledge.
Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I was present with the Prophet (peace be upon him) at Khaybar.
[Tarikh Abi Zur'ah al-Dimashqi: 232, and its chain is authentic]
Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) would stand for a third of the night (praying Tahajjud), his wife for a third, and his son for a third.
[Kitab al-Zuhd by Imam Ahmad p. 177, Hadith 986, Kitab al-Zuhd by Abu Dawood: 298, and its chain is authentic, Hilyat al-Awliya 1/382, 383]
This means they divided the night into three parts, with each person taking turns praying, thus keeping the entire household engaged in worship throughout the night. SubhanAllah!
Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) would carry wood through the market even during his period of governance.
[See Kitab al-Zuhd by Abu Dawood: 297, and its chain is authentic, Hilyat al-Awliya 1/384, 385]
Abdullah bin Rafi' narrated: I asked Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him): Why are you called Abu Hurairah? He replied: Are you not afraid of me? Ibn Rafi' said: Yes, by Allah, I am afraid of you. He said: I used to herd goats for my family, and I had a small kitten. At night, I would place it on a tree and during the day, I would play with it, so people started calling me Abu Hurairah (Father of the Kitten).
[Tabaqat Ibn Sa'd 4/329, and its chain is Hasan]
Muhammad bin Sirin was asked about Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) and he said: He had a white complexion, was cheerful, soft-hearted, and used to dye his hair with red henna. He wore rough cotton garments that were sometimes torn.
[Tabaqat Ibn Sa'd 4/333, 334, and its chain is authentic]
Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) was an enemy to anyone who was an enemy to Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him).
[Tabaqat Ibn Sa'd 4/335, and its chain is authentic]
The famous Tabi'i Abu Salamah bin Abdur-Rahman visited Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) during his illness and said: O Allah, heal Abu Hurairah. Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) replied: O Allah, do not return me... O Abu Salamah! If you can die, then die. By Him in Whose Hand is the soul of Abu Hurairah, a time will come upon the scholars when death will be more beloved to them than pure red gold, and a time will come upon people when a man will pass by a Muslim's grave and say: I wish I were in his place.
[Tabaqat Ibn Sa'd 4/337, 338, and its chain is authentic]
When the time of Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah's (may Allah be pleased with him) death approached, he said: Do not set up a tent over me (my grave), do not carry fire with me, and take me quickly (to the graveyard) because I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) say: When a righteous or believing person is placed on the bier, he says: Take me forward quickly. But when a disbeliever or a wicked person is placed on the bier, he says: Woe to me! Where are you taking me?
[Musnad Ahmad 2/292, Hadith 7914, and its chain is Hasan, Tabaqat Ibn Sa'd 4/338]
Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that by Allah, every believer who hears about me, loves me. Abu Kathir Yahya bin Abdur-Rahman al-Suhaimi asked: How do you know this? He replied: My mother was a polytheist, and I used to invite her to Islam, but she refused. One day, when I invited her, she said things about the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) that I disliked. I went to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) crying and narrated the whole incident to him. I requested him to pray for my mother's guidance. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "O Allah, guide the mother of Abu Hurairah." I rushed out to convey this good news, and when I reached home, I found the door closed and heard the sound of water flowing. My mother heard my voice and said: Stay where you are. Then she dressed and opened the door while still not covering her head and said:
أشهد أن لا إله إلا الله و أن محمدًا عبده و رسوله
(I bear witness that there is no deity except Allah and that Muhammad is His servant and messenger). Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) crying with joy. I said: O Messenger of Allah, rejoice, Allah has accepted your prayer and guided the mother of Abu Hurairah. The Prophet (peace be upon him) praised Allah and said good things. I then requested: Pray to Allah to make me and my mother beloved to the believers. The Prophet (peace be upon him) prayed:
اللهم حبّب عبيدك هٰذا و أمه إلى عبادك المؤمنين وحبب إليهم المؤمنين
(O Allah, make this servant of Yours (Abu Hurairah) and his mother beloved to the believers and make the believers beloved to them).
[Muslim: 2491]
Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) firmly believed that the prayers of the Prophet (peace be upon him) are accepted; thus, he confidently said that every believer loves him.
Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I was a poor man and used to stick to the service of the Prophet (peace be upon him) on a full stomach, while the Muhajirun were busy in the markets and the Ansar in looking after their properties. One day, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
من بسط ثوبه فلن ينسي شيئًا سمعه مني
(Whoever spreads his garment will not forget anything he hears from me). So, I spread my garment until the Prophet (peace be upon him) finished speaking, then I clasped it to my chest, and I never forgot anything I heard from him after that.
[Sahih Bukhari: 2047 & Sahih Muslim: 2492]
Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) once said to Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him): You were always with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) among us and the most remembering of his Hadith.
[Sunan al-Tirmidhi: 3836, and its chain is authentic, Al-Hadith Monthly: 32 p. 10, 11]
Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) appointed Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) as an announcer during the Farewell Hajj.
[Sahih Bukhari: 369]
Once Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated a Hadith, and Ummul Mu'minin Sayyidah Aisha said:
صدق أبوهريرة
(Abu Hurairah has spoken the truth).
[Tabaqat Ibn Sa'd 4/332 and its chain is authentic, Al-Hadith: 32 p. 11]
Imam Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated with a good chain:
عن أبى سلمة عن أبى هريرة عبدشمس إلخ
[Al-Tarikh al-Kabir 6/132, entry 1938]
It is evident that before accepting Islam, Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) was named Abd Shams.
Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I spent three years in the company of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him).
[Kitab al-Ma'rifah wa al-Tarikh 3/161, and its chain is authentic]
The famous Tabi'i Humayd bin Abdur-Rahman al-Himyari narrated that Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) spent four years with the Prophet (peace be upon him).
[Sunan Abi Dawood: 81, and its chain is authentic, Sunan al-Nasa'i 1/130, Hadith 239, authenticated by Hafiz Ibn Hajar in Bulugh al-Maram: 6]
The reconciliation between these two narrations is that Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) was with the Prophet (peace be upon him) for a complete three years and part of the fourth year, which the narrators mentioned according to their knowledge.
Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I was present with the Prophet (peace be upon him) at Khaybar.
[Tarikh Abi Zur'ah al-Dimashqi: 232, and its chain is authentic]
Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) would stand for a third of the night (praying Tahajjud), his wife for a third, and his son for a third.
[Kitab al-Zuhd by Imam Ahmad p. 177, Hadith 986, Kitab al-Zuhd by Abu Dawood: 298, and its chain is authentic, Hilyat al-Awliya 1/382, 383]
This means they divided the night into three parts, with each person taking turns praying, thus keeping the entire household engaged in worship throughout the night. SubhanAllah!
Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) would carry wood through the market even during his period of governance.
[See Kitab al-Zuhd by Abu Dawood: 297, and its chain is authentic, Hilyat al-Awliya 1/384, 385]
Abdullah bin Rafi' narrated: I asked Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him): Why are you called Abu Hurairah? He replied: Are you not afraid of me? Ibn Rafi' said: Yes, by Allah, I am afraid of you. He said: I used to herd goats for my family, and I had a small kitten. At night, I would place it on a tree and during the day, I would play with it, so people started calling me Abu Hurairah (Father of the Kitten).
[Tabaqat Ibn Sa'd 4/329, and its chain is Hasan]
Muhammad bin Sirin was asked about Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) and he said: He had a white complexion, was cheerful, soft-hearted, and used to dye his hair with red henna. He wore rough cotton garments that were sometimes torn.
[Tabaqat Ibn Sa'd 4/333, 334, and its chain is authentic]
Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) was an enemy to anyone who was an enemy to Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him).
[Tabaqat Ibn Sa'd 4/335, and its chain is authentic]
The famous Tabi'i Abu Salamah bin Abdur-Rahman visited Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) during his illness and said: O Allah, heal Abu Hurairah. Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) replied: O Allah, do not return me... O Abu Salamah! If you can die, then die. By Him in Whose Hand is the soul of Abu Hurairah, a time will come upon the scholars when death will be more beloved to them than pure red gold, and a time will come upon people when a man will pass by a Muslim's grave and say: I wish I were in his place.
[Tabaqat Ibn Sa'd 4/337, 338, and its chain is authentic]
When the time of Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah's (may Allah be pleased with him) death approached, he said: Do not set up a tent over me (my grave), do not carry fire with me, and take me quickly (to the graveyard) because I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) say: When a righteous or believing person is placed on the bier, he says: Take me forward quickly. But when a disbeliever or a wicked person is placed on the bier, he says: Woe to me! Where are you taking me?
[Musnad Ahmad 2/292, Hadith 7914, and its chain is Hasan, Tabaqat Ibn Sa'd 4/338]
