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"--the son of the mother of a slave. His real name was Abdullah
and his father's name was Masud.
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 ofhis
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
andthroat 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 withhim. 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 becamequite attached to them.
It was not long before Abdullah ibn Masud became a Muslim and offered
to be in the service of the Prophet. The Prophet agreedand from that
day the fortunate Abdullah ibn Masud gave up tending sheep in exchange
for looking after the needs of the blessed Prophet.
Abdullah ibn Masud remained closely attached to the Prophet. He would
attend to his needs both inside and outside the house. He would
accompany himon 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 Masud received a unique training in the householdof 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 Quran among the companions and he understood it better
than them all. He was therefore the most knowledgeable on the Shariah.
Nothing can illustrate this betterthan 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-Mumineen, from Kufah where I left a man
filling copies of the Quran from memory." Umar became very angry and
paced upand down beside his camel, fuming. "Who is he?" he
asked."Abdullah ibn Masud," 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 having a conversation
with Abu Bakr about the situation of Muslims. Iwas 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 didnot recognize.
The Prophet stood and listened to him, then turned to us and said,
'Whoever wants to read the Quran as freshas when it was revealed, then
lethim 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 myself, I shall go
to Abdullah ibnMasud 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 Masud attained such a knowledge of the Quran 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 Masud was
in it.
"From where do you come?" asked Umar.
"From a deep valley," came the reply. (The expression used fajj amiq
deep valley--is a Quranic one).
"And where are you going?" asked Umar.
"To the ancient house," came the reply. (The expression used al-bayt
al-atiq ancient house, is aQuranic one.)
"There is a learned person (alim)among them," said Umar and
hecommanded someone to ask theperson:
"Which part of the Quran is the greatest?"
"God. There is no god except Him, the Living, the Self-subsisting.
Neither slumber overtakes Him nor sleep," replied the person
answering, quoting the Ayat al-Kursi (the verse of the Throne).
"Which part of the Quran is the most clear on justice?"
"God commands what it just and fair the feeding of relatives..." came
the answer.
"What it the most comprehensive statement of theQuran?'
"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 Quran gives risk 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 Masud among you?'
"Yes, by God," the men in the caravan replied.
Abdullah ibn Masud was not onlya reciter of the Quran, a learned man
or a fervent worshipper. He was in addition a strong and courageous
fighter, one who became deadly serious when theoccasion 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 notyet heard the Quran being recited openly and loudly. Who is
the man who could recite it for them?'
"I shall recite it from them," volunteered Abdullah ibn Masud. "We are
afraid for you," they said. "We only want someone who has a clan who
would protect him from their evil . "
"Let me," Abdullah ibn Masud insisted, "Allah shall protect me and
keep me away from their evil." He then went out to the mosque until he
reached MaqamIbrahim (a few meters from the Kabah). It was dawn and
the Quraysh were sitting around the Kabah. Abdullah stopped at the
Maqam and began to recite:
"Bismillah irRahma nirRahim. Ar-Rahman. Allama-l Quran. Khalaqal
insan. Allamahul bayan... (In the name of God, theBeneficent, the
Merciful. The Merciful God. He has taught the Quran. He has created
man and taught him the clear truth...)"
He went on reciting. The Qurayshlooked at him intently and someof 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 Iat 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 Masud 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 stipendwhich you have refused to take for years now?"
"I have no need of it."
"Let it be for your daughters after you."
"Do you fear poverty for my children? I have commanded them to read
Surah al-Waqiah every night for I have heard the Prophet saying,
"Whoever reads Al-Waqiah every night shall not be afflicted by poverty
ever."
That night, Abdullah passed away to the company of his Lord, his
tongue moist with the remembrance of God and with the recitation of
the verses of HisBook.
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