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ABU
HURAYERAH Radhia
Allahu Anaha
"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 n ame 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 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 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 Isl am."
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 h is 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 d oing."
"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 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 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 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 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 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 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 wea lth 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 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 wh en 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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