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

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.

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  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  him testifies that this Hadeeth is true and was uttered by the Messenger of Allah  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) and that what was stated in it will inevitably happen. It does not mean that he  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  him would be present and witness these future events himself. Al-Qurtubi,  may  Allaah  have  mercy  upon  him 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.

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