Abū Hurayra ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Ṣakhr al-Dawsī al-Zahrānī (; –679), commonly known as Abū Hurayra (; ), was a companion of the

Islamic prophet Prophets in Islam () are individuals in Islam who are believed to spread God's message on Earth and serve as models of ideal human behaviour. Some prophets are categorized as messengers (; sing. , ), those who transmit divine revelation, mos ...

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

and considered the most prolific hadith narrator. Born in al-Jabur, Arabia to the

Banu Daws The Banu Daws () was one of the clan of Arabia during Muhammad's era. Located south of Mecca, it is a branch of the Zahran tribe, among its leaders Tufayl ibn Amr, one of Muhammad's companions. Abu Hurairah also hails from the Daws tribe. Ther ...

clan of the Zahran tribe, he was among the first people to accept

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

, and later became a member of the

Suffah Al-Ṣuffah (), or ''Dikkat Ashab As-Suffah'' () was a sheltered raised platform that was available at the rear side of the Prophet's Mosque during the Medina period (622-632) of early Islam. It was initially available at the northeastern corner ...

after the migration of Muhammad. Under Muhammad, Hurayra was sent as a

muezzin The muezzin (; ), also spelled mu'azzin, is the person who proclaims the call to the daily prayer ( ṣalāt) five times a day ( Fajr prayer, Zuhr prayer, Asr prayer, Maghrib prayer and Isha prayer) at a mosque from the minaret. The muezzin ...

to al-Ala al-Hadhrami in

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

. Under the reign of the

Rashidun The Rashidun () are the first four caliphs () who led the Muslim community following the death of Muhammad: Abu Bakr (), Umar (), Uthman (), and Ali (). The reign of these caliphs, called the Rashidun Caliphate (632–661), is considered i ...

caliph

Umar Umar ibn al-Khattab (; ), also spelled Omar, was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () and is regarded as a senior companion and father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Mu ...

(r. 634-644), he briefly served as a governor of Bahrain. After being accused of

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...

by Umar, he left the governorship and returned to Medina. Acknowledged by

Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...

scholars for his notable

photographic memory Eidetic memory ( ), also known as photographic memory and total recall, is the ability to recall an image from memory with high precision—at least for a brief period of time—after seeing it only onceThe terms ''eidetic memory'' and ''photogr ...

, he memorized massive numbers of over 5,000 hadiths, which later produced more than 500,000 narrator chains, making him an example followed by Sunni

Hadith scholars Hadith studies is the academic study of hadith, a literature typically thought in Islam, Islamic religion to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approval of the Muhammad as transmitted through chains of narrators. A major area of ...

today. The four major Sunni madhahib have all used hadith narrated by Hurayra in major jurisprudential decisions. However, non-Sunni scholars, including several

Shia Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...

scholars, have regarded Hurayra as unreliable and telling lies.

Life

Ancestry

Abu Hurairah's

personal name A personal name, full name or prosoponym (from Ancient Greek ''prósōpon'' – person, and ''onoma'' –name) is the set of names by which an individual person or animal is known. When taken together as a word-group, they all relate to that on ...

(''ism'') is unknown, and so is his father's. The most popular opinion, voiced by

Al-Dhahabi Shams ad-Dīn adh-Dhahabī (), also known as Shams ad-Dīn Abū ʿAbdillāh Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn ʿUthmān ibn Qāymāẓ ibn ʿAbdillāh at-Turkumānī al-Fāriqī ad-Dimashqī (5 October 1274 – 3 February 1348) was an Atharism, Athari ...

and

Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī (; 18 February 1372 – 2 February 1449), or simply ibn Ḥajar, was a classic Islamic scholar "whose life work constitutes the final summation of the science of hadith." He authored some 150 works on hadith, history, ...

, is that it was 'Abd al-Raḥmān ibn Ṣakhr (). According to Al-Dhahabi, Abu Hurairah hailed from the prominent

clan of the Arab tribe of Zahran, and was born in the region of Al-Bahah. Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani traced the lineage of the Banu Daws to

Azd The Azd (Arabic: أَزْد), or Al-Azd (Arabic: ٱلْأَزْد), is an ancient Tribes of Arabia, Arabian tribe. The lands of Azd occupied an area west of Bisha and Al Bahah in what is today Saudi Arabia. Land of Azd Pre-Islamic Arabia Pre- ...

, a Nabatean ancestor of the southern Arabs, through Zahran.

Al-Qalqashandi Shihāb al-Dīn Abū 'l-Abbās Aḥmad ibn ‘Alī ibn Aḥmad ‘Abd Allāh al-Fazārī al-Shāfiʿī better known by the epithet al-Qalqashandī (; 1355 or 1356 – 1418), was a medieval Arab Egyptian encyclopedist, polymath and mathemati ...

reported the Zahran as a descendant of Khalid ibn Nasr, while

Ibn Hazm Ibn Hazm (; November 994 – 15 August 1064) was an Andalusian Muslim polymath, historian, traditionist, jurist, philosopher, and theologian, born in the Córdoban Caliphate, present-day Spain. Described as one of the strictest hadith interpre ...

reported Zahran was a descendant of Malik ibn Nasr, a

Qahtanite The Qahtanites (; ), also known as Banu Qahtan () or by their nickname ''al-Arab al-Ariba'' (), are the Arabs who originate from modern-day Yemen. The term "Qahtan" is mentioned in multiple Ancient South Arabian script, Ancient South Arabian ins ...

. ''Hadith'' narrations record Muhammad as having a favorable view of the Banu Daws, who viewed them on par with his tribe, the

Quraysh The Quraysh () are an Tribes of Arabia, Arab tribe who controlled Mecca before the rise of Islam. Their members were divided into ten main clans, most notably including the Banu Hashim, into which Islam's founding prophet Muhammad was born. By ...

, the Ansar of

Medina Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

, and

Banu Thaqif The Banu Thaqif () is an Arab tribe which inhabited, and still inhabits, the city of Ta'if and its environs, in modern Saudi Arabia, and played a prominent role in early Islamic history. During the pre-Islamic period, the Thaqif rivaled and co ...

Conversion to Islam and life in Medina

Abu Hurairah embraced Islam through Tufayl ibn 'Amr, the chieftain of his tribe in 629, 7AH. Tufayl had returned to his village after meeting

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

and converting to

in its early years. Abu Hurairah was one of the first to accept Islam from his tribe, unlike the majority of Tufayl's tribesmen who embraced Islam later. Abu Hurairah accompanied Tufayl to Madina to meet Muhammad who renamed him Abdurrahman. It was said that he found a stray kitten, so he took it in his sleeve, which is the reason he was named Abu Hurairah (father of the kitten). Al-Masjid Al-Nabawi 5

After the ''

hijrah The Hijrah, () also Hegira (from Medieval Latin), was the journey the prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad and his followers took from Mecca to Medina. The year in which the Hijrah took place is also identified as the e ...

'' (migration to

), Abu Hurairah became one of the inhabitants of the ''

''. Abu Hurairah stuck closely to

, and went on expeditions and journeys with him. Abu Hurairah was recorded as having participated in the

Expedition of Dhat al-Riqa The expedition of Dhat al-Riqa took place in July AD 625 (or April 626, Muharram AH 5 of the Islamic calendar according to al-Waqidi),. or after the Battle of Khaybar in AD 628, i.e. AH 7 of the Islamic calendar. Two Quran verses, 5:11 and 4:101, ...

, which took place in

Najd Najd is a Historical region, historical region of the Arabian Peninsula that includes most of the central region of Saudi Arabia. It is roughly bounded by the Hejaz region to the west, the Nafud desert in Al-Jawf Province, al-Jawf to the north, ...

in the year 4 AH or 5 AH. The consensus of Muslim scholars considers Abu Hurairah's military career as having begun after the

Battle of Khaybar The Battle of Khaybar () was an armed confrontation between the early Muslims and the Jewish community of Khaybar in 628 CE. Khaybar, which is located approximately to the northwest of Medina, was home to a sizable community of Jewish tribe ...

, after which he was present in the

Battle of Mu'tah The Battle of Mu'tah (, or ') took place in September 629 (1 Jumada al-Awwal 8 AH), between the forces of Muhammad and the army of the Byzantine Empire and their Ghassanid vassals. It took place in the village of Mu'tah in Palaestina Sa ...

, during the

Conquest of Mecca The conquest of Mecca ( , alternatively, "liberation of Mecca") was a military campaign undertaken by Muhammad and Companions of the Prophet, his companions during the Muslim–Quraysh War. They led the early Muslims in an advance on the Quray ...

, at Hunayn, and in the

Expedition of Tabuk The Expedition of Tabuk (; ''Ghazwat Tabūk''), also known as the Campaign of Hardship (''Ghazwat al-ʿUsrah''), was a military campaign that was initiated by the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad in October 630 CE (Raja ...

. Later, Abu Hurairah was sent as a

to al-Ala al-Hadhrami in Bahrayn. Abu Hurairah was father-in-law of the prominent ''tabi''' ()

Said ibn al-Musayyib Abu Muhammad Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib ibn Hazn al-Makhzumi (; 637–715) was one of the foremost authorities of jurisprudence (''fiqh'') among the '' taba'een'' (generation succeeding the companions of Muhammad who are referred to as the sahaba). ...

(d. 715), who confessed that he had married Abu Hurairah's daughter in order to get closer with her father and learn the ''hadith'' he possessed.

Hammam ibn Munabbih Hammam ibn Munabbih () was an Islamic scholar, from among the Tabi‘in and one of the narrators of hadith. Biography Family Hammam was the son of Munabbih ibn Kamil and brother of Wahb ibn Munabbih. Students According to the ''Siyar A' ...

(d. 748), another prominent ''tabi and disciple of Abu Hurairah compiled the ''hadith'' narrated to him by Abu Hurairah in his ''hadith'' collection '' Sahifah Hammam ibn Munabbih'', one of the earliest ''hadith'' collections in history. There is little mention of the family of Abu Huraira, but it is known that he had a wife named Basra bint Ghazwan.

After Muhammad, later years and death

According to

Ahmad ibn Hanbal Ahmad ibn Hanbal (; (164-241 AH; 780 – 855 CE) was an Arab Muslim scholar, jurist, theologian, traditionist, ascetic and eponym of the Hanbali school of Islamic jurisprudence—one of the four major orthodox legal schools of Sunni Islam. T ...

, after the death of Muhammad, Abu Hurairah participated in the

Ridda Wars The Ridda Wars were a series of military campaigns launched by the first caliph Abu Bakr against rebellious Arabian tribes, some of which were led by rival prophet claimants. They began shortly after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad in ...

under the first

Rashidun caliph The Rashidun Caliphate () is a title given for the reigns of first caliphs (lit. "successors") — Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali collectively — believed to represent the perfect Islam and governance who led the Muslim community and po ...

Abu Bakr Abd Allah ibn Abi Quhafa (23 August 634), better known by his ''Kunya (Arabic), kunya'' Abu Bakr, was a senior Sahaba, companion, the closest friend, and father-in-law of Muhammad. He served as the first caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate, ruli ...

. After Abu Bakr's death, during

's reign, Abu Hurairah actively participated in the

Muslim conquest of Persia As part of the early Muslim conquests, which were initiated by Muhammad in 622, the Rashidun Caliphate conquered the Sasanian Empire between 632 and 654. This event led to the decline of Zoroastrianism, which had been the official religion of ...

. Later, he became governor of Bahrayn. During this time, Abu Hurairah is noted to have become wealthy, amassing close to 10,000

gold dinar The gold dinar () is an Islamic medieval gold coin first issued in AH 77 (696–697 CE) by Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan. The weight of the dinar is 1 mithqal (). The word ''dinar'' comes from the Latin word denarius, which was ...

s through breeding horses and spoils of war, which he brought to Medina. This raised Umar's suspicion, who accused him of corruption. Abu Hurairah was later found innocent and Umar asked him again to govern Bahrayn once again, an offer he turned down. After leaving the governorship, Abu Hurairah returned to Medina and worked as a ''qadi'' (judge), issuing ''fatāwā'' (

fatwa A fatwa (; ; ; ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (sharia) given by a qualified Islamic jurist ('' faqih'') in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist issuing fatwas is called a ''mufti'', ...

). Abu Hurairah was one of the defenders of the third Rashidun caliph,

Uthman Uthman ibn Affan (17 June 656) was the third caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate, ruling from 644 until his assassination in 656. Uthman, a second cousin, son-in-law, and notable companion of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, played a major role ...

, during his assassination. Abu Hurairah continued to work as ''

mufti A mufti (; , ) is an Islamic jurist qualified to issue a nonbinding opinion ('' fatwa'') on a point of Islamic law (''sharia''). The act of issuing fatwas is called ''iftāʾ''. Muftis and their ''fatāwa'' have played an important role thro ...

'' after Uthman's death. In the early Umayyad era, Abu Hurairah was tasked with assessing the authenticity of the ''hadith'' circulated within the caliphate. PikiWiki Israel 10149 rabbi gamliel tomb in yavneh

PikiWiki Israel 10149 rabbi gamliel tomb in yavneh

Abu Hurairah died in the year 679 (59 AH) at the age of 76 and was buried at

al-Baqi' ''Jannat al-Baqī'' (, "The Baqi'", ) is the oldest and first Islamic cemetery of Medina located in the Hejazi region of present-day Saudi Arabia. It is also known as ''Baqi al-Gharqad'' (, meaning "Baqiʿ of the Boxthorn"). Al-Baqi is reporte ...

. His funeral prayer was led by

Al-Walid ibn Utba Al-Walīd ibn ʿUtba ibn Abī Sufyān () (died 684) was an Umayyad ruling family member and statesman during the reigns of the Umayyad caliphs Mu'awiya I () and Yazid I (). He served two stints as the governor of Medina in 677/78–680 and 681–6 ...

, who was the governor of Medina, and was attended by Abd Allah ibn Umar and Abu Sa'id al Khudri. Al-Walid wrote to

Mu'awiya I Mu'awiya I (–April 680) was the founder and first caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from 661 until his death. He became caliph less than thirty years after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and immediately after the four Rashid ...

about his death, who made a concession of 10,000

dirham The dirham, dirhem or drahm is a unit of currency and of mass. It is the name of the currencies of Moroccan dirham, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates dirham, United Arab Emirates and Armenian dram, Armenia, and is the name of a currency subdivisi ...

s to Abu Hurairah's heirs and commanded Al-Walid to take care of them. In 1274 (673 AH) the Mausoleum of Abu Hurairah was constructed in

Yibna Yibna (; ''Jabneh'' or ''Jabneel'' in Biblical times; ''Jamnia'' in Roman empire, Roman times; ''Lordship of Ibelin, Ibelin'' to the Crusades, Crusaders), or Tel Yavne, is an archaeological site and List of villages depopulated during the Arab– ...

, at the order of the Mamluk Sultan

Baibars Al-Malik al-Zahir Rukn al-Din Baybars al-Bunduqdari (; 1223/1228 – 1 July 1277), commonly known as Baibars or Baybars () and nicknamed Abu al-Futuh (, ), was the fourth Mamluk sultan of Egypt and Syria, of Turkic Kipchak origin, in the Ba ...

. The mausoleum has been described as "one of the finest domed mausoleums in

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

."Petersen, 2001, p
313
/ref> Following the

1948 Arab–Israeli War The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, also known as the First Arab–Israeli War, followed the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine, civil war in Mandatory Palestine as the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. The civil war becam ...

, the mausoleum was designated a shrine for

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

dedicated to

Gamaliel II Rabban Gamaliel II (also spelled Gamliel; ; before –) was a rabbi from the second generation of tannaim. He was the first person to lead the Sanhedrin as '' nasi'' after the fall of the Second Temple in 70 CE. He was the son of Shimon ben G ...

by the Israeli government, although neither Abu Hurairah nor Gamaliel II are likely to have been buried in the tomb.

Legacy and influence

The ''hadith'' reported by Abu Hurairah are diverse, being used by Islamic scholars specializing in ''

hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...

'', aqīdah'', ''

fiqh ''Fiqh'' (; ) is the term for Islamic jurisprudence.Fiqh
Encyclopædia Britannica ''Fiqh'' is of ...

'' (Islamic jurisprudence), ''ijtihād'', ''tafsīr'' (Quranic exegesis), and

Islamic eschatology Islamic eschatology includes the afterlife, apocalyptic signs of the End Times, and final Judgement. It is fundamental to Islam as life after death is one of the six Doctrines of Islam. Resurrection is divided into Lesser Resurrection (''al-q ...

. In his ''Kitab al-Iman'', a book on aqīdah'',

Ibn Taymiyyah Ibn Taymiyya (; 22 January 1263 – 26 September 1328)Ibn Taymiyya, Taqi al-Din Ahmad, The Oxford Dictionary of Islam. http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195125580.001.0001/acref-9780195125580-e-959 was a Sunni Muslim ulama, ...

(d. 1328) uses ''hadith'' narrations from Abu Hurairah to study

tawḥīd ''Tawhid'' () is the concept of monotheism in Islam, it is the religion's central and single most important concept upon which a Muslim's entire religious adherence rests. It unequivocally holds that God is indivisibly one (''ahad'') and si ...

. Ibn Kathir uses Abu Hurairah's narrations in ''Al-Nihāyah fī al-Fitan wa al-Malaḥim,'' a work on

. References to Abu Hurairah's narrations can be found in

Al-Tabari Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn Jarīr ibn Yazīd al-Ṭabarī (; 839–923 CE / 224–310 AH), commonly known as al-Ṭabarī (), was a Sunni Muslim scholar, polymath, historian, exegete, jurist, and theologian from Amol, Tabaristan, present- ...

's ''

Tafsir al-Tabari ''Jāmiʿ al-bayān ʿan taʾwīl āy al-Qurʾān'' (, also written with ''fī'' in place of ''ʿan''), popularly ''Tafsīr al-Ṭabarī'' (), is a Sunni ''tafsir'' by the Persian scholar Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari (838–923). It immediately w ...

'',

Ibn Kathir Abu al-Fida Isma'il ibn Umar ibn Kathir al-Dimashqi (; ), known simply as Ibn Kathir, was an Arab Islamic Exegesis, exegete, historian and scholar. An expert on (Quranic exegesis), (history) and (Islamic jurisprudence), he is considered a lea ...

's ''

Tafsir Ibn Kathir (), commonly known as ' (), is the Qur'anic exegesis (') by Ibn Kathir. It is one of the most famous Islamic books concerned with the science of interpretation of the Quran. It also includes jurisprudential rulings, and takes care of the hadit ...

'',

Al-Mahalli Abū ‘Abd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Shihāb ad-Dīn Jalāl ad-Dīn al-Maḥallī (; 1389–1460 CE); aka Jalaluddin was an Egyptian renowned mufassir and a leading specialist in the principles of the law in Shafi'i jurisprudence. He authored numer ...

and

al-Suyuti Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (; 1445–1505), or al-Suyuti, was an Egyptians, Egyptian Sunni Muslims, Muslim polymath of Persians, Persian descent. Considered the mujtahid and mujaddid of the Islamic 10th century, he was a leading Hadith studies, muh ...

's collaborative ''

Tafsir al-Jalalayn ''Tafsīr al-Jalālayn'' () is a classical Sunni interpretation (tafsir) of the Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly ...

'', and

Al-Qurtubi Abū ʿAbdullāh Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Abī Bakr al-Anṣārī al-Qurṭubī () (121429 April 1273) was an Andalusian Sunni Muslim polymath, Maliki jurisconsult, mufassir, muhaddith and an expert in the Arabic language. Prominent scholar ...

's ''

Tafsir al-Qurtubi Tafsir al-Qurtubi () is a 13th-century work of Qur'an exegesis (Arabic: ''tafsir'') by the classical scholar Al-Qurtubi. Considered one of the best and most iconic tafsirs to date. The tafsir of Al-Qurtubi is regarded as one of the most compendi ...

'', all of which are works of ''tafsīr,'' or Quranic

exegesis Exegesis ( ; from the Ancient Greek, Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation (philosophy), interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Bible, Biblical works. In modern us ...

. They also refer to Abu Hurairah's ''ijtihād'' and the resulting ''fatāwā'' as their resources. Abu Hurairah was among the few companions of Muhammad who issued jurisprudential rulings or ''fatāwā'' (

), and he was personally requested by his contemporary companion

Ibn Abbas ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās (; c. 619 – 687 CE), also known as Ibn ʿAbbās, was one of the cousins of the Prophets and messengers in Islam, prophet Muhammad. He is considered to be the greatest Tafsir#Conditions, mufassir of the Quran, Qur'an. ...

to do so. As the Sunni ''madhahib'' (

madhhab A ''madhhab'' (, , pl. , ) refers to any school of thought within fiqh, Islamic jurisprudence. The major Sunni Islam, Sunni ''madhhab'' are Hanafi school, Hanafi, Maliki school, Maliki, Shafi'i school, Shafi'i and Hanbali school, Hanbali. They ...

, schools of jurisprudence) were structurally based on the rulings or narrations from companions of Muhammad, the ruling jurisprudence for the four main Sunni ''madhahib'' heavily relied on Abu Hurairah's ''fatāwā'' and his numerous narrations.

Taqi al-Din al-Subki Abu Al-Hasan Taqī al-Dīn Ali ibn Abd al-Kafi ibn Ali al-Khazraji al-Ansari al-Subkī (), commonly known as Taqī l-Dīn al-Subkī () was a Sunni Egyptian polymath and foremost leading Shafi'i jurisconsult, traditionist, Quranic exegete, l ...

compiled the ''fatāwā'' of Abu Hurairah in his book, ''Fatawa Abu Hurairah''. Abu Hurairah was one of the six prominent companions of Muhammad involved in jurisprudential rulings during the Rashidun era, the others being

Ali Ali ibn Abi Talib (; ) was the fourth Rashidun caliph who ruled from until his assassination in 661, as well as the first Shia Imam. He was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Born to Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib an ...

Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas ibn Wuhayb al-Zuhri () was an Arabs, Arab Muslims, Muslim commander. He was the founder of Kufa and served as its governor under Umar, Umar ibn al-Khattab. He played a leading role in the Muslim conquest of Persia and was a cl ...

, Abu Darda,

Saʽid al-Khudri Said ( ), also spelled Saeid, Said, Saïd, Sid, Saeed, Saed, Saied, Sayeed or Sayid, is a male Arabic given name which means "blessed (in Quranic Arabic, Quranic Classical Arabic), good luck, joy" or "happy, patient". The name stems from the Ar ...

, and Abu Shafiah. Abd al-Rahman Jaziri, a professor at

Al-Azhar University The Al-Azhar University ( ; , , ) is a public university in Cairo, Egypt. Associated with Al-Azhar Al-Sharif in Islamic Cairo, it is Egypt's oldest degree-granting university and is known as one of the most prestigious universities for Islamic ...

, has concluded that on certain issues, the four ''madhahib'' reached ''ijmā''' (consensus) on Abu Hurairah's ruling. The four major

''madhahib'', have all used ''hadith'' narrated by Abu Hurairah in major jurisprudential decisions. ''

Muwatta Imam Malik ''Al-Muwaṭṭaʾ'' (, 'the approved') or ''Muwatta Imam Malik'' () of Malik ibn Anas, Imam Malik (711–795) written in the 8th-century, is one of the earliest collections of hadith texts comprising the subjects of Sharia, Islamic law, compile ...

'', the ''hadith'' collection of the founder of the Maliki ''madhhab'', Malik ibn Anas, contains various hadiths narrated by Abu Hurairah wherein they form the basis for jurisprudential rulings. ''

Bulugh al-Maram ''Bulūgh al-Marām min Adillat al-Aḥkām'', () translation: ''Attainment of the Objective According to Evidences of the Ordinances'' by al-Ḥāfiẓ ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī (1372 – 1448) is a collection of hadith pertaining specifical ...

'', a hadith collection by

pertaining to the

Shafi'i The Shafi'i school or Shafi'i Madhhab () or Shafi'i is one of the four major schools of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), belonging to the Ahl al-Hadith tradition within Sunni Islam. It was founded by the Muslim scholar, jurist, and traditionis ...

madhhab also contains many ''hadith'' narrated by Abu Hurairah.

Al-Nawawi Yahya ibn Sharaf al-Nawawi (;‎ (631A.H-676A.H) (October 1230–21 December 1277) was a Sunni Shafi'ite jurist and hadith scholar. Ludwig W. Adamec (2009), ''Historical Dictionary of Islam'', pp.238-239. Scarecrow Press. . Al-Nawawi died at ...

's ''Al-Arba'ūn an-Nawawiyyah'' also contain narrations from Abu Hurairah. According to

Muhammad ibn al-Uthaymeen Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymin (; 9 March 192910 January 2001), commonly known by his Ibn al-Uthaymin (), was a Saudi Islamic scholar. Family Background and Birth Shaykh Muhammad bin Salih Al-Uthaymin Al-Wuhaybi Al-Tamimi was born during the ...

in his commentary of Al-Nawawi's ''Riyāḍ as-Ṣaliḥīn'', Abu Hurairah's ''

ijtihad ''Ijtihad'' ( ; ' , ) is an Islamic legal term referring to independent reasoning by an expert in Islamic law, or the thorough exertion of a jurist's mental faculty in finding a solution to a legal question. It is contrasted with '' taqlid'' ( ...

'' formed the basis for Al-Nawawi's rulings of ''

wudu ''Wuduʾ'' ( ) is the Islamic procedure for cleansing parts of the body, a type of ritual purification, or ablution. The steps of wudu are washing the hands, rinsing the mouth and nose, washing the face, then the forearms, then wiping the head, ...

''.

Bilal Philips Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips (born Dennis Bradley Philips; July 17, 1947) is a Jamaican-born Canadian Islamic scholar and author who is the founder and chancellor of the International Open University, who lives in Qatar. He has been described as a ...

, a Salafi preacher from Canada who was known for his preaching activity to three thousand US army veteran of the first

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

after the successful victory of Saudi-US coalition, also listed several quotations from Abu Hurairah in his earlier work, ''Salvation Through of Repentance '', regarding various matters of Islamic teaching, included Qadr Night and Friday prayers. Meanwhile,

Ministry of Religious Affairs (Indonesia) The Ministry of Religious Affairs () is an Indonesian ministry that administers religious affairs. It is responsible to the President of Indonesia, president, and is led by a minister. History Plans for the creation of a Ministry of Religious A ...

and

Indonesian Ulema Council Indonesian Ulema Council (, , abbreviated MUI) is Indonesia's top Islamic scholars' body. MUI was founded in Jakarta on 26 July 1975 during the New Order era. The council comprises many Indonesian Muslim groups including Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), ...

has issued a ruling for the cleansing protocol to manage

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Muslim victims dead bodies based on the fatwa verdict of Abu Hurairah when managing dead bodies of plague victims. The same council worked together with Ministry of Health to issue joint formal decrees of the obligation for Hajj pilgrims to undergo

Meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, intense headache, vomiting and neck stiffness and occasion ...

vaccination, on the basis of their ruling from Hadith of Abu Hurairah.

Saleh Al-Fawzan Ṣāliḥ bin Fawzān bin ʻAbd Allāh Al-Fawzān (; born 1 Rajab 1354 AH / 28 September 1935 CE) is an Islamic scholar, Faqīh (jurist), university professor, a member of the council of senior scholars, a member of the Fiqh council in Mak ...

, member of

Council of Senior Scholars (Saudi Arabia) The Council of Senior Scholars (), also known as the Senior Council of Ulama) is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's highest religious body, and advises the king on religious matters.Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta and one of the most senior scholar has listed most of his thoughts regarding Fiqh jurisprudence based on hadiths narrated by Abu Hurairah.

Hadith

Abu Hurairah is credited with narrating at least 5,374 ''hadith''. Abu Hurairah continued collecting ''hadith'' after the death of Muhammad from

Aisha Aisha bint Abi Bakr () was a seventh century Arab commander, politician, Muhaddith, muhadditha and the third and youngest wife of the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. Aisha had an important role in early Islamic h ...

, Fadl ibn Abbas, Usama ibn Zayd, Ubayy ibn Ka'b, and

Ka'b al-Ahbar Kaʿb al-Aḥbār (, full name Abū Isḥāq Kaʿb ibn Maniʿ al-Ḥimyarī () was a 7th-century Yemenite Jew from the Arab tribe of "Dhī Raʿīn" () who converted to Islam. He was considered to be the earliest authority on Israiliyyat and S ...

. It is said by Abu Hurairah himself the only one who surpassed him regarding hadith were

Abd Allah ibn Amr ibn al-As Abū Muḥammad 'Abd Allah ibn Amr ibn al-As (; died 684 CE) was the son of Amr ibn al-As of Banu Sahm and was a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He was the author of "''Al-Sahifah al-Sadiqah''" ("''The Truthful Script''", ), the firs ...

, another companion who serve as writer assistant of Muhammad and author of "''Al-Sahifah al-Sadiqah''", the first Hadith book in history. However, according to his own admission, Abu Hurairah said that

possessed a greater number of narrations than himself, since Abd Allah diligently wrote every ''hadith'' he heard, while Abu Hurairah relied on his extraordinary memory. Muhammad Sa'id Mursi recorded around 800 companions of Muhammad and ''

tabi'un The tābiʿūn (, also accusative or genitive tābiʿīn , singular ''tābiʿ'' ), "followers" or "successors", are the generation of Muslims who followed the companions (''ṣaḥāba'') of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and thus received their ...

'' who learnt ''hadith'' from Abu Hurairah. According to the records from Ibn Hajar and ad-Dhahabi, Abu Hurairah fellow Sahabah and Tabi'un who narrated hadiths from him were

Abd Allah ibn Umar ibn al-Khattab ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (; ), commonly known as Ibn Umar, was a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a son of the second Caliph Umar. He was a prominent authority in ''hadith'' and law. He remained neutral during the ...

Jabir ibn Abd Allah Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr ibn Ḥarām al-Anṣārī (, died 697 CE/78 AH), Abu Muhammad and Abu Abd al-Rahman also wrote his nickname was a prominent companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and narrator of Hadith. Imami sources say ...

Anas ibn Malik Anas ibn Mālik ibn Naḍr al-Khazrajī al-Anṣārī (; 612 712) was a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Finding the Truth in Judging the Companions, 1. 84-5; EI2, 1. 482 A. J. Wensinck J. Robson He was nicknamed Khadim al-Nabi for ...

Urwah ibn Zubayr Urwa ibn al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam al-Asadi (; ) was an early Muslim traditionist, widely regarded as a founding figure in the field of historical study among the Muslims. He was a son of Muhammad's close aide al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, and a nephe ...

Amr ibn Dinar Amr ibn Dinar (, ) was a seventh-century Muslim jurist and hadith transmitter from the ''tabi'un'' who served as the mufti of Mecca. Biography Amr ibn Dinar's exact date of birth is unknown, but Islamic biographical dictionaries estimate it to ...

Ibn Sirin Muhammad Ibn Sirin (, romanized: Muḥammad Ibn Sirīn) (born in Basra) was a Muslim tabi' as he was a contemporary of Anas ibn Malik. He is claimed by some to have been an interpreter of dreams, though others regard the books to have been fal ...

Ata ibn Abi Rabah Ata ibn Abi Rabah (; ) was a prominent early Muslim jurist and hadith transmitter of Nubian origin who served as the ''mufti'' of Mecca in the late seventh and early eighth centuries. He is considered a leading figure of the early Meccan school ...

Isa ibn Talha al-Taymi ʿĪsā ibn Ṭalḥa al-Taymī () was a notable of the Quraysh in Medina and is cited as a transmitter of historical reports by early Islamic historians. Family, life and work Isa was a son of Talha ibn Ubaydallah, a prominent companion of Muha ...

Hasan al-Basri Abi Sa'id al-Hasan ibn Yasar al-Basri, often referred to as al-Hasan al-Basri, was an ancient Muslim preacher, ascetic, theologian, exegete, scholar, and judge. Born in Medina in 642,Mourad, Suleiman A., “al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī”, in: ''Encyc ...

Tawus ibn Kaysan Tawus Ibn Kaysan (; died 723) was one of the '' Tabi‘in'', one of the narrators of hadith and scholars of fiqh. He is also known as Tawoos ibn Kaysaan, "Tawoos" or "al-Taus,". Biography He was one of the scholars of the Tabi‘in, one of th ...

Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr Al-Qāsim ibn Muḥammad ibn Abī Bakr () (born 36 or 38 AH and died 106 AH or 108 AH; corresponding to 660/662 and 728/730) The Four Imams by Muhammad Abu Zahrahchapter on Imam Malik was a jurist in early Islam. In the Naqshbandi Sufi or ...

, among others.

Abu Hurairah's narrative chains

According to Ali Ahmad as-Salus, Abu Hurairah possessed more ''asnād'' ( ''sanad'', ) than

, Abd Allah ibn Umar, and Abdullah ibn Masud. According to

, the healthiest and most authentic ''asnād'' of narrators beginning at Abu Hurairah were: * Abu Hurairah →

→ Ayyub al-Sakhtiani * Abu Hurairah → Ibn Sirin →

Abd Allah ibn Awn ʿAbd Allāh bin ʿAwn bin Arṭabān al-Muzanī al-Ḥāfiẓ ( Arabic: عَبْد الَّلَه بِن عَوْن بِن أَرْطَبَان المُزَنِي الحَافِظ) was a ḥadīth transmitter from Baṣra who was a part of a ...

* Abu Hurairah → Abdul Rahman bin Hormuz → Abdullah ibn Dhakwan * Abu Hurairah →

→

Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri Abū Bakr Muhammad ibn Muslim ibn Ubayd Allah ibn Abd Allah ibn Shihab al-Zuhri (; died 124 AH/741-2 CE), also referred to as Ibn Shihab or az-Zuhri, was a ''tabi'i'' Arab jurist and traditionist credited with pioneering the development of '' s� ...

According to

Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi Abū Bakr Aḥmad ibn ʿAlī ibn Thābit ibn Aḥmad ibn Māhdī al-Shāfiʿī, commonly known as al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī () or "the lecturer from Baghdad" (10 May 1002 – 5 September 1071; 392 AH-463 AH), was a Sunni Muslim scholar known ...

Ali ibn al-Madini Abū al-Ḥasan ʻAlī ibn ʻAbdillāh ibn Jaʻfar al-Madīnī (778 CE/161 AH – 849/234) () was a ninth-century Sunni Islamic scholar who was influential in the science of hadith. Alongside Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Ibn Abi Shaybah and Yahya ibn Ma' ...

(d. 849) considered the most authentic chain that begin with Abu Hurairah as being Abu Hurairah → Ibn Sirin → Ayyub al-Sakhtiani → Hammad ibn Zaid. According to

Ahmad Muhammad Shakir Ahmad Muhammad Shakir () (January 29, 1892, Cairo – June 14, 1958) was an Egyptian Islamic scholar of hadith. He is the son of Muḥammad Shākir ibn Aḥmad, an Islamic scholar of Al-Azhar University and elder brother of Mahmud Muhammad Sh ...

(d. 1958), a ''hadith'' scholar from

, the most authentic ''asnād'' that came from Abu Hurayrah were: * Abu Hurairah → Said ibn al-Musayyib → Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri →

Malik ibn Anas Malik ibn Anas (; –795) also known as Imam Malik was an Arab Islamic scholar and traditionalist who is the eponym of the Maliki school, one of the four schools of Islamic jurisprudence in Sunni Islam.Schacht, J., "Mālik b. Anas", in: ''E ...

* Abu Hurairah → Said ibn al-Musayyib → Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri →

Ma'mar ibn Rashid Ma'mar ibn Rashid () was an eighth-century hadith scholar. A Persian ''mawla'' ("freedman"), he is cited as an authority in all six of the canonical Sunni hadith collections. He was a student of and is considered one of the most important sourc ...

* Abu Hurairah → Said ibn al-Musayyib → Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri →

Sufyan ibn ʽUyaynah Abū Muḥammad Sufyān ibn ʽUyaynah ibn Maymūn al-Hilālī al-Kūfī () (725 – ) was a prominent eighth-century Islamic religious scholar from Mecca. He was from the third generation of Islam referred to as the Tabi' al-Tabi'in, "the followe ...

* Abu Hurairah → Ibn Sirin → Ayyub al-Sakhtiani → Hammad ibn Zaid * Abu Hurairah → Ubaidah ibn Sufyan al Hadhrami → Ismail ibn Al-Hakim * Abu Hurairah →

→ Ma'mar ibn Rashid According to

Al-Albani Muhammad Nasir al-Din (19142 October 1999), commonly known as al-Albani, was an Albanian Islamic scholar. A leading figure of Salafism, he is commemorated for his works on revaluation of hadith studies. Born in Shkodër, Albania, to a family ad ...

in his book, ''Silsalat al-Hadith ad-Da'ifah, ''the ''

'' of Abu Hurairah was taken as a guideline for ''hadith'' scholars to evaluate the validity of a ''hadith''.

Criticism

Shaykh Mahmud Abu Rayyah (d.1970), the youngest brother of

Hassan al-Banna Hassan Ahmed Abd al-Rahman Muhammed al-Banna (; 14 October 1906 – 12 February 1949), known as Hassan al-Banna (), was an Egyptian schoolteacher and Imam, best known for founding the Muslim Brotherhood, one of the largest and most influential g ...

and also the author of Aḍwā alā al-sunna al-Muhammadiyya (Illuminations on the Sunnah of Muḥammad). One of the works he produced was on raising doubts about the reliability of Abu Hurarirah. According to Yasin Jibouri, several

scholars such as Ja'far al-Iskafi regarded Abu Hurayra as telling lies. Same goes with Abu Rayyah, independent writer from Egypt who quoted medieval Shia source in his report regarding Abu Hurairah. Certain Shia writers are known for doubting his authority as a narrator. As Abdullah Saeed points out the writing from Abu Rayyah that Caliph Umar bin Khattab is recorded to repeatedly threaten Abu Hurayrah, noted at the time as a blatant self-promoter, with serious consequences due to his frequent misquote of the Prophet's words. However, researchers have found that the

scholarly community unanimously regarded Abu Hurairah as trustworthy both classical medieval and modern contemporaries, and they thought the allegation of the hadith falsification by Abu Hurairah were coming solely from Shia traditions, which not found in

Kutub al-Sittah (), also known as () are the six canonical hadith collections of Sunni Islam. They were all compiled in the 9th and early 10th centuries, roughly from 840 to 912 CE and are thought to embody the Sunnah of Muhammad. The books are the of al ...

and other major Hadith works, as medieval scholars such as Dhahabi said that the criticism towards Abu Hurairah are not accepted even during the early times of Islam for several reasons, including because those who criticise Abu Hurairah themselves are known as ''Mudallis'' (defected or untrustworthy narrators) according to ''Jarh wa Ta'dil'' (biographical evaluation study) and ''Asbab wurud'' (chronological study of Hadith). Which generally agreed by later era counterparts, which further adds that Jarh wa Ta'dil rulings only valid to evaluate Tabi'un or generations above them, while Sahabah generation are free and exempt from Jarh wa Ta'dil and accepted without exception, as long they are confirmed and identified by chroniclers as Sahabah. Safia Aoude and Ali al-Tamimi also highlighted, the narration of Umar threatening Abu Hurairaha, which quoted by Abdullah Saeed, were also came solely from a writer which influenced by Abu Rayyah, Particularly from anonymous writer who has pen name "O. Hashem" who write his criticism towards Abu Hurairah in his book, ''Saqifah''. Several Sunni thinkers and scholars such as has been Mustafa al-Siba'i,

Shuaib Al Arna'ut The Late Al Arnaout. Shuaib ibn Muharram al-Albani al-Arnauti (in ) (1928-2016) was a well known Syrian scholar of Hadith in the Islamic World. He was famous for his works on Hadith Methodology, Manuscript Investigation and Research and Hadith Cri ...

, along with director of ''Maktabah al-Haram al-Makki ash-Shariff''(Library of the Great Mosque of Mecca)

Abdur-Rahman al-Mu'allimee al-Yamani Abd al-Rahman ibn Yahya ibn Ali (; 1894–1966), commonly known by the al-Mu'allimi al-Yamani (), was a Yemeni Islamic scholar. He played a significant role within the Salafi movement, aligning with the teachings of Ibn Taymiyya, Muhammad ibn Ab ...

, has criticized the sources which O. Hashem quoted only using falsified and inauthentic hadith according to standard of Bukhari,

Sahih Muslim () is the second hadith collection of the Six Books of Sunni Islam. Compiled by Islamic scholar Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj () in the format, the work is valued by Sunnis, alongside , as the most important source for Islamic religion after the Q ...

, and

criterion of biography evaluation, while also questioning O. Hashim scholarly credibility as they though O. Hashem were driven by Shiite biased view on his critics. While Muhammad ibn al-Uthaymeen dismissing such criticism towards Abu Hurairah which came from Shia traditions as he said they are simply "a collection of error traditions". According to Burhanuddin from Indonesia's Ministry of Religious Affairs, the scholars observation from Siba'i, Abdul Mun'im Shalih Al-'Ali, Dhiya'urrahman Al A'Dzamy, Muhammad Abu Syahbah, Shalahuddin Maqbul Ahmad, and Abdullah ibn Abdil Aziz An-Nashir, has found out the reason Abu Rayyah, has such inorganized method in his writing were because the background of Abu Rayyah though not came from proper academic learning, instead he was just influenced by the writings of Goldziher. Badri Khairuman from Kalijaga Islamic University, on the other side, has pointed out that Abu Rayyah critic towards Abu Hurairah were flawed according to the main principles of

Biographical evaluation Biographical evaluation (; literally meaning'' 'Knowledge of Men', ''but more commonly understood as the ''Science of Narrators)'' refers to a discipline of Islamic religious studies within hadith terminology in which the narrators of hadith are ...

traditions and accusing Abu Rayyah relying on single source of 12th AD twelver Shia scholar,

Allamah Al-Hilli Jamāl ad-Dīn al-Ḥasan bin Yūsuf bin ʿAli ibn al-Muṭahhar al-Ḥillī (; December 1250 – December 1325), known by the honorific title al-Allāmah al-Ḥillī (, ''"The Sage of Hillah"'') was an Iraqi Arab scholar and one of the most inf ...

. Furthermore, the case of accusation of Abu Hurairah were nullified according to Badri, as Badri reasons it is impossible if Umar does not trust Abu Hurairah, while on the fact Umar were nominating Abu Hurairah twice as governor of Bahrayn and entrusting him to produce Fatwa in eastern Arabia, while on the last years of Umar, the caliph appoint Abu Hurairah as judge in Medina, the citadel of caliphate. Badri concludes his thesis that the phenomena of Abu Rayyah writing came from the elementary and very small Abu Rayyah knowledge regarding the structural Hadith studies with proper methodology. While scholar,

gave short remarks that Abu Rayyah assessment towards Abu Hurairah came from biased view, not proper methodology of Hadith study.

Notes and references

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abu Hurairah 603 births 679 deaths Sunni imams Sahabah hadith narrators Rashidun governors of Bahrain Burials at Jannat al-Baqī People of the Muslim conquest of Persia Hadith scholars 7th-century jurists

Life

Ancestry

Conversion to Islam and life in Medina

After Muhammad, later years and death

Legacy and influence

Hadith

Abu Hurairah's narrative chains

Criticism

See also

Notes and references

Notes

References

Bibliography