أَبُو هُرَيْرَة
رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ
Abu Hurayrah
The largest narrator · Of the Suffah · Came late and stayed close
may Allah be pleased with him
Daws, of Yemen · Madinah, from 7 AH, up to about 58 AH
He arrived only a few years before the Prophet ﷺ died, owned nothing, and attached himself to him more closely than almost anyone. More of what the community knows passes through him than through any other Companion.
Known for
More reports come through him than through any other Companion
He explained why so much came through him
The Muhajirun were occupied with their trade and the Ansar with their land. He had neither, stayed close, and was present when they were not.
He was one of the people of the Suffah
Those who had no household in Madinah and lived on the shaded platform at the edge of the mosque.
He arrived only a few years before the Prophet ﷺ died
He came around the time of Khaybar, in 7 AH.
His story in moments
Short episodes from his life, in order. Read one at a time.
Life & legacy
Madinah
Abu Hurayrah came from Daws, in Yemen, and reached Madinah around the time of Khaybar. That gave him roughly three or four years in the Prophet's ﷺ company — far less than most of the Companions who are quoted at length.
He had no property, no trade and no land, and lived among the people of the Suffah at the edge of the mosque. The reports describe real hunger in this period, and he described it himself.
What he did with the time was stay close, which is the whole explanation for his position in the transmission of the religion, and he gave that explanation himself when it was put to him.
Later years
He lived for decades after, teaching. A very large number of students transmit from him, which is part of why so much comes down through his name.
He held a governorship for a period and was in Madinah for most of the rest of it.
The sources give his death in the late 50s AH.
How the sources describe him
He was in the room when other people had somewhere else to be
He was poor for most of the years that mattered
Connect
People around him
Alongside
- The Prophet Muhammad ﷺCompanion
He attached himself to him for the three or four years he had.
Full timeline
- 7 AH
Comes to Madinah around the time of Khaybar
- The last Madinan years
Lives among the people of the Suffah
- The decades after the Prophet's ﷺ death
Teaches in Madinah for decades
- In the late 50s AH approximate, reports differReports give 57, 58 and 59 AH.
Dies in Madinah
Part of
Sources & review
In reviewBased on the listed sources. See something to correct? Tell us.
Sahih al-Bukhariصحيح البخاري
Hadith collection · Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Bukhari
Kitab at-Tabaqat al-Kabirالطبقات الكبرى
Classical biography · Ibn Sa'd
Al-Isabah fi Tamyiz as-Sahabahالإصابة في تمييز الصحابة
Classical biography · Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani
Siyar A'lam an-Nubalaسير أعلام النبلاء
Classical biography · Shams ad-Din adh-Dhahabi
SahabaMate editorial summary
Editorial summary
References follow the citation detail available in the source material.
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