أَنَّ النَّاسَ، كَانُوا يَقُولُونَ أَكْثَرَ أَبُو هُرَيْرَةَ. وَإِنِّي كُنْتُ أَلْزَمُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم بِشِبَعِ بَطْنِي، حَتَّى لاَ آكُلُ الْخَمِيرَ، وَلاَ أَلْبَسُ الْحَبِيرَ، وَلاَ يَخْدُمُنِي فُلاَنٌ وَلاَ فُلاَنَةُ، وَكُنْتُ أُلْصِقُ بَطْنِي بِالْحَصْبَاءِ مِنَ الْجُوعِ، وَإِنْ كُنْتُ لأَسْتَقْرِئُ الرَّجُلَ الآيَةَ هِيَ مَعِي كَىْ يَنْقَلِبَ بِي فَيُطْعِمَنِي، وَكَانَ أَخْيَرَ النَّاسِ لِلْمِسْكِينِ جَعْفَرُ بْنُ أَبِي طَالِبٍ، كَانَ يَنْقَلِبُ بِنَا فَيُطْعِمُنَا مَا كَانَ فِي بَيْتِهِ، حَتَّى إِنْ كَانَ لَيُخْرِجُ إِلَيْنَا الْعُكَّةَ الَّتِي لَيْسَ فِيهَا شَىْءٌ، فَنَشُقُّهَا فَنَلْعَقُ مَا فِيهَا.
The people used to say, "Abu Huraira narrates too many narrations." In fact I used to keep close toAllah's Messenger (ﷺ) and was satisfied with what filled my stomach. I ate no leavened bread and dressed nodecorated striped clothes, and never did a man or a woman serve me, and I often used to press mybelly against gravel because of hunger, and I used to ask a man to recite a Qur'anic Verse to mealthough I knew it, so that he would take me to his home and feed me. And the most generous of allthe people to the poor was Ja`far bin Abi Talib. He used to take us to his home and offer us what wasavailable therein. He would even offer us an empty folded leather container (of butter) which wewould split and lick whatever was in it.