Meaning of the words of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him): “As for the other, if I were to disclose it, this throat would be cut”

The words of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) referred to in the
question are: “I memorised from the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace
of Allah be upon him) two vessels (of knowledge). As for one of them, I have
disclosed it, but as for the other, if I were to disclose it, this throat
would be cut.”

Narrated by al-Bukhaari (120). 

It
was narrated that Yazeed ibn al-Asamm said: 

It
was said to Abu Hurayrah: You have narrated a great deal, you have narrated
a great deal. He said: If I told you everything that I heard from the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), you would pelt me with
stones and clods of earth, and you would not sit with me.

Narrated by Ahmad in al-Musnad (16/563). The commentators said: Its
isnaad is saheeh. 

With regard to what some of the extreme Sufis say, that what Abu Hurayrah
concealed of knowledge was esoteric (baatini) knowledge that included wahdat
al-wujood (pantheism), this is false for several reasons: 

-1-

These people have no evidence to prove their claim to be true. Abu Hurayrah
himself did not explain what was in this vessel that he concealed of hadiths,
so how could these people know what he really concealed? 

-2-

Belief in wahdat al-wujood (pantheism) constitutes blatant kufr (disbelief),
according to the consensus of the Muslim scholars. Attributing this view to
the noble Sahaabi Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) is one of the
worst and most offensive kinds of lie. 

-3-

moreover, if belief in wahdat al-wujood or baatini knowledge was something
that is sound according to Islamic teaching, then how could the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) conceal it and instruct his
companions to conceal it? Why would he conceal the truth that has to do with
essential matters of belief, when Allah, may He be glorified and exalted,
says (interpretation of the meaning): “Verily, those who conceal the
clear proofs, evidences and the guidance, which We have sent down, after We
have made it clear for the people in the Book, they are the ones cursed by
Allah and cursed by the cursers” [al-Baqarah 2:159]? 

-4-

Muslim scholars are unanimously agreed that whatever Abu Hurayrah concealed
had nothing to do with wahdat al-wujood or baatini knowledge; rather it was
some hadiths about tribulations (fitan) and the portents of the Hour that
were applicable to some of the rulers at the time of Abu Hurayrah, and he
feared that they would persecute him and wrong him, and he thought that
concealing these hadiths would not be detrimental to Islamic teachings and
knowledge in any way, because the wrongdoing of the transgressors was quite
evident and well-known, and there was no need for a marfoo‘ hadith (a hadith
that was attributed directly to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him)) to explain it. 

Imam al-Qurtubi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

Our scholars said: What Abu Hurayrah did not disclose, and feared that he
may be persecuted or killed because of it, has to do with matters of
tribulations and statements identifying individual apostates and hypocrites,
and similar matters that did not have to do with Islamic teachings and
guidance. And Allah knows best. End quote.

Al-Jaami‘ li Ahkaam al-Qur’an
(2/186) 

Imam adh-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

It
was narrated that Makhool said: Abu Hurayrah used to say: There may be a bag
of knowledge that Abu Hurayrah has and has not opened it. 

I
– namely Imam adh-Dhahabi – say: This indicates that it is permissible to
conceal some hadiths that may provoke fitnah (trouble or confusion)
concerning fundamental matters or minor issues, or praise and criticism. As
for hadiths that have to do with halaal and haraam, it is not permissible to
conceal them under any circumstances, because they come under the heading of
Islamic teachings and guidance. In Saheeh al-Bukhaari it tells us
that ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Tell the people what they
know, and leave that which they will find objectionable; do you want Allah
and His Messenger to be disbelieved? Similarly, if Abu Hurayrah had
disclosed that vessel of knowledge,  he would have been persecuted; rather
he may have been executed. But a scholar’s ijtihaad may lead him to
propagate a particular hadith in order to revive the Sunnah, and he will
have the reward for what he intended, and he will have a reward even if he
made a mistake in his ijtihaad. End quote.

Siyar A‘laam an-Nubala’
(2/597). 

Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

The scholars interpreted the vessel that he did not disclose as referring to
hadiths which stated the names of bad rulers and governors, and described
their situation and their times. Abu Hurayrah used to give hints about some
of them but he did not state anything openly, for fear of being harmed at
their hands, such as when he said: I seek refuge with Allah the beginning of
the sixties (i.e. the sixtieth year A.H.), and the rulership of boys (young
men), referring to the caliphate of Yazeed ibn Mu‘aawiyah, because it began
in 60 AH. Allah answered the supplication of Abu Hurayrah and he died a year
before that. 

Ibn al-Muneer said: The baatinis take this hadith as a means of showing
their falsehood to be true, because they believe that sharee‘ah has a
manifest form and an esoteric form, but this esoteric form will only lead to
deviation from the faith. 

He
said: Rather what Abu Hurayrah meant when he said “cut” was that the unjust
rulers would cut off his head if they heard him criticising their actions
and regarding their efforts as misguided. This is supported by the fact that
if the concealed hadiths had to do with shar‘i rulings, he would not have
concealed them. 

Another scholar said: It may be that he was referring to hadiths that have
to do with the portents of the Hour and the changes and major battles at the
end of time, and those who were not used to such reports would object to
that and would not accept it. End quote.

Fath al-Baari
(1/216) 

Al-‘Allaamah Muhammad Rasheed Rida (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

As
for the Sufis, some of them were deceived by these specious arguments and
misinterpretations, because they were lacking in knowledge of the Qur’an and
Sunnah, so they adhered to da‘eef (weak) hadiths and followed the apparent
meaning of some saheeh (sound) hadiths and reports, such as the words of Abu
Hurayrah that were narrated in Saheeh al-Bukhaari: “I memorised from
the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) two
vessels (of knowledge). As for one of them, I have disclosed it, but as for
the other, if I were to disclose it, this throat would be cut,” and he
pointed to his throat. 

The ignorant Sufis claimed that what they have of “ ‘ilm al-haqeeqah
(knowledge of reality)” is what was in the second of the two vessels of Abu
Hurayrah. Some of them think that their shaykhs have a chain of narration
through which they receive esoteric knowledge (‘ilm al-baatin) that goes
back to some of the Sahaabahs or prominent figures among Ahl al-Bayt (may
Allah be pleased with them all). 

But the view of the scholars is that what Abu Hurayrah meant by the hadiths
that he concealed was the hadiths of al-fitan (tribulation) and what would
occur of corruption in people’s religious commitment and worldly affairs,
caused by some young men among the fools of Quraysh, who were Banu Umayyah. 

It
was narrated from him that he prayed to Allah, may He be exalted, to save
him from the year 60 and the rulership of boys (young men), and he died in
57 or 59 AH. In 60 AH Yazeed ibn Mu‘aawiyah became the ruler. Thus it was
known that Abu Hurayrah was seeking refuge with Allah from his rule, and
Allah, may He be exalted, protected him from it, so he did not live to see
those dark days. 

It
was narrated from him that he used to say – concerning some young men of
Quraysh who caused corruption in the religious commitment of the Muslims, as
it says in the hadith: If I wanted to tell you their names, I would do so.
This indicates that he – like Hudhayfah ibn al-Yamaan – narrated hadiths
about fitan (tribulations) and unjust rulers from the Prophet (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him), but he concealed them those those events came
to pass, for fear of punishment from those tyrants and corrupt rulers. As
for concealing any matters of religion, doing so is haraam according to
consensus and according to the texts of the Qur’an and Sunnah, so how could
he have concealed them? End quote.

Tafseer al-Mannaar
(6/390) 

Al-‘Allaamah Taahir al-Jazaa’iri (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

What he meant by the first vessel is the hadiths which he did not think
would lead to any harm if he disclosed them, so he disclosed them. What he
meant by the second vessel was the hadiths which had to do with unjust
rulers and criticism of them. It was narrated from him that he said: If I
wanted to tell you their names, I would do so. But he did not say that
openly, for fear that they might harm him. 

Some of the Sufis said: What he meant by it was hadiths having to do with
the Divine secrets which no one can understand except people of high
spiritual status. 

But there is some doubt as to whether this is what is meant. If that was the
case, then Abu Hurayrah could not have withheld them from all people; rather
he would have disclosed them to some of the elite among the people. End
quote. 

Tawjeeh an-Nazr
(1/63-64) 

Please see also the answer to question no.

139569

And Allah knows best.