1 of 3 · 7 AH / 628 CE · Daws, then Madinah
Abu Hurayrah رضي الله عنه
His Mother and the Prophet's Prayer
Abu Hurayrah came from the Daws tribe of Yemen, and his given name is disputed; the most widely accepted is 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Sakhr. Reports say that the name by which he is known, "Father of the Kitten," came from a small cat he used to carry. He reached the Prophet ﷺ at Khaybar in 7 AH, after Islam had reached his tribe through al-Tufayl ibn 'Amr.
He used to call his mother to Islam, and she refused. One day she said something offensive about the Prophet ﷺ. Abu Hurayrah went to him in tears and asked him to pray for her. The Prophet ﷺ said, "O Allah, guide the mother of Abu Hurayrah."
He returned home and heard the sound of water and found the door closed. His mother told him to wait, dressed, and opened the door, saying, "I testify that there is no god but Allah, and that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger." Abu Hurayrah went back to the Prophet ﷺ weeping, this time for joy, and asked him to pray that Allah make him and his mother beloved to the believers. The Prophet ﷺ did (Sahih Muslim 2491).
A prayer of the Prophet ﷺ, and a son's patience and tears, can reach even the hardest-seeming heart.
Is there someone close to you whose guidance you only pray for, and have you asked Allah with tears?
- Sahih Muslim 2491 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Ibn Sa'd, al-Tabaqat al-KubraHistorical report
- Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, al-Isti'abHistorical report
- al-Dhahabi, Siyar A'lam al-Nubala'Historical report
What the hadith grades mean
- Sahih (authentic): an unbroken chain of trustworthy, precise narrators, free of hidden flaws or contradiction. It is acted upon.
- Hasan (good): like sahih, but a narrator's precision is slightly lighter. It is also accepted and acted upon. "Hasan sahih" means it reaches sahih by its routes.
- Da'if (weak): a break in the chain or a narrator who is not reliable enough. It is not used to establish beliefs or rulings.
- Very weak (munkar, matruk): a seriously flawed chain or a narrator accused of lying. It is not relied on at all.
- Mawdu' (fabricated): falsely attributed to the Prophet ﷺ. It may not be narrated as his words except to warn against it.
- The two Sahihs: every hadith with a full chain in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim is accepted as sahih by the scholars of hadith.
- Historical report: biographies and histories (Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Sa'd, al-Tabari) record events with chains that are often incomplete. They are used for the story, not for rulings.
- Hadith scholars grade a narration; the four madhhabs do not. Where a hadith carries a ruling, the page shows which schools act on it.
Create a free account to keep your place as you go. Create a free account · Sign in