Abdullah ibn Mas'ud

Among the First, and the Closest

Abdullah ibn Mas’ud was of Banu Hudhayl and among the very first to accept Islam. He and his mother frequented the Prophet’s ﷺ house so constantly that visitors took them for the household itself; he kept the Prophet’s ﷺ sandals, his pillow, and his water for ablution, and was entrusted with his secrets. 1 Stories of the Sahabah · pp. 174–175 — Zakariyya Kandhlawi — Ibn Mas'ud's closeness to the Prophet; keeper of his sandals, pillow and water; taken for the household.

At Badr and the Service of the Prophet ﷺ

At Badr it was Ibn Mas’ud who came upon the mortally wounded Abu Jahl among the fallen, set his foot upon his neck and finished him, then carried his head to the Prophet ﷺ, who praised Allah in gratitude. On the night the Prophet ﷺ went out to the jinn, he called for a companion with not an atom of pride, and Ibn Mas’ud alone rose to go with him. 2 Seerat-e-Mustafa · Vol 1 · pp. 250–251 — Idris Kandhlawi — Ibn Mas'ud finishes Abu Jahl at Badr and brings his head to the Prophet; he accompanies the Prophet on the night of the jinn.

Scholar and Reciter of the Qur’an

He became one of the great scholars of the Ummah — Masruq said the knowledge of all the Companions gathered in six men, and of those six in Ali and Ibn Mas’ud. 3 Hayatus Sahaba · Vol 3 · pp. 303 — Kandhlawi — Masruq on the knowledge of the Companions concentrating in Ali and Ibn Mas'ud. So scrupulous was he in transmitting the Prophet’s ﷺ words that he would tremble and add “or as he said something like it,” for fear of error. 4 Stories of the Sahabah · pp. 175–176 — Zakariyya Kandhlawi — Ibn Mas'ud's extreme caution in narrating hadith.

Virtues in the Hadith

The Prophet ﷺ named him first among the four from whom the Qur’an should be learned:

خُذُوا الْقُرْآنَ مِنْ أَرْبَعَةٍ مِنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ مَسْعُودٍ ـ فَبَدَأَ بِهِ ـ وَسَالِمٍ مَوْلَى أَبِي حُذَيْفَةَ، وَمُعَاذِ بْنِ جَبَلٍ، وَأُبَىِّ بْنِ كَعْبٍ

”Learn the Qur’an from four: from Abdullah ibn Mas’ud — he began with him — and Salim the freedman of Abu Hudhayfa, and Mu’adh ibn Jabal, and Ubayy ibn Ka’b.”

Sahih al-Bukhari 3808 · Book 63 (Merits of the Ansar), Hadith 33 · USC-MSA: Vol. 5, Book 58, Hadith 153 · narrated by Masruq from Abdullah ibn Amr