The praise of Abu Hurairah radiya Llahu ‘anhu

Abu Hurairah radiya Llahu ‘anhu did not fall short of praising the Ahlul Bayt radiya Llahu ‘anhum. It has been narrated by al Tirmidhi and al Hakim that Abu Hurairah radiya Llahu ‘anhu has said regarding Jafar radiya Llahu ‘anhu:

ما احتذى النعال ولا ركب المطايا ولا ركب الكور بعد رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم أفضل من جعفر بن ابي طالب

No person has walked nor rode a steed or camel after the Rasul of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam better than Jafar ibn Abi Talib.^{^[1]}

By saying this Abu Hurairah radiya Llahu ‘anhu meant that which has been narrated in Sahih al Bukhari:

وكان خير الناس للمساكين جعفر بن ابي طالب

The best towards the poor was Jafar ibn Abi Talib.^{^[2]}

It is narrated in Musnad Abi Ya’la from Sa’id ibn Abi Sa’id al Maqburi:

كنا مع أبي هريرة إذ جاء الحسن بن علي رضي الله عنهما ، فسلم فرددنا عليه، ولم يعلم أبو هريرة، فمضى فقلنا: يا أبا هريرة هذا الحسن بن علي سلم علينا، قال: فتبعه فلحقه قال: وعليك السلام يا سيدي، قال: سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول:إنه سيد

We were with Abu Hurairah radiya Llahu ‘anhu when Hassan ibn ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhuma came to us. He greeted and we replied to the greeting. Abu Hurairah radiya Llahu ‘anhu did not realise it was him. So he carried on.

We told Abu Hurairah radiya Llahu ‘anhu, “The person who greeted us was Hassan ibn ‘Ali.”

Sa’id ibn Abi Sa’id al Maqburi says, “Abu Hurairah radiya Llahu ‘anhu followed him and met him. He replied to his greeting by saying, ‘May peace be upon you too, O my leader.’”

Abu Hurairah radiya Llahu ‘anhu says, “I heard the Rasul of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam saying, ‘Hassan is a leader.’” ^{^[3]}

Al Hakim narrates with a chain of narrators to Abu Hurairah radiya Llahu ‘anhu that he met Hassan ibn ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhuma and he said:

رأيت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قبل بطنك، فاكشف الموضع الذي قبل رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم حتى أقبله، قال: وكشف الحسن فقبله

I saw the Rasul of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam kissing your stomach, so please open the place where the Rasul of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam kissed so that I may kiss the same place. Hassan radiya Llahu ‘anhuma complied and Abu Hurairah radiya Llahu ‘anhu kissed the same place.^{^[4]}

It is narrated in Siyar A’lam al Nubala’ of al Dhahabi from Ibn Ishaq:

أن أبا هريرة رضي الله عنه يوم مات الحسن كان يبكي وينادي بأعلى صوته: يا أيها الناس مات اليوم حب رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فابكوا

Abu Hurairah radiya Llahu ‘anhu was crying on the day Hassan radiya Llahu ‘anhu passed away and was saying at the top of his voice. “O people, today the beloved of the Rasul of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam passed away so you too should cry.”^{^[5]}

It is narrated in Siyar A’lam al Nubala’ from Abi al Muhazzam:

كنا في جنازة، فأقبل أبو هريرة ينفض بثوبه التراب عن قدم الحسين رضي الله عنه

We were at a funeral, when Abu Hurairah radiya Llahu ‘anhu came and he was dusting the sand off the feet of Hussain radiya Llahu ‘anhu with his cloth.^{^[6]}

If we have to consider the difference in the age between them radiya Llahu ‘anhuma we will understand that Abu Hurairah radiya Llahu ‘anhu would not do that if he had not understood the great status of Hussain radiya Llahu ‘anhu and if it was not for the love and honour that he had for Hussain radiya Llahu ‘anhum.

NEXT⇒ The praise of Zaid ibn Thabit radiya Llahu ‘anhu

[1] Tirmidhi, #3764 ; al Mustadrak, #4934

[2]Sahih al Bukhari, #3798 Chapter regarding sweetmeats and honey

[3] Musnad Abi Ya’la, #6561 The researcher of the book, Hussain Salim Asad classified the chain of narrators as Sahih.

[4] Al Mustadrak, #4785; Musnad Ahmed, #9342’ Al Arna’ut classified it as Sahih; Tirmidhi, #3764 Al Albani said, “Sahih Mawqufan”

[5] Siyar A’lam al Nubala’, vol. 3 pg. 277

[6] Siyar A’lam al Nubala’, vol. 3 pg. 287

BACK⇒ Return to Table of contents