—Hurayrah, ‘Why have they given you the kunyah (nickname) “Abu Hurayrah”?’

He answered, ‘Are you not afraid of me?’

I said, ‘Indeed, I do feel awe of you.’

He continued, ‘I used to herd sheep for my family, and I had a little kitten I would play with, so they called me after it.’ (1)

ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿUthman ibn Khuthaym narrated—from ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Lubaynah al-Taʾifi—that he described Abu Hurayrah to me, saying, ‘He was a brown-complexioned man, broad-shouldered, with a gap between his two front teeth, and he wore two braids.’ (2)

Qurrah ibn Khalid said: I asked Ibn Sirin, ‘Was Abu Hurayrah rough in appearance?’ He replied, ‘No, he was gentle. He was light-skinned, his beard was red, and he used to apply dye.’ (3)

Abu al-ʿAliyah reported from Abu Hurayrah: The Prophet ﷺ said to me, ‘Which people are you from?’ I replied, ‘From Daws.’ He said, ‘I never thought there was anyone in Daws who possessed goodness.’ (4)

Abu Hurayrah also said, ‘I was present at Khaybar.’ This is the version transmitted by Ibn al-Musayyib. (5)

And Qays ibn Abi Hazim narrated from him: ‘I arrived on the day of Khaybar after the fighting had already ended.’ (6)