He—may Allah Most High have mercy on him—was asked:

A man was debating with another about “the case of an animal whose milk has been allowed to accumulate in its udder” and whether the buyer may return it if he wishes. The man who maintained that returning it was permissible cited the hadith of Abū Hurayrah recorded by both al-Bukhārī and Muslim. His opponent objected, saying:

“Abū Hurayrah was not one of the jurists among the Companions. ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb rebuked him for narrating so many reports, forbade him to narrate hadith, and said: ‘If you resume narrating, I shall do such-and-such to you.’ Ibn ʿAbbās and ʿĀ’ishah likewise objected to certain things he reported.”

Is what this opponent said correct or not? What is required of someone who speaks about Abū Hurayrah in this manner?

He answered:

Praise be to Allah. This objector is mistaken in several respects.

First, he claims that Abū Hurayrah was not one of the jurists among the Companions. Yet ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb appointed Abū Hurayrah governor of Bahrain, whose people were among the finest Muslims. Their delegation had migrated to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace: the delegation of “ʿAbd al-Qays.” Abū Hurayrah, their governor, was the one who gave them legal rulings on intricate questions of jurisprudence, such as “the question of