Before Islam, Arab people were uneducated, away from sophisticated societies, living a primitive simple desert life and their recreations were drinking, gambling and poetry. Their economic condition was very bad and they had to struggle a lot to make ends meet. In this background, Islam is presented to them which bans all their recreations like drinking, gambling and polytheistic useless poetry. While banning these, Qur'an and Hadith was being presented to them. They knew no other literature or academics but their brains were very fertile. So, in order to quench the thirst of their mind and heart they were left with no other option but to dedicate to Qur'an and Hadith fully. Prior to Islam, they used to satisfy their ego by boasting about their poetry and ancestral supremacy etc., but in Islam the standard of higher status in society was not based on these things but on piousness and knowledge of Qur'an and Hadith. Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said in a Hadith:

ليؤمّكم أعلمكم

"Most pious and most learned should lead you in Salaah"

The Qur'an says:

إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ أَتْقَاكُمْ

"The most honoured of you in the Sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you" (49:13)

This was another important factor responsible for diverting Sahaabah towards attainment of piousness and learning of Qur'an and Hadith despite the fact that Sahaabah became very rich after few initial years of poverty. Wealth from Egypt, Rome and Persia started flowing through streets of Madinah like anything but neither initial poverty nor later wealth could distract Sahaabah from their dedication to Qur'an and Hadith.

Few Examples

Thirst of Ibne Abbas (RA) for Hadith

He himself says:

"I used to go in search of Hadith to such a person about whom I would know that he knew the Hadith of Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam). On reaching there, if I would come to know that the person is sleeping, I would sit outside his gate using my blanket as pillow. The wind would get sand and dust on my face. When that person would come out of his house on his own, and on seeing me he would ask, "Oh! son of Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) how are you here? I would say that I have heard that you know a Hadith of Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam), I have come for that. He would say that I should have sent him a word, he would have come himself to me. I would say no, it was my need, hence I ought to come." (Darmi)

Quest of Women for learning Hadith.

Incident of Farokh.

Farokh was a freed slave amongst Sahaabah Al-Kiram. He was serving in army. Once he left his home for a long time to serve at some far-off place. That time his wife was pregnant. He gave his wife about 50-60 thousand Dinars and asked her to keep that as Amaanat. His wife did not waste that money in any unnecessary things but spent that whole money on the education of her son and made him a noted scholar of Hadith in Madinah, so much so that this boy started delivering lectures on Hadith in Masjid-Nabvi in Madinah. The number of students went on increasing day by day. Noted scholars like Imam Maalik, Imam Auzaee and Imam Thouri were amongst his students. When Farokh returned home after 15-20 years, he asked his wife about the money he had given her, she asked him to have a look first in Masjid-e-Nabvi. When Farokh came to know that his wife had spent that money on the education of his son who had become a great scholar of Hadith, he was very happy. From this you can observe that during the period of Sahaabah even women were not lagging behind in this field.

Women in those days didn't ask for gold or silver in Mehr, but asked for teaching of Qur'an and Hadith as Mehr. They would agree to marry a particular person on the condition that he would teach them Qur'an and Hadith.

Hadhrat Abu Hurairah (RA) and Hadith

Bukhari quotes Hadhrat Abu Hurairah (RA) narrating his story himself as:

"You people think that Abu Hurairah narrates many Hadith, I was a poor man and used to stay with Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) lying on ground on my belly (in prone position because of hunger) when migrant Sahaabah used to be busy in market and Madinites or Ansaar used to be busy in their fields."

At other occassion he says about himself:

"I came to Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) at Khaibar when I was thirty years old, then I stayed with him till he departed from this world. I used to stay with him when he was at home, at Haj or Jihad."

In another narration of Bukhari and Muslim, he says:

"I used to fall down due to fainting attacks between the door of Hadhrat Aayesha's room and the Mimber of Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam). People thought that I had epilepsy, I was not epileptic but it was all due to hunger."

Incident of Hadhrat Abu Ayub Ansari (RA)

Hadhrat Abu Ayub (RA) was the first host of Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) in Madinah after migration. He and another Sahaabi Hadhrat Uqba bin Aamir (RA) had heard a Hadith from Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam). In later life he forgot some part of that Hadith. He knew that Uqba bin Aamir (RA) had also heard that Hadith with him but by that time Uqba bin Aamir (RA) had settled in Egypt. To clear confusion about one Hadith, Abu Ayub Ansari (RA) travels on his camel all the way from Madinah to Egypt where he meets Uqba bin Aamir (RA), asks him the Hadith and returns without getting down from his camel. He tells Uqba bin Aamir (RA) that he had come to listen Hadith only and not to see him. (Jamia-Bayan-ul-Ilm)

Incident of Jabir bin Abdullah (RA)

Qur'an had directed Sahaabah to follow Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) with utmost perfection, this made it mandatory for them to know every aspect of the life of Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam). So, whenever they came to know that any person knew a Hadith, they immediately undertook journey towards that place, even if that journey took them months together on foot. Hadhrat Jabir bin Abdullah (RA) narrates his own story as :

"Once I came to know that there is a Hadith which has reached me through one of the companions of Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam). I at once started journey on my camel and it took me one month till I reached the house of Abdullah bin Unais Ansari in Syria. I sent the message to him that Jabir was at his door. He came out and embraced me. I asked him about the Hadith of Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) which he narrated”.

Abu Sa’eed Khudri (RA)

Like Abu Ayub Ansari (RA), Hadhrat Abu Sa’eed Khudri (RA) also went to Egypt from Madinah just to learn a single Hadith from Fudhala bin Abdullah (RA). He also returned immediately back home after listening the Hadith. (Darmi)