Abu Huraira: The Beloved Narrator

" 'An Abi Huraira radiyallahu anhu qal, qala Rasul Allahi, sallallahu
alayhi wa sallam...."
(On the authority of Abu Huraira, may Allah be pleased with him, he
said: Allah's Messenger (s.a.w) said...)
Through this phrase millions of Muslims from early history of Islam to
the present have come tobe familiar with the name Abu Huraira, who you
expect to find his name in most Hadith, Sirah or Fiqh books.
Abu Huraira (r.a.a) enjoyed a great talent, he was gifted with an
extraordinary long term memory to the extent that he would hear a
discussion or a speech and be able to reproducethe identical
discussion or speech years later without changing or deleting one
single word from it.
This great gift that Abu-Huraira enjoyed could have been the worst
thing that could have happened to him assome people used his well
known and authentic name to make up false Ahadith about our beloved
Prophet, andlink these false Ahadith to Abu Huraira (r.a.a). However,
through hard and sincere efforts put in by some of the pious scholars
who sacrificed their lives to preserve and save our beloved Prophet's
Ahadith (sayings) and save them from any harm by the enemies of Islam
who tried to mislead Muslims by adding to them thing that were never
said by the Prophet of Allah (s.w.t), Abu Huraira's reputation was
saved from their wrong doing until our present day.
Abu Huraira became a Muslim at the hands of At-Tufayl Ibn Amr who was
the chief of the tribe to which he belonged. When he submitted to the
truthfulness of this religion, he accompaniedAt-Tufayl to Makkah and
had the privilege of meeting the noble Prophet (s.a.w.). The Prophet
(s.a.w) asked Abu Huraira what his name was, "Abdu-Shams"(the servant
of the sun), Abu Huraira replied. So he was introduced by theholy
Prophet (s.a.w) to change his name to"Abdur-Rahman" (the servant of
the Beneficent). However, he continued to be known among people as
"Abu Hurrah" (the kitten's father) because of his love for a cat he
looked after and fed, and which used to stick to him wherever he went.
Abu Huraira lived with his mother who was still a Mushrik. He prayed
for her and tried hard to convince her to join Islam, but she
adamantly refused. One day when he was telling her about Islam she
uttered some words about the Prophet which saddened Abu Huraira
greatly. He went to the Prophet (s.a.w), hiseyes full of tears and
told him about what had happened between him and his mother. He also
asked the Prophet to make supplication to Allah (s.w.t) for her to
make her heart respond to Islam. The Prophet responded to Abu
Huraira's request and prayed for his mother. When Abu Huraira returned
home he was delighted to hear his mother, who had just taken a shower,
testifying that there is nogod but Allah and that Muhammad is His
Servantand His Messenger. So he rushed back to the Prophet with his
eyes glowing with joy, and informed him that Allah had answered his
prayers, and guided his mother to Islam. He then said: "O Allah's
Messenger,Ask Allah to make me andmy mother lovable to the believing
men and women" . So he (s.a.w.) said: "O Allah, make this servant of
yours and his mother lovable to every believing man and woman" .
With his great gift and talent, Abu Huraira realised that he was able
to serve this religion a great deal. He realised that, because many of
the early companions who had the most knowledge died in the battles in
Allah's cause, this religion needed people to preserve it, as in these
days the companions used to write only the Qur'an fearing it might get
mixed with the Hadith of the Messenger, if the latter was to be
documented too. Even among those who had a great deal of
knowledge,many of them were occupied by their trades and didn't have
as much free time as Abu Huraira to spend with the Prophet (s.a.w).
Also the fact that he had an extraordinary long term memory meant that
he could hear the Prophet's teachings and be able to ask a writer to
write them later knowing that he will not forget any of them.
Therefore, during the four years Abu Huraira stayed with the Prophet
(s.a.w) in Madinah, he set himself to accompany the holy Prophet to
gain knowledge and memorise his sayings andteachings in order to
preserve the word of Allah (s.w.t) and the teachings of his beloved
Prophet (s.a.w). The Prophet (s.a.w.) himself directed Abu Huraira to
an effective way to memorise his Hadiths, Abu Hurrah said: Allah's
Prophet one day said to us: "whoever spreads his dress until I finish
my talk, and then takes hold of it, will not forget anything from what
he heard from me" .
The fact that Abu Huraira set himself to preserve the teachings of the
noble Prophet, meant that he was always close to the Prophet (s.a.w)
in his stay in Madinah, as hehad free time at his disposal, unlike the
Muhajirin he did not work in trade and unlike the Ansar he did not
havea land to look after. This enabled Abu Huraira to stay with the
noble Prophet at Madinah and to go with him on journeys and
expeditions.
He loved the Prophet a great deal, he was never tired of looking at
the Prophet nor was he tired of listening to him. Often he would
praise Allah for his good fortune and say "Praise be to Allah who has
guided Abu Huraira to Islam, Praise be to Allah who taught Abu Huraira
the Qur'an, Praisebe to Allah who has bestowed on Abu Hurairathe
companionship of Muhammad (s.a.w)" .
Abu Huraira underwent much hardship and difficulties as a result of
devoting his life to knowledge and companionship of the holy Prophet
(s.a.w): "Oneday, my hunger became so severe that I placed a stone on
my stomach. I then sat down in the path of the companions. Abu Bakr
passed by and I asked him about an Ayah of the book of God. I
onlyasked him so that he would invite me but he didn't".
Despite the fact that Abu Huraira set himself to preserving the word
of Allah and the teachings of his Prophet, he by no means neglected
his other duties as much of his time was spend in prayers and devotion
to God. He often rotated staying up at night with his wife and his
daughter, as he would stay up for a third of the night, his wife for
another third and his daughter for a third, this way in the house of
Abu Huraira no hour of the night would pass withoutIbadah and Salat.
Abu Huraira's presence was also felt in the battlefield when needed to
protect and establish the religionof Islam by the sword, as he lived
all his life, since becoming a Muslim, as a soldier of Islam not
missing a single battle with the holy Prophet (s.a.w).
After the death of the holy Prophet (s.a.w), Abu Huraira continued his
duties in conveying the teachings of the Prophet (s.a.w). He went on
preaching a great number of Ahadith, which made some of his friends
curious of the large amount of Ahadith that he memorised in such a
short time. Although the fact that he was able to memorise so many
Ahadith was justified by the fact that he was dedicated to staying
with the Prophet and due to the extraordinary ability to memorise
speeches from the first time.
During the caliphate of Umar (r.a.a), Umar appointed him as a governor
of Bahrain where he became quiet rich. Umar, being very scrupulous
about the type of persons he appointed as governors, he was concerned
that his governors should live simply and frugally and not acquire
much wealth even through lawful means. When Umar (r.a.a)heard about
Abu Huraira's wealth he recalled him to Madinah, thinking that Abu
Hurairahad acquired his wealth through unlawful means.
When Abu Huraira arrived in Madinah, Umarquestioned him about the way
he acquired sucha fortune. Abu Huraira replied "from breeding horses
and gifts that I received" . Umar then ordered him to hand his fortune
over to the treasury of the Muslims. Abu Huraira did as he was ordered
and raised his hands to the heavens and prayed "O Lord, forgive Amir
ul-Muminin" . After a while Umar called upon Abu Huraira and offered
him to regain his position as thegovernor of Bahrain but Abu Huraira
refused the offer. When he was asked by Umar why he refused his offer
he replied "So that my honorwould not be besmirched, and my wealth
would not be taken and my back would not be beaten" . He then added "I
also fearto judge without knowledge and speak without wisdom".
Abu Huraira continued tolive a righteous life, devoting himself to
servethe religion of Islam and being kind to his mother as well as
encouraging others to be kind to their parents. One day when Abu
Huraira's health was deteriorating quickly andhis friends were praying
for him to recover, he looked to the heavens and said "O Allah I love
meeting you and ask you to love meeting me" . He then died in the year
59 after Hijra when he was seventy eight years old.
He died after having accomplished his duty and his desire to preserve
and transmit the teachings of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w), leaving
Muslims a great debt of gratitude for helping to preserve the
teachings ofthe noble Prophet (s.a.w)and setting them a perfect
example and platform to follow in preaching and conveyingto the
humanity what he and others had worked relentlessly, facing all sorts
of hardships, in order to preserve. We askAllah (s.w.t) to reward Abu
Huraira and grant him the companionship of the holy Prophet in
thehereafter just as he was granted his companionship in this world.

The Attributes of the Believers as Defined in Surah Al-Mu'minun

One of the pure miracles of the Prophet (s.a.w.) that the Most
Merciful Allah has bestowed uponhim, was aiding him with an elite
community of believers who fully understood the meaningof Iman. The
nature of that early Qur'anic generation of believers was governed by
their righteous deeds and virtuous attributes. Today, the Muslim
societies are starving forsuch qualities and attributes that will
uplift their faith and strengthen their consciousness with the Exalted
Creator. The success of the entire Muslim nation in this life and the
next, is only possible when they truly comprehend the meaning of Iman,
and hence, reflect the noble attributes of the believers.
"Successful indeed are the believers
Those who offer their Salat (prayers)
with all solemnity and full submissiveness
And those who turn away from Al-Laghw
(dirty, evil vain talk, falsehood, and all that Allah has forbidden)
And those who pay their Zakat"
These exalted verses are from Surah Al-Mu' minun which takes its name
from the first verse. The name of the Surah reflects its theme and
defines its subject, in thatit begins with the attributes of the
believers and digresses into the signs of Iman in theoneself and in
the universe.
The tone of the Surah is that of declaration and calm argument, of
sentimental logic and of feelings that inspire the thought and the
consciousness. The mood which dominates the Surah is that which its
subject presents, Al-Iman (the Faith). Its opening verse pictures the
seen ofsolemnity and full submissiveness in Salat , " Those who offer
their Salat (prayers) with all solemnity and full submissiveness" ,
followed by the splendid description of the believers and the
attributes they possess.
The fact that th e people who have accepted the Message of the Prophet
(s.a.w.) have started acquiring noble qualities of character, is a
practicalproof of the truth of the message. According to a tradition
related by 'Urwan bin Zubair, ' Umar(r.a.a.) who had embraced Islam by
that time, said: " This Surah was revealed in my presence and I myself
observed the state of the Prophet (s.a.w.) during its revelation. When
the revelation ended, the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.) remarked: 'on this
occasion, ten such verses have been sent d own to me, that the one who
measures up to them, willmost surely go to paradise'. Then he recited
the initial verses of the Surah" [Ahmad, Tirmithy, Nassa'ey, Hakem].
"Successful indeed are the believers". This is the true promise and
the declaration of success to the believers. "It is a Promise of
Allah, and Allah fails not in His Promise" [30:6]. The"Believers" ,
who have attained true success, both individuals and the Jama'ah, are
those who have accepted the Message of Muhammad (s.a.w.), and have
acknowledged him as their guide, and followedthe way of life taught by
him.
This assertion cannot be fully appreciated unless one keeps in view
the background on which it was made. On the one hand, there were the
well to do and prosperous chiefs of Makkah, the opponents of Islam,
whose businesses were thriving and who were enjoyi ng every good thing
of life, and on the other hand there were the followers of Islam, a
majority of whom were either poor from the beginning or had been
reduced to poverty by ruthless antagonism to Islam. Therefore, the
assertion, "Successful indeed are the believers" with whichthe
discourse begins, wasmeant to tell the disbelievers in every age that
the criterion of success and failure that they had in mind was
notcorrect. It was based on misconceptions besides being transitory
and limited in nature, it led toreal failure and imaginary success. On
thecontrary, the followers ofMuhammad (s.a.w.) whom they regarded as
failures were truly successful, because by accepting the invitatio n
to the Right Guidance given by the Prophet (s.a.w.), they had struck
abargain which would lead them to true success and everlasting bliss
in this world, as well as in the Hereafter. Whereas by rejecting the
Message,the opponents had incurred loss and would meet with the evil
consequences both in this world and in the next. This is the main
theme of the Surah and the whole discourse, from beginning to end,
ismeant to impress the same.
The noble characteristics of the believers pointed out in the next fe
w verses are the arguments to prove the above assertion. It is these
characteristics that depicts the Muslim character of the highest
eminence, that of Muhammad (s.a.w.) the best of Allah's creation, whom
Allah described in His Noble Qur'an, "And verily, you [O
Muhammad(s.a.w.)] are on an exalted standard of character" . When
'Ai'sha (r.a.a.) was asked about the character of the Prophet
(s.a.w.), she replied: "His character was the Qur'an", then
sherecited: "Successful indeed are the believers" till "And t hose who
strictly guard their (five compulsory congregational) Salawat (at
their fixed stated hours)". Then she said:"That is how The
Prophet(s.a.w.) was" [Nasa'ey].
"Those who offer their Salat (prayers) with all solemnity and full
submissiveness". Khashi'un in the Text is from Khushu'' (to bow down,
to express humility) which is a condition of the heart and the body.
Khushu' of the heart is to fear and stand in awe to Allah, and Khushu'
of the body is to bow one's head and lower one's gaze and voice in
Allah's Company. In Salat , one is required to show Khushu' both of
the heart and of the body, and this is the essence of the prayer. When
the Prophet (s.a.w.) once saw a person offering his prayer as well as
playing with his beard, he remarked: "Had he Khushu' in his heart, his
body would have manifested it". Though Khushu' is actually a condition
of the heart, asstated by the above tradition, it is manifestedby the
body as a matter of course. One should neither turn to the right or
left, shift about or incline side ways, but must fix the gaze on the
place where the forehead would rest in prostration. Similarly, it
isdisrespectful that one should stand stiffly erect, recite the verses
of the Qur'an in a loud resounding voice, or singthem, or belch and
yawn repeatedly and nosily. It is also not approved that one should
offer the Prayer in a hurry. The injunction is that each article of
the prayer should be performed in perfect peace and tranquillity, and
unless one article has been completely performed , the next should not
be begun.
Along with this etiquette of the body, it is also important that one
should avoid thinking irrelevant things during the Prayer by purifying
the thought and keeping the mind in full harmony and tune with the
tongue. One should also try the utmost to ensure that the mind and
heart are wholly turned towards Allah in order to sense His Grace and
to worship Him solely.
" And those who turn away from Al-Laghw (dirty, false, evil vain
talk,falsehood, and all that Allah has forbidden)". Literally, Laghw
is anything nonsensical, meaningless and vain, which is no way
conductive of achieving one' s goal and purpose in life. The believers
pay no heed to such useless things and show no inclination or interest
in them. If by chance they see such things being i ndulged in, they
keep away and avoid them scrupulously, and treat them with utmost
indifference. This attitude has been described in Al-Furqan [25:72]: "
.. if they pass by some evil play or evil talk,they pass by it with
dignity".
This is indeed one of the outstanding characteristics of the believer.
There are many thoughts that distract thebeliever from evil vain talk.
His attention is diverted towards the remembrance of Allah and the
contemplation ofHis signs in the universe. He is also occupied with
obligations in Aqeedah such as purification of the soul, holding
steadfast to Iman , enjoining what is good and forbidding what is
wrong, protecting the community from corruption, and the obligation of
exercising Jihad for the sake of Alla h. Hence, He is a person who
feels the burden of responsibility at all times,he regards the world
as aplace of test, and the life is a limited time allowed for the
test. This feeling makes him/her behave seriously and responsibly
throughout life and spends each moment of his/her life on works which
are useful and productive in his ultimateresults. So much so that even
in matters of recreation and sport, he makes a choice of only those
things which prepare him for higher ends in life and do not result in
mere wastage oftime. For him time is not something to be killed but
used profitably and productively.
Besides this, the believer is a person who possesses a right thinking
mind, pure nature and fine taste. He has no inclination to indecent
things and can talk useful and healthy things but cannot indulge in
idle talk. On the authority of Abu Huraira (r.a.a.), the Prophet
(s.a.w.) said: "Lethim who believes in Allahand the Last Day either
speak good or keep silent" [Bukhari and Muslim]. The believer has a
fine taste of humour, but is not given to jesting, joking and
ridicule, nor can he endure dirty jokes. For him a society in which
the ears are never immune from abusive language, back-biting, slander
lying, dirty songs,fortune tellers and indecent talk is a source of
torture and agony. A characteristic of the promised Paradise is:
"NoLaghw (dirty, false, evil vain talk) will they hear therein, nor
any sinful speech (like backbiting, etc.)" [56:25].
"And those who pay theirZakat". the word Zakat literally means
purification and development without obstruction. As an Islamic term,
it implies both the portion of wealth taken out for the purpose of
purifying the rest of wealth and the act of purification itself. The
words of the original Text mean that the believer constantly practices
purification. Thus the meaning is not confined to paying off of Zakat
dues only, but it is extended to self- purification which include
purification of morals as well as wealth, property and life in
general. This purification is thus, not limited to one's own self, but
includes the purification of the lives of other people as well. So the
verse means: "The believers are the people who purify themselves
aswell as others". This fact has been stated at other places in the
Qur'an, for instance, "Successful is hewho practiced purification and
remembered his Lord and prayed" [87:14-15]. But this verse is more
comprehensive in meaning because it stresses the purification of both
society and one's own person. This was also confirmed by the Prophet
(s.a.w.) when he said: " To smile in the company of your brother is a
charity. To command to do good deeds and to prevent others from doing
evil is charity. To guide a person in a place were he can go astray is
a charity. To remove troublesome things like thorns and bones from the
road is a charity. To pour water from your jugof your brother is a
charity. To guide a person with defective vision is charity for you"
[Bukhari].

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And Allah Knows the Best!

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Published by :->
M NajimudeeN Bsc- INDIA

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stories »An unposted letter

You are not mine…
The minutes spent with you… and then you were gone, you disappeared,
you steamed away. Only the thought of the touch of your lips brings me
back to life, your hands call me, your eyes are filled with passion.
And I get so tiny and tender.
I have never felt this way.A man like you has never been a part of my
life, probably because I've never been ready for that.
I feel you with my mind, with every single cell of my body. I can
touch you with my thought. I perceive myself through you when you
gently touch me with your body, when my hands are filled with you and
you penetrate inside of me. We used to form a bright star together, a
star which would burst into milliard pieces, each carrying the
pleasure of our moments.
You are the one and only.
I wake up smiling because your name is gently coming out of my lips.
Sometimes it seems to methat if I open my eyes youwill appear next to
me. I know it's just an illusion and I keep my eyes closed, saving the
memories of these morning visions…I dreamonly of one thing – to wake
up again lying nextto you, to feel you even without touching you and
to admire your body,still unawakened but so beautiful under the rays
of the morning sun. And to seduce you with almost elusive movements,
while takingpleasure in the sensation of your closeness…
You are still sleeping, I'll restrain my hands to saveyour morning
dream. Thelight smile appearing on your face, your eyes still closed,
fills me with delight and I start anticipating how gently you will
look at me.
I want to meet the morning with you. You open your eyes hesitantly.
You are still not aware that I'm here, beside you, waiting for your
embrace. In that wonderful morning, in your joyful astonished eyes
appeared what I came for. For the sake of it I would go through fire,
and rain, and fog……I'm no longer there, I've melted in your eyes lit
upwith happiness.
I waited for you so long….. I waited. I tore my soul, cried while
singing, covered the sky with poems. But only now I realized that
Winter can turn into Summer, that the sun canshine at night, and Stars
can appear in the daytime. And you are no longer mine.
Once more I'll look for you, once more I'll fall asleep and wake up
with your name on my lips, I'll burn sleepless, I'll quenchmy thirst
in the memoriesof our meetings. But no more, not for anything inthe
world will I give anyone that tender-sweet pain of parting, forthis is
my life, my sorrow,my love…

stories »I hate you because I love you, and it hurts of this…!

I hate you so much!
I hate you, because you make me fall asleep in tears every night… and
with each tear I hate you more, because it hurts me more. I hate you,
because you frozen the blood in my veins…and you made the smile vanish
of my face.
I hate you, because any object is reminding of you … and you left my
soul rambling naked. I hate you so much, that your name leaves me
breathless, but when I hear it the hope for tomorrow is taken away. I
hate your shadow – your silhouette is e reflection of everything I
watch with contempt.
I hate you because I fell in love with you! I hate you because I can't
stand without you. I hate you because you steal my heart and you make
it incapable of loving somebody else. I hate you because you are so
far away from me… and the memory is burning me out.
I hate you because my life is senseless without you! I hate you
because everything beautiful is related with you and… with love. I
hate you because
I love you and it hurts of this…!