`Abdul-Rahman bin Sakhr Al-Azdi [AKA Abu Hurairah, Abu Hurayrah or even Abu Horaira.] (d. 678) was a Jew from Yemen who was an orphan with only a mother and no other relatives. As a young man, he worked for Busrah bint Ghazwan. Before he came to Islam, he had the name 'Abd el Shams (Servant of the Sun). He embraced Islam through 'Amr al-Dausi. He spent a few years with Prophet Muhammad and is one of the major narrators of the Hadith.
His nickname "Abu Hurairah" (which literally means "Father of Cats") came from his love for cats. As a child, he had a kitten he often played with out of which the name came.
He died in Medina.
