'They are people with high status prestige' (qasida 15:48)

This is the motto of this section, which is for talking about the companions and beloved ones to our prophet Mohammad [PPBUH].

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Abdullah ibn Mas'oud

Before the Prophet [PPBUH] entered the house of 'al-Arqam', Abdullah ibn Mas'oud was already a believer and he was one of the early Muslims, as he was number six to entertain Islam and follow the Messenger [PPBUH]. He said about his first meeting with the Prophet [PPBUH] "I was still a youth, tending the flocks of Uqba ibn Abo-Me'yit, when the Prophet [PPBUH] and Abo-Bakr came to me and said 'O, lad, do you have milk to quench our thirst?' I replied 'They are not mine. I only look after them, and I am no giving you a drink'. The Prophet asked me (Do you have a female sheep that does not produce milk and is not fertilized?) I replied 'yes' and I brought it to them. The Prophet fed it and wiped its udder, while Abo-Bakr got him a concaved rock where the Prophet milked it. Abo-Bakr drank from it and I did too. Then he said to the udder (shrink!) and it shrank. Then, I asked the Prophet to teach me what he said and he replied (You are an educated young man)". Abdullah ibn Mas'oud was astonished, when he saw the good servant and honest Messenger of Allah praying his Lord and wiping the udder of a sheep that never produced milk yet. Then it produced, from Allah gifts, pure tasty milk readily available. He did not realize that day that he was only witnessing the least miracle and that he will witness later with the Prophet [PPBUH] miracles that shakes the world and illuminates it. He did not realize either that he, the weak poor young shepherd sheepherder, will be one of those miracles, when Islam creates out of him a believer whose belief exceeds the arrogance of Quraysh and defeats the its mighty leaders. Before, he couldn't pass by a sitting that had one of the nobles of Mecca without his head bowed. After his Islam, he goes to the gathering of the nobles of Mecca in by the Ka'ba and raises his beautiful voice with Qur'an; [In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful ¤ It is the Gracious ¤ Who has taught the Qur’an ¤ He has created man ¤ He has taught him plain speech ¤ The sun and the moon run according to a fixed reckoning ¤ And the stars and the trees prostrate] ar-Rahman 55:1-6. He continues reciting Qur'an, while the nobles of Quraysh are in shock, unable to believe their eyes and ears; that such a poor shepherd, who works for one of their nobles, is actually defying their power and pride.

Let's describe such an exciting scene as seen by an eye witness; az-Zubair said: Abdullah ibn Mas'oud [AAH] was the first one, after the Prophet [PPBUH], to publically recite Qur'an in Mecca. One day, the companions of the Prophet [PPBUH] gathered and said "Qurish has never heard Qur'an recited publically. Who can do this for us?" Abdullah ibn Mas'oud replied "I can". They replied "We are worried for you. We want someone who has a powerful family that protects him in the case Quraysh wants to harm him". He replied "Let me do it! Allah will protect me". The next morning, Abdullah headed to the Holy Mosque, where Quraysh is gathered in their clubs, and started reciting in a loud voice [In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful ¤ It is the Gracious ¤ Who has taught the Qur’an]. Then he turned to them while reciting. People of Quraysh wondered "what is the son of Om-Abd -his mother- saying? He must be saying some of what Mohammad has brought". They started beating him in his face, while he continued reciting. When he was done, he went back to his friends with blood all over his face and body. When they saw him, they told him that they had warned him. He replied "I no longer fear those enemies of Allah. If you like, I can repeat this tomorrow". They said "That's enough. You made them hear what they dislike".

Ibn Mas'oud didn't know, when he admired the miracle of the milk coming out of the sheep that never produced milk, that he and poor people like him will be one of the great miracles of the Messenger [PPBUH] when they carry the flag of Allah, with which they will defeat the Sun and the morning light. He didn't know either that this day is coming very soon. However, the day came, when he, the hired poor young man, became one of the miracles. He wasn't that kind of people to whom eyes can be attracted in the middle of the busy life. He had no place among those people who were rich, prestigious or physically strong. He was poor, unknown and physically weak and slim. Islam, however, gave him, in place of his poorness, a big share of the treasures of Kisra and Kaiser, in place of his physical weakness and bony body, a determination that defeats the mighty and changes the track of history, and in the place of his being unknown, an eternity, knowledge and an honor which made him in the front of the history celebrities.

The prophecy of the Prophet has been fulfilled, when he said to him (you are an educated young man), as he was taught by Allah to become one of the most knowledgeable in the nation and the leader of all Qur'an keepers. He said that he heard 70 Sura from the mouth of the Prophet [PPBUH], and no one can compete with me about that. As if Allah wanted to reward him for risking his life when he recited Qur'an publically in Mecca during the years of torture and persecution, so Allah gave him the gift of the great performance when reciting Qur'an and of the deep understanding of its meanings. The Prophet used to ask his companions to follow the example of ibn Mas'oud, as he said (hold on to the covenant of ibn Om-Abd). He used to ask them to imitate him in his recitation of Qur'an, as he said (Whoever likes to read Qur'an the way it was revealed, should read it the same way as ibn Om-Abd). The Prophet [PPBUH] enjoyed listening to Qur'an recited by ibn Mas'oud. One day, the Prophet invited him over and asked him to recite Qur'an. Abdullah replied "How can I read it to you, when you are the one to whom it was revealed?!" The Prophet replied (I love to hear it from someone else). Ibn Mas'oud started reciting the Sura of [al-Nisa']. When he reached the verse; [But how will it be when We bring a witness from every nation, and bring you as a witness against these? ¤ On that day those who disbelieved and disobeyed the Messenger will wish that they were level with the ground, and they cannot conceal any utterance from Allah], the Prophet was overwhelmed with crying and his eyes were filled with tears. He waved to ibn Mas'oud with his hand and said (That's enough, that is enough, ibn Mas'oud).

Abdullah ibn Mas'oud said about Allah's favor to him "By Allah, there is no Qur'anic verse revealed unless I know in what incident it was revealed. No one knows the Book of Allah better than I do. And if I know that someone knows the Book of Allah better than me, I will go to him even if he is very far away. However, this doesn't mean that I am better than you".

The companions of the Prophet [PPBUH] gave him the credit for this, as the prince of the believers, Omar ibn al-khatab said "He was filled with Fiqh [Shari'a knowledge]". Abo-Mosa al-Ash'ary said "Don't ask us any question as long as such man of Fiqh is among you" (he meant ibn Mas'oud). He was not given the credit for his Qur'anic knowledge only but for his piety as well. Huzaifa ibn al-Yaman said about him "I have not seen someone who resembles the Messenger of Allah in his guidance, attraction, and character like ibn Mas'oud". The companions of the Prophet [PPBUH] knew that he was the closest to Allah, as one day, some of them gathered by Ali ibn Abi-Taleb and said to him "O, prince of believers! We have never seen a man, better in his morals, better in his teaching, better in his meeting or more pious than ibn Mas'oud". Ali replied "By Allah, are you honest to heart about this?" They replied "Yes". He said "O, Allah, witness that I say like what they said or even better". Tamim ibn Huzam said "I sat with the companions of the Prophet [PPBUH], Abo-Bakr and Omar, and I did not see anyone like ibn Mas'oud, in his asceticism in the worldly life and in his love for the hereafter. And no one I would like to be in his skin more than ibn Mas'oud". He read Qur'an, did what is permitted in it and prohibited what is prohibited in it. He was knowledgeable of Fiqh and Sunna. The companions of the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] talked about Abdullah ibn Mas'oud and said "He used to get permission when we got detained, and witness when we were absent", they meant that he had chances with the Prophet [PPBUH] that no one else had. He used to enter the house of the Prophet and sit with him more than anyone else. He to have intimate talk with the Prophet [PPBUH] and listen to his secrets, so that he was called "the one with the secret". Abo-Mosa al-Ash'ary said "I have seen the Prophet [PPBUH] with no one but ibn Mas'oud from his family". That was because the Beloved [PPBUH] used to love him very much, and loved his piety, his intelligence, and his great soul. The Prophet [PPBUH] said (If I was to give command to anyone without the counseling of the Muslims, I would have given it to ibn Om-Abd). And we have seen before his Hadith [PPBUH] (hold on to the covenant of ibn Om-Abd). This love and trust qualified him to be very close to the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] and to be given what no one else had when the Messenger [PPBUH] told him (I give you permission to raise the veil). This was permission for him to knock the door of the Prophet [PPBUH] any time, day or night. That is how the companions said about him "He used to get permission when we got detained, and witness when we were absent".

Ibn Mas'oud was really qualified for this merit, as in spite of the fact that being close that much would entitle him to lose his reservation, however it only increased his respect, humility, and politeness. Maybe what can show this in a very clear way is what happened after the passing away of the Prophet [PPBUH], as in spite of the fact that he rarely talked about the Messenger [PPBUH], we find him strongly trembles and becomes restless and worried whenever he just moves his lips to say "I heard the Messenger of Allah saying". And that is because he was afraid to forget and places a letter in the place of another. Lets hear his brothers in Allah describe this phenomenon: Amro ibn Maymoun said "I used to visit Abdullah ibn Mas'oud for a year. I never heard him talk about the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH]. Except that one time he was talking and said 'the Messenger of Allah said', and then he became very troubled until he sweated from his forehead. Then he followed his talk with words like 'what he said was close to that' or 'he said something like that'." Alqama ibn Qays says "Abdullah ibn Mas'oud used to talk every Thursday, yet I never heard him say 'the Messenger of Allah said', except once. But then I looked at him while he was leaning on a stick, and I saw the stick trembling and shacking". Masrouq narrated from Abdullah "ibn Mas'oud was talking once and said 'I heard the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH]' and then he trembled and his cloth trembled. Then he said 'or something close to this, or like this'." To this great extent he respected and reverenced the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH]. This was an evidence on his piety as this man, who lived with the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] more than others, deeply realized the majesty of this great Messenger. That is why his politeness with the Messenger [PPBUH], during his life and after his passing away, was unique.

He did not leave the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] in his travel or stay. He witnessed all the events, and had a famous situation on the day of Badr with Abo-Gahl who was harvested by the swords of the Muslims on that great day. The caliphs of the Messenger of Allah and his companions knew his esteem. The prince of believers, Omar, gave him the custody of the house of money in the city of Kufa, and said to its people when he sent him to them "I swear by Allah, the one and only God, that I favored you with him on myself. So take from him and learn".

The people of Kufa loved him a great love, that no one before him got. And the gathering of the people of Kufa on loving someone is something like a miracle. As they are people of rebellions and revolutions. They cannot even stay on one food or tolerate peace and quietness. They loved him so much that, when the caliph Osman [AAH] resigned him from Kufa, they said to him "stay with us and we will stop anything bad from coming to you". But ibn Mas'oud answered them with words that show how great he was, he said "He has the right of obedience on me. And their will be matters and trails, and I do not want to be the first to open its doors". This pious and great stand from the caliph Osman can describe the whole relation with him. As Abdullah had arguments and disputes with Osman, until Osman stopped his salary and pension from the house of money, however Abdullah never said one bad word about Osman [AAH], rather he stood for him defending and warning when he saw the grouching against him tyrned into revolution. And when he heard the trails to kill him, he said his famous words "If they kill him, they will not replace him with someone like him". Some of ibn Mas'oud's friends said "I have never heard ibn Mas'oud say any bad thing about Osman".

Allah gave ibn Mas'oud wisdom as gave him piety. He had the ability to see the depth of the matters, and expresses it eloquently and rightly. So when he concisely talked about the great life of Omar, he amazingly focused that and said "His Islam was a conquest, his immigration was a victory, and his ruler time was a mercy". When he talked about what we call today the time relativity, he says "Your Lord has no night or day, the light of heaven and earth is from the light of his face". When he talks about work and its importance in raising the moral level, he says "I hate a man when I see him not working any work of the worldly life or of the hereafter".

From his comprehensive words "the best richness is that of the self. The best provision is the piety. The worst blindness is that of the heart. The greatest sin is lying. The worst gain is usury. The worst eating is the money of the orphan, and whoever Allah forgives and spares". This is Abdullah ibn Mas'oud the companion of the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH], and this is just a glimmer of a great heroic life, which was lived for the sake of Allah, His Messenger, and His religion. This man who was tiny in body like a sparrow with very thin legs, one day climbed a tree to some Arak for the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH], and the companions saw his legs and laughed. So the Prophet [PPBUH] said (Are you laughing from the legs of ibn Mas'oud? They are heavier for Allah than the mountain of Uhud). Yes, that poor hired man, the weak and thin one, from whom the belief and trust in Allah, made an Imam for the goodness, guidance, and light. He was granted from the success and grace of Allah what made him one of the ten most favored companions of the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH], the ones who were given the good tiding of paradise while they were still on earth. He fought the with the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] the hard and wining battles, and with his caliphs after him. He witnessed the greatest empires of his time open their door for the flags of Islam with obedience and submission. He saw the jobs looking for Muslims to occupy and the money thrown within their hand, but that did not take him away from his covenant with Allah and his Messenger. Nothing could drive him away from piety, humbleness, and way of life. He had no wishes from life except one wish, which he used to talk about and say "I woke up during the night while I was with the Prophet [PPBUH] in the conquest of Tabowk. Then I saw a fire in a side of the camp, so I followed it. There were the Messenger of Allah, Abo-Bakr, and Omar. And there was Abdullah Zuel-Begadine al-Mazny dead. They had dug a grave for him. The Messenger of Allah was in his hole, and Abo-Bakr and Omar were lowering the body to him. The Messenger of Allah was saying (Get you brother closer to me). They lowered the body to him. Then when he prepared him for the burial, he said (O, Allah! I am pleased with him so accept him). I wish that hole was mine". That was his only wish from the whole world, not money or prestige as most people want. That was the wish of a big hearted man, with a great soul and trust in Allah. A man guided by Allah, raised by the Messenger, and led by Qur'an.

From his words "the holder of Qur'an should be known by his night while people are sleeping, by his day while people are eating, by his sadness while people are joyful, by his weeping while people are laughing, by his silence while people are clamoring, and by his submission while people are proud. A holder of Qur'an should be crying, sad, tolerant, wise, and silent. He should not be rude, heedless, clamorous, shouting, or quick-tempered". "as long as you are praying, you are knocking the door of the king, and whoever knocks the door of the king, it will be opened for him". "The hearts have times of desire and coming, and have times of weakening and leaving. So grape the chance of its desire and coming, and leave it when it is weak and leaving".

May Allah accept you, and all the companions and followers. O, Allah, with goodness and blessing to the Day of Judgment and let us all be with them and the people of our chain and the pure people of the House and their grandfather Taha, the Beloved, Amen.

Edited by Samir Gamal.

Translated by Nahed Abuel-Hassan

Whoever wants to read more about the great companions, can browse the companions pages in al-Ahbab site.

Editors Team