3 of 3 · Madinah years · c. 628–632 CE · Madinah
Abu Hurayrah رضي الله عنه
The Cloak and the Memory
While others in Madinah worked in the markets or tended their land, Abu Hurayrah stayed beside the Prophet ﷺ, satisfied with whatever filled his stomach. He explained later that this was why he heard what others missed (Sahih al-Bukhari 118). Once he asked the Prophet ﷺ who would be the most fortunate with his intercession on the Day of Resurrection, and the Prophet ﷺ said that he had thought no one would ask him before Abu Hurayrah, seeing his eagerness for hadith (Sahih al-Bukhari 99).
He told the Prophet ﷺ that he heard much from him but forgot it. The Prophet ﷺ said, "Spread out your cloak." Abu Hurayrah did, and the Prophet ﷺ scooped something with his hands and poured it into the cloak, then said, "Hold it to your chest." He did. "After that," said Abu Hurayrah, "I never forgot anything" (Sahih al-Bukhari 119).
He also said that were it not for two verses in the Qur'an, he would not have narrated a single hadith: the verses warning those who conceal the clear signs and guidance Allah has revealed (2:159–160).
Presence, eagerness and a sincere request for help in learning are a way to knowledge; and knowledge, once received, is a trust to pass on.
What do you need to sit near, and give your attention to, in order to remember it?
- Sahih al-Bukhari 118 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Sahih al-Bukhari 119 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Sahih al-Bukhari 99 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
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.
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