Sahih Muslim Introduction 9
https://sunnah.com/muslim/introduction/8
Abu-Hurayra ( ุฃุจู ูุฑูุฑุฉ) historically was a companion of the prophet Muhammad. He is most known for having the greatest number of Hadith attributed to him compared to any other companion, despite only being among the prophet for only a couple years before his passing. It is estimated that there are ~5,374 traditions attributed to him.
To put this in perspective, the first Caliph (r. 632-634), Abu Bakr, the prophetโs closest companion, and his father-in-law, only had 142 traditions attributed to him, according to Al-Nawawi in his al-Tadhib. So Abu Hurayra narrated ~38 times more traditions than Abu Bakr.
Umar was also one of the closest companions to the prophet. It is stated in the following Hadith:
โโI and an Ansari neighbor of mine from Bani Umaiya bin Zaid who used to live in `Awali Al-Medina, used to visit the Prophet (๏ทบ) in turns. He used to go one day, and I another day. When I went I would bring him the news of what had happened that day regarding the instructions and orders and when he went, he used to do the same for me.โ
Sahih al-Bukhari 2468
https://sunnah.com/bukhari:2468
In addition to these frequent visits, he was also the prophetโs father-in-law and the second Calipha (r. 634-644). Despite all this, it is estimated that there are ~537 traditions directly attributed to Umar. So Abu Hurayra narrated over 10 times more traditions than Umar.
Ali was Muhammadโs nephew, lived in the same household as the prophet, was with him for 32 years, and was the first male to accept the message. In a hadith, it is claimed that Muhammad thought of him as his Aaron in relation to Moses.
And narrated Sad that the Prophet (๏ทบ) said to โAli, โWill you not be pleased from this that you are to me like Aaron was to Moses?โ
Sahih al-Bukhari 3706
https://sunnah.com/bukhari:3706
Despite this, there are 586 hadiths attributed directly to Ali. Therefore, Abu Hurairah narrated 9x more traditions than Ali.
If we compare Abu Hurayra against the next six top narrators, we see that he narrated more than double as many Hadith as the next most attributed narrator, Abd Allah ibn Umar.
Abu Hurayra: 5374
Abd Allah ibn Umar: 2630
Anas ibn Malik: 2286
โAisha: 2210
สฟAbd Allฤh ibn สฟAbbฤs: 1660
Jabir ibn Abd Allah:1540
Saสฝid al-Khudri: 1170
Companions Views on Hadith
Part of the reason there were such few Hadith from some of the closest companions to the prophet was because all Hadith, besides the Quran, were frowned upon. This is particularly true in regard to the writing of Hadith. This is why outside of personal writing that people might have possessed, the first publication of Hadith was not completed until the Muwatta Imam Malik around the year 767 CE, ~150 AH. Ironically it is well understood that Imam Malik was against codifying his compilation and utilizing it as a source of law besides the Quran despite spending the next three decades refining it.
Muhammadโs View on Hadith
People have been fabricating Hadith about the prophet since he was alive. This is the reason that the prophet prohibited any writing from him aside from the Quran.
Abu Saโid Khudri reported that Allahโs Messenger (๏ทบ) said: Do not write anything about me. And whoever wrote about me other than the Quran then he should erase it. And narrate about me, for there is no harm in it and he who attributed any falsehood to me; and Hammam said: I think he also said:โ deliberatelyโ โ he should in fact find his abode in the Hell-Fire.
Narrated `Aisha: Allahโs Messenger (๏ทบ) came to me and I told him about the slave-girl (Barirah) Allahโs Messenger (๏ทบ) said, โBuy and manumit her, for the Wala is for the one who manumits.โ In the evening the Prophet (๏ทบ) got up and glorified Allah as He deserved and then said, โWhy do some people impose conditions which are not present in Allahโs Book (Laws)? Whoever imposes such a condition as is not in Allahโs Laws, then that condition is invalid even if he imposes one hundred conditions, for Allahโs conditions are more binding and reliable.โ
Sahih al-Bukhari 2155
https://sunnah.com/bukhari:2155
Harmalah bin Yahyฤ bin Abd Allah bin Harmalah bin Imrฤn at-Tujฤซbฤซ narrated to me, he said Ibn Wahb narrated to us, he said Abลซ Shurayh narrated to me that he heard Sharฤhฤซl bin Yazฤซd saying โMuslim bin Yasฤr informed me that he heard Abฤ Hurayrah saying, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, said: โThere will be in the end of time charlatan liars coming to you with narrations that you nor your fathers heard, so beware of them lest they misguide you and cause you tribulationsโ.โ
Narrated Ibn Al-Musaiyab: The companions of the Prophet (๏ทบ) said, he said, โSome men from my companions will come to my Lake-Fount and they will be driven away from it, and I will say, โO Lord, my companions!โ It will be said, โ You have no knowledge of what they innovated (Hadith) after you left: they turned apostate as renegades (reverted from Islam).
Sahih al-Bukhari 6586
https://sunnah.com/bukhari:6586
Caution from Companions towards Hadith
Narrated `Abdullah bin Az-Zubair: I said to my father, โI do not hear from you any narration (Hadith) of Allah s Apostle as I hear (his narration) from so and so?โ Az-Zubair replied. l was always with him (the Prophet) and I heard him saying โWhoever tells a lie against me (intentionally) then (surely) let him occupy, his seat in Hellfire.
Sahih al-Bukhari 107
https://sunnah.com/bukhari:107
Narrated Anas: The fact which stops me from narrating a great number of Hadiths to you is that the Prophet (๏ทบ) said: โWhoever tells a lie against me intentionally, then (surely) let him occupy his seat in Hell-fire.โ
Sahih al-Bukhari 108
https://sunnah.com/bukhari:108
Ironically, even in this most sound and authentic Hadith, there are disputes about whether the prophet stated the lie must be intentional. This is because some narrations include the word deliberate, while others do not.
Narrated Salama: I heard the Prophet (๏ทบ) saying, โWhoever ascribes to me what I have not said then (surely) let him occupy his seat in Hell-fire.โ
Sahih al-Bukhari 109
https://sunnah.com/bukhari:109
Abลซ Saโฤซd al-Ashajj narrated to me, Wakฤซโ narrated to us, al-Aโmash narrated to us, on authority of al-Musayyab bin Rฤfiโ, on authority of ฤmir bin Abdah, he said, Abd Allah [bin Masโลซd] said: โIndeed Satan will appear in the form of a man and he will come to the people, narrating to them false แธคadฤซth, and they will then depart. Then a man among them will say: โI heard a man whose face I recognize but I do not know his name narrating [such and such]โฆโ
Sahih Muslim Introduction 17
https://sunnah.com/muslim/introduction/16
Abu Bakr and Hadith
According to a narration some writers report from al-Hakim an-Nisaburi, Aisha stated the following:
Narrated โAisha: My father had collected five hundred hadiths of the Prophet. On the night he did it, he tossed and turned in bed. I asked, โDo you have an illness or have you heard something?โ In the morning, he said, โMy daughter! Bring me the hadiths that I gave you.โ I brought them. He wanted some fire and burned them. When I asked him why he burned them, he said, โI do not want to die having these hadiths with me because I am afraid that there are hadiths that are not originally as they are reported though I heard them from people whom I trust; I am afraid to narrate them that wayโ
After the demise of the Holy Prophet, Abu-Bakr gathered people and said, โYou are reporting about the Messenger of Allah inconsistent narrations. People coming after you will be engaged in more intense discrepancy. Therefore, do not report anything about the Messenger of Allah, and if anyone asks you, you should refer to the Book of Allah as the arbitrator. You should thus deem lawful whatever is lawful therein and deem unlawful whatever is unlawful therein.โ
Abลซ Bakr, after the Prophetโs death, recorded by al-Dhahabฤซ in Tadhkirat al-แธคuffฤแบ (1/9), via a report of Ibn Abฤซ Malฤซkah, Abลซ Bakr reportedly said:
โYou are narrating แธฅadฤซths from the Messenger of Allah in which you differ. Those after you will differ even more. So do not narrate anything. Say: โBetween us and you is the Book of Allah. Deem its lawful as แธฅalฤl and its unlawful as แธฅarฤm.โโ
Umar and Hadith
Umar staunchly believed that the Quran was sufficient and was incredibly uptight regarding the spreading of Hadith.
Narrated โUbaidullah bin `Abdullah: Ibn `Abbas said, โWhen the ailment of the Prophet (๏ทบ) became worse, he said, โBring for me (writing) paper and I will write for you a statement after which you will not go astray.โ But `Umar said, โThe Prophet is seriously ill, and we have got Allahโs Book with us and that is sufficient for us.โ But the companions of the Prophet (๏ทบ) differed about this and there was a hue and cry. On that the Prophet (๏ทบ) said to them, โGo away (and leave me alone). It is not right that you should quarrel in front of me.โ Ibn `Abbas came out saying, โIt was most unfortunate (a great disaster) that Allahโs Messenger (๏ทบ) was prevented from writing that statement for them because of their disagreement and noise.
Sahih al-Bukhari 114
https://sunnah.com/bukhari:114
It is reported that Umar, during his reign as Caliph, did not allow the free travel of the prophetโs companions without his permission because he did not want them to propagate Hadith. It wasnโt until the reign of Uthman that this ban was lifted, and the companions were allowed to emigrate to some of the newly Muslim-conquered regions.
In Tadhkirat al-huffaz, al-Dhahabi reported from Shuโbah, from Saโid ibn Ibrahim from his father, that Umar detained Ibn Masโud, Abu al-Dardaโ and Abu Masโud al-Ansari, saying to them: You have narrated hadith abundantly from the Messenger of Allah. It is reported that he had detained them in Medina, but they were set free by Uthman.
Ibn Saโd and Ibn Asakir reports from Mahmud ibn Labid that he said: I heard Uthman ibn Affan addressing people from over the pulpit: It is unlawful for everyone to narrate any hadith he never heard of during the time of Abu Bakr and that of Umar. Verily that which made me abstain from narrating from the Messenger of Allah was not to be among the most conscious of his Companions, but I heard him declaring: โWhoever ascribing to me something I never said, he shall verily occupy his (destined) abode in Fire.โ
Ali and Hadith
Narrated Abu Juhaifa: I asked Ali, โDo you have the knowledge of any Divine Inspiration (wahi) besides what is in Allahโs Book?โ Ali replied, โNo, by Him Who splits the grain of corn and creates the soul. I donโt think we have such knowledge, but we have the ability of understanding which Allah may endow a person with, so that he may understand the Qurโan, and we have what is written in this paper as well.โ I asked, โWhat is written in this paper?โ He replied, โThe understanding, releasing of the captive, and that a Muslim should not be killed by a disbeliever.
Sahih al-Bukhari 3047
https://sunnah.com/bukhari:3047
Who was Abu Hurairah?
So, who was Abu Hurairah, and how did he have access to so many narrations from the prophet, particularly for being with him for such a short amount of time? Was he so wise that the prophet kept him around as a close confidant? Was he so noble that he had the respect of all the other companions and was given special access to the prophet? The simple answer is no; he was not any of that, according to the historical account.
His reputation among his companions was not a good one. They used to scorn him and make fun of him because of his nonsensical fabricated narrations and his exaggeration in multiplying them. By the biographical and Hadith narrations, including ones directly attributed to him, he comes off as a village idiot.
On top of that, relatively little is known about Abu Hurairah and his past prior to joining the believers. There is no certainty as to where he was born or how old he was when he came to Medina; even his actual name is not certain. Abu Hurairah was his nickname (kunyah), meaning โFather of a Kitten.โ From his narrations, it is indicated that when he first joined the believers, he was poor, hungry, and in search of food.
Views of Abu Hurairah from Companions
Aisha & Abu Hurairah
โAโisha reported: Donโt you feel surprised at Abu Huraira? He came (one day) and sat beside the nook of my apartment and began to narrate (the hadith of Allahโs Apostle). I was hearing while I was engaged in extolling Allah (reciting Subhan Allah) constantly. He stood up before I finished my repetition of Subhan Allah. If I were to meet him, I would have warned him in stern words that Allahโs Messenger (๏ทบ) did not narrate the Hadith as you narrate.
In the next narration, we have Abu Huraira fabricating what the messenger stated nullifies Salat, and โAisha rebuking him for this.
Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah (๏ทบ) said: A woman, an ass and a dog disrupt the prayer, but something like the back of a saddle guards against that.
Masruq reported: It was mentioned beforeโAโisha that prayer is invalidated (in case of passing) of a dog, an ass and a woman (before the worshipper, when he is not screened). Upon this โAโisha said: You likened us to the asses and the dogs. By Allah I saw the Messenger of Allah (๏ทบ) saying prayer while I lay on the bedstead interposing between him and the Qibla. When I felt the need, I did not like to wit to front (of the Holy Prophet) and perturb the Messenger of Allah (๏ทบ) and quietly moved out from under its (i. e. of the bedstead) legs.
Sahih Muslim 512d
https://sunnah.com/muslim:512d
See also: https://sunnah.com/muslim:511
Abu Razin reported: Abu Huraira came to us and he struck his forehead with his hand and said: Behold I you talk amongst yourself that I attribute wrongly to Allahโs Messenger (๏ทบ) (certain things) in order to guide you to the right path. In such a case, I would myself go astray. Listen. I bear testimony to the fact that I heard Allahโs Messenger (๏ทบ) saying: When the thong of any one of you is broken, he should not walk in the second one until he has got it repaired.
Sahih al-Bukhari 5095
https://sunnah.com/bukhari:5095
In the book Taโwil Mukhtalif al-Hadith by Ibn Qutaybah (828-890 CE/213-276 AH), on page 150 of the Annotated Translation, Ibn Qutaybah cites the following Hadith regarding the controversy between Abu Hurairah and โAโishah and the above Hadith.
Abu Muhammad [Ibn Qutaybah] said: โMuhammad ibn Yahya al-Qartโi, has narrated from โAbd al-Aโla who then narrated from Saโid and he then narrated from Qatadah and the latter from Abu al-Hasan al-Aโraj who said that two men met โAโishah and they said to her that Abu Hurayrah has narrated from the Prophet: [Indeed woman, animals and house signify evil omen.] She jumped and explained: [Liar โ by the One who reveals al-Qurโan to Abu Qasim [the Prophet]! The one who narrated this hadith from the Prophet is lying!] Indeed, the Prophet said: [That Jahiliyyah people used to say that animals, woman and horse signal bad omen.] Then (โAโishah) recited: [No misfortune can happen on the earth or in your souls but is recorded in a decree before We bring it into existenceโฆ.[Quran 57:22] to explain the situation.โ
This Hadith can also be found in โAl-Mustakrak, 2:479; Kunz al-โUmmal, 10:11 (No. 28557), 10:116 (No. 28585); Al-Sunan al-Kubra, 1:124; Majamaโ al-Zawaโid, 5:124 (No. 8405).
Ibn Qutaybah also had the following commentary from Abu Hurairah himself, referenced on the same page as the excerpt above: