Abu Hurairah
| Abū Hurayrah Arabic: أبو هريرة الدوسي الزهراني |
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Abū Hurayrah ad-Dawsī Alzahrani (Arabic: أبو هريرة الدوسي الزهراني; 603–681), often spelled Abu Hurairah, was a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the most prolific narrator of hadith. He was known by the kunyah Abu Hurairah ("Father of the Kitten"), but his real name is differed upon, the most popular opinion being that it was ‘Abd ar-Raḥmān ibn Ṣakhr (عبد الرحمن بن صخر). Abu Hurairah spent 2 years in the company of Muhammad and went on expeditions and journeys with him. It is estimated that he narrated around 5,374 ahadiths. This has driven people to criticize him due to most of his hadiths being Aahad (the sermon was only witnessed by one person, or one region).
Abu Hurairah was born in Banu Daws tribe from the region of Tihamah on the coast of the Red Sea. His father had died, leaving him with only his mother and no other relatives. His name at birth was Abd al-Shams ("Servant of the Sun").
Abu Hurairah embraced Islam through Tufayl ibn Amr the chieftain of his tribe. Tufayl had returned to his village after meeting Muhammad and become a Muslim in the early years of his mission. Abu Hurairah was one of the first to respond to his call, unlike the majority of Tufayl's tribesmen. Abu Hurairah accompanied Tufayl to Mecca to meet Muhammad who renamed him Abd al-Rahman (servant of the Merciful, one of the 99 Names of God). Abu Hurairah then returned to his tribe for many years.
He was present during the Expedition of Dhat al-Riqa. Some scholars claim, the expedition took place in Nejd (a large area of tableland in the Arabian Peninsula) in Rabi‘ Ath-Thani or Jumada Al-Ula, 4 A.H (or beginning of 5AH). They substantiate their claim by saying that it was strategically necessary to carry out this campaign in order to quell the rebellious bedouins in order to meet the exigencies of the agree d upon encounter with the poliuygytheists, i.e. minor Badr Battle in Sha‘ban, 4 A.H. Muhammed received the news that certain tribes of Banu Ghatafan were assembling at Dhat al-Riqa with suspicious purposes.
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