09

33. An imaginative story about charity

Muslim mentioned that Abu Hurayra had said: "The prophet Muhammad (s) said: "While a man was in the desert, he heard a

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voice in one of the clouds saying: "Go and water the farm of that man (it called him by name).'' The cloud moved and rained over the farm of that man. There was a man in the farm flowing water with his spade. He asked him about his name. He answered with the same name he heard in the cloud. The farmer asked the man: "Why do you ask about my name?" He said: "I heard a voice in the cloud. It ordered the cloud to rain over your farm and mentioned your name. Would you tell me what you do with your farm?" He said: "I wait until my trees fruit, then I give a third of the fruits as charity." ¹

This was impossible to happen for it was against the rules of nature. Abu Hurayra invented it as a fable intending to refer to the good results of charity. He ascribed it to the Prophet as he used to do with his imaginative stories. So we do not have save Allah to resort to.

34. Another fable about good results of fidelity

Al-Bukhari mentioned that Abu Hurayra had said: "The prophet Muhammad (s) said: "An Israelite man asked someone of his people to lend him one thousand dinars. He asked to bring his witnesses to witness of that. He said: "Allah is a sufficient witness." He asked him to bring his guarantor. He said: "Allah is a sufficient guarantor." He gave him the money to be repaid at a certain date. The borrower traveled by sea. After finishing his task he tried to find a ship to come back in order to repay the money to its owner but he did not find any. He took a piece of wood and hollowed it out. He put the one thousand dinars with a letter into the piece of wood. He glazed it and came with it to the sea. He said: "O Allah, You know that I have borrowed one thousand dinars from that man. He asked for a guarantor. I said that Allah was a sufficient guarantor and he agreed. He asked for a witness. I said that Allah was a sufficient witness and he agreed. I tried my best to find a ship to repay him his money but I could not. Now You are my depositee." He threw the money into the sea and left. The lender went to the sea hoping that a ship might bring his money. He found a piece of wood in the water. He took it home as firewood. When
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1. Refer to Muslim's Sahih , vol. 2, p.p. 533.

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he broke it, he found the money and the letter." ¹ This tradition is too far away from any regard.

Neither the Sharia nor reason would permit to throw one thousand dinars into the sea. It would not be considered as acquittance if the money did not reach its owner. The wise men considered this doing as foolishness or madness and the doer must be under interdict. If this thing happened to the Israelites or to another nation, the prophet Muhammad (s) would not told of it without any comment in order not to encourage the believers of his umma to do like it. Anyhow it was impossible for the Prophet to say like that but Abu Hurayra worded it like the imaginative stories and ascribed it to the Prophet (s) just to sell his goods well.

35. A third fable about good results of gratefulness

Al-Bukari mentioned a tradition narrated by Abu Hurayra that the Prophet (s) had said: "There were three Israelite men. One was leprous, the other was bald and the third was blind. Allah wanted to try them. He sent an angel to them. The angel came to the leprous one and asked him: "What do you like the best?" He said: "A nice hue and a good skin. People disliked me." The angel patted on him and he was recovered. He was given a nice hue and a good skin. The angel asked him: "Which of wealth do like?" He said: "Camels." He was given a pregnant she-camel, which was about to beget. The angel said: "Allah may bless it for you."

He came to the bald man and asked him: "What do you like the best?" he said: "Good hair. People disliked me." The angel patted on him and he was given good hair. The angel asked him: "Which of wealth do like?" he said: "Cows." He gave him a pregnant cow and said to him: "Allah may bless it for you."

Then he came to the blind man and asked him: "What do you like the best?" He said: "To have my sight again." He patted on him and Allah made him see. He asked him: "Which of wealth do you like?" He said: "Sheep." He gave him a ewe. The she-camel, the cow and the ewe bore. The first man had a valley of camels. The second had a valley of cows and the third had a valley of sheep.
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1. Al-Bukhari's Sahih, vol. 2, p.p. 26.

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The angel came to the leprous in a shape like the leprous' before he was recovered and said to him: "I am a poor man. I lost everything in my travel and I have no one to help me save Allah and you. I ask you, by Him, Who gave you the pretty hue, the good skin and the wealth, to give me a camel to carry me in my travel." The man said that he had a lot of expenses and refused to give him a camel. The angel said: "I think I know you. Were you not leprous and poor and that people disliked you? Then Allah provided you with all of these blessings." He said: "I inherited that from my forefathers." The angel said: "If you told a lie, let Allah return you to what you had been before."

He came to the bald man in a shape like his shape when he was bald and poor and asked the same as he asked the leprous man. He gave the same answer. The angel said: "If you told a lie, let Allah return you to what you had been before."

Then he came to the blind man in a shape like his when he was blind and poor and said to him: "I am poor and a wayfarer. I have nothing and there is no one to help me save Allah and you. I asked you by Him, Who gave you back your sight to give me a ewe to benefit me in my travel." The man said: "I was blind and Allah gave me back my sight. I was poor and Allah made me rich. You can take whatever you like. By Allah, I won't prevent you from taking anything for the sake of Allah." The angel said: "I tried you all. Allah became pleased with you but discontented with your two friends."

This tradition was one of Abu Hurayra's textiles, which he brocaded and mottled. It appeared as a modern imaginary play, which the actors play on their theatres nowadays. He just wanted to show, by this tradition, the result of gratefulness and ungratefulness.

36. A fourth imaginative story about injustice

The two sheikhs mentioned a tradition narrated by Abu Hurayra that the Prophet had said: "A woman was entered Hell because of a cat. She tied it. She neither fed it nor let it feed on insects."

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This tradition was denied by Aa'isha (the Prophet's wife). She said to Abu Hurayra: "The believer is more honorable near Allah than to be tortured with fire because of a cat. When you tell of the Prophet's traditions, think well how you will tell!" ¹

37. A fifth imaginative one about mercy

Al-Bukhari mentioned ² a tradition narrated by Abu Hurayra that the Prophet had said: "A prostitute saw a dog panting at a well. It was about to die of thirst. She took off one of her shoes, tied it with her veil and got the dog some water from the well. Allah forgave her sins for doing that."

38. Another one like the previous

Al-Bukhari mentioned a tradition by Abu Hurayra that the Prophet had said: "While someone was walking in his way, he felt very thirsty. He found a well and got down to drink some water. When he got out, he found a dog panting as if it ate the earth because of thirst. The man got down, filled his shoe with water, caught the shoe with his mouth and made the dog drink. He thanked Allah and Allah forgave his sins for that."³

This tradition and the previous one came out of Abu Hurayra's imagination to show the good result of pity and mercy.

39. Allah forgives an excessive unbeliever

Muslim mentioned that Ma'mar had said: "Az-Zuhri said to me: "Do I tell you of two wondrous traditions? ⁴ Hameed bin Abdur Rahman told me that Abu Hurayra had said: "The Prophet (s) said: "Someone was too excessive in committing sins. When he was about to die, he ordered his sons: "If I die, you are to burn me, crush me and scatter me in the sea in a windy day. If my god seizes
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1. Refer ot Irshad as-Sari, vol. 7, p.p. 84.
2. Sahih, vol. 2, p.p. 150.
3. ibid. vol. 4, p.p. 36 and vol. 2, p.p. 35. s
4. Az-Zuhri had a right to be astonished at these two tradtions. All of the wise men would be astonished at them.

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me ¹, He will torture me to a degree that He has never tortured any one else like me." They did what he ordered them to do. Allah said to the ground: "Give what you have taken!" The man was recovered as before his death. Allah asked him: "Why did you do that?" He said: "I was afraid of You, my god." Then Allah forgave his sins. Hameed told me, too, that Abu Hurayra had said: "The Prophet said: "Some woman was entered Hell because of a cat. She tied it and neither fed it nor let it feed on insects." ²

If the woman, who tied the cat, was believer, as Aa'isha said, she would be more honorable near Allah than to be tortured in Hell because of a cat. If she was unbeliever, she would be in Hell because of her unbelief.

As for that excessive sinful man, he did not deserve forgiveness. He not only exceeded the limits in committing sins along his life, but also he insisted on his unbelief even when he was about to die that he was desperate of the mercy of Allah. He thought Allah would not be able to resurrect him if they burned him and scattered his ashes. So he was unbeliever. The unbeliever would never deserve forgiveness at all.

The style of this tradition was like the style of the imaginative stories. The tradition tended to show that man was not to be desperate of the mercy of Allah even if he was excessive in committing sins and not to think that he would be safe from His torture even if he was believer. These two facts did not need to be shown by Abu Hurayra's fables. They were confirmed clearly by the holy Qur'an: (and despair not of Allah's mercy; surely none despairs of Allah's mercy except the unbelieving people) 12:87 (do they then feel secure from Allah's plan? But none feels secure from Allah's plan except the people who shall perish) 7:99. The holy Qur'an and the Sunna were far above this tradition and its style.

Suppose that the will of that excessive sinful man was real and was a cause for his sins to be forgiven by Allah, the Prophet would not tell of it without any comment! He would encourage the
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1. Notice that he didn't believe that Allah was able to resurrect him after carrying out his will. So he unbelieved of that.
2. Refer to Muslim's Sahih, vol. 2, p.p. 444.

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excessive sinful men of his umma to keep on their sins. This was, definitely, impossible for the Prophet to do.

40. Allah forgives a sinful man for ever

Abu Hurayra said that the Prophet had said: "Someone committed a sin and asked Allah to forgive him. Allah said: "My slave committed a sin and perceived that he had a god, who forgave the sin and punished for the sin." He committed a sin again and asked Allah to forgive him. Allah said: "My slave committed a sin and perceive that he had a god, who forgave the sin and punished for the sin." Then he committed a sin again and asked Allah to forgive him. Allah said: "My slave committed a sin and perceived that he had a god, who forgive the sin and punished for the sin. Do whatever you like. I have forgiven you." ¹

This was like his previous traditions in meaning and style. It was woven by Abu Hurayra's hands with the threads of his imagination to be like the stories of old grandmothers and storytellers. He tended to say that forgiveness of Allah was unlimited. This fact was clearly proved by the holy Qur'an, the Sunna, reason and the consensus of the umma, in fact the consensus of all nations and religions. It was one of the necessities of Islam and the other religions. It didn't need Abu Hurayra's fables to prove it.

Allah had no leniency with any one of His creatures if he committed what Allah had prohibited. He said: (And if he had fabricated against Us some of the sayings, We would certainly have seized him by the right hand, then We would certainly have cut off his aorta and not one of you could have withheld Us from him) 69:44-47. After that, how would Allah compliment this sinful man, who broke his repentance many times and say to him: Do whatever you like. I have forgiven you? What for did this weak believer deserve this complement of Allah that no one of the prophets, apostles or the veracious got?

How many such stories Abu Hurayra told the tyrants of to ease their crimes and sins. He said: "The angel of death came to a dying
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1. Refer to Muslim's Sahih, vol. 2, p.p. 445.

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man. He didn't find anything (deed) good of him. He opened his heart but he didn't find anything in it. He opened his jaws and found that his tongue was stuck to his jaw with the saying of (there is no god but Allah). Allah forgave him for that." ¹

One of Abu Hurayra's absurdities was his saying: "The iqama for prayer was said and the prayers stood up in lines to offer the prayer. When the Prophet stood up in his oratory to lead the prayers, he remembered that he was impure." ²

Glory be to the Prophet! He was pure all his times. He was always with wudu'. All the prophets were infallible and far above what this dotard raved. If what he said was ascribed to the veracious and faithful believers, away from the prophets, it would disgrace them, so how about the prophets?

He narrated a tradition talking about forbidding preferring the prophet Muhammad to Moses.³ In another one he said: "Whoever said that the prophet Muhammad was better than Yunus bin Metti (Jonah), told a lie." ⁴

The umma agreed unanimously that the prophet Muhammad (s) was preferred to all of the prophets. It was proved by clear evidences and considered to be as one of the necessities of Islam. He narrated that the Prophet had said: "No one will be entered Paradise by his deeds." They said: "Nor you, messenger of Allah." He said: "Nor I." ⁵

This tradition was to be thrown away because it contradicted the holy Qur'an. Allah said: (Surely this is a reward for you, and your striving shall be recompensed) 76:22.

He narrated ¹ that the Prophet had said: "There was no prophet sent by Allah, unless he grazed sheep.'' This tradition was no doubt null.
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1. Refer to History of Baghdad by al-Khateeb al-Baghdadi, vol. 9, p.p. 125.
2. Refer to al-Bukhari's Sahih, vol. 1, p.p. 41.
3. ibid. vol. 2, p.p. 40.
4. Al-Bukhari's Sahih, vol. 2, p.p. 82.
5. Al-Bukhari's Sahih, vol. 4, p.p. 6.

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And his tradition ² that the prophet Abraham was circumcised with an adze ³ when he was eighty years old.

He also narrated a tradition ⁴ that Jesus (s) saw someone stealing. He said to him: "Did you steal something." The thief said: "No, I didn't. I swear by Him, the only God." Jesus believed him and didn't believe his eyes.

Abu Hurayra narrated that the Prophet had said: "When Allah created Adam, he patted on his back. All human beings Allah would be creating until the Day of Resurrection fell from Adam's back like the motes. Then Allah made between the eyes of every one of them a shine of light. Allah showed them to Adam. He asked: "Who are they, my god?" Allah said: "They are your progeny." Adam saw someone that he admired the shine between his eyes. He asked Allah who he was. Allah said: "He is your son David." Adam asked: "How long did You decide his age?" Allah said: "Sixty years." Adam said: "Take forty years from my age and add them to his age to be one hundred years." Allah said: "It will be written, sealed and never be changed." When the angel of death came to Adam to make him die, Adam said: "There are still forty years of my age." The angel said: "Didn't you grant them to your son David?" Adam disavowed, so his progeny disavowed too." ⁵

It was like his tradition ⁶ about Adam and Moses when they argued, as if they were fatalist and determinist. He showed that Adam overwhelmed Moses with many excuses that didn't fit the prophets, who must be glorified.

How fond he was of the extraordinary and unusual events. In addition to what you read in the previous pages, here are two traditions to end the chapter with:
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1. Al-Bukhari's Sahih, vol. 2, p.p. 22.
2. ibid. vol. 4, p.p. 65.
3. He might inherit this adze from his forefather Noah, who had used it in making his Ark.
4. Al-Bukhari's Sahih, vol. 2, p.p. 168.
5. Refer to al-Hakim's Mustadrak, vol. 2, p.p. 325 and ath-Thahabi's Talkhees al-Mustadrak.
6. It was mentioned in Sahih of al-Bukhari, vol. 2, p.p. 163.

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The first: he said that once he was with al-Ala' bin al-Hadhrami when they were sent to Bahrain with an army of four thousand men. They set out until they reached a gulf in the sea, which no one had gone into before them nor anyone would go into after them. Al-Ala' grasped at the rein of his horse and walked over the water. The army followed him. I swear by Allah that no foot of ours nor a hoof of our sumpters' became wet." ¹

If this was true, it would be narrated by every one of that army, who were four thousand men. Why was it narrated by Abu Hurayra alone?

The second: he said: "I was afflicted with three misfortunes when I became a Muslim that I had never been afflicted with the same before; the death of the Prophet that I was his companion, the killing of Othman and the haversack." They asked: "What was the haversack?" I said: "We were with the Prophet (s) in a travel. He asked me: "Is there anything with you?" I said: "Some dates in a haversack." He asked me to bring it. He touched it and prayed. He asked me to invite ten of the men. I did. They ate until they satiated. Then I invited other ten and so on until the whole army ate from the dates. The haversack still had some dates. The Prophet said to me: "If you want to take something from the haversack, enter your hand in it and never turn it over." I had been eating from this haversack along the lifetime of the Prophet, Abu Bakr, Omar and Othman. When Othman was killed, the haversack was stolen. Do I tell you how much I had eaten from that haversack? I had eaten from it more than two hundred wasaqs. ²

No doubt that the Prophet fed a great number of people with a little food in many of his blessed days. That was one of the signs of his prophecy and mission. But this tradition especially was invented by Abu Hurayra to move the parties of the Umayyads and the mob of
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1. It was mentioned by Abu Bakr bin Muhammad al-Waleed al-Fihri at-Tartoushi, who was known as ibn Randa. Ad-Dimyari quoted this from him in his book Hayat al-Haywan ( the life of the animals). It was also mentioned in Istee'ab and Issaba.
2. Wasaq was a unit of measurement used by the Arabs at that time. Two hundred wasaqs were nearly equal to thirty-five thousand kilos.

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their followers, who were still devoted to the shirt of Othman and his wife's fingers crying and wailing. He made that to incite their favours and to beg their charity. It was one of his amazing ways in flattering the Umayyads and requesting their favours.

What proved that it was invented by Abu Hurayra was that he dappled in this tradition like the chameleon. He narrated this tradition in many different ways, as it was well-known by the researchers, who inquired the books of Sunna and Hadith.¹

Abu Hurayra had a sack containing this haversack and other things. It was his bag of knowledge. He ladled out from it whatever, whenever and however he liked. He might be often asked: "Did you hear this from the Prophet (s)?" He answered: "No, it is from Abu Hurayra's sack." ²

This book would not contain all the wonders of Abu Hurayra. What we mentioned of them was enough to be as evidence to prove what we aimed at. Thanks be to Allah.
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1. This tradition was mentioned by Ahmed bin Hanbal in two ways and by Abu Bakral-Bayhaqi in two ways. It was mentioned by some others in different ways with a lot contradictions. Refer to ibn Katheer, who mentioned many of those contradictions in his book al-Bidaya wen -Nihaya, vol. 6, p.p. 116.
2. Refer to Al-Bukhari's Sahih, vol. 3, p.p. 189.

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HIS MUSNAD IS LIKE HIS MURSAL¹

Abu Hurayra used to ascribe what he heard of prophetic traditions from any one to the Prophet as if he himself had heard them from the Prophet directly without looking for any evidence of certainty.

If you were in doubt of that, would you please notice his saying: "The prophet Muhammad (s) said to his uncle Abu Talib: "Say: there is no god but Allah. I will witness it for you in the Day of Resurrection." His uncle said: "I am afraid that Quraysh may blame me for that." ²

It was certain for the all that Abu Talib had died ten years before Abu Hurayra came to Hijaz. So how did he hear them (the Prophet and his uncle) talking to each other when he narrated this tradition in away as if he had seen them with his eyes and heard them with his ears?

He said: "When Allah revealed to the Prophet (And warn your nearest relations), he stood up and said: "O people of Quraysh, I don't substitute for you near Allah (in the Day of Resurrection).³

All of the jurisprudents and scholars agreed unanimously that this Qur'anic verse was revealed to the Prophet in the beginning of the Islamic mission and before declaring it in Mecca, where Abu
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1. Musnad: a tradition that was narrated byt true well-known series of narrators. Mursal: a tradition that was narrated by unknown narrators or without mentioning the narrators.
2. It was mentioned by Muslim in his Sahih, vol. 1, p.p. 31.
3. It was mentioned by al-Bukhari in his Sahih, vol. 2, p.p. 86, by Muslim in his Sahih and Ahmed in his Musnand. We mentioned it in the previous chapter and commented on it

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Hurayra was still worshipping his idols in Yemen. He came to Hijaz twenty years after the revelation of this verse. He narrated this tradition as if he had been among the attendants to see the Prophet with his eyes standing up and hear him with his ears warning his tribe.

He said: "The Prophet prayed in his prayer saying: "O Allah, save Salama bin Hisham, save al-Waleed bin al-Waleed, save Ayyash bin Abu Rabee'a. O Allah, save the oppressed believers (who were held back by the polytheists in order not to emigrate with the others from Mecca to Medina). ¹

This happened seven years before Abu Hurayra came to Hijaz and became a Muslim. He narrated it as if he had been with the Prophet when he was praying.

He said: "Abu Jahl said: "Does Muhammad prostrate for his god among you?'' It was said: "Yes." ²

If Abu Jahl really had said that, it would have been twenty years before Abu Hurayra came from Yemen and became a Muslim.

He narrated it as if he had seen and heard what happened.

Where was he from the combat of ar-Rajee' and its leader Aassim bin Thabit al-Ansari, who was martyred in it to tell of it as if he had seen everything? ³ It happened in the fourth year of hijra, three years before Abu Hurayra came to Hijaz and became a Muslim.

Any one, who inquired the manner of Abu Hurayra in narrating traditions, would know that he was just as what we said. These few traditions were enough to prove that.

Ahmed Ameen noticed that and said about Abu Hurayra: "It seemed that he didn't narrate what he had heard from the Prophet only, but he narrated what he was told of by the others." ⁴

Abu Hurayra himself confessed that. When he narrated that the Prophet had said: "Whoever was impure when it dawned, he was not to fast." Aa'isha and Um Salama denied it. He accused al-Fadhl
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1. Refer to al-Bukhari's Sahih, vol. 2, p.p. 105.
2. Muslim's Sahih, vol. 2,p.p.105.
3.Al-Bukhari`s Sahih,vol.2,p.p.117.
4.Fajrul Islam(the dawn of Islam),p.p.262.

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bin al-Abbas, who was dead then, ¹ of saying that. He said that he had heard it from al-Fadhl and had not heard it from the Prophet. Anyhow he confessed, whether it was true or false, that he ascribed to the Prophet what he had heard from the others.

If you say: what of it if he ascribed to the Prophet a tradition that he had heard from another one?

We say: it does not matter, but the tradition must not be considered as true tradition unless all the series of narrators would be known and proved to be trusty.

That is to say the honesty of the narrator must be proved as condition for the tradition to be true. The tradition must not be considered as true one if the narrator was unknown.

In a word, many of Abu Hurayra's traditions were such that it could not be depended upon. They mixed with his true traditions that made us avoid the all according to the rule of suspicions.

HIS PRETENSE OF ATTENDING SOME EVENTS

This man obliged us to doubt him. He pretended that he had attended some events that he had never done.

He said: "Once I entered the house of Ruqayya, the Prophet's daughter and Othman's wife. She had a comb in her hand. She said: "The Prophet left just a little ago. I combed his hair. He said to me: "How do you find Abu Abdullah (Othman)?" I said: "he is good." He said to me: "Grace him! He is the most similar to me in morals." It was mentioned by al-Hakim, ² who said: "This tradition has a true series of narrators but untrue text, because Ruqayya had died in the third year of hijra during the battle of Badr, whereas Abu Hurayra came and became a Muslim after the battle of Khaybar."

Ath-Thahabi mentioned this tradition in his book Talkheess al-Mustadrak and said: "It was true with its narrators but its text was denied for Ruqayya died at the time of the battle of Badr while Abu Hurayra became a Muslim at the time of the battle of Khaybar."
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1. Refer to Al-Bukhari`s Sahih, vol. 1, p.p. 225.
2. Refer to his Mustadrak, vol. 4, p.p. 48.

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Abu Hurayra said: "The Prophet led us in the Zuhr or Asr prayer and he ended the prayer after two ruk'as (instead of four). Thul-Yadayn asked him: "Did you lessen the prayer or forget?"

Thul-Yadayen was martyred in the battle of Badr some years before Abu Hurayra became a Muslim.

How many times he boasted: "We conquered Khaybar but we didn't gain gold or silver. We gained sheep, cows, camels, wares and houses." ¹

He said so although he did never participate in the battle. He became a Muslim after the Muslims had conquered Khaybar and the battle had been finished. Thus those, who explained the tradition, were confused when they reached his saying (we conquered Khaybar). They justified it by saying that Abu Hurayra had said it metaphorically. He referred to his Muslim fellows. ²

He said: "We fought with the Prophet in Khaybar. The Prophet said to a man, who pretended to be a Muslim that he would be in Hell. When the fight began, the man fought courageously until he had many wounds. Some men were about to doubt the Prophet's word. The man suffered the pain of his wounds. He took some arrows out of his quiver and suicided with them." ³

We have two notes about this tradition.

The first: he pretended that he participated in the battle with the Prophet and it was proved that he had not been there. Those, who commented on the tradition, became confused and justified that Abu Hurayra said it metaphorically because he came from Yemen after the battle of Khaybar as al-Qastalani said. ⁴

The second: the man, who killed himself, was the hypocrite Qazman bin al-Harth, the ally of the tribe of Zafar. He fought for the sake of fame. His case, which Abu Hurayra mentioned, was
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1. Refer to al-Bukhari`s Sahih, vol. 3, p.p. 37.
2. Refer to p.p. 154, vol.8 of Irshad as-Sari and Tuhfatul Bari,which were printed together as one book.So said As-Sindi in his comment on the tradition in the margin of al-Bukhari`s sahih.
3. Al-Bukhari`s Sahih, vol. 3, p.p. 34 and vol. 2, p.p. 120.
4. in his book Irshad as-Sari, vol. 6, p.p. 322.

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famous. ¹ He was killed in the battle of Uhud many years before Abu Hurayra came to Hijaz and became a Muslim. Abu Hurayra was uncertain about him, therefore he confused everything.

Abu Hurayra said: "I had seen seventy of the suffa's inhabitants that no one of them had a dress on him." ²

Those seventy ones were all martyred in the combat of the well of Ma'ouna. The Prophet became very sad for them. He prayed against their killers for a month. This combat took place in the fourth year of hijra, some years before Abu Hurayra came from Yemen. So how did he saw them? Al-Qastalani said ³ that the seventy ones, whom Abu Hurayra had seen, were other than those. Allah is the most aware!

After inspecting and inquiring about Abu Hurayra, we found that he often narrated prophetic traditions, which he had not heard from the Prophet (s) and often told about the events that he had not attended or he pretended that he had attended. He might admire something he had heard from Ka'bul Ahbar ⁴ or another one and he narrated it as if he had heard it from the Prophet like he did in his tradition: "Allah created Adam according to His own shape in sixty cubits long and seven cubits width." All that made the believers avoid his traditions.

I wonder why those, who collected Hadith, filled their books with traditions narrated by this man without paying any attention to his wonders and oddities or without taking any notice of his fabrication and invention! If you inspected the two Sahihs of al-Bukhari and Muslim, you would wonder at the naivety of these two sheikhs. Here is an example showing this fact:
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1. It was mentioned by al-Waqidi,ibn Iss-haq,ibn Hajar in his Issaba and others.This Qazman fought courageously in the battle of Uhud against the polytheists untill it was said to the Prophet: No one of us did as what he did. "The Prophet said: "Nevertheless, he will be in Hell. "He was wounded seriuosly. He erected his sword on the ground, pressed his chest against it and killed himself. Refer to al-Bukhari`s Sahih, vol. 2, p.p. 101. 2. Al-Bukhari`s Sahih,vol. 2, p.p. 60.
3. in his book Irshad as-Sari, vol. 2, p.p. 220.
4. A jew later became a Muslim.

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Muslim mentioned in his Sahih (the chapter of Abu Sufyan's virtues) a tradition narrated by Akrima bin Ammar al-Ijli al-Yamami that the Muslims did not look at Abu Sufyan and did not sit with him. He said to the Prophet: "O messenger of Allah, I ask you for three things to grant me them." The Prophet said: "Yes, I do." He said: "I have the best and the most beautiful one among the Arabs, my daughter Um Habeeba. I marry off her to you." The Prophet said: "Yes." He said: "My son Mu'awiya, you make him a clerk for you." The Prophet said: "Yes." He said: "and you order me to fight the unbelievers as I used to fight the Muslims." The Prophet said: "Yes." ¹

It was mentioned by Muslim alone when he talked about the virtues of Abu Sufyan! It was considered unanimously to be null. Abu Sufyan became a Muslim forcedly after the conquest of Mecca. Before that he was an enemy to Allah and His apostle.

As for his daughter Um Habeeba, whose name was Ramla, she became a Muslim before hijra. She was one of the loyal Muslims. She was among those, who migrated to Abyssinia escaping from her father and people. The Prophet got married to her while her father was excessive in his unbelief and excessive in his fighting against the Prophet (s). When Abu Sufyan heard that the Prophet had married his daughter, he said: "(That obstinate wouldn't be defeated)." He came to Medina tending to increase the period of the truce with the Prophet. He went to his daughter's house. When he wanted to sit down, Um Habeeba, his daughter, folded the rug. He said: "Do you prevent me from sitting on your rug?" She said: "Yes, I do. This is the rug of the Prophet and you are an impure
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1. Sahih of Muslim, vol. 2, p.p. 361. It was untrue tradition fabricated by Akrima al-Yamami as it was confirmed by ibn Hazm.Ath-Thahabi said in his book Mizan al-I`tidal that Akrima al-Yamani fabricated a denied tradition mentioned in Muslim`s Sahih about the three things that Abu Sufyan asked the Prophet for .Another false tradition narrated by Akrima that the Prophet has said: "Abu Bakr is the best of people. "It was mentioned by ibn Adiy in his book al-Kamil, which was the best of books in distingushing those, who fabricated tradition. Such was said by ath-Thahabi in his Mizan.

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unbeliever." Most of the historians mentioned this speech when they talked about Um Habeeba. ¹

Thanks be to Allah for His guidance. Thanks be to Allah, Who made us able to distinguish the truth. Allah's blessing and peace be upon our prophet Muhammad.

THE FOREMUSLIMS DENY HIS TRADITIONS

People denied and disapproved the excessiveness of Abu Hurayra in narrating traditions at his time. He exceeded all the limits and had a peculiar style that made people doubt him and doubt his traditions. They denied the quantity and the quality of his traditions and blamed him frankly.

He himself said: "People say that Abu Hurayra tells too many of traditions. Allah is the judge in the hereafter. They say that why the Muhajireen and the Ansar don't tell like what he tells�"

He confessed that both the quantity and the quality of his traditions were subject to denying, therefore he threatened them painfully where he said: "Allah is the judge in the hereafter." He showed at the end of this tradition that unless he was obliged according to his legal duties, he would never tell of anything at all for they doubted him. He said: "I swear by Allah that unless these two verses: (Surely those who conceal the clear proofs and the guidance that We revealed after We made it clear in the Book for men, these it is whom Allah shall curse, and those who curse shall curse them (too) Except those who repent and amend and make manifest (the truth), these it is to whom I turn (mercifully);² and I am the Oft?returning (to mercy), the Merciful) were in the Qur'an, I would never tell you of anything at all." ³ It was clear to prove what we said.
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1.Refer to an-Nawawi`s Sharh,Printed in the margins of Irshad as-Sari and Tuhfat al-Bari,vol. 11, p.p.360. 2. Qur`an,2:159-160. 3.Mentioned by al-Bukhari and Muslim in their Sahihs.We will mention it with comments in the text chapter insha`Allah.

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Another clearer one narrated by Abu Razeen ¹that he said: "Abu Hurayra came out to us, beat his front with his hand and said: "You say that Abu Hurayra ascribes lies to the Prophet so that you will be guided and I will go astray."

When he came to Iraq with Mu'awiya and saw the big crowd, who came to meet him, he knelt on his knees and began to beat his baldhead to draw their attention. When they gathered around him, he said: "O people of Iraq, do you pretend that I ascribe lies to the Prophet to burn myself in Hell?�and he began to abuse Imam Ali to flatter the Umayyads. ²

What sufficed this concern that those, who denied his traditions and criticized him, were of the great companions. Ahmed Ameen said ³ about Abu Hurayra: "The companions often criticized him for his excessiveness in narrating prophetic traditions and doubted him (to be a liar) according to what Muslim mentioned in his Sahih." Then he mentioned two traditions from Muslim's Sahih showing criticizing and doubting him.

Mustafa Sadiq ar-Rafi'ei said in this concern: "The most in narrating traditions among the companions was Abu Hurayra. His companionship with the Prophet was three years only, therefore Omar, Othman, Ali and Aa'isha denied his traditions and doubted him. He was the first narrator in the history of Islam to be doubted (accused of fabricating). Aa'isha was the most extreme of those, who denied his traditions." ⁴

An-Nazzam said: "Omar, Othman, Ali and Aa'isha considred Abu Hurayra as liar."⁵

Ibn Qutayba said: "An-Nazzam criticized Abu Hurayra by being accused of lying by Omar, Othman, Ali and Aa'isha that Abu Hurayra had accompanied the Prophet for three years only but he narrated from him so much many traditions, which were more than
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1. Muslim`s Sahih, vol.2, p.p.217. 2. Refer to an-Nahj al-Hammedi by Abu ja`far al-Iskafi,vol.1,p.p.359. 3. in his book FajrulIslam, p.p. 262. 4. Refer to his book Adab al-Arab,vol.1, p.p. 282. 5. Refer to Ta`weel Mukhtalif al-Hadithj by ibn Qutayyba, p.p. 27. 6. Ta`weel Mukhtalif al-Hadith, p.p. 48.

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what had been narrated by any of the first and previous companions, who doubted him and denied his excessiveness. ¹ They said: "How did you alone hear all of that? Who heard it with you?" Aa'isha was the most extreme in denying his traditions for she remained alive for a long time, where Abu Hurayra told of his traditions. Omar also was very extreme against the excessive narrators or those, who told of legal verdicts without any evidence�to the end of his saying, which confirmed what an-Nazzam had said. He did so forcedly and in spite of him for rightness always spoke justly and obstinately!

As for what ibn Qutayba ² pretended that: "the companions gave in when Abu Hurayra told them about his special rank near the Prophet", it was nonsense and vain. The great companions knew him well and did not need any one to introduce him to them. If they had a bit of respect towards him, they would never accuse him and consider him as liar. You noticed his saying ³ that he fell to the ground faintingly (during the reign of the Prophet) between the minbar and the room. The comers put their feet on his neck thinking that he was mad. Did that fit respect and honor?

In brief: it was certain that all the great veracious companions doubted him and denied his sayings. But when they went to the better world and those, who came after them, decided that the companions all in all were just and fair and they forbade criticizing them. They made that as legal verdict of the Sharia and hence they imprisoned the minds, gouged out the eyes, put porches on the hearts and deafen the ears. People became (Deaf, dumb (and) blind, so they will not turn back) 2:18.

Glory be to the infallible imams where they put the companions in their suitable places, which they themselves had already been in. ⁴
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1. Ibn Qutayba wanted to refute an-Nazzam, but unknowingly he confirmed his saying and added to the list of deniers all the first companions
2. in his book Ta`weel Mukhtalif al-Hadith, p.p. 50.
3. At the beginings of this book.
4. Ahmed Ameen said in his book Fajrul Islam, p.p. 259: "It seemed that the companions themselves criticized each other and preferred one to the other at the time.If someone narrated a tradition,he would be asked for the

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So their thought about Abu Hurayra was not different from the thought of Ali, Omar, Othman and Aa'isha. The Shias, since the age of Imam Ali until nowadays, kept to the same way of their imams.

All of the Mu'tazilites might have the same point of view. Imam Abu Ja'far al-Iskafi said: ¹ "Abu Hurayra was infected in his mind according to our sheikhs. His traditions were disapproved by them. Once Omar beat him and said to him: "You exceeded in your traditions. You might be a liar ascribing lies to the Prophet." Sufyan ath-Thawri narrated a tradition from Mansoor that Ibrahim at-Taymi had said: "They didn't depend upon Abu Hurayra's traditions except those traditions, which were about Paradise and Hell." Abu Ossama narrated a tradition that al-A'mash had said: "Ibrahim was trusty in narrating tradition. I used to show him whatever I heard of traditions. One day I brought him some traditions narrated by Abu Salih from Abu Hurayra. He said to me: "Let me away from Abu Hurayra! They left many of his traditions aside." It was mentioned that Imam Ali had said: "The most untruthful one (or he said of the alive), who ascribes lies to the Prophet, is Abu Hurayra ad-Doussi." Abu Yousuf mentioned that he had said to Abu Haneefa: "Some prophetic traditions that reach us, contradict our analogy. What do we do with them?" He said: "If they were narrated by trusty people, we would depend upon them and leave our points of view aside." I said: "What do say about Abu Bakr and Omar?" He said: "They were trusty." I said: "Ali and Othman?" He said: "So were they." When he saw me mentioning the companions, he said: "All of the companions were fair and trusty except some ones." He mentioned some, among them were Abu Hurayra and Anass bin Malik.

Imam Abu Haneefa and his companions left Abu Hurayra's tradition aside if it would contradict their analogy as they did with his
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evidence.Once Abu Hurayra narrated a tradition,which ibn Abbas denied and he narrated another tradition that Aa`isha denied. Fatima bint Qays narrated a tradition from her husband that Omar denied and said:"Do we leave our god`s book and our Prophet`s Sunna for a woman`s saying? We don`t know if it is true or false ,she memorizes or forgets! Aa`isha also denied it and said to Fatima:"Don`t you fear Allah."There werte many cases of the like.
1. Sharh an-Nahj-Hameedi, vol.1, p.p. 360.

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tradition about the (missrat). ¹ Abu Hurayra narrated that the Prophet had said: "Don't confine milk in your sheep or camels' udders. He, who buys them, will have the choice after he milks them either to keep them if he accepts or return them to their keeper with a certain measure (about three kilos) of dates." They didn't pay any attention to this tradition and said: "Abu Hurayra was not a jurisprudent and his tradition contradicted our analogy completely. Milking the animal was to be considered as trespassing the other's right, which must be compensated with the like or the value, but that measure of dates would not be one of them. ²

We knew that Abu Haneefa and his companions thought that the prayer would be invalid by any kind of speech, which was not a part of the prayer whether by forgetting, unknowing or thinking that the prayer was finished. The Hanafite jurisprudence was clear about this matter. So was the thought of Sufyan ath-Thawri. Hence the tradition of Abu Hurayra had no value among them, when he said that once the Prophet had forgotten and ended the prayer after two ruk'as instead of four then he left his oratory and entered his room. When he came back, it was said to him: "Did you lessen the prayer or did you forget?" He said: "The prayer wasn't lessened and I didn't forget." They said: "Yes, you did." And after an argument between him and them, he believed them and completed his prayer with two other ruk'as. Then he offered the prostrate of the forgetting. According to this tradition, Malik, ash-Shafi'ei, Ahmed and al-Awza'ei gave a fatwa that talking (some speech that was not a part of the prayer) by someone, who forgot that he had been offering the prayer or he thought that he had ended the prayer, would not invalidate it. But Abu Hanifa, who didn't pay any attention to Abu Hurayra's tradition, said that talking during the prayer would make it invalid. ³
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1. A cow, a ewe or a she-camel that was not milked for some days to let the milk remain in the udders in order to deceive the buyer that it gave a lot of milk.
2. Refer to Fajr al-Islam by Ahmed Ameen, p.p. 236.
3. Refer to an-Nawawi's Sharh Sahih Muslim, vol. 4, p.p. 234.

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Let us conclude this chapter with some events happened between Abu Hurayra and some of the companions showing you how they regarded him.

Abu Hurayra said: "When my tradition was mentioned to Omar, he called for me and said: "Were you with us that day when we were in the house of that (man)?" I said: "Yes, I was, when the Prophet said: "Whoever ascribed to me an untrue tradition, his place would definitely be in Hell."

This proved that he neither told of traditions in the presence of Omar, nor he was one of those, whom Omar saw and heard narrating traditions. In fact Omar had heard his tradition from the people and he accused him of lying. He called for him and warned him from Hell if he would lie.

One day Omar rebuked him by saying: ² "Either you leave narrating traditions or I will expel you to the land of Douss ³ or the land of monkeys."

One day Omar became very angry with him for his excessiveness in narrating prophetic traditions. He beat him with his stick and rebuked him by saying: "You exceeded with your traditions and I think you ascribed false traditions to the Prophet (s)."

Omar deposed him from the emirate of Bahrain after he had beaten him until he wounded him. He got back from him ten thousand dinars to the treasury. He rebuked him with terrible words.

During the reign of the Prophet (s), Omar beat him until he fell on his back to the ground. ⁴

When Imam Ali had heard Abu Hurayra's traditions, he said: "The most lying of people, (or he said) of the alive people about the Prophet is Abu Hurayra ad-Doussi."

Abu Hurayra often said: "My intimate told me" "I saw my intimate" "My intimate, the Prophet, said to me". Ali heard of that.
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1. it was mentioned by Musnad in his Musnad and by ibn Hajr in his Issaba.
2. Refer to Kanzul Ommal by Ibn Asakir, vol. 5, p.p. 239.
3. The birthplace of Abu Hurayra.
4. Muslim's Sahih, vol. 1, p.p. 34.

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He said to Abu Hurayra: "When was the Prophet your intimate, Abu Hurayra?" Imam Ali denied Abu Hurayra's saying because he distrusted him. ¹ Ali definitely was right for he (is with the Qur'an and the Qur'an is with Ali. They won't separate until they come to the Prophet's pond in the Day of Resurrection). ² Ali is with the rightness and the rightness is with Ali. It turns with him however he turns. ³

Aa'isha called for Abu Hurayra after she had heard his traditions. She said to him: "What were those traditions, which we heard that you told of about the Prophet? Did you hear other than what we heard or did you see other than what we saw?" He said: "Mother, the mirror and the kohl made you busy away from the prophet." ⁴

Abu Hurayra narrated a tradition saying that woman, dog and donkey ⁵ invalidate the prayer. Aa'isha denied that and said: "I saw the Prophet offering the prayer while I was cross between him and the kiblah."

He narrated a tradition that the Prophet had forbidden to walk with one shoe. When Aa'isha heard that, she walked with one shoe and said that she would contradict Abu Hurayra.

He narrated that: "Whoever was impure when it dawned, he was not to fast." When Aa'isha and Hafsa ⁶ denied that, he unsaid his
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1. Ibn Qutayba said that in his book Ta'weel Mukhtalif al-Hadith, p.p. 52.
2. Mentioned by al-Hakim in his Mustadrak, at-Tabari in his Awsat and by ibn Asakir in his Kanzul Ommal, vol. 6, p.p. 153.
3. Refer to Kanzul Ommal, vol. 6, p.p. 157.
4. Refer to al-Hakim's Mustadrak, vol. 3, p.p. 509 and ath-Thahabi's Talkhees al-Mustadrak. Of course Aa'isha refused his excuse.
5. If they were in front of someone during offering the prayer (according to Abu Hurayra).
6. It was so mentioned in Ta'week Mukhtalif al-Hadith, but it was Aa'isha and Um Salama, who denied this tradition.

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saying and excused that he hadn't heard it from the Prophet (s), but he had heard it from al-Fadhl bin al-Abbas, who was dead then. ¹

Once two men came to Aa'isha and said: "Abu Hurayra narrated that the Prophet had said: "Evil omen is but in women and sumpters.'' Aa'isha became very excited and said: "I swear by Him, Who revealed the Qur'an to Abul Qassim (Muhammad) that he, who told of this tradition, was a liar." ²

One day he sat beside the room of Aa'isha narrating traditions about the Prophet. She was busy glorifying Allah.

When she finished, she said: "How wonder it is! Abu Hurayra sits beside my room ascribing traditions to the Prophet and making me hear that. I was busy glorifying Allah. If I got him, I would refute his traditions." ³

He narrated that the Prophet had said: "Whenever one of you wakes up from sleep, let him wash his hands. He doesn't know where his hands were in the night." Aa'isha denied that ⁴ and said: "How do we do with the (mihrass) ?"⁵

He narrated that the Prophet had said: "Whoever carries a coffin, has to do wudu'." Ibn Abbas denied it and said: "Carrying dry pieces of wood doesn't require wudu'."⁶

Abdullah bin Omar narrated a tradition saying: "The Prophet ordered to kill the dogs except the hunting-dogs and the cattle-dogs." They said to ibn Omar that Abu Hurayra had added the farm-dogs. He didn't care for that and said: "Abu Hurayra has a farm." He accused him of adding the farm-dog to the Prophet's tradition in order to keep his dog and farm. ⁷
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1. These three traditions (about woman, dog and donkey, walking in one shoe and this one) were mentioned in Ta'weel Mukhtalif and Hadith by ibn Qutayba, p.p. 27.
2. Ta'weel Mukhtalif al-Hadith, p.p. 126.
3. Refer to Muslim's Sahih, vol. 2, p.p. 358 and 538.
4. Refer to Fajrul Islam by Ahmed Ameen, p.p. 259. Aa'isha denied his tradition because she did'nt trust him but her excuse about the (mihrass) was not logical.
5. A big hollow rock was filled with water for wash. It was very heavy.
6. It was mentioned by Ahmed Ameen in his book Fajrul Islam, p.p. 259.
7. Refer to Muslim's Sahih, vol. 1, p.p. 625.

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Abu Hurayra narrated that the Prophet had said: "Whoever keeps a dog other than a hunting-dog, a cattle-dog or a farm-dog, Allah will take off one carat a day from his merits." When they mentioned Abu Hurayra's saying to ibn Omar, he said: "May Allah have mercy upon Abu Hurayra. He had a farm." He accused him of adding that to the tradition for the sake of his benefit. Salim bin Abdullah bin Omar accused him of that, too, in a tradition mentioned by Muslim. ¹

Ibn Omar didn't believe Abu Hurayra's tradition of the hedgehog and he still doubted about it.

When ibn Omar heard Abu Hurayra narrating: "Whoever followed a funeral, would have a carat of merit", he didn't believe him and said that Abu Hurayra had exceeded with his traditions. He sent someone to Aa'isha asking her about it. When she confirmed the tradition, then he believed it.²

When Aamir bin Shurayh bin Hani heard Abu Hurayra narrating: "Whoever likes to meet Allah, Allah likes meeting him and whoever hates to meet Allah, Allah hates meeting him", he didn't believe him until he asked Aa'isha. She narrated it and explained it to him. ³

If we mentioned all the cases, in which the companions had denied Abu Hurayra's traditions and refuted them, we would waste our time, but that would suffice to prove what we wanted to say. It was enough that Omar, Othman, Ali and Aa'isha denied his traditions and refuted them. It was decided by the Islamic jurisprudence to prefer criticising (a companion) to justifying (what he was accused of) when there was an opposition. But in this case there was no opposition at all because passion alone did not oppose the denying of those great people.
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1. in his Sahih, vol. 1, p.p. 626.
2. Muslim's Sahih, vol. 1, p.p. 349-, Al-Hakim in his Mustadrak, vol. 3, p.p. 510 mentioned something like that.
3. Muslim's Sahih, vol. 2, p.p. 422.

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As to regard the companions all in all as truthful and fair, there was no evidence proving that. The companions themselves knew nothing about that. If we supposed so, it would be applied to the unknown ones and not to whom Omar, Othman, Ali and Aa'isha considered as liar and having many defects, which was confirmed by many evidences.

We, the Shia, have a moderate thought about the companions, which we explained in details in our book (Answers of Musa Jarallah). Whoever wants to know about that, let refer to it.