Aat-Tufayl ibn Amr the chieftain of the Daws tribe helped Abu Hurayrah tp became a Muslim . The Daws tribe, which Abu Hurayrah belongs to, lived in the region of Tihamah which stretches along the coast of the Red Sea in southern Arabia. When at-Tufayl returned to his village after meeting the Prophet (PBUH) and becoming a Muslim in the early years of his mission, Abu Hurayrah was one of the first to respond to his call and embrace Islam. He was unlike the majority of the Daws people who remained stubborn with their old beliefs for a long time.
When at-Tufayl visited Mekkah again, Abu Hurayrah accompanied him. There he had the honored to meet the noble Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).
The prophet asked him:
“What is your name?”
“Abdu Shams - Servant of a Sun,” replied Abu Hurayrah.
“Instead, let it be Abdur-Rahman - the Servant of the Beneficent Lord,” said the Prophet (PBUH).
However, he continued to be known as Abu Hurayrah, “the kitten man”, literally “the father of a kitten” for he was fond of cats and since his childhood often had a cat to play with.
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On reaching Madinah, Abu Hurayrah decided on attaining knowledge. Zayd ibn Thabit the notable companion of the Prophet (PBUH) narrated :
"While Abu Hurayrah and I and another friend of mine were in the mosque praying to Allah Almighty and performing dhikr (mentioning Allah’s names) to Him, the Messenger of Allah appeared. He came towards us and sat among us. We became silent and he said: “Carry on with what you were doing.”
"So my friend and I made a supplication to Allah before Abu Hurayrah did and the Prophet (PBUH) began to say Ameen to our supplication.
"Then Abu Hurayrah made a supplication saying: “O Lord, I ask You for what my two companions have asked and I ask You for knowledge which will not be forgotten.”
"The Prophet, peace be on him, said: ‘Ameen.’ “We then said: 'And we ask Allah for knowledge which will not be forgotten, and the Prophet replied: 'The Dawsi youth has asked for this before you.”
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Once Marwan ibn al-Hakam wanted to give Abu Hurayrah’s a small test to see how strong his memory was. He sat with him in one room and behind a curtain he placed a scribe, unknown to Abu Hurayrah, and ordered him to write down whatever Abu Hurayrah said. A year later, Marwan called Abu Hurayrah again and asked him to recall the same Hadiths which the scribe had recorded. He was amazed when he found out that he had forgotten not a single word.
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During the caliphate of Umar, Umar appointed Abu Hurayrah as governor of Bahrain. Umar was very careful about the type of persons whom he appointed as governors. He was always concerned that his governors should live simply and frugally and not acquire much wealth even though this was through lawful means.
In Bahrain, Abu Hurayrah became quite wealthy. Umar heard of this and recalled him to Madinah. Umar thought he had acquired his wealth through unlawful means and questioned him about where and how he had get such a fortune. Abu Hurayrah replied: “From breeding horses and gifts which I received.”
“Hand it over to the treasury of the Muslims,” ordered Umar.
Abu Hurayrah did as he was told and prayed: “O Lord, forgive the Amir al-Muminin.” Subsequently, Umar asked him to become governor once again but he declined. Asked about the reason behind his refusal, Abu Hurayrah said:
“So that my honor would not be besmirched, my wealth taken and my back beaten.”
And he added: “And I fear to judge without knowledge and speak without wisdom.”
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“Once a man came to Talha bin Ubaydillah and said: “O’ father of Mohammad! Do you know this Yamani – Abu Hurayrah –? Is he more knowledgeable about the Prophet’s hadeeth than you? Because we hear things from him that we do not hear from you. Or does he narrate what the Prophet did not really say?” Ibn Ubaydillah answered: “That Abu Hurayrah heard from the Prophet peace be upon him what we did not hear then there is no doubt about it. Let me tell you about it. We always had to take care of our houses, goats and works. We used to visit the messenger of Allah peace be upon him at the two folds of daylight and Abu Hurayrah was there and poor. He was a guest at the Prophet’s house, and had nothing in his hands. Therefore we do not doubt it that he heard from the Prophet what we did not hear, and you would never find a man who has goodness in his self that he would say what the messenger of Allah did not say.”
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