Suffe - Place of the Companions of Suffe

Suffe was a shaded area covered with palm branches, adjacent to the Prophet's Mosque. The Prophet Muhammad allocated this area for those who left everything behind during the Meccan period of Islam but could not find shelter and means of livelihood in Medina. The number of the Companions of Suffe varied at different times: sometimes it was ten, sometimes seventy, and at times it exceeded four hundred. The Prophet Muhammad was very closely involved with them: he sometimes personally fed them; he would ask the companions, "Who will host a guest tonight?" directing them to those who had homes. Great companions like Abu Huraira, Abu Dharr al-Ghifari, and Salman al-Farsi were among the Companions of Suffe for a period. Suffe also formed the core of the first Islamic science council. The Prophet Muhammad especially educated the people of Suffe during the times of revelation; he would explain the newly revealed verses and teach religious knowledge. Abu Huraira's extraordinary memory for hadith was largely nourished by this continuous Suffe environment. [Source: "Suffe", TDV Islamic Encyclopedia, https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/suffe; "Prophet's Mosque", TDV Islamic Encyclopedia, https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/mescid-i-nebevi]