Introduction

All praise belongs to Allah, such praise which befits the bounties He has showered upon us and suffices in drawing more of His mercy, in accordance with his Majesty and immense Might. No praise we utter will suffice for Him; He is as He praised Himself. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, Who is one and has no partner and Muhammad salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam is His servant and Messenger, the best of all those He has selected from his creation, May Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala shower his choicest mercies and blessings upon him, his progeny and all his Sahabah, as well as those who follow them in doing good until the Day of Qiyamah.

The enemies of the Sunnah and Islam in this era have made it a habit to criticise the esteemed Sahabi, Abu Hurairah radiya Llahu ‘anhu, and create doubts in the minds of people regarding his services and the authenticity of his narrations, following in the footsteps of their predecessors. They may portray themselves to intend acting upon the Qur’an or what has been authentically reported in hadith according to them, while they only regard that to be authentic which supports their whimsical notions. They are not the first to attack the Sunnah in this manner but, in fact, they have a line of predecessors from the deviants in this regard, but the revival of this legacy in this day and age is something new. Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala will make apparent the falsity of their plots and schemes. It is astonishing to find that even though what those in this era say may be exactly the same as what those of the past have said, there is a great difference between the two groups. Those of the past, even though deviant and the leaders of the heretics, possessed knowledge, proficiency, and familiarity of the sciences; whereas those in this era; you find nothing amongst them except ignorance, impudence, and forked tongues. They elevate what has been fabricated, making it seem reliable, and adopt various methods to achieve this:

1. Accusing the senior scholars—who transmitted the laws of din and Sunnah and those who memorised it—of being kafir, presuming that this was what the platform of learning of the Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam This belief has been expounded by the most relied upon narrations of the Shia.

‘Allamah al Shustari writes in his book, Ihqaq al Haqq:

Just as Musa ‘alayh al Salam came for the guidance of man and guided a large group of the Banu Isra’il and others, and they abandoned din during his lifetime such that none of them remained with faith except Harun ‘alayh al Salam, so too did Muhammad salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam come and guide a multitude of people; but after his demise they all abandoned their religion.

I say as the poet has said, may Allah reward him accordingly:

شتموا الصحابة دون ما برهان	لا تركن الى الروافض انهم
وودادهم فرض على الانسان	لعنوا كما بغضوا صحابة احمد
القى بها ربى اذا احيانى	حب الصحابة و القرابة سنة
حتى تكون كمن له قلبان	احذر عقاب الله و ارجه ثوابه

Do not be inclined towards the Rawafid,

Indeed, they have reviled the Sahabah without reason.

They curse and hate the Sahabah of Ahmed,

Whereas showing kindness towards them is compulsory on men.

Love for the Sahabah and his family is a Sunnah,

I hope to meet my Rabb upholding it when He resurrects me.

Fear the punishment of Allah and simultaneously hope for His reward,

to the extent that it seems as if u have two hearts.

This is what they intend, once they are done with Abu Hurairah radiya Llahu ‘anhu, they turn their attention to the other Sahabah of the Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, ultimately leading to complete rejection of the Sunnah of the Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam by the Ummah, which is their ultimate objective.

Thus, they have accused this senior scholar—who transmitted the laws of din and Sunnah and who memorised it—of being a kafir.

2. They claim that it is not permissible to act upon a hadith of the Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam unless it is reported on the authority of the Ahlul Bayt, and by Ahlul Bayt they refer to the Twelve Imams only.^[1]

The Shia scholar Kashif al Ghita writes in his book, Asl al Shia:

The Imamiyyah do not accept as the Sunnah except what has been authentically narrated to them on the authority of the Ahlul Bayt from their fore-fathers. In other words what Jafar al Sadiq ‘alayh al Salam narrated from his father—al Baqir ‘alayh al Salam, from his father—Zayn al ‘Abidin ‘alayh al Salam, from his father—Hussain ‘alayh al Salam, from his father—Amir al Mu’minin ‘alayh al Salam, from the Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. As for that which has been narrated by the likes of Abu Hurairah, Samurah ibn Jundub, Marwan ibn Hakam, ‘Imran ibn Hatan al Khariji, ‘Amr ibn al ‘As and others like them; they bear no weight to the Imamiyyah than a mosquito.[2]

This is the reason why one of the Shia scholars with the title of Ayatollah al Uzma, ‘Abdul Hussain Sharf al Din al Musawi—whose heart was filled with dark hatred—has written a book solely dedicated to disparaging Sayyidina Abu Hurairah radiya Llahu ‘anhu.^[3] In this book he has opted to rely upon fabrications, forgeries, and speculative evidence to cast doubt upon the narrations of this esteemed companion. This spawned two more works: Abu Hurairah Sheikh al Mudirah, written by Muhammad Abu Rayyah, who followed in the footsteps of ‘Abdul Hussain. However, he surpassed his mentor in falsehood. It was not long before this book was published a second time, on account of the rapid sale of the first edition, due to the Shia and Jews scrambling to purchase a copy.

As for the second book, it is written by a person named Muhammad al Samawi al Tijani, a primary figure of the Bathiniyyah and Sufiyyah. If the readers were to know all that they have written against the Ummah, he would lose hope in all that has been revealed regarding the success of the Ummah of the Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, on account of the poison that these wicked scholars have penned. These are the propagators of division, who split the ranks of the Muslim Ummah and drove a wedge through their unity, creating various sects and factions.

This is why I saw it incumbent to reply to the doubts that they have raised and the falsehood that they have transmitted, and while doing so discuss those points that are agreed upon by all, lighting the path of truth with proof and evidence; relying solely upon Allah and seeking His assistance and aid.

In short, as I have already mentioned, their ultimate purpose is not to merely criticise the narrations of Abu Hurairah radiya Llahu ‘anhu but it is the first step in attempting to bring down the fortress of Islam. The reason being that when these unfortunate individuals intended to refute this pure Shari’ah and oppose it, they set out to criticise those who imparted it, without whom there is no path to acquiring the knowledge of Shari’ah. They secretly work amongst the poor and downtrodden with this accursed and satanic method of propagation.

They curse and swear the best of creation and conceal a deep hatred for Shari’ah, whereas there is no sin or misdeed of man that is worse, evil, or more heinous than this form of treachery. They do not suffice with Abu Hurairah radiya Llahu ‘anhu alone but attack all of the Sahabah with the exception of a select few amongst them.

We will later discuss the standpoint of these people and their hatred and vices, such that they have went to the level of ruling all the Sahabah to be kafir. At the top of their list is Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, and ‘Uthman radiya Llahu ‘anhum. Amongst the rights which the Ummah owes to Abu Hurairah radiya Llahu ‘anhu is to counter all those who speak against him and refute the fabrications and slander upon his person, because in defending him is the defence of the Sunnah of the Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and protecting it from the criticisms of the deviants.

I hope that in these pages that I have written in refutation of the allegations against this esteemed Sahabi radiya Llahu ‘anhu, one will find all that is necessary to clear the falsehood penned by the enemies of Abu Hurairah radiya Llahu ‘anhu, and reveal their falsity and deception.

لِّیَهْلِكَ مَنْ هَلَكَ عَنْۢ بَیِّنَةٍ وَّیَحْیٰی مَنْ حَیَّ عَنْۢ بَیِّنَةٍ

So that he who was to be destroyed may be destroyed after a clear proof and so that he who was to live may live after a clear proof.^[4]

It should be noted that these deviants and absconders have not raised anything new but have merely repeated the allegation again and added to it from whatever their hearts desired.

It was with this in mind that I lifted my pen to write this book, to guide one towards Allah, His Rasul and His din, whether they be scholars or from the general masses. Thus, I have divided this book into two chapters:

Chapter one: This comprises of two sections:

Section one: The life of Abu Hurairah radiya Llahu ‘anhu in general.

Section two: The scholastic achievements and knowledge of Abu Hurairah radiya Llahu ‘anhu, indicating the manner in which he memorised hadith and propagated the Sunnah. It highlights his lofty level of knowledge and discusses the praises that the Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, the Sahabah, and Tabi’in awarded him.

Chapter two: This comprises of three sections:

Section one: Analysing the allegations made by ‘Abdul Hussain Sharf al Din al Musawi against Abu Hurairah radiya Llahu ‘anhu and the doubts he cast upon his narrations; scrutinising it and explaining the truth in this regard.

Section two: Analysing the allegations made by Abu Rayyah against Abu Hurairah radiya Llahu ‘anhu.

Section three: Analysing the doubts cast by al Tijani upon the blessed Sunnah of the Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.

I ask Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala’s assistance and that He guide us to that which He loves and earns His pleasure. I express my gratitude to all those who have assisted me in compiling and extracting references for this book. In conclusion, all praise belongs to Allah, Rabb of the entire universe, peace and salutations upon Muhammad salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, the Seal of the Prophets, his progeny and Sahabah, as well as those who follow them in doing virtuous deeds until the Day of Qiyamah.

‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abdul ‘Aziz ibn ‘Ali al Nasir

NEXT⇒ Chapter One

^[1] This in itself is baseless because the Qur’an has many proofs which indicate that the Ahlul Bayt refers to the blessed wives of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. The word Ahlul Bayt appears twice in the Qur’an: Surah Hud and Surah al Ahzab. It has been reported once unspecific (without “Alif Lam” on it) to indicate praise. It has appeared many times with the word “Ahl”. The instance we refer to first is the verse mentioned in the story of Nabi Ibrahim ‘alayh al Salam when Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala sent an angel to give him glad tidings:

قَالُوْٓا اَتَعْجَبِیْنَ مِنْ اَمْرِ اللهِ رَحْمَتُ اللهِ وَبَرَکٰتُه عَلَیْكُمْ اَهْلَ الْبَیْتِ اِنَّه حَمِیْدٌ مَّجِیْدٌ

They (the angels) said (to the wife of Ibrahim ‘alayh al Salam): “Are you surprised at the command of Allah? May Allah’s mercy and blessings be on you, O Ahlul Bayt. Verily He is Worthy of all praise, The Exalted.” (Surah Hud: 73)

In this verse the masculine pronoun “Kum” was used because of it referring to the noun “Ahl” (which is masculine in its form) even though the one being addressed in this verse is Sarah radiya Llahu ‘anha, the wife of Nabi Ibrahim ‘alayh al Salam. This is clear proof that the wife of a man is part of his Ahlul Bayt (household). There are many proofs to support this, all of which establish that the wives of a man are part of his Ahlul Bayt and not the opposite, as the Shia assert, who exclude the wives from being part of his Ahlul Bayt. In fact, the Shia, in order to prove their claim have even asserted that the Qur’an has been tampered with, as is the opinion of the majority of their scholars. Their most esteemed Shia scholar-Baqir al Majlisi states:

Perhaps the verse of purification was placed where they deemed fit or inserted in the discussion of the wives (of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) for worldly purposes. It is evident from the narrations that it has no relation to their story; thus, to rely upon the wording and sequence (it was placed in) is clearly baseless. If we were to accept that it is in its correct place then we will say: numerous narrations have been presented proving that a great portion of the Qur’an has been removed, so it is possible that the verses before it and after it were also removed.

Refer to Bihar al Anwar, 35/234; Mahjat al ‘Ulamaʼ, pg. 163; Fasl al Khitab, pg. 320; al Hadaʼiq al Nadirah, 2/290. ‘Allamah Tabatabaʼi has said in Tafsir al Mizan, 16/312:

The verse, according to the manner it was revealed, does not form part of the verses referring to the wives of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam nor is it attached to it. However, it was placed there, either on the instruction of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam or when the Qur’an was compiled after the demise of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.

[2] Asl al Shia, pg. 79.

^[3] This very same author did not wait long before penning a work opposing and demeaning the first three Khulafaʼ. The book is entitled: Al Nas wa al Ijtihad.

^[4] Surah al Anfal: 42

BACK⇒ Return to Table of contents

Introduction

All praise belongs to Allah, such praise which befits the bounties He has showered upon us and suffices in drawing more of His mercy, in accordance with his Majesty and immense Might. No praise we utter will suffice for Him; He is as He praised Himself. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, Who is one and has no partner and Muhammad salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam is His servant and Messenger, the best of all those He has selected from his creation, May Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala shower his choicest mercies and blessings upon him, his progeny and all his Sahabah, as well as those who follow them in doing good until the Day of Qiyamah.

The enemies of the Sunnah and Islam in this era have made it a habit to criticise the esteemed Sahabi, Abu Hurairah radiya Llahu ‘anhu, and create doubts in the minds of people regarding his services and the authenticity of his narrations, following in the footsteps of their predecessors. They may portray themselves to intend acting upon the Qur’an or what has been authentically reported in hadith according to them, while they only regard that to be authentic which supports their whimsical notions. They are not the first to attack the Sunnah in this manner but, in fact, they have a line of predecessors from the deviants in this regard, but the revival of this legacy in this day and age is something new. Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala will make apparent the falsity of their plots and schemes. It is astonishing to find that even though what those in this era say may be exactly the same as what those of the past have said, there is a great difference between the two groups. Those of the past, even though deviant and the leaders of the heretics, possessed knowledge, proficiency, and familiarity of the sciences; whereas those in this era; you find nothing amongst them except ignorance, impudence, and forked tongues. They elevate what has been fabricated, making it seem reliable, and adopt various methods to achieve this:

1. Accusing the senior scholars—who transmitted the laws of din and Sunnah and those who memorised it—of being kafir, presuming that this was what the platform of learning of the Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam This belief has been expounded by the most relied upon narrations of the Shia.

‘Allamah al Shustari writes in his book, Ihqaq al Haqq:

Just as Musa ‘alayh al Salam came for the guidance of man and guided a large group of the Banu Isra’il and others, and they abandoned din during his lifetime such that none of them remained with faith except Harun ‘alayh al Salam, so too did Muhammad salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam come and guide a multitude of people; but after his demise they all abandoned their religion.

I say as the poet has said, may Allah reward him accordingly:

شتموا الصحابة دون ما برهان	لا تركن الى الروافض انهم
وودادهم فرض على الانسان	لعنوا كما بغضوا صحابة احمد
القى بها ربى اذا احيانى	حب الصحابة و القرابة سنة
حتى تكون كمن له قلبان	احذر عقاب الله و ارجه ثوابه