In Defense Of Abu Hurayrah

With Abu Hurayrah being the most prolific transmitter of hadith from among the Companions, he bore the brunt of attacks and criticisms by those unenthusiastic about hadith; be it from early heretics from the Jahmiyyah, to modern-day hadith skeptics. Hadith scholars as early as ‘Uthman b. Sa’id Al-Darimi in his polemic against Bishr Al-Marisi¹Uthman b. Sa‘id Al-Darimi, Naqd Al-Imam Abi Sa‘id ‘Uthman bin Sa‘id Al-Darimi ‘ala Al-Marisi Al-Jahmi Al-’Anid Fima Iftara ‘ala Allah ‘azza wa jall fil Tawhid (Cairo: Al-Maktabah Al-Islamiyyah, 2012), 235. and Muhammad b. Ishaq b. Khuzaymah²Al-Hakim Al-Naysaburi, Al-Mustadrak ‘ala Al-Sahihyan, 5 vols. (Beirut: Dar Al-Kutub Al-’Ilmiyyah, 1990), 3:587. offered defenses of Abu Hurayrah. When criticisms were renewed against Abu Hurayrah in the last century, many major scholars of the era saw it as their duty and thoroughly treated the issue, either by offering rebuttals to arguments of the critics or providing their own positive arguments. The purpose of this article is to provide the reader with an overview of three topics pertaining to Abu Hurayrah: The amount and contents of his hadith, his relationship with ‘Omar , and his relationship with ‘A’ishah . As an overview, each topic will be dealt with at a high level that should neutralize misconceptions before they are formed, while at the same time, not getting into too many details and specifics.

Abu Hurayrah’s Hadith

As mentioned earlier, one of the main reasons for Abu Hurayrah being subject to much unfair criticism is his plethora of hadith. Even though the precise number of his hadith that gave cause for concern has been proven to be inaccurate, the concern still remains for skeptics.

The famous number given for his hadith pool is 5,374, which is based on the number of hadith attributed to him in the Musnad of Baqiy b. Makhald, which no longer exists.³Muhammad Diya’ Al-Rahman Al-A’dhami, Al-Sahabi Al-Jalil Abi Hurayah fi Dawi’ Marwiyyatih (Madinah: Maktabah Al-Ghuraba’ Al-Athayyah), 61. This book is an important work in the field and is celebrated among hadith scholars and researchers. Interestingly, this book is among the books Sh. Muhammad Zakariyya Al-Kandahlawi gave as gifts to his student Sh. Yunus Al-Jawnfuri. See: Muhammad Akram Al-Nadwi, Al-Fara’id fi ‘Awali Al-Asanid wa Ghawali Al-Fawa’id (Bahrain: Maktabah Nidham Ya’qubi Al-Khassah, 2015), 54. Sh. Ahmed Shakir severely doubted this number for a few reasons. Firstly, through his work on the Musand of Ahmed b. Hanbal, he found that the number of independent texts attributed to Abu Hurayrah (i.e. not counting repeated hadith) was 1,579. Sh. Ahmed Shakir could not fathom how Ahmed b. Hanbal could have supposedly missed so many hadith of Abu Hurayrah, thereby not including them in his Musnad.⁴This is a good assumption on Shakir’s part and one of the reasons it is based on is that we have comparative counts on other Sahabi between the Musnads of Ahmed and Baqiy, and the Musnad of Ahmed out transmits Baqiy on those examples. See Al-A’dhami, Al-Sahabi Al-Jalil, 63-64. The second reason is built upon the first. Instead of assuming Ahmed missed these extra hadith, he offered a more reasonable explanation. Per Shakir, it is more likely that the number of 5,374 included repetitions, where every time a new isnad is mentioned for the hadith, it is counted another time, creating such a high number.⁵This assumption is supported by the fact that this was a known and practiced method of counting hadith among the hadithists. See Al-A’dhami, Al-Sahabi Al-Jalil, 65-67. He also deduced that Baqiy was probably topically sectioning off parts of larger hadiths to fit the arrangement scheme of his Musnad. As a result, what started off originally as one multi-topic hadith, would end up being broken down by topic and then put in its appropriate place in Baqiy’s Musnad.⁶Quoted in: Al-A’dhami, Al-Sahabi Al-Jalil, 61-62. The reader should note that even Sh. Ahmed Shakir’s number of 1,579 does not take into account reports erroneously attributed to Abu Hurayrah.

Though helpful in removing a misconception, determining the precise number of hadith he transmitted does not solve the problem in the minds of his critics, as we still acknowledge Abu Hurayrah as the leading hadith transmitter among the companions. In their minds, even if Abu Hurayrah’s hadith significantly diminished from 5,374, why Abu Hurayrah would be the most prolific transmitter of his age concerns them.

While discussing Abu Hurayrah’s plentiful hadith, it would be negligent if we did not consider what Abu Hurayrah himself had to say about the topic. Al-Bukhari documents from Abu Hurayrah:

People say, “Abu Hurayrah overdoes it,” though had it not been for two verses in the book of Allah, I would not transmit a single hadith. (He would then recite), “Indeed, those who conceal what We sent down of clear proofs, and guidance after We made it clear for the people in the Scripture – those are cursed by Allah and cursed by those who curse, Except for those who repent and correct themselves and make evident [what they concealed]. Those – I will accept their repentance, and I am the Accepting of repentance, the Merciful.”⁷Qur’an (2:159-160). In the original text, the Ayah is abbreviated in a way standard to hadith texts. I included the full two verses, as it is understood among hadithists that it is to be read, even if it is not fully written. Certainly, our brothers from the Muhajirin were preoccupied with transactions in the market, and our brothers from the Ansar were preoccupied tending to their property. But Abu Hurayrah [i.e. himself] used to stick to Allah’s Messenger, just satisfied to be fed. Hence he would attend what they did not attend and memorize what they did not memorize.⁸Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 118.

Abu Hurayrah attributes his acquisition of hadith that were unknown to some figures from the Companions, to the fact that they were preoccupied, either with the marketplace or their lands. I would like to point out Abu Hurayrah’s claim is consistent with the admission of other companions. ‘Omar b. Al-Khattab himself regretfully cited his business endeavors as a reason for being unaware of a hadith on another occasion, to a companion other than Abu Hurayrah.⁹Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 7353. In another hadith, ‘Omar described how he and his Ansari neighbor used to alternate days of learning from the Prophet .¹⁰Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 2468.  ِAbdur-Rahman b. ‘Awf, another senior Muhajir used to learn Qur’an from ‘Abdullah b. ‘Abbas during the reign of ‘Omar , despite Ibn ‘Abbas being decades his junior.¹¹Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 7323. In effect this is an admission of being preoccupied with other matters, hence the delay in learning the whole Qur’an. Generally, hadith compilations are filled with examples of various companions filling each other in on information they were previously unaware of.¹²Later in the article, I will reference the incident where Abdullah b. ‘Omar first learned of wiping over leather socks in wudu’, after the death of the Prophet, in the reign of his father, ‘Omar.

Moreover, the reasoning of Abu Hurayrah makes sense in light of what we know and can interpret from early Muslim society. The Hijrah was a source of financial hardship for both the Muhajirin and Ansar. It should then not come as a surprise that many of these earlier companions who migrated would become preoccupied with rebuilding themselves financially, not only for their families but also to support the new Islamic State. Additionally, for the Muhajirin, this would be the first time they would have a chance to acclimate to living as a Muslim freely, without domestic threat. Contrast this to Abu Hurayrah, who migrated to Madinah after Islam had been established there, who was without a family, save his mother, and did not have the experience of dealing with the harsh behavior against Muslims in Makkah. Simply based on that, Abu Hurayrah would make the ideal candidate to catch little bits of what some others missed.  To conclude this point, the fact that many senior Sahabah attended to duties and responsibilities that preoccupied them from sticking as closely to the Prophet , like Abu Hurayrah did, is not surprising nor does it detract from their virtue.

As expressed earlier, Abu Hurayrah hit the ground running as a learner from the Prophet but that is not the only reason for his large pool of transmission. Abu Hurayrah was an avid learner in general. This can be observed through the following consideration:  Abu Hurayrah’s final number of hadith does not represent only events witnessed directly by him or hadith heard directly from the Prophet . On the contrary, due to his relatively late conversion, Abu Hurayrah was picking up information about events he missed from the Prophet directly and other Companions. Furthermore, his hadith pool grew even after the death of the Prophet by acquiring hadith from other, more senior companions.

With regards to early Muslim history and trivia not witnessed or known by later converts, it seems that this information was readily available for those interested. Take, for example, the Prophet’s early work as a shepherd in Makkah. This would have been unknown to most, and yet we see the Prophet himself offering this information, when asked, after an occasion came up. Abu Hurayrah reports:

The Prophet said, “Allah did not send a prophet except that he herded sheep.” His Companions then asked, “Including you?” He responded, “Yes, I used to herd sheep for a portion of silver on behalf of the inhabitants of Makkah.”¹³Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 2262.

It also seems that the Prophet himself was keen on sharing information as the occasions would call for it. Abu Hurayrah reports the Prophet commemorating a time of sorrow for the early Muslims when passing by an area, saying “If Allah wills, tomorrow we will encamp in Khaif Bani Kinana, where the pagans united on Kufr.”¹⁴Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 7479.

This experience is not unique to Abu Hurayrah, nor late converts; Anas b. Malik, who is not a late convert, seems to have also been informed of matters that he would not have otherwise known. For example, Anas transmits about the Prophet , “Allah sent him when he [the Prophet] reached forty years and he resided in Makkah for ten years.”¹⁵Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 3548.

Abu Hurayrah had ample time with other more senior companions during the life of the Prophet , to learn from and pick up on happenings before his conversion. Though we do not know specifically what he picked up on the trip, Abu Bakr tasked Abu Hurayrah among others on their Hajj trip to announce that the current year would be the last year pagans would be allowed. Abu Hurayrah mentions that ‘Ali b. Abi Talib was also there.¹⁶Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 4656. Al-Bukhari also documents Abu Hurayrah learning about the martyrdom story of Khubayb b. ‘Adiy from another Companion.¹⁷Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 7402.

What preceded, flows well into the idea of Abu Hurayrah learning from other companions, which would increase his number of hadith even after the Prophet had passed. For example, it seems that Abu Hurayrah learned of the famous hadith, “I have been ordered to fight the people until they say La Ilaha Illa Allah; whoever says  La Ilaha Illa Allah, has protected their wealth and person from me except in its right and their account will be with Allah,”¹⁸Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 6924. from ‘Omar when he and Abu Bakr debated what action to take against those evading Zakah. Another example is of Abu Hurayrah learning of the prophetic command to bathe prior to Jumu’ah prayer, hearing it from ‘Omar on the minbar, as he cut his sermon to reprimand someone who did not bathe, sufficing himself with Wudu’.¹⁹Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 882.

A Testimony to Abu Hurayrah’s Hadith Knowledge

Abu Hurayrah’s vast knowledge of hadith is not just an assumption on our part. It seems that his knowledge of hadith was accepted among the Companions and hence some would assume his prior knowledge of a hadith, as can be seen in the following report. Abu Sa‘id, Kaysan Al-Maqburi, a student of Abu Hurayrah, reported the following incident that occurred between Abu Hurayrah and Abu Sa‘id Al-Khudri:

While we were at a funeral, Abu Hurayrah took Marwan by his hand and both sat before the body was lowered. Abu Sa’id, then took the hand of Marwan and said, “Stand; I swear by Allah this man (i.e. Abu Hurayrah) knew that the Prophet prohibited us from that (i.e. sitting before the body was lowered into the grave).” Abu Hurayrah concurred, saying, “He spoke the truth.”²⁰Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 1309.

One could argue that Abu Sa‘id’s statement was a rhetorical tool as opposed to it being reflective of his thoughts on Abu Hurayrah’s level of knowledge. This, however, is far from the truth, as can be understood by surveying some hadith in which both companions are featured. We have instances of ‘Ata’ b. Yasar²¹Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 5641., ‘Ata’ b. Yazid Al-Laythi²²Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 7437 and Sa’id b. Al-Musayyib,²³Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 2302. among others, jointly transmitting different hadith from Abu Hurayrah and Abu Sa‘id.²⁴Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 1310.

Going back to the funeral incident originally quoted, I would like to highlight to the reader that another major student of Abu Hurayrah, Abu Salamah b. ‘Abd Al-Rahman b. ‘Awf actually transmitted the ruling directly from Abu Sa‘id but without mentioning the funeral incident.²⁵Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 1310. We do not know if this is because he heard it from Abu Sa‘id on a different occasion or because he did not feel the incident was worth mentioning. This further demonstrates the lack of stigma among Abu Hurayrah’s students in transmitting an incident of disagreement between Abu Hurayrah and another companion or with his students learning hadith from other companions. This is a recurring theme and I will allude to this later when discussing ‘A’ishah and her “corrections” to other companions.

Another testimony to his knowledge of hadith is Ibn ‘Abbas transmitting a hadith from Abu Hurayrah to explain the Qur’anic concept of Lamam, mentioned in 53:32. Ibn ‘Abbas said:

I have not seen anything that better explains slight offenses (Lamam) than what Abu Hurayrah transmits from the Prophet , “Allah has ordained on the son of Adam a portion of Zina, he will fall into it inevitably. The Zina of the eye is looking, the zina of the tongue is speaking. The heart wishes and desires and the private part either follows through or denies it.”²⁶Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 6243.

The Content of Abu Hurayrah’s Hadith

In his Al-Qawa’id Al-Nuraniyyah, while developing what he perceives to be the grand philosophy of the Shari’ah transcending Madhahib, Ibn Taymiyah writes in reference to certain hadith that some of the scholars actioned while others did not, “If none among the scholars actioned these authentic, beneficial Sunan, it would have been a shame on the ummah for abandoning it, while at the same time utilizing what is not close to it in authenticity and rationale.”²⁷Ibn Taymiyyah, Al-Qawa’id An-Nuraniyyah (Saudi Arabia: Dar Ibn Al-Jawzi, 1422), pg. 32. Ibn Taymiyah’s words are applicable to the content of Abu Hurayah’s hadith – they are authentic, beneficial sunan. I will highlight two important themes found in Abu Hurayrah’s hadith: women’s rights and relatability.

One of Abu Hurayah’s hadith from the Prophet reads as follows: “By Allah , if any of you insists on fulfilling an oath by which he may harm his family, he is more sinful to Allah than if he were to give the expiation that Allah ordained on him.”

In this hadith that Abu Hurayrah reports, the Prophet puts an end (Hasm Al-Maaddah) to people hiding behind Allah as an excuse for harming their wives.

In the following hadith also transmitted by Abu Hurayrah, a man began to doubt his wife and the legitimacy of his latest son. The hadith goes on and the Prophet demonstrates why the man should not have these thoughts and dispels the doubt.

A man came to the Prophet and said, “O Messenger of Allah,  A black child has been born for me.” The Prophet asked him, “Have you any camels?” The man said, “Yes.” The Prophet asked him, “What color are they?” The man replied, “Red.” The Prophet said, “Is there a gray one among them?’ The man replied, “Yes.” The Prophet said, “How does that happen?” He said, “Maybe it is because of heredity.” The Prophet said, “Maybe this son of yours was affected by heredity.”²⁸Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 5305.

Per another hadith by Abu Hurayrah, the Prophet removed the incentive of sexually exploiting slaves, when he, “Forbade the wages of slave girls.”²⁹Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 5348.

Protecting the rights of women did not stop at transmitting hadith of the Prophet for Abu Hurayrah. In fact, Abu Hurayrah also transmitted some of Omar’s opinions that lead to extra protection of women’s rights.  For example, Abu Hurayrah transmits ‘Omar’s decree that the entirety of the dowry is due to a woman, if she was alone with her fiance, regardless of sexual intercourse taking place or not.³⁰Musannaf of Abd al-Razzaq, Kitab Al-Nikah, Bab Wujub Al-Sadaq, no. 10868/11610. I included the references to the Habib Al-Rahman Al-A’zami and Dar Al-Ta’sil prints, which both have accessible PDFs online.

In the previous examples, we can see a theme of protecting the rights of women, whether it is through financial obligations owed to them, preventing the means of taking advantage of women sexually or invalidating the basis of spiritual abuse and wrong assumptions against chastity.

Another clear theme that appears in both, the hadith reported by Abu Hurayrah and his own sayings is an understanding of the human condition and struggle. The result is that his hadith are believable, rightfully so, and also relatable to the average Muslim.

A clear example of this is how he relates the Prophet telling the Muslims about Shaytan distracting people in their prayer to the point that they remember things they forgot and forget where they are at in their prayer by not remembering how many rak’ahs they have prayed.³¹Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 1231. There is probably not a Muslim who has not experienced this in their prayer, and hence seeing it discussed in hadith gives people a greater experience and connection while reading hadith.

Abu Hurayrah also retold a long story and in it, he describes a state of hunger and need he was in at the point, and just as he thought his problem was solved and he could eat, the Prophet asked Abu Hurayrah to do something that put Abu Hurayrah under the impression that he yet would not be able to satisfy his hunger. He then retells his feelings at the moment and how he did not want to obey the Prophet at the moment, but that there was no other way except to obey the Prophet, as a believer.³²Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 6452.

The reader needs to reflect on this incident. Abu Hurayrah is completely transparent, demonstrating not only his honesty, but also that he was acutely aware of his feelings and emotions. Moreover, this type of incident relates to the experience of many Muslims who find themselves in these types of situations. The incident very easily demonstrates how real and relatable his hadith are.

From Abu Hurayah’s own sayings, he referred to fasting in the winter months as an “easy catch.”³³Ahmed b. Hanbal, Al-Zuhd, Zuhd Abi Hurayrah, no. 986. He would also say, “I am not afflicted with an ailment more beloved to me than fever, as it attacks every limb, and Allah gives every limb its portion of Ajr.”³⁴Al-Adab Al-Mufrad, no. 503.

My reflection upon both of these sayings by Abu Hurayrah is that he is providing pragmatic spirituality for the people. People favor rest, but at the same time would still like to attain the reward of prayer, so an “easy catch” for them would be praying on the nights of the winter, when the nights are longer and the weather is better. People also tend to think of sickness negatively, so Abu Hurayrah is exposing them to the bright side of sickness, such that people may derive spiritual utility from it.

‘Omar b. Al-Khattab

As the second Khalifah and the second most virtuous Muslim after Abu Bakr , Omar was known for his strength, decisive decision making, and integrity. With that in mind, I will present a perspective on his relationship with Abu Hurayrah, contrary to the perspective of his critics who present Omar as having singled out Abu Hurayrah for scrutiny and suspicion. While Abu Hurayrah’s critics rely either on inauthentic reports or resort to taking reports out of context, we will try to present a more cohesive story of their relationship based on what has authentically reached us.

As the Khilafah’s official representative in Bahrain, this would put Abu Hurayrah in a position to offer his opinions, teach, preach, and lead prayers. This is important because it implies a level of trust Omar had with Abu Hurayrah in the first place. Additionally, it seems there was constant communication going on between Omar and Abu Hurayrah. Abu Bakr b. Abi Shaybah documents with a sound chain in his Musannaf an instance where Abu Hurayrah sought Omar’s counsel on an issue related to divorce.

I asked Omar about a man from the inhabitants of Bahrain who divorced his wife once or twice. She then remarried, and her [second] husband divorced her. Then the first husband remarried her. How many [divorces] does she have left with him? He said, “She has what remains of the divorces.”

Ibn Abi Shaybah documents another question Abu Hurayrah posed to Omar in a letter about Jumu’ah to which Omar replied, “Congregate for prayer wherever you are.”³⁵Musannaf Abi Bakr b. Abi Shaybah, Kitab Al-Jumu’ah, Bab Man Kana Yara Al-Jumu’ah fil Qura wa Ghayriha, no. 5170. Due to the nature of the question, it would be fair to assume this occurred while Abu Hurayrah was representing the Khilafah.

Previously mentioned in this article was another opinion of ‘Omar transmitted by Abu Hurayrah that served to protect the rights of women entering into a marriage.

Also previously mentioned in the article, are examples of hadith that Abu Hurayrah learned from ‘Omar . One of the examples cited seems to have occurred while Abu Bakr was holding a sensitive discussion on the apostates.

Abu Hurayrah tells of an interesting event in his life and a subsequent encounter he had with ‘Omar related to it. He tells of being in a state of hunger, which drove him to ask ‘Omar about a verse in the Qur’an, in hopes that ‘Omar would invite him and offer refreshments, in the process of speaking to the verse. Abu Hurayrah’s wishes were not met when ‘Omar , for a reason not mentioned, did not invite him in. Abu Hurayrah did not have to wait long, as the Prophet came along and offered him milk which he readily accepted. After this incident, Abu Hurayrah went to ‘Omar, and after relating the backstory to him, ‘Omar expressed regret at not being the one to invite him and satisfy his hunger.³⁶Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 5375.

I invoke this story because it demonstrates the ease that Abu Hurayrah felt with ‘Omar , as well as demonstrating a praiseworthy side of ‘Omar . It should also not be lost on the reader that this report demonstrates transparency from Abu Hurayrah, as there is a level of embarrassment in the story.

To summarize, Abu Hurayrah learned hadith from ‘Omar , felt comfortable with him enough to reminisce about the past, consulted him on issues of Islamic law, and was the representative of the Khalifah for a time. The behavior of ‘Omar and Abu Hurayrah does not suggest a lack of trust. On the contrary, it suggests trust between the both of them.

The logic proposed here to demonstrate the trust between the two is sound and has been used by the likes of Muhammad b. Al-Hasan Al-Shaybani for other Sahabah. About Mughirah b. Shu’bah, he points out that ‘Omar appointed him and entrusted him over some regions, and hence his hadith on an issue should be preferred to another.³⁷Muhammed b. Al-Hassan Al-Shaybani, Al-Hujjah ‘ala Ahl al-Madinah, 4 vols. (Beirut: ‘Alam Al-Kutub, 1403), 1:225. The point is not to discuss the particular issue nor Mughirah b. Shu’bah but to highlight the sound logic, after having already demonstrated how it applies to Abu Hurayrah.

I will conclude this portion on Abu Hurayrah’s relationship with ‘Omar by highlighting an aspect of ‘Omar that is misrepresented by Abu Hurayrah’s critics. Omar was a learned, senior companion of the Prophet , who was also bold enough to question the Prophet and offer his own opinion. Taking this into consideration, it should come as no surprise that Omar would be suspicious of information he was not aware of, and considering his boldness, would then have a strong reaction to it. At the same time, if it was information he knew, he did not have the expectation that others would be doubtful of it. He expected others to follow.

During the life of the Prophet , ‘Omar heard a man reciting in a manner he did not know, he immediately suspected the man and dragged him to the Prophet.³⁸Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 4992. After the death of the Prophet , in the well-known story of Abu Musa, he required Abu Musa to find another companion who could attest to hearing a hadith from the Prophet.³⁹Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 7353.

This attitude is not specific to ‘Omar . His son Abdullah was suspicious of Sa’d b. Abi Waqqas when the latter wiped over his leather socks in wudu’ and himself investigated the matter.⁴⁰Muwatta’ Malik, no. 100. Yet, he expected his own son to follow the hadith forbidding husbands from preventing their wives to attend Masajid, which he transmitted, without asking questions.⁴¹Sahih Muslim, no. 442.

By demonstrating this attitude of ‘Omar (and others), the uncharitable readings originally provided by hadith skeptics to cast doubt on Abu Hurayrah, are neutralized. Abu Hurayrah was not subject to specific scrutiny, but rather he and others were engaged based on the prevailing attitudes found among senior companions of the Prophet .

‘A’ishah

‘A’ishah , the wife of the Prophet , is in the same league as Abu Hurayrah in terms of transmission.⁴²Al-Hakim Al-Naysaburi, Ma’rifat Uloom Al-Hadith wa Kamiyyati Ajnasih (Beirut: Dar Ibn Hazm, 2003), 229. She is a top transmitter and as such, much knowledge has been passed on from her, whether it is direct hadith or her understanding of hadith and Qur’an. Naturally, as a top transmitter of hadith and in addition to her personal relationship with the Prophet which gave advantages to her in some ways over other companions, she would freely disagree with others, if the occasion arose.

Critics of Abu Hurayrah and those unfamiliar with the nature of hadith transmission during that era (there is an overlap), tend to overstate the nature of the criticisms and perhaps as a result, they exaggerate the implication of them as well.

One of the most famous criticisms of ‘A’ishah towards Abu Hurayrah did not involve the content of his reports but rather focused on his method of dissemination. After the conclusion of one of his hadith circles, ‘A’ishah exclaimed that had she caught him fast enough, she would have told him that “The Prophet did not rapidly transmit, as you rapidly transmit.”⁴³Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 3567. Contextualizing this incident within the greater context of hadith transmission during that era should provide the necessary clarity to the statement, so as not to be misused.

By profiling both Abu Hurayrah and ‘A’ishah through their respective pools of transmission, one can see the root cause of this “artistic” disagreement. A’ishah’s pool of transmission contains many observational hadith, “The Prophet would act like X,” or “The Prophet would frequently do Y ” as opposed to being mainly quote based.⁴⁴I am unaware of any specific hadith study done on this topic. My claim about ‘A’ishah’s hadith is obvious to frequent readers of hadith. However, I did also look into ‘A’ishah’s hadith that are both documented in the Sahihs of Al-Bukhari and Muslim using Al-Jam’ Bayn Al-Sahihayn by Al-Humaydi and found that at least a third of her hadith are as I described here. This is natural because she saw the Prophet in the house and was aware of his intimate and frequent habits and practices. In addition, because of the husband and wife dynamic, her hadith are more personal, containing back and forth between her and the Prophet and questions, where she is a main and active participant.

Abu Hurayrah on the other hand, resembled more closely a servant of the Prophet and spent much of his time in the masjid. As a result, many of his hadith are relatively short quotes suitable for advice and preaching and are less personal to himself.

To conceptualize this, consider the theoretical events in a given day’s time. If Abu Hurayrah was with the Prophet the whole day, it is possible for him to hear from the Prophet multiple quotes, between personal meetings the Prophet had with others and general classes the Prophet would give. On the same day, it is possible that ‘A’ishah did not take in a single quote of preaching, but instead took in what she later was able to later use to build a portrait of the Prophet’s life from.

With that in mind, when ‘A’ishah says that the Prophet would not rapidly transmit as Abu Hurayrah did, she is right. The Prophet would not fire off several quotes to a single person. Yet at the same time, when Abu Hurayrah rapidly transmitted several hadith, this is more representative of the experience he got from the Prophet , so he is also not wrong in that perspective. At the end of the day, this incident simply goes to show that two companions had different experiences with the Prophet , and as a result, they had an artistic difference on how hadith should be disseminated to the public. Implied in this, is that she did not find fault as a whole in what Abu Hurayrah transmitted.

Still, there are a few cases where she disagreed with what Abu Hurayrah transmitted, just as she disagreed with other Companions. Instead of doing a deep analysis of each of the documented cases, a topic I have begun writing on but is beyond the scope of the article, I will suffice with a few examples to demonstrate important points.

Firstly, Al-Zarkashi attempted to comprehensively compile ‘A’ishah’s disagreements with others in his Al-Ijabah li Iiyrad ma Istadrakathu ‘A’ishah ‘ala Al-Sahabah. Despite this being the most comprehensive attempt that I am aware of, he was only able to cite 12 instances⁴⁵In the chapter of Abu Hurayrah he lists 11 and then he goes on to list another at the end of the book where Abu Hurayrah is not the only transmitter of a hadith she disagreed with. of Abu Hurayrah being on the opposing side of a disagreement with ‘A’ishah . To only quote 12 issues of disagreement in light of the hundreds of Hadith Abu Hurayrah transmitted shows that the critics of Abu Hurayrah have made a bit of a mountain out of a molehill.⁴⁶Fatima Mernissi is particularly happy with Al-Zakashi’s work. Fatima Mernissi, The Veil and the Male Elite (Boston: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1991), 77-78.

Secondly, not every instance that Al-Zarkashi quotes is authentic. In fact, some of the supposed disagreements are so false that to even think ‘A’ishah was the source of the rejection would be offensive to ‘A’ishah . For example, in one instance, ‘A’ishah is supposed to have “corrected” Abu Hurayrah’s hadith “It is better for anyone that their insides be filled with consuming pus than being filled with poetry,”⁴⁷Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 6155. saying that the Prophet only said this about poetry that was specifically formulated to attack himself (the Prophet ).⁴⁸Badr Al-Din Al-Zarkashi, Al-Ijabah Al-Ijabah li Iiyrad ma Istadrakathu ‘A’ishah ‘ala Al-Sahabah (Cairo: Maktabah Al-Khanji, 2001), 115. However, this is a bit bizarre considering that multiple people transmitted this from the Prophet besides Abu Hurayrah, including Abdullah b. ‘Omar.⁴⁹Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 6154. Additionally, if it is the categorical nature of the statement attributed to the Prophet that ‘A’ishah supposedly objected to, she would soon find herself at odds with the Quran, which is similarly categorical in its approach to the same topic.

And the poets – [only] the deviators follow them; Do you not see that in every valley they roam, And that they say what they do not do? – Except those [poets] who believe and do righteous deeds and remember Allah often and defend [the Muslims] after they were wronged. And those who have wronged are going to know to what [kind of] return they will be returned. [26:224-227]

To close this point, I will add that neither Abu Hurayrah, nor Abdullah b. ‘Omar saw a contradiction between the hadith in question and memorizing poetry or mentioning it in conversation and in teaching. Abu Hurayrah, in his study circles, was documented to relay the poetry of a more senior companion Abdullah b. Rawahah.⁵⁰Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 1155. In fact, when Ibn Sirin wanted to show how normal the companions were, he pointed to Abdullah b. ‘Omar chanting a line of poetry.⁵¹Al-Mu’jam al-Kabir, no. 13066 There is simply no correction to be made here with regard to the hadith. It is no surprise to learn then, that the attribution of this correction to ‘A’ishah , rests solely on Muhammad b. Al-Sa’ib Al-Kalbi⁵²Abu Ja’far Al-‘Uqayli, Al-Du’afaa’ Al-Kabir, 4 vols. (Beirut: Dar Al-Maktabah Al-’Ilmiyyah, 1984), 4:288-289. Al-Suhayli attributes ‘A’ishah’s to Ibn Wahb’s Jami’.See: Al-Zarkashi, Al-Ijabah, 116. However, I looked for it in the Jami’ and was unable to locate it. If it is eventually located, I imagine it will be with the same chain, as Ibn Wahb includes Al-Kalbi’s transmission in his books., a discredited transmitter who also was an extreme Shi’ite.⁵³Al-‘Uqayli, Al-Du’afaa’ Al-Kabir, 4:76-78 and Ibn ‘Adiy, Al-Kamil fi Du’afaa’ Al-Rijal, 10 vols. (Riyadh: Maktabah Al-Rushd, 2013) 9:52.

Thirdly, ‘A’ishah’s opinion or transmission is not more valuable because she transmits it, unless there is a good reason to believe it is in fact more valuable. This does not just apply to ‘A’ishah or Abu Hurayrah, but to any and all Companions who may have disagreed. Abu Hurayrah himself seems to have taken her criticism at face value, and when he felt he was wrong, he retracted. An example of this is when he transmitted an abrogated ruling that someone who is in a state of janabah at the time of Fajr prayer during Ramadan cannot fast that day. But when he was faced with the transmission of ‘A’ishah and Um Salamah, he retracted, because, in this instance, their transmission is inherently more valuable than the transmission of others.⁵⁴Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 1925.

Fourthly, and perhaps an obvious point lost on some, is that A’ishah and Abu Hurayrah shared students. In fact, Sa’id b. al-Musayyib, a major student of Abu Hurayrah and his son-in-law, is aware of some of ‘A’ishah’s disagreements with other Companions and will occasionally take her side.⁵⁵See for example his stance on Fatimah bint Qays and her hadith on divorce: Abu Bakr Al-Bayhaqi, Al-Sunan Al-Kubra, 11 vols. (Beirut: Dar Al-Kutub Al-’Ilmiyyah, 2003) 7:711 and Musnad Ishaq b. Rahuyah, Ma Yurwa ‘an Fatimah bint Qays Al-Fihriyyah wa Ghayriha ‘an Al-Nabi, no. 2400 Abu Salamah b. ‘Abd Al-Rahman is another major student of both ‘A’ishah and Abu Hurayrah and also occasionally will transmit ‘A’ishah’s “side.”⁵⁶See for example Abu Salamah transmitting how A’ishah would be between the Prophet and the Qiblah: Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 513. I seek to highlight this to show that the differences between the two were two sides seeking to represent the final guidance of the Prophet correctly, with each side “winning” some and “losing” others. This was not a conflict between genders, or a conflict between a noble side and a hypocrite. Both sides seek to represent the Prophet faithfully while not wanting their perception and memory of the Prophet to be discounted or discredited. In fact, I dare say that Abu Hurayrah must have fostered a healthy atmosphere among his students, such that some would end up disagreeing with him while still maintaining absolute respect for his knowledge and efforts.  It also shows that there was not a major divide as major students of ‘A’ishah had no qualms learning from Abu Hurayrah and vice versa, despite them dying a short time apart.

Fifthly and lastly, there is a large area of general agreement between Abu Hurayrah and ‘A’ishah which manifests in a few ways. There are documented instances of ‘A’ishah corroborating Abu Hurayrah’s hadith⁵⁷Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 1323-1324. and concurring with his fatwa.⁵⁸Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah, Kitab Al-Talaq, Bab Ma Qalu fil Rajul Yutalliqu Imra’atahu Al-Battah, no. 19136 Though I will not present the instance of her occurring with Abu Hurayrah’s fatwa, for the sake of brevity, I will present the previously referenced instance of her corroborating a hadith of Abu Hurayrah.

Ibn ‘Omar was informed that Abu Hurayrah used to say, “Whoever follows a funeral procession they are rewarded with a large amount of reward (Qirat).” He (Ibn ‘Omar) commented, “Abu Hurayrah is too much (Akthara Abu Hurayrah ‘Alayna).”⁵⁹I feel that this is a good idiomatic translation that expresses the intent of the phrase She – meaning ‘A’ishah – corroborated Abu Hurayrah and said, “I heard the Messenger of Allah say that.” Ibn ‘Omar then exclaimed, “We have missed many large portions of reward (Qararit).”⁶⁰Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 1323-1324.

This is an important example because it demonstrates ‘A’ishah knowingly corroborating Abu Hurayrah specifically, when another Companion was verifying his hadith. It is not simply a case of both unknowingly transmitting the same information. This demonstrates that she did not make an exception to Abu Hurayrah or his transmission.

A perhaps more intriguing area of agreement between the two is when both end up on the same side of arguments in defense of Hassan b. Thabit. From ‘A’ishah’s [ranga] side, her nephew ‘Urwah cursed Hassan b. Thabit in front of her. She rebuked him, saying, “Do not curse him because he used to defend the Prophet .”⁶¹Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 3531. She also would tell ‘Urwah the story of Hassan’s beginnings in writing poetry for Islam.⁶²Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 3531.  From Abu Hurayrah’s side, Hassan b. Thabit sought out Abu Hurayrah to corroborate that the Prophet told him, “O Hassan, answer on behalf of the Messenger of Allah ; O Allah , aid him with the Holy Spirit.” Abu Hurayrah then attested to this.⁶³Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 3531.

The value of this intersection between the two is how the stances of both on the issue will shape public opinion on the image of Hassan b. Thabit. It seems that both landed on the same side coincidently, showing that their thought process on the topic was similar.

Conclusion

As I conclude, I am reminded of the words of Abu Bakr Al-Khatib Al-Baghdadi in his Kifayah. After mentioning the theology behind trusting the Companions of the Prophet , he left the readers with a deep thought. He concluded by mentioning that even if the verses and hadith related to the Companions did not exist, simply knowing the Companions, who they were, and what they had been through would be enough of a reason to trust them.⁶⁴Al-Khatib Al-Baghdidi, Al-Kifayah fi Ilm Al-Riwayah (Beirut: Mu’assast Al-Risalah, 2013), 60-61. I say that Abu Hurayah is no different. How he collected his hadith is not a mystery and the truth of it is attested to. His relatable and beneficial hadith speak true to the objectives of Islam and to his own honesty and transparency. The state of his students shows that he fostered a healthy environment of seeking truth. His relationship with ‘Omar was of trust and he was not singled out for scrutiny. ‘A’ishah’s disagreements with Abu Hurayrah were few and even then, some were purely artistic disagreements. These few disagreements did not lead ‘A’ishah to discredit Abu Hurayrah, with whom she shared students and occasionally corroborated in transmission and opinion, in addition to sometimes being on the same side of an argument. ِAfter all this, one can rightfully say, as ibn Khuzaymah said before, “Abu Hurayrah is only criticized, in order to reject his reports, by those whom Allah has blinded their hearts; they do not comprehend the meanings of the reports.”⁶⁵Al-Hakim Al-Naysaburi, Al-Mustadrak, 3:587.

Related reading:

– Abū Hurayrah : Was He Truly The Largest Single Source For Ḥadīths?

– 5 Steps Towards a Noble Life…..On the Fingers of Abu Hurayrah