"You say that Abu Hurairah narrates too many hadith from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and you ask why the Muhajirun and the Ansar do not narrate from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ the way Abu Hurairah does. My brothers among the Muhajirun were occupied with their trading in the markets, while I stayed close to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ content with just enough food to fill my stomach. So I was present when they were absent, and I remembered when they forgot. My brothers among the Ansar were occupied with tending to their properties, while I was a poor man among the poor of the Suffah, retaining what they forgot.The Messenger of Allah ﷺ once said during a hadith he was relating, 'No one will spread out his garment until I finish saying what I have to say, then gather it back to himself, without retaining what I say.' So I spread out my striped cloak, and when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ finished speaking, I gathered it to my chest. After that I never forgot a single word of what the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said on that occasion."
إنكم تقولون: إن أبا هريرة يكثر الحديث عن رسول الله ﷺ، وتقولون: ما بال المهاجرين والأنصار لا يحدثون عن رسول الله ﷺ بمثل حديث أبي هريرة؟ وإن إخوتي من المهاجرين كان يشغلهم صفق بالأسواق، وكنت ألزم رسول الله ﷺ على ملء بطني، فأشهد إذا غابوا، وأحفظ إذا نسوا، وكان يشغل إخوتي من الأنصار عمل أموالهم، وكنت امرا مسكينا من مساكين الصفة، أعي حين ينسون، وقد قال رسول الله ﷺ في حديث يحدثه: إنه لن يبسط أحد ثوبه حتى أقضي مقالتي هذه، ثم يجمع إليه ثوبه، إلا وعى ما أقول فبسطت نمرة علي، حتى إذا قضى رسول الله ﷺ مقالته جمعتها إلى صدري، فما نسيت من مقالة رسول الله ﷺ تلك من شيء.
Bukhari related it in the Book of Sales (2047) and Muslim in the Book of the Virtues of the Companions (2492/...), both from the hadith of Abu Yaman, who said, Shuayb narrated to us, from Zuhri, who said, Saeed bin Musayab and Abu Salama bin Abdul-Rahman informed me that Abu Hurairah said, and then he mentioned it. The wording given is that of Bukhari, while Muslim's wording is abridged.Bukhari also related it in the Book of Knowledge (118) through the route of Malik, from Ibn Shihab, from Araj, from Abu Hurairah, who said, "People say that Abu Hurairah narrates a great deal, and were it not for two verses in the Book of Allah, I would not have narrated a single hadith." Then he recited, "Indeed, those who conceal what We sent down of clear proofs and guidance after We made it clear to the people in the Scripture, those Allah curses, and the cursers curse them, except those who repent, correct themselves, and make clear, for those I will accept their repentance, and I am the Accepting of Repentance, the Merciful" [Baqarah 2:159–160]."Our brothers among the Migrants were kept busy by trading in the markets, and our brothers among the Ansar were kept busy by working on their properties, but Abu Hurairah used to stay close to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ content with a full stomach, so he witnessed what they did not witness, and he memorized what they did not memorize."