Islamic stories

Abu Hurairah(radhia Allahu anhu)

Abu Hurairah became a Muslim at the hand of At-Tufail ibn Amir the chief of his tribe. When At-Tufail visited Makkah, Abu Huraira accompanied him. There he got the privilege and honor to meet the prophet(peace be upon him) who asked him:" what is your name? ""Abu-Shams( servant of a sun)" he replied. "instead let it be Abdulrahman( the servant of the lord)". He became Abdul Rahman bin Sahr (radiyallahu anhu) but was famously known by the kunya(nickname) Abu Hurairah" father of the kitten". Abdallah Ibn Rafi once asked him why he was nicknamed Abu Hurairah and he said:" I used to tend to the sheep of my people and I had a small kitten. I used to place it in a tree at night and during the day I would take it and play with it and it used to accompany him everywhere. so they named me Abu Hurairah( father of the Kitten).

He used to live in the mosque with the other Ahl Suffah. He was single and prayed for her mother to become a Muslim. One day, he invited her to have faith in Allah(S.W) alone and follow his prophet but she uttered words about the prophet which saddened him so much. He went to the prophet and told him about his mother then he asked the prophet(peace be upon him) to make supplication to Allah to make his mothers heart incline to Islam. The prophet prayed for his mother. Abu Hurairah said: "I went home and found the door closed. I heard water splashing and when I tried to enter my mother said, 'stay where you are Abu Huraira!' 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." He returned to the prophet to tell him the good news while weeping tears of joy .

Abu Huraira went through a lot of hardships as a result of his dedicated search for knowledge. He was often hungry and destitute. He used to say:" when I was so hungry, I would go to a companion of the prophet and ask him about an ayah of the Quran and learn it so that he would take me with him to his house and give me food. " sometimes the hunger was severe that he would place a stone on his stomach.

Abu Hurairah once narrated :" One day I heard the prophet saying, 'who would place my Rida(a garment covering the upper body)till I finish the speech and fold it, in which case he will never forget anything he had heard from me?' So I spread my garment which I was wearing; and by him who sent Muhammad with the truth, ever since, I have never forgotten whatever I heard from him( the prophet peace be upon him)". Also, Abu Hurairah reported:I said "O messenger of Allah, I hear many traditions from you and I forget them," The prophet said, "spread open your garment." I spread it and then he placed something from his hand into it, saying, "wrap it," I wrapped it around me and I never forgot a tradition ever again.

Once Marwan Ibn Al-Hakam wanted to test Abu Huraira's memory. He called him in a room and asked him to narrate to him hadiths of the prophet Muhammad(peace be upon him) ,while he placed a scribe behind the curtain to write down everything Abu Hurairah was going to say. Abu Hurairah didn't know of the presence of a scribe behind the curtain. A year later, Marwan called Abu Hurairah again and asked him to recall the hadiths of the prophet. It was found that he had read exactly the same words the scribe wrote a year ago without leaving out a single word. Subhanallah!

He spent in the company of the prophet in less than two years before the prophets death and has narrated about 5374 hadiths. He liked knowledge and his students used to visit him until there was no space in his home. One day, he stretched out his legs and said," We entered the home of the messenger(peace be upon him) until we filled the home while he was reclining on his side. when he saw us he bent his legs and said:' After me, there will be people coming to you seeking knowledge . so welcome, greet and teach them.'"

Abu Hurairah(peace be upon him) died in 59AH at the age of 78 and was buried in Al Baqi.

Thank you for reading. Jazakum Allahu kheir...