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When he was still a youth, not yet past the age of puberty, he used to roam
the mountain trails of Makkah far away from people, tending the flocks of a
Quraysh chieftain, Uqbah ibn Muayt. People called him "Ibn Umm Abd"Ñthe son of
the mother of a slave. His real name was Abdullah and his father's name was
Mas'ud.
The youth had heard the news of the Prophet who had appeared among his people
but he did not attach any importance to it both because of his age and because
he was usually far away from Makkan society. It was his custom to leave with the
flock of Uqbah early in the morning and not return until nightfall.
One day while tending the flocks, Abdullah saw two men, middle-aged and of
dignified bearing, coming towards him from a distance. They were obviously very
tired. They were also so thirsty that their lips and throat were quite dry. They
came up to him, greeted him and said, "Young man, milk one of these sheep for us
that we may quench our thirst and recover our strength."
"I cannot," replied the young man. "The sheep are not mine. I am only
responsible for looking after them."
The two men did not argue with him. In fact, although they were so thirsty,
they were extremely pleased at the honest reply. The pleasure showed on their
faces . . .
The two men in fact were the blessed Prophet himself and his companion, Abu
Bakr Siddiq. They had gone out on that day to the mountains of Makkah to escape
the violent persecution of the Quraysh.
The young man in turn was impressed with the Prophet and his companion and
soon became quite attached to them.
It was not long before Abdullah ibn Mas'ud became a Muslim and offered to be
in the service of the Prophet. The Prophet agreed and from that day the
fortunate Abdullah ibn Mas'ud gave up tending sheep in exchange for looking
after the needs of the blesse d Prophet.
Abdullah ibn Mas'ud remained closely attached to the Prophet. He would attend
to his needs both inside and outside the house. He would accompany him on
journeys and expeditions. He would wake him when he slept. He would shield him
when he washed. He would carry his staff and his siwak (toothbrush) and attend
to his other personal needs.
Abdullah ibn Mas'ud received a unique training in the household of the
Prophet. He was under the guidance of the Prophet, he adopted his manner and
followed his every trait until it was said of him, "He was the closest to the
Prophet in character."
Abdullah was taught in the "school" of the Prophet. He was the best reciter
of the Qur'an among the companions and he understood it better than them all. He
was therefore the most knowledgeable on the Shariah. Nothing can illustrate this
better than the story of the man who came to Umar ibn al-Khattab as he was
standing on the plain of Arafat and said:
"I have come, O Amir al-Mu'mineen, from Kufah where I left a man filling
copies of the Qur'an from memory."
Umar became very angry and paced up and down beside his camel, fuming.
"Who is he?" he asked.
"Abdullah ibn Masiud," replied the man.
Umar's anger subsided and he regained his composure.
"Woe to you," he said to the man. "By God, I don't know of any person left
who is more qualified in this matter than he is. Let me tell you about this."
Umar continued:
"One night the Messenger of God, peace be upon him, was havmg a conversation
with Abu Bakr about the situation of Muslims. I was with them. When the Prophet
left, we left with him also and as we passed through the mosque, there was a man
standing in Prayer whom we did not recognise. The Prophet stood and listened to
him, then turned to us and said, 'Whoever wants to read the Qur'an as fresh as
when it was revealed, then let him read according to the recitation of Ibn Umm
Abd.'
After the Prayer, as Abdullah sat making supplications, the Prophet, peace be
on him, said, "Ask and it will be given to you. Ask and it will be given to
you."
Umar continued: "I said to myselfÑI shall go to Abdullah ibn Mas'ud straight
away and tell him the good news of the Prophet's ensuring acceptance of his
supplications. I went and did so but found that Abu Bakr had gone before me and
conveyed the good news to him. By God, I have never yet beaten Abu Bakr in the
doing of any good."
Abdullah ibn Mas'ud attained such a knowledge of the Qur'an that he would
say, "By Him besides Whom there is no god, no verse of the book of God has been
revealed without my knowing where it was revealed and the circumstances of its
revelation. By God, if I know there was anyone who knew more of the Book of
Allah, I will do whatever is in my power to be with him."
Abdullah was not exaggerating in what he said about himself. Once Umar ibn
al-Khattab met a caravan on one of his Journeys as caliph. It was pitch dark and
the caravan could not be seen properly. Umar ordered someone to hail the
caravan. It happened that Abdullah ibn Mas'ud was in it.
"From where do you come?" asked Umar.
"From a deep valley," came the reply. (The expresion used fadj amiqÑ deep
valleyÑis a Qur'anic one).
"And where are you going?" asked Umar.
"To the ancient house," came the reply. (The expression used al-bayt
al-atiqÑthe ancient houseÑis a Qur'anic one.)
"There is a learned person (alim) among them," said Umar and he commanded
someone to ask the person:
"Which part of the Qur'an is the greatest?"
" 'God. There is no god except Him, the Living, the Selfsubsisting. Neither
slumber overtakes Him nor sleep,' " replied the person answering, quoting the
Ayat al-Kursi (the verse of the Throne).
"Which part of the Qur'an is the most clear on justice?"
" 'God commands what is just and fair, the feeding of relatives . . .' " came
the answer.
"What is the most comprehensive statement of the Qur'an?" " 'Whoever does an
atom's weight of good shall see it, and whoever does an atom's weight of evil
shall see it.' "
"Which part of the Qur'an gives rise to the greatest hope?"
" 'Say, O my servants who have wasted their resources, do not despair of the
mercy of God. Indeed, God forgives all sins. He is the Forgiving, the
Compassionate.' "
Thereupon Umar asked: "Is Abdullah ibn Masiud among you?"
"Yes, by God," the men in the caravan replied.
Abdullah ibn Mas'ud was not only a reciter of the Qur'an, a learned man or a
fervent worshipper. He was in addition a strong and courageous fighter, one who
became deadly serious when the occasion demanded it.
The companions of the Prophet were together one day in Makkah. They were
still few in number, weak and oppressed. They said, "The Quraysh have not yet
heard the Qur'an being recited openly and loudly. Who is the man who could
recite it for them?"
"I shall recite it for them," volunteered Abdullah ibn Mas'ud.
"We are afraid for you," they said. "We only want someone who has a clan who
would protect him from their
"Let me," Abdullah ibn Mas'ud insisted, "Allah shall protect me and keep me
away from their evil." He then went out to the mosque until he reached Maqam
Ibrahim (a few metres from the Ka'bah). It was dawn and the Quraysh were sitting
around the Ka'bah. Abdullah stopped at the Maqam and began to recite:
" 'Bismillahir Rahmani-r Rahim. ArRahman. Allama-l | Qur'an. Khalaqa-l insan.
Allamahu-l bayan . . . (In the | name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful. The
Merciful s God. He has taught the Qur'an. He has created man and taught him the
clear truth . . .)' "
He went on reciting. The Quraysh looked at him intently and some of them
asked:
"What is Ibn Umm Abd saying?"
"Damn him! He is reciting some of what Muhammad brought!" they realized.
They went up to him and began beating his face as he continued reciting. When
he went back to his companions, the blood was flowing from his face.
"This is what we feared for you," they said.
"By God," replied Abdullah, "the enemies of God are not more comfortable than
I at this moment. If you wish. I shall go out tomorrow and do the same."
"You have done enough," they said. "You have made them hear what they
dislike."
Abdullah ibn Masiud lived to the time of Khalifah Uthman, may God be pleased
with him. When he was sick and on his death-bed, Uthman came to visit him and
said:
"What is your ailment?"
"My sins."
"And what do you desire?"
"The mercy of my Lord."
"Shall I not give you your stipend which you have refused to take for years
now?"
"I have no need of it."
"Let it be for your doughters after you."
"Do you fear poverty for my children? I have commanded them to read Surah
Al-Waqi'ah every night for I have heard the Prophet saying, 'Whoever reads
Al-Waqi'ah every night shall ot be effected by poverty ever.'"
That night, Abdullah passed away to the company of his Lord, his toughte
moist with the rememberance of God and with the recitation of the verses of His
Book.
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