For this reason, ‘Abd Allāh ibn ‘Umar said:

“If Abū Hurayrah had told you that you would kill your caliph and do such and such, you would have said, ‘Abū Hurayrah has lied.’”

Disclosing such things is something kings and their supporters dislike, since it foretells changes in their rule. This is further clarified by the fact that Abū Hurayrah only embraced Islam in the year of Khaybar. He was therefore neither among the earliest Muslims nor among those who took the Pledge of Divine Pleasure. Other Companions knew more about the realities of religion than he did. The Prophet—Allah bless him and grant him peace—would relate a hadith to him and others, and they would all hear it. Yet Abū Hurayrah retained hadith better than any of them, owing to a blessing he received through the Prophet—Allah bless him and grant him peace—for:

“One day, the Prophet—Allah bless him and grant him peace—was speaking to them and said, ‘Which of you will spread out his garment, so that he will forget nothing he has heard?’ Abū Hurayrah did so.”

It has also been reported:

“He used to divide the night into three parts: a third for prayer, a third for sleep, and a third for studying hadith.”

No one has ever transmitted from Abū Hurayrah any hadith that accords with the Bātiniyyah (esotericists), or any hadith that contradicts the known, apparent teachings of religion. It is evident that, had he possessed anything of this kind, someone would inevitably have transmitted some of it from him. Rather, the reports transmitted from him through so many channels as to establish certainty all affirm the apparent teachings of religion. He narrated hadiths concerning Allah’s attributes, the descriptions of the Last Day, and the proper fulfilment of acts of worship that accord with the principles of the people of faith and contradict the claims of the people of falsehood.