Meaning of The Flesh and Blood of Abu Hurayrah Testify To A Hadeeth

25-2-2020 | IslamWeb

Question:

Assalamualaikum I encountered the Hadith below and became confused :
Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (?) as saying:
Iraq would withhold its dirhams and qafiz; Syria would withhold its mudd and dinar and Egypt would withhold its irdab and dinar and you would recoil to that position from where you started and you would recoil to that position from where you started and you would recoil to that position from where you started, the flesh and blood of Abu Huraira would bear testimony to it. [Sahih Muslim 2896]
How can we understand the flesh and blood of Abu Hurayra RA would bear testimony to it when he RA is long deceased and the Hour has not yet commenced? Does the Hadith mean the person of Abu Hurayra i.e. himself will bear testimony? Or does the phrase "flesh and blood" means the family and descendants of Abu Hurayra in the future will bear testimony? I need someone to clarify.

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Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

What is meant by his statement, “the flesh and blood of Abu Hurayrah would bear testimony to it,” is that Abu Hurayrah testifies that this Hadeeth is true and was uttered by the Messenger of Allah and that what was stated in it will inevitably happen. It does not mean that he would be present and witness these future events himself. Al-Qurtubi, said in Al-Mufhim: “His saying, ‘the flesh and blood of Abu Hurayrah would bear testimony to it,’ means that he testified to the authenticity of this Hadeeth and the veracity of what was stated in it with all his being. This means that he believed this Hadeeth was true and will inevitably happen.” [End of Quote]

Allah knows best.