A cow and a wolf speak in eloquent Arabic

The two sheikhs mentioned that Abu Hurayra had said: "The prophet Muhammad (s) offered the Fajr prayer, came in front of people and said: "Once there was a man leading his cow. He rode it and beat it. The cow said: We were not created to be beaten but for plowing!" People said: "Praise the Lord! A cow speaks!" The Prophet said: "We believe in that; me, Abu Bakr and Omar, although they, both, are not here. Also there was a man grazing his sheep. The wolf came and took one of them. The man followed the wolf and saved the sheep. The wolf said to the man: "You saved it from me! Who will save it if the lion comes one day to take it, when there will be no keeper for it but me?" people said: "Praise the Lord! A wolf speaks!" The Prophet (s) said: "We believe in this; me, Abu Bakr and Omar, although they, both, are not here." 1

1. Refer to al-Bukhari's Sahih, vol. 2, p.p. 171 and 190, Muslim's Sahih, vol. 2, p.p. 316 and later page and Ahmed's Musnad, vol. 2, p.p. 246.

Abu Hurayra was fond of wonders and unusual things. He was mirthful when he talked about unusual things like the running away of the rock with Moses' cloths or when Moses slapped the angel of death and gouged his eye, the falling down of gold locusts upon Ayyoub (Job) and the likes of his impossibilities.

And here he told of a talking cow and a talking wolf, which spoke in eloquent Arabic to show that they had reason, knowledge, and wisdom. He told of something, which definitely never happened nor would happen at all. The natural rules, which Allah made for all what He had created, made this thing impossible unless there was a necessity for a miracle to be a sign to prove the prophecy of one of the apostles or something related to Allah. The matter of the man, who led his cow to the field and rode it, did not need any challenge or miracle that Allah would break the rules of nature for him. The same was for the sheep keeper, when the wolf invaded his sheep. This tradition was completely untrue, for Allah would not make miracles in vain.

Abu Bakr and Omar were not in need for such a virtue. In fact if they had heard him telling of it, they would have punished him. But he mentioned Abu Bakr and Omar as a means to satisfy his tendency to the oddities, at the same time to walk in their shadow because he knew well that no one could deny what he said, otherwise would be accused of defaming the two caliphs; Abu Bakr and Omar.

2. Certainly, he invented this tradition after their death.