Abu Hurayra. The man who narrated the largest number of hadith - 5,374 (446 of which are in Imam Bukhari) - was Abu Hurayra al-Dusi, although he says that he only spent three years with the Holy Prophet ( pbuh&hf ). Al-Tabaqat al-Kubra , ibn Sa'ad, 4:327; Sahih Bukhari, 4:239. Mahmud Abu Riyyah in Shaykh al-Mudhirah Abu Hurayra proves that his companionship lasted one year and nine months.
He embraced Islam on the seventh year after the migration to Madinah. Abu Hurayra himself says that only 'Abdullah ibn ' Umar narrated more traditions than he, and that 'Abdullah ibn ' Umar used to write them down while he did not. Sahih Bukhari, Kitab al-'Ilm , 1:86
In fact, 'Abdullah ibn ' Umar only narrated 2,630 hadith , of which Imam Bukhari mentions only seven and Imam Muslim, twenty. ' Umar ibn al-Khattab himself narrated only 527 hadith , while 'Uthman ibn Affan narrated 146; Abu Bakr, 142; 'A'ishah, the wife of the Prophet ( pbuh&hf ),1:210; Jabbir ibn 'Abdillah al-Ansari 1,540; 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, 848; Abu Dharr al-Ghifari, 281; Um Salamah, the wife of the Prophet ( pbuh&hf ), 378; 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, 537; and Anas ibn Malik, 2,286. Furthermore, Imam Muslim also narrates that the second caliph, ' Umar ibn al-Khattab, beat Abu Hurayra on one occasion. Fiqh al-Sirah , Muhammad al-Ghazzali, p. 41
Abu Hurayra admits: "I have narrated to you several traditions that, had I narrated them during the time of ' Umar, ' Umar would have lashed me with a stick." ibid
It has been said that Abu Hurayra was the first narrator who was accused justly in Islam. The History of Arab Literature, Mustafa al-Rafi'i, 1:278
' Umar al-Khattab said to him: "You have taken the money of the Muslims for yourself...." al-Bidayah wal-Nihayah, ibn al-Athir, 8:116
' Umar also told him once: "You have narrated too many hadith , and, most appropriately, you lie about the Prophet." Sharh Nahj al-Balaghah , ibn Abi al-Hadid al-Mu'tazili, 1:360
Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani says that the 'ulama unanimously agreed that lying about the Messenger of Allah ( pbuh&hf ) is one of the cardinal sins ( kaba'ir ), and others went further to say that whoever lies about the Holy Prophet ( pbuh&hf ) is an unbeliever ( kafir ). Al-Sam'ani states that narrations would not be accepted from someone who lied about the Holy Prophet ( pbuh&hf ) even one time. al-Taqrib, al-Nawawi , p. 14