Abu Hurayra related that he used to herd his family’s sheep with a little cat he played with, hence his kunya (al-Tirmidhi 3840). Arriving in Medina around 7 AH, he never left the Prophet ﷺ, who had him spread out his cloak and then gather it up: he said that he forgot nothing afterwards (al-Bukhari 119). He is the Companion who narrated the most hadiths. At his request the Prophet ﷺ prayed for his mother, who embraced Islam (Muslim 2491).
Abu Hurayra is a kunya, a by-name formed with abu, “father of”, and hurayra, the diminutive of hirra, “she-cat”: “the father of the kitten”. It is not a birth name but the by-name by which one of the greatest Companions is known; his real name is debated, the most widespread view being ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Sakhr, of the Yemeni tribe of Daws. This kunya is sometimes given as a name, out of attachment to this Companion.
In Arabic
أَبُو هُرَيْرَةأبو هريرة
Transliteration
Abū Hurayra
Root
ه ر ر
Gender
Boy
Origin
Arabic
Is Abu Hurairah in the Quran?
No: neither the name Abu Hurairah nor its root appears in the Quran. A name can be beautiful and permissible without coming from the Quran.
