The virtue of Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him)

Ishaq bin Rahwayh (may Allah have mercy on him) says: I asked Imam Abu Usamah: Did Abu Talq bin Hanzalah narrate this report to you, (saying): My father narrated to me from Aws bin Thurayb? Then he mentioned the hadith, (in which) Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) struck between the shoulders of Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) with his hand and said: "O Ibn Mas'ud, Allah Almighty has placed a great deal of knowledge in your heart." Imam Abu Usamah confirmed this report.
A mention of Sayyiduna Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) is also present in the account of Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him), and this hadith is mentioned in full in the chapter 'Ishrat al-Nisa' (Living with Wives).

It is narrated from al-Qasim (may Allah have mercy on him) that he said: "The first person in Makkah, in the blessed era of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), who openly spread the Noble Qur'an and recited it aloud was Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him)."
Imam Ibn Abi Umar recorded this report in his Musnad; all the narrators of its chain are thiqat (trustworthy), but since al-Qasim did not hear from Sayyiduna Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), it is mursal in its chain; however, other reliable historical and Sirah reports support this incident.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that he entered the mosque, went to a pillar and began to pray near it. At that time the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was sitting in the mosque, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Ibn Mas'ud is our leader," while he could not hear this saying of his (peace and blessings be upon him). Then he recited "Say: O disbelievers" [Surah al-Kafirun: 1], then bowed and prostrated. Then, when he stood up for the second rak'ah, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Ibn Mas'ud, adopt sincerity (ikhlas)." So he recited "Say: He is Allah, the One" [Surah al-Ikhlas: 1], then bowed, prostrated and sat, whereupon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Ibn Mas'ud, supplicate, and your supplication will be answered; ask, and you will be given."
Yet even in that state he (Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him)) could not hear his (peace and blessings be upon him) voice, and so he made this supplication: 'Allahumma inni as'aluka al-rafiq al-a'la, wa al-nasib al-awfar min jannat al-na'im, wa as'aluka al-huda wa al-tuqa wa al-'iffata wa al-thara, wa al-bushra 'inda inqita' al-dunya, wa as'aluka imanan la yartadd, wa qurrata 'aynin la tanfad, wa farahan la yanqati', wa tawfiqan lil-hamd, wa libas al-taqwa, wa zinat al-iman, wa murafaqata nabiyyika Muhammadin salla Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam fi a'la jannat al-khuld' (O Allah, I ask You for the Highest Companionship (the exalted companions in Paradise), and for the most abundant share of the Gardens of Bliss; and I ask You for guidance, piety, chastity and prosperity, and for glad tidings at the time of departing from the world; and I ask You for faith that never fades, for a coolness of the eyes that never ends, for a lasting joy that is never cut off, for the ability to praise You, for the garment of piety, for the adornment of faith, and for the companionship of Your Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) in the highest Garden of Eternity).
The narrator says: Then a man went and gave him the glad tidings (of it).

It is narrated from Nufay', the freed slave of Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), that he said: "Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) had the most refined taste among people in wearing white clothes, and in the use of perfume he was also the most fragrant of all people."
And the hadith of Sayyiduna Amr bin al-As (may Allah be pleased with him) is in his biographical account.
Also, in the hadith of al-Qasim (may Allah have mercy on him) it is narrated: "It was the practice of Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that whenever the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sat down somewhere, he would take his sandals off his blessed feet." This report is recorded in the Book of Manners (Kitab al-Adab).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Uqbah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "I do not find any man who has greater knowledge of the revelation and the Shari'ah that was sent down upon Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) than Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him)." So Sayyiduna Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him) said (in support of him): "If you say this (it is perfectly true), for he used to hear the sayings of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) even at times when we did not get the chance to hear (because we were not present), and he used to enter the Prophet's presence even at times when we had no access to go in (because of a curtain or privacy)."
Imam Ahmad bin Mani' recorded it.

It is narrated from al-Qasim bin Abd al-Rahman (may Allah have mercy on him) that Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) spoke in the presence of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He praised and glorified Allah Almighty, and then said: 'Raditu billahi rabban, wa bil-Islami dinan, wa bi-Muhammadin rasulan' (I am pleased (with all my heart) with Allah as Lord, with Islam as religion, and with Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) as Messenger). Then he said (to the Companions): "I am pleased for you with what Allah and His Messenger are pleased with, and I dislike for you what Allah and His Messenger dislike." Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I am pleased for my Ummah with what Ibn Umm Abd (Abdullah bin Mas'ud) is pleased with for them."
Imam al-Hakim transmitted this report in al-Mustadrak and Imam al-Dhahabi declared it sahih (authentic); moreover, it has supporting reports in other books of hadith as well.

It is narrated from Mu'awiyah bin Qurrah (may Allah have mercy on him) that Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) went to bring a tooth-stick (siwak) to the noble presence of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). (Meanwhile) the people began to look at the thinness and leanness of his shins and to wonder at them. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "These two (shins) are heavier in the Scale of deeds than Mount Uhud."
Imam al-Bazzar recorded it by way of Sahl bin Hammad, from Shu'bah, from Mu'awiyah bin Qurrah, from his father; and Imam al-Bazzar also stated explicitly that the narrator named Sahl is alone in narrating this report.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "I used to arrange a screen for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) when he took a bath; when he (peace and blessings be upon him) was resting, it was I who would wake him; and I used to accompany him (peace and blessings be upon him) as he walked on the earth."
Imam al-Harith bin Abi Usamah transmitted this report in his Musnad.