Disagreement about His Name...

Disagreement about His Name: During the pre-Islamic era and advent of Islam, there was no disagreement regarding any name like the one that was in regard of the name of Abu Hurayrah. No one had verified knowledge of the name his family gave to him so as to be called with among people. Al-Nawawi says: Abu Hurayrah's name is Abd al-Rahman ibn Sakhr, according to authentic reports from thirty sources.

The Moroccan Hafiz Ibn Abd al-Barr, in al-Isti‘ab 358 writes: There was much controversy and disagreement regarding the original names of Abu Hurayrah and his father, in a way that no one could know it exactly and accurately whether during the pre-Islamic period or after it in the Islamic era.. With such disagreement and confusion, nothing can be so reliable, and his nickname was more common than his name, as if he had no name other than that, with which he was called everywhere .

The author of al-Mishkat said: People differed much concerning the name of Abu Hurayrah and his descent, and he was only called with that kunyah as if he having no other name. The kunyah became so widely known to the extent that the original name was forgotten, since much disagreement was there regarding it. From what is exposed, giving him any definite special name would be no more than conjecture.

So we suffice with mentioning his kunyah, which he himself manifested its real cause saying: I used to pasture the sheep of my family, having a little pussy (hirrah) which I used to place inside a tree at night. During daytime I would take it with me and play with it. That is why people gave me the nickname of "Abu Hurayrah"!!

His Growth and Origin: Beside the disagreement regarding the name of Abu Hurayrah, nothing was known about his growing up or his biography before embracing Islam, except what he exposed about himself: that he used to play with a little she-cat, and he was poor and destitute, serving people in return for having food for living on. The only information available about his origin and descent, being that he descended from Tribe of Sulaym ibn Fahm that belonged to Tribe of Azd and of Dous then.

About this he said: I grew up as an orphan, and migrated as a destitute, and was a servant in return for food as sustenance (as a payment).