Daily Lesson 56

Listen to  “Great Companions Series – Abdullah Ibn Mas’ood رضي الله عنه ” by Mawlana Junayd Makda Sahib

Abdullah Ibn Mas’ood رضي الله عنه

Name: Abdullah Ibn Mas’ood رضي الله عنه

Titles: Ibn Umme Abd

Born: 23 years after our beloved Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam (28 BH)

Demise: 20 years after our beloved Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam (32 AH)

● Abdullah رضي الله عنه the son of Mas’ood was a very knowledgeable, pious and a very close companion of our beloved Nabi ﷺ

● His father passed away before Islam and he was bought up by his mother Umme Abd who accepted Islam. For this reason, he was attributed to his mother and also known as Ibn Umme Abd (the son of Umm Abd)

●Abdullah رضي الله عنه himself accepted Islam in the very early stages and is reported to be the 6th person to accept Islam.

● Due to his early Islam, bravery and lower social standing, he suffered much torture at the hands of the disbelievers of Makkah in the early years of Islam.

● One very special and distinguishing quality of Abdullah Ibn Mas’ood رضي الله عنه was that he served our beloved Nabi ﷺ both inside and outside the house. He was usually with him and would even accompany our beloved Nabi ﷺ on journeys and expeditions.

●He was among those sahaba who acquired a vast amount of knowledge of the Quran and deen. He had a special attachment with the Quran and had a deep interest in it.

●Abdullah Ibn Mas’ood رضي الله عنه was one of the four people from whom our beloved Nabi ﷺ recommended others to learn the Quran from.

●He is among those sahaba to do Hijrah twice, first to Abyssinia and then to Madeenah.

●After our beloved Nabi ﷺ passed away, Umar ibn Khattab رضي الله عنه sent him as a teacher of the Quran to Kufa where he continued learning and teaching. During the final years of Uthman’s رضي الله عنه khilafat, he was called back to Madeenah.

●Abdullah Ibn Mas’ood رضي الله عنه passed away in 32 AH, in Medeenah at the age of 60 and is buried in Jannatul Baqi, Madeenah.

May Allah grant Abdullah Ibn Mas’ood رضي الله عنه a great amount of reward for all of his services to our beloved Nabi ﷺ and to deen and give us the ability to emulate these great companions.

Qualities

1) He had a beautiful recitation of the Glorious Qur’an and was very knowledgeable regarding the Glorious Quran.

2) He was very cautious in matters of deen and narrating hadeeth. For this reason, he narrated fewer than 850 ahadeeth.

3) He attended to our beloved Nabi ﷺ’s needs for most parts of his life.

4) He was known for his great wisdom and piety and people found a special love for him.

5) Despite his low social standing prior to Islam, he was a living miracle of our beloved Nabi ﷺ and Islam, by the lofty status and honour he received.

Amazing Facts:

1) Abdullah Ibn Mas’ood رضي الله عنه in childhood witnessed a miracle of our beloved Nabi ﷺ which made him accept Islam.

This was at a time when he was a shepherd and he presented a she-goat to our beloved Nabi ﷺ which had never provided milk. Our beloved Nabi ﷺ held the goat and prayed and Abubakr رضي الله عنه began to milk the goat. It looked as though the udders became full of milk suddenly. They took a bowl and filled it with milk. They drank the milk and after they prayed again the goat returned to its original state.

Abdullah who at that time did not know them asked in excitement, “Will you teach me what you read?” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ put his blessed hand on Abdullah’s رضي الله عنه head and said, “You are a learned young man.” Abdullah Ibn Mas’ood رضي الله عنه entered Islam soon after this and is the 6th person to accept Islam. 

2) In the above incident our beloved Nabi ﷺ said to the still young Abdullah Ibn Mas’ood رضي الله عنه before he even accepted Islam, ‘You are a learned boy’.

This short statement was so true. Allah granted him so much knowledge that a time came when he became the most learned of this Ummah and the best one to have knowledge of the Glorious Qur’an.

3) He always walked with the Prophet, helped him put on his shoes and carried his things like his staff, pillow, perfume and miswak. When the Prophet slept, Abdullah Ibn Mas’ood would wake him up. Therefore, the Companions called him Sahibus-Sawad was-Siwak, Sahibun Na’layn, and also Sahibul Wisaadah.

Merits of Abdullah Ibn Mas’ood رضي الله عنه

• Abu Musa al-Ash’ari رضي الله عنه who came to Madeenah after the Conquest of Khaybar states: “When my brother and I came to Madinah, at first we thought that Abdullah Ibn Mas’ood and his mother were from Ahl al-Bayt because he entered the house of the Messenger of Allah so frequently.” 

• Hudhayfa ibn Yaman رضي الله عنه says, ‘The Companion who is closest to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in terms of lifestyle and character is Abdullah Ibn Mas’ud. We do not know anybody else.’ (Bukhari)
• Our beloved Nabi ﷺ once asked Abdullah Ibn Mas’ood رضي الله عنه to read the Quran to him saying he liked to hear it from others!”
• Abdullah Ibn Mas’ud رضي الله عنه recited until our beloved Nabi ﷺ asked him to stop. By this by this point tears were flowing from his blessed eyes. (Bukhari)
• The Prophet ﷺ advised the Companions to learn the Quran from four people. One of them was Abdullah Ibn Mas’ood رضي الله عنه. (Tirmidhi)
• Once, our beloved Nabi sallallahu alayhi wassalam said, “Follow two people after me: Abu Bakr and Umar رضي الله عنهما. Follow the way that Ammar رضي الله عنه shows. Follow the advice of Ibn Mas’ud رضي الله عنه fully.” (Tirmidhi)
• ‘Why are you laughing? ‘Abdullah’s foot is will be heavier in the scales than the mountain of Uhud.” (Al-Adab Al-Mufrad)

Some of the ahadeeth he reported are as follows:

‘He who has in his heart has pride equal to the weight of a mustard seed (referring to a very small amount) shall not enter Paradise.’ Thereupon, somebody said, ‘Verily a person loves that his dress should be fine, and his shoes should be fine.’ The Messenger of Allah remarked, ‘Verily, Allah is Graceful and He loves Grace. Pride means refusing the truth out of self-conceit and looking down on people.’”. (Muslim)

“Adhere to truthfulness. Truthfulness definitely leads to righteousness, and righteousness leads to Paradise. And a man keeps on telling the truth until he becomes a truthful person. Avoid telling lies because a man may keep on telling lies till he is recorded as a liar before Allah.” (Bukhari)

“Whoever suffers from poverty and he asks people for it, his poverty shall not end. And whoever suffers from poverty and he beseeches Allah for it, Allah will send provisions to him, sooner or later.” (Tirmidhi)

“No Muslim is afflicted with harm because of sickness or some other inconvenience, but that Allah will remove his sins for him as a tree sheds its leaves.” (Bukhari)

His fear of Allah:

Abdullah Ibn Mas’ood رضي الله عنه despite his knowledge, closeness to our beloved Nabi ﷺ, and ranking among the Sahabah and narrating 848 hadith, was cautious in narrating Hadeeth.

Sahabah would say, his face would fade and change colour. He did not usually speak definitely by saying “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said.” He feared that he would attribute lies to the Prophet ﷺ.

To read about the previous great companion radhiallahu anha click here