Hadhrat Abu Hurairah (Radhiyallaho anho) in a State of Hunger
Once, Hadhrat Abu Hurairah (Radhiyallaho anho) after wiping his nose with piece of fine linen remarked to himself:
"Look at Abu Hurairah (Radhiyallaho anho)! He cleans his nose with fine linen, today. I remember the time when he used to lie down between the pulpit and the Prophet's house. People took him to be suffering from epilepsy and put their feet on his neck. But there was no other malady with him, other than spasms of hunger."
Hadhrat Abu Hurairah (Radhiyallaho anho) had to remain hungry for days together. At times, he was overpowered with hunger so much that he fell unconscious, and people mistook this as attacks of epilepsy. It seems that in those days they treated epilepsy by placing a foot on the neck of the patient.
Hadhrat Abu Hurairah (Radhiyallaho anho) is one of those people who suffered from extremes of want and poverty in the early days of Islam.
He however, saw better days in later years when Muslim conquests followed in succession. He was very pious, and loved very much to say the Nafl Salaat.
He had with him a bag full of date-stones. He used these stones for his Zikr. When the bag was exhausted, his maid filled it again with date-stones. Somebody was always busy in Salaat in his house during the night; his wife and his servant taking turns with him in the prayers.
