Companion of the Prophet ﷺ
أبو هريرة
Abu Hurayrah
Abd al-Rahman ibn Sakhr ad-Dawsi (name disputed in the sources)
Abu Hurayrah of Daws, a poor man of the Suffah who stayed beside the Prophet and memorised more hadith than any other Companion.
- Hafiz of the Companions
- Narrator of the most hadith
- Kunya
- Abu Hurayrah ("father of the kitten")
- Tribe
- Daws (of Azd)
- Born
- c. 603 CE in Yemen/Tihamah (approx.)
- Died
- c. 678-679 CE / 57-59 AH in Madinah
- Resting place
- Al-Baqi cemetery, Madinah
- Known as
- Narrators, Ahl al-Suffah, Scholars, Early Muslims, Companions of the Prophet
Introduction
Abu Hurayrah came from the tribe of Daws and accepted Islam through Tufayl ibn Amr. He reached Madinah around the time of Khaybar, in the seventh year of the Hijrah, and from then on he stayed beside the Prophet (peace be upon him) with almost no wealth, living with the poor of the Suffah.
He often had nothing to eat, yet he explained that while others were busy in the markets and fields he stayed close to the Prophet and memorised what they missed. He asked the Prophet for help with his memory and was told to spread his garment; afterwards, he reported, he never forgot anything. He later became the greatest transmitter of hadith among the Companions.
He was equally known for night prayer, hospitality and love for his mother. His home divided the night into three turns of worship, he fed visitors in Ramadan, and he wept to the Prophet until his mother was guided. He later served in public office and died in Madinah in his late fifties or sixties.
A day in their footsteps
Small, repeatable practices from Abu Hurayrah's life, each with the sources it rests on.
Fasting three days each month
The Prophet advised Abu Hurayrah to fast three days a month, and he treated it as a commitment he kept. These are commonly taken as the white days, the 13th to 15th of each Hijri month.
Fast the three white days (13th-15th) this month.
Show the wording
“to fast three days a month”
Sahih al-Bukhari 1981
Duha prayer
His beloved friend advised him to pray two rak'ahs of Duha. It is a small act of gratitude in the middle of the working day, and Abu Hurayrah kept it.
Pray two rak'ahs after sunrise-time clears, before the day takes over.
Show the wording
“to pray two rak`at of Duha prayer (forenoon prayer)”
Sahih al-Bukhari 1981
Witr before sleeping
The third counsel was to pray witr before sleeping, rather than risk missing it. He built this into his night routine.
Pray witr before bed unless you are sure you will wake before fajr.
Show the wording
“to pray witr before sleeping”
Sahih al-Bukhari 1981
Sharing the night for worship
A guest reported that Abu Hurayrah, his wife and his servant each stayed awake for a third of the night in turn, prayed, and then woke the next person. Their house was never without someone in prayer.
Share the night with your household: each person takes a turn.
Show the wording
“Abu Huraira, his wife and his slave used to get up and remain awake for one-third of the night by turns”
Sahih al-Bukhari 5441
Staying close to the people of knowledge
Abu Hurayrah gave up the markets and the fields to remain with the Prophet. He accepted a life of little food so that he would not miss a single lesson, and memorised what others were absent for.
Protect a fixed time for learning and make it the last thing you give up.
Show the wording
“I used to attend that which they used not to attend and I used to memorize that which they used not to memorize”
Sahih al-Bukhari 118
Patience in hunger
He tied stones to his stomach from hunger and even asked people to recite a verse to him so that they would take him home and feed him. His poverty never made him leave the Prophet's company, and he praised Ja'far for feeding the poor.
Do not let a hard situation pull you away from your learning or prayers.
Show the wording
“I used to bind stones over my belly and ask somebody to recite a Qur'anic Verse for me”
Sahih al-Bukhari 5432
“I used to bind a stone over my belly because of hunger”
Sahih al-Bukhari 6452
Praying for a parent
When his mother insulted the Prophet, Abu Hurayrah went to him weeping and asked for her guidance instead of cursing her. He returned to find her a Muslim. He also asked for love for himself and his mother in the hearts of believers.
Make du'a for a parent's guidance and wellbeing, especially one who is far from the deen.
Show the wording
“supplicate Allah that He may set the mother of Abu Huraira right”
Sahih Muslim 2491
Hosting in Ramadan
During Ramadan, in Mu'awiyah's time, Abu Hurayrah was among those who often invited the others to his house. He then taught his guests a hadith after the meal. Food and knowledge went together.
Invite someone for iftar this week and share something you have learned.
Show the wording
“Abu Huraira was one of those who frequently invited us to his house”
Sahih Muslim 1780a
Virtues
The Prophet noticed Abu Hurayrah's longing for hadith and said no one had asked him that question before him.
The Prophet prayed that Abu Hurayrah and his mother be loved by the believers.
He asked for a better memory and received it after the Prophet's gesture with his garment.
Sayings and moments
He explained that the Quran's warning against concealing knowledge is why he narrated so much.
He relayed the Prophet's advice: three fasts a month, Duha, and witr before sleeping.
Timeline
- Pre-IslamBorn among the Daws tribe, away from Makkah.
- 7 AHCame to Madinah after accepting Islam and stayed with the Prophet, living as one of the poor Companions.
- Soon after arrivingAsked for help with forgetting; the Prophet told him to spread his garment and then wrap it around himself.
- Early Madinah yearsHis mother, who had refused Islam, accepted it after the Prophet's du'a for her.
- After 11 AHTaught and narrated in Madinah, and served at times in public posts, including Bahrain under Umar.
- c. 57-59 AHDied in Madinah and was buried in al-Baqi.
Related companions
Sources
- Sunnah.com hadith collections (text confirmed via hadith-api mirror)
- Wikipedia: Abu Hurairah (dates and biography)
Hadith links go to sunnah.com and Quran links to quran.com. Grades are those shown there.
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