Abu Hurayrah replied, “Nothing ever distracted me from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ—neither planting date-saplings nor bargaining in the markets. All I wanted from the Messenger of Allah was a word he might teach me or a morsel he might feed me.”

Ibn ʿUmar then said, “You kept the closest company with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and are the most knowledgeable among us of his hadith.” Its transmitters are reliable. (1)

Ibn Abī al-Zinād narrated from his father, from Muhammad ibn ʿUmārah ibn ʿAmr ibn Ḥazm: He once sat in a gathering where Abu Hurayrah was present together with a group of the Prophet’s Companions—about a dozen men. Abu Hurayrah began relating hadith from the Prophet ﷺ; some of them did not recognize the report, so they conferred among themselves until some did recognize it. He would then narrate another hadith, and again some failed to recognize it at first, then came to acknowledge it, and he continued like that several times. The narrator said, “That day I realized that he was the person who had memorized the most reports from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.” Al-Bukhari recorded it in his History. (2)

Hammām ibn Yahyā reported: Ishāq ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Ṭalḥah narrated to us: ʿUmar once asked Abu Hurayrah, “How did you find the governorship?” He replied, “You appointed me when I was reluctant, and you dismissed me when I had—”