HIS PROTEST AGAINST HIS ACCUSERS

 Abu Hurayra protested against those, who accused him of excessiveness in narrating traditions by saying: 1 "They say that Abu Hurayra narrates too much many traditions! Allah is our judge in the Day of Resurrection! They say why the Muhajireen and the Ansar do not narrate (prophetic traditions) so much as he does. My brothers of the Muhajireen were busy dealing in the markets and my brothers of the Ansar were busy working in their gardens (of date-palms), while I was a poor man keeping to the Prophet for feed. So I was attendant when they were absent and I perceived where they forgot."
Once the Prophet said: "If one of you spreads his dress until I finish my speech then he joins it to his chest, he will never forget anything of my sayings at all. I spread my garment, which I had no cloths on me other than; until the Prophet (s) finished his speech then I joined it to my chest. I swear by Him, who had sent his Prophet with the rightness, that I never forgot anything of his sayings until this day. By Allah, unless there were two verses in the Qur'an (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); and I am the
____________
1. It was mentioned by al-Bukhari in his Sahih, vol. 2, p.p. 34. Muslim in his Sahih, Ahmed in his Musnad, vol. 2 and all of those collected Hadith.
( 169 )

Oft?returning (to mercy), the Merciful) ,1 I would never tell you of anything.
Whatever Abu Hurayra became wealthier, he became more foolish. 2 He wanted to convince his accusers, who accused him of the quantity and the quality of his traditions so he said this tradition to defend himself and to protest against them, but what a trivial protest he made! In fact he, unknowingly, gave his opponents evidence against himself, which proved that what they ascribed to him was true. I swear by the honor of truthfulness and the highness of the veracious that I have not seen among all what the fabricators did, a tradition colder or farther away from the truth than this one. I wouldn't mention it or talk about it, unless the two sheikhs and their likes mentioned it in their (Sahihs) happily and worshipingly to their thought about the companions. They contradicted by that the rational and traditional evidences and contradicted the thoughts of the great first Muslims. 3 We have some notes about the invalidity of this tradition:
Firstly: Abu Hurayra pretended that the Muhajireen were away from the Prophet because they were busy of dealing in the markets and the Ansar were busy working in their gardens. He drove all the first Muslims of Muhajireen and Ansar with one stick. Was there any value for his saying that all the Muhajireen were busy of dealings in the markets after the saying of Allah: (Men whom neither merchandise nor selling diverts from the remembrance of Allah)4 ? Did what contradicted the holy Qur'an deserve but to be thrown off? And who was Abu Hurayra to be attendant while the close companions of the Prophet were away from him (s)? And that he memorized while they forgot? He said that full-mouthedly without shame or fear for he said that at the time of Mu'awiya, where there were no Omar, Othman, Ali, Talha, az-Zubayar, Salman, Ammar, al-Miqdade, Abu Zarr, or the likes. (A grievous word it is that comes out of their mouths; they speak nothing but a
____________
1. Qur'an, 2:159 - 160.
2. A proverb.
3. Refer to our book Tuhfatul Muhadditheen.
4. Qur'an, 24:37.
( 170 )

lie). 1 How far his word was from the truth! All people knew the position of Ali to the Prophet, the close relationship and the special respect. He put him in his lap when he was a child, embraced him to his chest, his pure flesh touched his flesh, smelt him his fragrance, chewed the bite and put it in his mouth. He never find a lie in a saying of his nor a fault in a deed of his. Allah had joined to the Prophet (s) the greatest of His angels since he was weanling to take him into the ways of nobilities and highest morals of the world. Ali followed the Prophet as a young weaned camel following his mother. The Prophet raised for Ali a banner of morals every day. He ordered Ali to imitate him. Ali was with the Prophet (with the great Khadija, the Prophet's wife) in the cave of Harra' seeing the light of Gabriel and his mission and smelling the fragrance of the prophecy. After that he became the gate of the Prophet's town of knowledge, the best judge of the umma, the bag of the Prophet's secrets, his guardian, the inheritor of his rule, the dispeller of his grief, the most brilliant of his companions and who had the knowledge of the Book. After all that, did Ali forget of the Sunna what Abu Hurayra had kept, or did he keep a secret what Abu Hurayra announced? (Glory be to Thee! this is a great calumny) 24:16.
In fact, just a few of the Muhajireen were busy of dealing in the markets. Why didn't those, who had nothing to do with trade or dealing like Abu Zarr, al-Miqdad, Ammar, and the seventy of Abu Hurayra's companions in the suffa, who didn't have cloths to cover their naked bodies except a piece of cloth tied around their necks…as he himself described them, narrated so much many traditions like him? In fact all of their traditions together were less than his.
So were the Ansar. Not all of them had gardens and properties as Abu Hurayra pretended. One of those, who did not have any property, was Salman al-Farisi, whom the Prophet had said about: "Salman is one of us, the family of the Prophet." He also said: "If religion was on the Pleiades, Salman would get it." Aa'isha said: "Salman had a meeting with the Prophet every night that he sat with him more than we did." Ali said: "Salman al-Farisi is like the sage
____________
1. Qur'an, 18:5.
( 171 )

Luqman. He has known the knowledge of the first ages and the coming ages. He is a sea of knowledge that won't drain off." Ka'bul Ahbar said: "Salman is filled up with knowledge and wisdom." This was besides other virtues mentioned about him. People knew well that Abu Ayyoub al-Ansari lived in subsistence that nothing took him away from knowledge and worship. So were Abu Sa'eed al-Khudary, Abu Fudhala al-Ansari and the other great jurisprudents of the Ansar.
The Prophet did not spend his time in disorder and confusion. He arranged his times, day and night, according to the tasks required at that time. He definitely specified a certain time for lecturing and teaching the Muslims about their religion and life, which would never contradict their times of work and labor or dealing in the markets. The Muhajireen and the Ansar adhered to these honored meeting of the Prophet and were more careful of knowing and learning than what the dotards raved.
Secondly: if what Abu Hurayra pretended that the Prophet (s) had said to his companions: "If any one of you spreads his dress until I finish my speech and then joins it to his chest, he will never forget anything of my saying at all" was true, all the companions would contend to do that. They would obtain a great virtue without striving and gain the eternal knowledge without spending money. So what frustrated them to win that and what prevented them to spread their dresses for that? How would they lose this great opportunity? Were they so trivial to renounce what the Prophet invited them for? Certainly not! They were his sincere companions, who strove to obey him whatever he said.
Thirdly: if what Abu Hurayra had said was true, the companions would extremely regret what they lost of that great virtue and copious knowledge. Their great sorrow about what they missed by not spreading their dresses in front of the Prophet, which was without any cost or tire, would spread among people and be mentioned in the books and that they would blame each other about their bad choice in leaving that important thing. At least they would envy Abu Hurayra, who had one dress only where they put on two or three, to win that virtue alone. There was nothing of that at all. Abu Hurayra had taken out this tradition from his own bag.

( 172 )

Fourthly: if what Abu Hurayra had told of was true, it would be narrated by the other companions, whom the Prophet had invited for that. In fact, if it was so, the companions would consider it as one of the signs of the prophecy and as evidence of the religion. It would be famous like the sun in the midday. It seemed that the sun of Abu Hurayra shone in the midnight where people were sleeping, therefore no one else than him told of it!
Fifthly: there were differences between his traditions about this story. One time he said as narrated by al-A'raj: 1 "One day the Prophet said to his companions: "If any one of you spreads his dress until I finish my speech and then he gathers it to his chest, he will never forget anything of my speech." I spread my garment, which I had no dress on me other than, until the Prophet (s) finished his speech. I gathered it to my chest. I swear by Him, who had sent the Prophet with the rightness, that I never forgot anything of that saying of the Prophet."
Another time he said, as narrated by al-Maqbari: 2 "I said: "O messenger of Allah, I sometimes forget what I hear from you." He said: "Spread your dress!" He ladled with his hands (knowledge and put into the dress) then he said: "Gather it to your chest." I did. I did never forget anything after that at all."
You see that the story according to the first tradition narrated by al-A'raj was between the Prophet and his companions and that it was the Prophet, who invited them to spread their dresses fearing for them from forgetting, whereas, according to the second tradition narrated by al-Maqbari, it was just between Abu Hurayra and the
____________
1. Refer to al-Bukhari's Sahih, vol. 2, p.p. 34 and Muslim's Sahih, vol. 2, p.p. 375. AlBukhari mentioned in his Sahih, vol. 2, p.p. 1 a tradition narrated by Sa'eed bin al-Musayyab from Abu Salama that Abu Hurayra had said: "The prophet said in one of his traditions: " No one of you will spread his dress until I finish this speech and then to join it to his chest, unless he perceives all what I say." I spread a garment I had on me until he finished he speech. Then i gathered it to my chest. I never forgot anything of that speech.
2. Refer to al-Bukhari's Sahih, vol. 1, p.p. 24.
( 173 )

Prophet and that Abu Hurayra asked the Prophet complaining his forgetting.
The first tradition, which was narrated by al-A'raj, showed that (not forgetting) concerned the Prophet's speech in that certain time only for he said (that saying of the Prophet), whereas in the second tradition narrated by al-Maqbari, he generalized. That was to say he would not forget anything at all. He said: "I did never forget anything after that at all." Those, who explained these traditions became confused and didn't know how to justify that until ibn Hajar decided in his book that this case happened two times; 1 one time not forgetting concerned that certain saying of the Prophet and the other time not forgetting concerned the all, whether the previous or the following sayings of the Prophet (s). 2
Muslim mentioned 3 it in a third way narrated by Yunus from ibnul Musayyab that Abu Hurayra had said: "…I never forgot, after that day, whatever the Prophet told me of." This tradition was more general than al-A'raj's tradition and more adequate than al-Maqbari's.
Ibn Sa'd in his Tabaqat 4 mentioned a tradition narrated by Amr bin Mardas bin Abdur Rahman al-Jundi that Abu Hurayra had said: "The Prophet asked me to spread my dress. I did. He told me all the day. Then I gathered my dress to my abdomen. I didn't forget anything of what he had told me of." His saying all the day was not mentioned in the other traditions except in this one narrated by al-Jundi.
Abu Ya'la mentioned it narrated by Abu Salama in a way different from all the ways of this tradition. He narrated that Abu Hurayra had gone to visit the Prophet when he was ill. He greeted the Prophet, while the Prophet was leaning on Ali's chest and Ali's hand was on the Prophet's chest embracing him and the Prophet's
____________
1. Refer to Irshad as-Sari by al-Qastalani, vol. 1, p.p. 380.
2. If this case happened one time rather than two or more, it would spread like the light. So why did the companions take no notice of it that no one of them narrated it except Abu Hurayra?
3. In his Sahih, vol. 2, p.p. 358.
4. vol. 4, p.p. 565.
( 174 )

legs were extended. The Prophet said: "O Abu Hurayra, approach to me." He approached. Then the Prophet said to him: "Approach to me." He approached. Then he said to him: "Approach to me." He approached until his fingers touched the Prophet's fingers. The Prophet asked him to sit down. He sat down. The Prophet said to him: "Approach the end of your dress to me." Abu Hurayra spread his dress and approached it to the Prophet. The Prophet said to him: "O Abu Hurayra, I recommend you of some practices that you are not to leave as long as you live; you are to bathe in the morning of every Friday, not to talk nonsense, not to play vainly, to fast three days of every month because it equals fasting the age, and the Fajr prayer, don't leave it even if you pray all the night because it is full of merits." He said that thrice. Then he asked him to gather his dress to himself. He gathered his dress to his chest. 1
Abu Ya'la mentioned a tradition narrated by al-Waleed bin Jamee' that Abu Hurayra had said: "I complained to the Prophet my weak memorization. He said to me: "Open your garment." I opened it. Then he said: "Join it to your chest." I did. After that I did never forget any tradition."
Abu Ya'la mentioned a tradition narrated by Yunus bin Obayd from al-Hassan al-Basri that Abu Hurayra had said: "The Prophet said: "Who will take from me a word, two or three and wrap them with his dress to learn them and teach them to the others?" I spread my dress in front of him while he was talking then I gathered it. I hope that I did not forget a word of what he had said.
Ahmed mentioned a tradition, somehow like that, narrated by al-Mubarak bin Fudhala from Abu Hurayra.
Abu Na'eem mentioned 2 a tradition narrated by Abdullah bin Abu Yahya from Sa'eed bin Abu Hind from Abu Hurayra that the Prophet had said to him: "O Abu Hurayra, you don't ask me about the booties, which your friends ask me about!" I said: "I ask you to teach me what Allah has taught you." I took off my garment and spread it between him and me. The lice were creeping on it. He told
____________
1. Refer to ibn Hajr's Issaba, ( Abu Hurayra's biography).
2. In his book Hilyatu Awliya', p.p. 381.
( 175 )

me until I perceived his speech. He said to me: "Join it to you." After that I didn't forget a letter from what he had told me of."
Whoever inspected this tradition in his different ways of narration would find it different in words and meanings. Its words or meanings were different and they contradicted each other for certainly it was vain. Thanks be to Allah for that.
Sixthly: he said: "I spread my garment, which I had no dress on me other than." This showed that his private parts would appear. Al-Qastalani and Zakariyya al-Ansari interpreted his saying in order to find an excuse for him. They said that he had spread some of his garment in order that his private parts no to be seen.
Seventhly: this story looked like the fables. Glory be to Allah! He would not let this raving be mixed with the miracles of the Prophet. No one of the rational and wise people would believe this nonsense. The miracles of the Prophet (s) dazzled the brilliant and defeated the tyrants by the good method and moderate way of them (the miracles).
The Prophet patted on Ali's chest and said, when he sent him to Yemen as judge: "O Allah, guide his heart and direct his tongue." Ali said: "I swear by Allah that I never doubted in any judgment (I made) between any two persons after that."
When the Qur'anic verse (So that We may make it a reminder to you, and that the heeding ear might retain it)1 was revealed to the Prophet (s), he said addressing Ali: "I asked Allah to make it your ear." 2 Ali said: "I didn't forget anything after that though I hadn't forgotten before that."
The Prophet said 3 in the day of (the battle of) Khaybar when he gave the banner to Ali: "O Allah, save him from hot and cold." Ali said: "After that I didn't suffer hot or cold." He put on light cloths in
____________
1. Qur'an, 69:12.
2. It was mentioned by az-Zamakhashari in his Kashshaf, ath-Tha'labi in his Tafseer, ar-Razi and others.
3. It was mentioned by Ahmed bin Hanbal in his Musnad, ibn Abu Shayba and ibn Jareej. Refer to Muntakhab Kanzul Ommal, vol. 5, p.p. 44.
( 176 )

the winter and heavy cloths in the summer to prove and draw attention always to the Prophet's miracle.
When Jabir complained to the Prophet that his father was in debt, the Prophet went with him to his threshing-floor. He walked around the heap of the fruits and prayed Allah and invoked His blessing. He sat near it. The creditors came and took their debts from that heap. What remained from the heap sufficed Jabir and his family? When the Prophet (s) wanted to do someone a favour, he prayed Allah for him and when he wanted to hurt someone (who deserved that), he prayed Allah against him as he did with Mu'awiya. He said: "Let Allah not satiate his stomach!" So did he with al-Hakam bin Abul Aass. But no one dared to say that the Prophet did something of what Abu Hurayra told of. Because his wisdom, which lighted the way for the deviate sights and paved it with the signs of guidance, was far above that.

( 177 )

A LOOK AT HIS VIRTUES

 We traced the traditions talking about the virtues of Abu Hurayra and we found that the only source of them, in the most cases, was Abu Hurayra himself.
Ibn Abdul Birr said in his book al-Isstee'ab: "Abu Hurayra became a Muslin in the year of (the battle of) Khaybar. He participated in the battle with the Prophet. Then he kept to the Prophet caring for knowledge. He was content of no more than his feed. His hand was in the Prophet's hand. He went with him wherever he went. He was the most of the companions in memorizing the Prophet's traditions. He attended with the Prophet what the Muhajireen and the Ansar didn't attend because the Muhajireen were busy trading and the Ansar were busy working in their gardens. The Prophet witnessed that he (Abu Hurayra) paid much attention to knowledge and Hadith. Once he said to the Prophet: "I hear much from you and I am afraid that I may forget some." The Prophet asked him to spread his dress. He did. The Prophet ladled (!) into his dress and asked him to join it to him. Abu Hurayra said: "I joined it to myself. I never forgot anything after that at all."
These virtues were quoted from Abu Hurayra's own traditions, in which he talked about himself. We didn't find any source for these virtues save Abu Hurayra himself. The same was as to the other virtues ascribed to him undeservedly.
His becoming Muslim in the year of Khaybar was true because it was told by others than him, but that he had participated in the battle with the Prophet, was not told of by any one except him.
As for what he said that he kept to the Prophet for the sake of knowledge and learning for nothing other than to satiate his

( 178 )

stomach, his hand was in the Prophet's hand and he went with him wherever he went, all of these things were pretended by him where he said: "I came to Medina while the Prophet was in Khaybar. I was more than thirty years old then. I kept to him until he died. I went with him to his wives' houses. 1 I served him, fought with him and performed the hajj 2 with him. I was the most aware of his traditions. By Allah, some of companions, who had accompanied the Prophet long before me, asked me about his traditions for they knew my keeping to him. Among those were Omar, Othman, Ali, Talha, az-Zubayr…" The wise might wonder at the daring of this man narrating such traditions, which were unreal and untrue. But when they knew the fact that he didn't tell of these traditions and their likes at the time of the great companions but he dared to tell of them after the most of the companions had died and the countries of Sham, 3 Iraq, Egypt, Africa and Persia were conquered where the companions spread here and there and that the new Muslims of the conquered countries didn't know anything about what happened at the time of the Prophet. Then he and the other liars found themselves in another world that didn't know anything about the first age of Islam. They found that their new world believed them and heard them worshipingly for they were the remainders of the Prophet's companions, who were entrusted with his Sunna and that they had to announce it. Moreover, the Umayyad state did the best to support them. Hence they had a great opportunity to tell whatever they liked of wonders and oddities, which were unacceptable by the Sharia and reason. They told of absurd and null traditions for the sake of their benefits and to serve the policy of the unjust tyrants, who dealt with the religion of Allah as means to carry out their private aims and dealt with the people as their slaves. They divided the wealth of the Muslims among them as it was their
____________
1. Did the high morals of this great prophet permit so and so to mix with his wives so easily as this imprudent pretended?
2. In Arabic, the verb he used had the sense of continuity, which meant that: he used to perform the hajj with the prophet every year. It was definitely untrue because after the hegita, the prophet didn't perform the hajj except one time, which was the farewall hajj.
3. Syria, Jordan Palestine and Lebanon.
( 179 )

heritage! Those liars devoted themselves to the unjust oppressors, who, in return for that, gifted them with all means of comfort and tried their best to support them especially at the age of Mu'awiya. Those liars were the right hand, the spokesman and the spy of the Umayyad state. (Woe, then, to those who write the book with their hands and then say: This is from Allah) 2:79.
How I wonder, by Allah, at al-Bukhari, Muslim, Ahmed and the others, who were well-advised and had great minds, to be led so foolishly by what Abu Hurayra and his likes raved. Could they know when Ali, Omar, Othman, Talha, az-Zubayr and the other companions did ask Abu Hurayra? Did they ask him in the wakefulness, in the sleep or in the world of imagination? About which tradition did they ask him? Who did narrate that except Abu Hurayra? Which one of the historians or the authors of books of Hadith or biographies mentioned that one of these great companions had narrated even a single tradition 1 from Abu Hurayra? When did they pay attention to his traditions? We didn't find that he had told of traditions in the presence of them. He didn't dare to. They often discarded him and denied his traditions as mentioned in details in the previous pages.
Now let us go back to what ibn Abdul Birr said about Abu Hurayra.
His saying (that Abu Hurayra was the best of the companions in memorizing the prophetic traditions) was quoted from Abu Hurayra's tradition, in which he said: "I was the most aware of his traditions".
His saying (that he attended the Prophet's meetings, which the Muhajireen and the Ansar didn't attend) was quoted from Abu Hurayra's tradition, in which he talked about spreading his garment in front of the Prophet as we mentioned it before with our comments.
____________
1. Al-HAKAM (in the biography of Abu Hurayra) counted those, who narrated traditions from Abu Hurayra. They were twenty-eight companions, Ali, Omar Othman, Talha and az-Zubayr were not among them. The others, who narrated something about Paradise and Hell or morals and knowledge. No one of them narrated even a single tradition about the legal verdicts and duties.
( 180 )

His saying (that the Prophet witnessed that he had paid much attention to the knowledge and the Hadith) was quoted from Abu Hurayra's Saying: "I said: "O messenger of Allah, who is the happiest one to get your intercession? He said: "I thought that no one would ask me about this worthier than you when I saw you paying much attention to the Hadith." 1
Among his virtues, which those, who wrote his biography, talked about in details, was his haversack, from which he had eaten more than two hundred wasaqs 2 of dates, his escaped servant, whom he set free for the sake of Allah, his keeping two vessels of knowledge that he spread one and kept the other secret, the Prophet's prayer for him and his mother, his walking above the water until he crossed a gulf without becoming wet and many others of his comic tragic stories at the same time! May Allah be with us to bear all that!

HIS DROLLERIES

 Imam Ahmed bin Hanbal mentioned 3 a tradition about Abu Hurayra narrated by Muhammad bin Ziyad saying: "Marwan, who was wali of Medina during the reign of Mu'awiya, sometimes assigned Abu Hurayra to be his deputy when he left Medina. Abu Hurayra beat the ground with his feet saying: "Clear the way! Clear the way! The emir has come." He referred to himself.
Ibn Qutayba ad-Daynouri mentioned in his book 4 that Abu Rafi' had said: "Marwan sometimes assigned Abu Hurayra to be emir of Medina (when he traveled). He rode a donkey with a saddle on its back and a fiber of date-palm on its head. When he met any one, he said: "Clear the way! The emir has come." He might
____________
1. It was mentioned by al-Bukhari in his Sahih and ibn Hajar in his Issabab, where Abu Hurayra said: "I accompanied the prophet for three years. No one was better than me in preceiving the Hadith.
2. It was a unit of measurement among the Arabs. Two Hundred wasaqa were about thirty-five thousand kilos.
3. In his Musnad, vol. 2, p.p. 43.
4. Al-Ma'arif, p.p. 94.
( 181 )

sometimes pass by the children playing in the night. He suddenly jumped among them and beat the ground with his feet…" 1
Abu Na'eem mentioned 2 that Tha'laba bin Abu Malik al-Qardhi had said: "One day Abu Hurayra, who was then the emir assigned by Marwan, came through the market carrying a bundle of firewood. He said: "Clear the way for the emir, o ibn Abu Malik!" I said: "This is enough." He said: "Clear the way for the emir with the bundle on him."
Abu Na'eem also mentioned a tradition narrated by Ahmed bin Hanbal from Othman ash-Shahham that Farqad as-Sabkhi had said: "Abu Hurayra went around the Ka'ba saying: "Woe to my stomach! If I satiate it, it will be surfeited and if I leave it hungry, it will shame me."
It was mentioned by Rabee'ul Abrar that Abu Hurayra said: "O Allah, grant me grinding teeth, a digesting stomach and a scattering anus."
Also it was mentioned by Rabee'ul Abrar that Abu Hurayra liked (madheera). He ate it with Mu'awiya but when the time of prayer came, he offered the prayer behind Imam Ali. When he was asked about that, he said: "The (madheera) of Mu'awiya was fattier but the prayer behind Ali was better." Therefore he was called (sheikh al-Madheera). 4
Abu Othman an-Nahdi said that once Abu Hurayra was in travel with others. They stopped to rest. When they served food,
____________
1. It was also mentioned by ibn Sa'd in his Tabaqat, vol. 4, p.p. 60.
2. In Hilyatul Awliya', vol. 1, p.p. 382.
3. A kind of soup cooked with sour yogurt.
4. According to this story it seemed that he attended the battle of Siffeen (between Ali and Mu'awiya) and that he flattered the two sides in order not to prevent himself to return to the victorious side. I have seen near Siffeen, bettween Iraq and Syria, a shrine called Abu Hurayra. More than one had told me that Abu Hurayra, in some days of the battle of Siffeen offered the prayer with the army of Imam Ali and ate with army of Mu'awiya, but if the fight began he went to the mountain. When he was asked about that , he said: " Ali is more aware, Mu'awiya's (food) is fattier and the mountain is safer.
( 182 )

they sent one of them to invite Abu Hurayra where he was offering the prayer. He said that he was fasting. When they were about to finish eating, he came and began to eat. They looked at their friend, whom they sent to invite Abu Hurayra. He said: "Why do you look at me? I swear that he said to me he was fasting." Abu Hurayra said: "He was true. I heard the Prophet saying: "Fasting Ramadan and three days of every month equals fasting all the age." I fasted the first three days of the month. I fasted for the duplication of fasting and I broke my fasting according to the easing of Allah." 1
Al-Bukhari mentioned 2 that Muhammad bin Sireen had said: "We were with Abu Hurayra (in his house). He was clothed in two brocaded linen dresses. He blew his nose with his cloths and said: "What great! Abu Hurayra blows his nose with the linen. I remember when I fell to the ground faintly between the minbar of the Prophet and the room of A'isha. The comers put their feet on my neck thinking I was mad. But it was no madness. It was but of hunger."
Ibnul Atheer said in his book al-Bidayeh wen-Nihayeh that Abu Hurayra had played (cider), which was a Persian game played by children.
Ibn Mandhoor, in his book Lissan al-Arab, added to that as in the tradition of Yahya bin Katheer: "The (cider) is the little Devil. He means that it is a satanic thing." 3 Ad-Dimyeri said in his book Hayat al-Haywan (the animals' life) about the chess: "As-Sa'louki narrated that Amirul Mu'mineen Omar bin al-Khattab, Abul Bissr and Abu Hurayra permitted playing chess. It was famous in the books of jurisprudence that Abu Hurayra played chess. Al-Aajuri narrated that Abu Hurayra had said: "The Prophet (s) said: "If you pass by those who play the azlam, 4 the chess and the dice, don't greet them." 1
____________
1. Refer to Abu Na'eem's Hilyatu Awliya', vol. 1, p.p. 385.
2. Refer to his Sahih, vol. 4, p.p. 157. It was also mentioned by Abu Na'eem in his Hilyatul Awliya', vol. 1, p.p. 379.
3. Refer to Lissan al-Arab, vol. 6, p.p. 30.
4. A game of gamble.
( 183 )

HIS DEATH AND HIS OFFSPRING

 He died in his castle in al-Aqeeq. 2 He was carried to Medina by the sons of Othman bin Affan until they reached al-Baqee' (graveyard) as kind of gratitude in return for his good thought about their father. 3 Al-Waleed bin Otba bin Abu Sufyan, who was the emir of Medina then, offered the prayer for the dead instead of Marwan, who was deposed. 4 Al-Waleed advanced to offer the prayer, in spite of that ibn Omar, Abu Sa'eed al-Khudari and other companions were there, to honor Abu Hurayra in return for his great services he did for the Umayyads.
Al-Waleed sent his uncle Mu'awiya a letter telling him of the death of Abu Hurayra. Mu'awiya wrote to his nephew: "Look for his inheritors and pay them ten thousand dinars. Do them favors and let them be comfortable in your neighborhood because Abu Hurayra supported Othman and was with him in the house when he was killed.''
He died in fifty-seven or (it was said) fifty-eight or fifty-nine of hijra. He was seventy-eight years old.
As for his offspring, as we knew, he had a son called al-Muharrir and a daughter. Al-Muharrir had a son called Na'eem, who narrated that his grandfather Abu Hurayra had had a thread with two thousand knots. He did not sleep until he glorified Allah with his two thousand knots thread. 5
Na'eem also narrated from his grandfather that someone had asked the Prophet: "What do you advise me to trade with? The
____________
1. Ad-Dimyeri doubted the narrators of this tradition and denied what as-Sawli said that Imam Zeinul Aabideen had permitted playing the chees. It was certain that all the infallible imams prohibited playing chees. So did Malik bin Anass, Ahmed bin Hanbal and Abu Haneefa.
2. It was mentioned by ibn Hajr in al-Issaba, ibn Abdul Bir in al-Isstee'ab, ibnul Hakim in al-Mustadrak and other historians.
3. Refer to ibn Sa'd's Tabaqat vol. 4, p.p. 63.
4. Refer to Isstee'ab Tabaqat and al-Mustadrak (Abu Hurayra's biography).
5. Refer to Hilyatul Awliya', vol. 1, p.p. 380 and 383.
( 184 )

Prophet said to him: "Deal with cloth! Because the dealer of cloth wishes people to be always in good and wealth."
Ibn Sa'd mentioned al-Muharrir in his Tabaqat and said that he narrated a little traditions and that he was died during the reign of Omar bin Abdul Aziz.

( 185 )

CONCLUSION

 Let us conclude our book with two words the Prophet (s) had said wisely as evidence to prove the aberration of those deviants in order to warn people from them.
The first word concerned Abu Hurayra, ar-Rahhal bin Anwa and al-Furat bin Hayyan. Once when they went out from the Prophet meeting, he said referring to them: "The thirst of one of you in Hell is greater than the other's. He has a perfidious mind."1
Abu Hurayra and al-Furat often said after that 2 that they didn't feel safe until ar-Rahhal renegaded and was killed with Musaylama the Liar.
As if they (Abu Hurayra and al-Furat) tried to interpret the Prophet's saying to refer to one of them only as ar-Rahhal renegaded and joined Musaylama after the death of the Prophet (s).
They confused the truth of the Prophet's saying when he generalized. It was like the sayings of Allah: (Does one of you like that he should have a garden of palms and vines) 2:266, (one of them loves that he should be granted a life of a thousand years) 2:96, (And when one of them is given news of that of which he sets up as a likeness for the Beneficent God) 43:17, (And when a daughter is announced to one of them his face becomes black and he is full of wrath) 16:58 and many other examples in the Qur'an, the Sunna and the speech of the Arabs. The Arabs said in their praise: (The hand of one of them rains with gold. The heart of one of them overflows
____________
1. Refer to al-Issaba and al-Isstee'ab (biography of Furat). Also it was mentioned by another historians.
2. Refer to al-Issaba and al-Isstee'ab (al-Furat biography). It was mentioned by another historians, too.
( 186 )

with compassion) and they said in their dispraise: (The face of one of them is a symbol of impudence. The heart of one of them is harder than the rocks). So the Prophet's saying didn't concern a certain one of them but it concerned the three of them. This was the fact of the tradition.
If the Prophet wanted to refer to a certain one of those three, he would show that clearly by mentioning his name or a distinguishing aspect and wouldn't say a confused tradition, which was not possible for the Prophet, because the innocent ones would be wronged. So if it was known that one of them was perfidious and he would be in Hell without knowing exactly who he was, the three of them would participate in the verdict. After that it was not to trust or depend upon their sayings or witnesses and not to entrust them with any of the Muslims' affairs. They would be forbidden from the civil rights in Islam and the umma had to avoid them in whatever concerned truthfulness and fairness according to the Islamic rule about suspicions. That was enough evidence to renounce the three of them.
Definitely the Prophet would define the perfidious one, who would be in Hell, and wouldn't let the innocent ones suffer his prediction as long as they lived besides the bad thought of people about them.
Certainly he wouldn't do that, unless the three of them were the same. If you say: the Prophet might refer to ar-Rahhal by saying something or pointing to him and that was unknown to us.
We say: if there was something of that, it would not be unknown for Abu Hurayra and al-Furat, who didn't find anything to make them feel safe except when ar-Rahhal renegaded then they prostrated to thank Allah. After that they often said that they hadn't felt safe until ar-Rahal did so. 1
If you say: the Prophet said that in general before ar-Rahhal renegaded and joined Musaylama the Liar and was killed with him.
____________
Their prostration and saying such were mentioned in al-Isstee'ab, al-Issaba and in other history books.
( 187 )

Hence, after ar-Rahhal did so, it became clear that he himself, whom the Prophet did mean by his tradition without the other two.
We say first: it was understood from the Prophet's saying: "..one of you.." that it referred to the all without exception as we explained before and quoted some similar examples from the holy Qur'an. It had nothing to do with the renegade of ar-Rahhal for he was bad before that. So were his two friends.
Second: it was impossible for the prophets to hide the truth when it was required or to delay it until its time elapsed. The time in this case related to the same moment of uttering this word by the Prophet. If anyone of these three deserved any respect or regard, the Prophet would declare the perfidious one of them by the name. In fact since they became Muslims, they were suspected of their traditions, witnesses and everything else. If it was not necessary to renounce the three of them, the Prophet would show the name of one of them before he died. He would not leave the matter for the renegade of ar-Rahhal to explain his tradition!
Third: al-Furat bin Hayyan was a spy for the polytheist and an eye for Abu Sufyan to spy on the Prophet and the Muslims. When the Muslims wanted to kill him according to the Prophet's order, he declared to be a Muslim in order to spare his life. The Prophet said: 1 "There are some of you, I gift them to remain Muslims. One of them is al-Furat bin Hayyan." So he was as bad as ar-Rahhal. Then how could we decide that the Prophet referred in his tradition to ar-Rahhal and not to al-Furat, who became a Muslim just to spare his life or Abu Hurayra, who had booked his ticket to Hell before his two friends according to the Prophet saying: "Whoever ascribes a fabricated tradition to me, is to occupy his seat in Hell."
____________
1. Refer to al-Istee'ab and al-Issaba, al-Hakam in his Mustadrak , vol. 4, p.p. 366 mentioned that al-Furat was as spy and an ally of Abu Suffyan. The prophet ordered to kill him. He passed by some of the Ansar and said: "I am a Muslim ." They said to the prophet that he said he was a Muslim. The Prophet said: " There are some of you that we consigh them to their pretended faith. One of them is al-Furat bin Hayyan."
( 188 )

The second word concerned Abu Hurayra, Samara bin Jundub al-Fazari and Abu Mahthoora al-Jumahi, whom the Prophet warned one day by saying: "The last of you to die will be in Hell."1
It was a wise method of the Prophet to discard the polytheists from participating in the Muslims' affairs. Since the Prophet knew the hidden reality of those three men, so he wanted to infuse into the minds of his umma the doubt about them to avoid them in order not to entrust any one of them with a task that had to be done by a trusty believer. He said that one of them, who was to die the last, would be in Hell without defining a certain one of the three of them. Days and nights elapsed and the tradition remained as it was without any definition or addition until the Prophet (s) joined his Exalted Lover in the best world. Then the umma had to discard them all from any position concerning the believers and to prevent them the rights according to the traditional and rational rule about suspicions. If the three were not the same in this matter, the Prophet definitely would define one of them.
If you say: there might be a definition about one of them but it became unknown for us because of the long period.
We say: if it was so, not all of those three would be so afraid from this warning. 2
There was no any difference in this matter if there was no definition or it became unknown. All the three men shared the same verdict of the Prophet; therefore it had to be applied to anyone of them.
If you say: the Prophet said that in general before the first and the second died. After their death it became clear that he, who remained after them, was the intended one to be in Hell. So there was no any problem.
We say first: you knew well as we had said before that it was impossible for the prophets to hide the truth when it was required or to delay it until its time elapsed. You knew, too, that its time was
____________
1. Refer to al-Issaba and al-Istee'ab (biography of Samara bin Jundub).
2. As it was clear for those, who inspected their affairs in this concern in the historian's book.
( 189 )

related to the same moment of uttering this warning. If one of these three men was virtuous or regardable, the Prophet would show that by defining one of them in order not to wrong the other innocent ones. The Prophet was far away from preventing someone his right or disgracing someone, who was innocent and didn't deserve to be disgraced and to remain disgraced until he died without knowing his innocence except if he died, according to this null supposition, before his two friends.
Second: we, by Allah, tried our best in researching and inspecting to know who was the last of them in dying but we couldn't because the sayings about the dates of their deaths were confused and contradicted. 1
Third: the great characters and the high morals of the Prophet, who (became grievous when the believers fell into distress, excessively solicitous about them and had compassion on them) 2, would not face those, whom he respected, with this severe saying (the last of you to die will be in Hell). It was not possible for him, who had the sublime morality, to overtake someone innocent and didn't deserve to be overtaken by such severe saying (the great thirst of one of you in Hell.). If one of these three men (or those) was good, the Prophet would not include him in this hard surprise and cruel defiance, but the revelation obliged him to do so for the sake of Allah and the umma because (Nor does he speak out of desire. It is naught but revelation that is revealed) 53:3.
It was enough for Abu Hurayra to be in his disgrace, which the prophetic traditions put him in. Let you yourself decide when you see the crimes committed by Samara; his horrible excessiveness in
____________
1. One of the historians said that Samara had died in fifty-seven of hijra and Abu Hurayra had died in fifty-nine. This was contradicted by another saying that Abu Hurayra had died in fifty-seven hijra and so on for the rest of the historian's sayings. But the more alike of the sayings showed that all of the three had died in fifty-nine without specifying the month and the day of their deaths.
2. As Allah described him in the Quran.
( 190 )

shedding the Muslims' bloods, 1 selling wine publicly, 2 doing wrong to al-Ansari, disobeying the Prophet when he invited him to reconcile between him and a man in a case happened between them about Samara's date-palm, which was inside the house of that man. The Prophet promised him to have one in Paradise instead of that but he refused in a way showing that he wasn't faithful. 3 Once he wounded the head of the Prophet's she-camel disdainfully and scornfully, besides his many other bad deeds.
As for Abu Mahthoora, he was one of the freed captives and one of those, whom the Prophet gifted to attract them to Islam in order to be safe from their plots against the Muslims. He became a Muslim after the Prophet had conquered Mecca and after he had come back from the Battle of Hunayn victoriously against the big tribe of Hawazin. At that time no one was more hated to Abu Mahthoora than the Prophet and his orders. He often mocked at the Prophet's caller, who announced azan, and imitated him loudly in ridiculous manner. But the purse of silver, which the Prophet used to give him, and the booties of Hunayn, which the Prophet granted to the freed captives of his enemies, who fought against him and his great morals that embraced whomever declared the shahada, with his severity towards those, who didn't declare it, all that made the Arabs became Muslims group by group. And so Abu Mahthoora and his likes were obliged unwillingly to become Muslims. He didn't immigrate to Medina until he died in Mecca. 4 Allah knew well this man's hidden intentions!
One word remained that was said by ibn Abdul Birr about this warning concerning these three men. He said in his book al-Istee'ab about Samara bin Jundub: "He died in Basra during the reign of Mu'awiya in fifty-eight of hijra. He fell into a pot full of hot water, which he was to sit on as treatment because he suffered from bad tetanus, and died. That confirmed the Prophet's saying to him, Abu
____________
1. Refer to Sharh an-Nahju al-Hameedi, vol. 1, p.p. 363. to see the details of that. Refer to at-Tabri's Tareekh, the events of the year fifty of hijra and chapter eight in our books al-Fusul al-Muhimma.
2. Refer to Ahmed's Musnad, vol. 1, p.p. 25.
3. Refer to Sharh Nahjul Balagha by ibn Abul Hadeed, vol. 1, p.p. 363.
4. Refer to al-Issaba (biography of Abu Mahthoora).
( 191 )

Hurayra and to a third one with them: "The last of you to die will be in (fire) Hell."
It was an odd interpretation, which the text didn't mean. No one understood it in this way even the three men, who were meant by this tradition, didn't doubt about its meaning, therefore each of them wished, as it was mentioned by the historians, to die before his two friends. It was not certain that Samara died after the other two. Ibn Abdul Birr said that he died in fifty-eight of hijra whereas Abu Hurayra, according to the sayings of al-Waqidi, ibn Numayr, ibn Obayd, ibnul-Atheer and others, died in fifty-nine, in which Abu Mahthoora died too. It was also said that Abu Mahthoora died in seventy-nine. Ibnul-Kalbi said that Abu Mahthoora died after Samara. So the justification of ibn Abdul Birr about this tradition was but nonsense.
This was the last of what we wanted to say in order to clarify the holy Sunna from the disgraceful defects ascribed to the essence of Islam and its high soul. Thanks to Allah, who made us succeed to do this simple work, which we pray Allah to be of use for the believers and to make it as relic in the day of Resurrection.
Allah's blessing and peace be upon the master and the last of the prophets, his progeny and his auspicious companions.
This book was completed in Soor 1 on Thursday, twenty-three of Ramadan, 1362 AH, corresponding to twenty-three of September, 1943, by the author, who looks forward to the mercy of Allah, Abdul Hussayn bin 2 the sharif Yousuf bin the sharif Jawad bin the sharif Isma'eel bin Muhammad bin Muhammad bin Sharafuddeen, whose name was Ibrahim, bin Zein al-Aabideen bin Ali Nooruddeen bin Nooruddeen Ali bin Izziddeen al-Hussayn bin Muhammad bin al-Hussayn bin Ali bin Muhammad bin Tajuddeen, who was famous as Abul Hassan bin Muhammad, whose surname was Shamsuddeen, bin Abdullah, whose surname was Jalaluddeen, bin Ahmed bin Hamza bin Sa'dullah bin Hamza bin Abus-Sa'adat Muhammad bin Abu Muhammad Abdullah, the head of the chiefs
____________
1. A city in Lebanon.
2. Bin and ibn mean the son of .
( 192 )

of the Talibites 1 in Baghdad, bin Abul Harth Muhammad bin Abul Hassan Ali, who was famous as ibnud Daylamiyya, bin Abu Tahir Abdullah bin Abul Hassan Muhammad al-Muhaddith bin Abut Tayyib Tahir bin al-Hussayn al-Qat'ei bin Musa Abu Sibha bin Ibrahim al-Murtadha bin Imam al-Kadhim bin Imam as-Sadiq bin Imam al-Baqir bin Imam Zeinul Aabideen bin Imam Abu Abdullah al-Hussayn, the Master of the martyrs, the grandson of the Prophet and the son of Amirul Mu'mineen, the master of the guardians, Ali bin Abu Talib. Allah's blessing and peace be upon the Prophet and all of his progeny.
____________
1. Related to the progeny of Abu Talib.