hadith 8381–8485

Abu Ubaydah narrates from his father, Sayyiduna Abdullah (bin Mas'ud) (may Allah be pleased with him), who says: the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) passed by, and with him (peace and blessings be upon him) were Sayyiduna Abu Bakr and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both). They passed by Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) while he was praying, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Ibn Umm Abd, ask and you will be given." Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) says: "Abu Bakr and I raced (to give him this glad tiding), and whenever we raced towards any good deed, he (Abu Bakr) always got ahead of me and gave him the glad tiding." Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) says: "I do not recall, except that my supplication which I hardly ever leave out in my prayer is this: O Allah, I ask You for a blessing that does not run out, a coolness of the eyes that does not fade, and the companionship of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) in the highest level of the Garden of Eternity."

Abu Ubaydah narrates from Sayyiduna Abdullah (bin Mas'ud) (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) went out with Sayyiduna Abu Bakr and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both). Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) had invited them, and they went out from his house towards the mosque of Madinah. There Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) was standing, praying and reciting the Qur'an. Then he (Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), in the prayer) sat and recited the tashahhud, and praised Allah as He deserves, in the finest way a man could praise, and sent blessings upon his Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Then he became absorbed in supplication with humility, while the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was saying: "Ask and you will be given." Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: O Messenger of Allah, who is this? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "This is Abdullah Ibn Umm Abd. Whoever would love to recite the Qur'an fresh (as though newly revealed), just as it was revealed, let him recite it the way Ibn Umm Abd recites." So Sayyiduna Abu Bakr and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) both raced (to give him the glad tiding), and Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) got ahead of him. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) related that Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) got ahead of him, and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "And he was always one to race ahead in good deeds."

Sayyiduna Abdullah (bin Mas'ud) (may Allah be pleased with him) says: the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) invited Sayyiduna Abu Bakr and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), and they had dinner with him. When they had finished, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) went out (walking) between Sayyiduna Abu Bakr and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), and they passed by Sayyiduna Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) while he was standing in prayer. the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever would love to recite the Qur'an fresh, just as it was revealed, let him recite according to the recitation of Ibn Umm Abd."

Abu Ubaydah narrates: Sayyiduna Abdullah (bin Mas'ud) (may Allah be pleased with him) was asked: What did you supplicate with on the night when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to you: "Ask and you will be given"? He said: (I said:) O Allah, I ask You for faith that does not turn back, a blessing that does not run out, and the companionship of Your Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) in the highest level of the Garden of Eternity.

Zirr (bin Hubaysh) narrates from Sayyiduna Abdullah (bin Mas'ud) (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came to him with Sayyiduna Abu Bakr and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) while Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) was praying; he had begun Surah al-Nisa and recited it straight through. the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever would love to recite the Qur'an fresh, just as it was revealed, let him recite according to the recitation of Ibn Umm Abd." Then he (Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him)) sat and began to supplicate (to Allah), and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) kept saying: "Ask and you will be given, ask and you will be given." Among what he asked for was this: O Allah, I ask You for faith that does not turn back, a blessing that does not run out, and the companionship of Your Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the Garden of Eternity. Then Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) came to Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) to give him the glad tiding, and he found Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) coming out, having already come before him. So Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said (to Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him)): "If you have done (so, given him this glad tiding), then you are indeed one who races far ahead in good deeds."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that once he was reciting the Qur'an in the mosque when the Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) passed by while he was supplicating. the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had come out (accompanied by) Sayyiduna Abu Bakr and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both). When he (peace and blessings be upon him) passed near him, he heard his supplication, while he (peace and blessings be upon him) did not recognize him, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Ask and you will be given." So Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) went back to Sayyiduna Ibn Mas'ud and asked: What was the supplication that you made? He said: "I praised Allah and glorified Him." Then he said: "O Allah, there is no god but You; Your promise is true, the meeting with You is true, Paradise is true, Hell is true, Your messengers are true, the prophets are true, and Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is true."

Abdullah bin Utbah (may Allah have mercy on him) says: Once Sayyiduna Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) was making a supplication in the mosque when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) passed by him. When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) passed near him, he heard his supplication, while the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not recognize him, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Who is this? Ask and you will be given." So Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) went back to Sayyiduna Abdullah and said: What was the supplication you were making? He said: "I praised Allah and glorified Him, then I said: O Allah, there is no god but You; Your promise is true, the meeting with You is true, Your Book is true, the prophets are true, and Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is true, Paradise is true, Hell is true, and Your messengers are true."

Alqamah (may Allah have mercy on him) says: A man came to Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: I have come to you with news of a man who dictates mushafs from memory. (The narrator says:) Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was alarmed and said in anger: Woe to you, look at what you are saying! And he became angry. The man said: I have brought you nothing but the truth. He said: Who is he? He said: Abdullah bin Mas'ud. He said: I know of no one more entitled to that than him, and I will tell you something about Abdullah: One night we stayed up talking in the house of Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) about some matter that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) needed. Then we came out, with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) walking between me and Abu Bakr. When we reached the mosque, we saw a man reciting (the Qur'an), and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stood listening attentively to him. I said: O Messenger of Allah, it has grown late? He (peace and blessings be upon him) signalled to me with his hand to be quiet. He (the man praying) kept reciting, then he bowed, prostrated, and sat supplicating and seeking forgiveness, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Ask and you will be given." Then he said: "Whoever would love to recite the Qur'an fresh and moist, just as it was revealed, let him recite according to the recitation of Ibn Umm Abd." Then my companion and I knew that he was Abdullah (bin Mas'ud). When morning came, I went to him early to give him the glad tiding, and he said: Abu Bakr has already brought it (the glad tiding) before you. (Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) says:) And whenever I tried to race ahead of him in any good deed, he always got there before me.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever would love to recite the Qur'an fresh (as though newly revealed), let him recite it according to the recitation of Ibn Umm Abd."

Alqamah (may Allah have mercy on him), and Khaythamah bin Abd al-Rahman (may Allah have mercy on him) through Qays bin Marwan, both say: A man came to Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: O Commander of the Believers, I have left behind in Iraq a man who dictates mushafs from memory. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) became angry until his face turned red, and he said several times: Look at what you are saying! The man said: I am telling you nothing but the truth. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) asked: Who is he? He said: Ibn Umm Abd. (On hearing this) he calmed down until his anger left him, then he said: There is no one on the face of the earth more entitled to that than him, and I will tell you about that: One night the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) stayed up talking for a long while in the house of Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) about some matter, until the night was well advanced. Then he returned, with Abu Bakr and me with him (peace and blessings be upon him), until we reached the mosque, and we saw a man of the Muhajirun praying. He (peace and blessings be upon him) stood listening to his recitation, and neither I nor my companion knew who he was. When he had stood for a while, I said: O Messenger of Allah, it is a man of the Muhajirun praying; it would be better if you went back, for the night is well advanced. He (peace and blessings be upon him) signalled to me to be quiet, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) listened attentively to his recitation. Then he bowed and prostrated, then sat supplicating, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) began to say: "Ask and you will be given, ask and you will be given." Neither I nor my companion knew who he was, until we heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Whoever would love to recite the Qur'an fresh, just as it was revealed, let him recite the way Ibn Umm Abd recites." He said: "That was when my companion and I came to know who he was." He said: "Then I went early in the morning to Abdullah to give him the glad tiding, and he said: Abu Bakr has already come before you. (Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said:) And by Allah, whenever I tried to race ahead of Abu Bakr in any good deed, he always got there before me."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that Sayyiduna Abu Bakr and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) gave him the glad tiding that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever would love to recite the Qur'an just as it was revealed, let him recite it according to the recitation of Ibn Mas'ud."

Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) says: the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) passed by, with Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) and me accompanying him (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) passed by Sayyiduna Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) while he was reciting. He (peace and blessings be upon him) stood listening to his recitation; then Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) bowed and prostrated, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever would love to recite the Qur'an just as it was revealed, let him recite (having learned it) from Ibn Umm Abd." (Sayyiduna Umar) said: So I went that very night to Sayyiduna Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) to tell him what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had said. When I knocked on the door, he heard my voice and asked: What has brought you? I said: I have come to give you the glad tiding of what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said. He said: Abu Bakr has already come before you. I said: If he has done so, then he is indeed one who races ahead in good deeds; we never raced towards any good deed except that Abu Bakr always got there before me.

Zayd bin Wahb (may Allah have mercy on him) says: A man came to Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: O Commander of the Believers, I have left behind in Kufah a man who dictates mushafs from memory. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) became angry until his face swelled, then he asked: Who is he? He said: Abdullah bin Mas'ud. He said: May Allah's mercy be upon your father! And who could be more entitled to this honour than him? I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Whoever would love to recite the Qur'an fresh, just as it was revealed, let him recite it according to the recitation of Ibn Umm Abd."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah (bin Mas'ud) (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Follow the two after me, Abu Bakr and Umar; adopt the way of Ammar; and hold firmly to the covenant of Abdullah bin Mas'ud."

Shaqiq narrates: When the mushafs were being torn up (destroyed), Sayyiduna Abdullah (bin Mas'ud) (may Allah be pleased with him) addressed us, while the mosque was full of the people of Badr, and he said: "The Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) know that I am the most knowledgeable of them about the Book of Allah." (Shaqiq says: Then I saw that he felt embarrassed at what he had said.) Then he said: "And I am not the best of them; and if I knew of a man more knowledgeable than me about the Book of Allah, whom camels could reach, I would go to him." Shaqiq says: "When Sayyiduna Abdullah finished his sermon, I sat in the study circles to hear what people were saying, and I did not hear anyone objecting to that."

Abu Wa'il (may Allah have mercy on him) says: When Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) issued his order concerning the mushafs, Sayyiduna Abdullah (bin Mas'ud) (may Allah be pleased with him) stood up, praised Allah, and then said: O people, Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, says: "And whoever acts unfaithfully will come with what he took unfaithfully on the Day of Resurrection" [Surah Al Imran: 161]. Listen! So hide away the mushafs. Do you order me to recite it according to the recitation of Zayd bin Thabit? By the One besides whom there is no god, I took seventy-odd surahs directly from the blessed mouth of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), while Zayd bin Thabit at that time was a (child) with two locks of hair, playing with the children. By the One besides whom there is no god, if I knew of anyone more knowledgeable than me about the Book of Allah, I would go to him.

Sayyiduna Abdullah (bin Mas'ud) (may Allah be pleased with him) says: "By Allah, no surah of the Qur'an was revealed except that I know where it was revealed, and no verse of it was revealed except that I know concerning what it was revealed; and if I knew of anyone more knowledgeable than me about the Book of Allah, whom camels could reach, I would go to him."

Sayyiduna Abdullah (bin Mas'ud) (may Allah be pleased with him) says: "By the One besides whom there is no god, no surah of the Qur'an was revealed except that I know where it was revealed, and no verse (was revealed) except that I know concerning whom it was revealed; and if I knew of anyone more knowledgeable than me about the Book of Allah, whom camels could reach, I would ride to him."

Sayyiduna Abdullah (bin Mas'ud) (may Allah be pleased with him) says: "There is no verse of the Book of Allah except that I know where it was revealed and concerning whom it was revealed; and if I knew of anyone more knowledgeable than me about the Book of Allah, whom camels could reach, I would travel to him."

Sayyiduna Abdullah (bin Mas'ud) (may Allah be pleased with him) says: "By the One besides whom there is no god, there is no surah in the Book of Allah except that I know where it was revealed, and there is no verse in it except that I know concerning what it was revealed."

Al-Aswad narrates that it was said to Sayyiduna Abdullah (bin Mas'ud) (may Allah be pleased with him): Recite according to the recitation of Zayd. He said: "Shall I abandon my recitation for the recitation of Zayd, when I recited seventy surahs from the blessed mouth of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) while he (Zayd) was still a boy with two locks of hair?"

Khumayr bin Malik narrates: When the order was given for the mushafs to be changed, this displeased Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), and he said: "Whoever among you is able to hide away a mushaf, let him hide it, for whoever acts unfaithfully with anything will bring it on the Day of Resurrection."
Then Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I recited seventy surahs of the Qur'an from the blessed mouth of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) while Zayd was still a child. Shall I then abandon what I took from the blessed mouth of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)?"

Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) says: "I recited seventy surahs from the blessed mouth of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)," while Zayd bin Thabit had two locks of hair in the school (he was still a child).

Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I recited seventy surahs from the blessed mouth of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)," while Zayd bin Thabit had a single lock of hair and played with the boys.

Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) says: "According to whose recitation am I ordered to recite? I recited seventy surahs in front of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)," while Zayd bin Thabit was a boy with a lock of hair who played with the other boys.

Amr bin Shurahbil Abu Maysarah al-Hamdani (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates: I was praying when a man came to me and said: "Do I see you praying, when an order has been given concerning the Book of Allah and it has been torn up?" So I shortened my prayer; I was not one to be kept out, so I entered the house and was not kept out, then I went upstairs and was not kept out. There I saw Abu Musa al-Ash'ari, Hudhayfah and Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with them) talking with one another, and Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) was saying to Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him): "Hand this mushaf over to them." He said: "No, by Allah, I will never hand it over to them. the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) taught me (the Qur'an) seventy-odd times; shall I now hand it over to them? By Allah, I will never hand it over to them."

Abu Sa'd al-Azdi narrates that he heard Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) say: "I received seventy surahs from the blessed mouth of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)," and I had mastered them before Zayd bin Thabit became Muslim, when he was a boy with a lock of hair who played with the other boys.

Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) says: "How strange are the people, abandoning my recitation and adopting the recitation of Zayd bin Thabit, when I took seventy surahs from the blessed mouth of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)," while Zayd bin Thabit was a boy with a lock of hair.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I recited seventy-odd surahs from the mouth of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)," while Zayd bin Thabit had two locks of hair (that is, he was still a boy).

Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I took seventy surahs from the mouth of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him); no one disputes with me about them."

Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I recited seventy surahs from the mouth of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)."

Sayyiduna Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I had recited seventy-odd surahs in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)," while Zayd bin Thabit had two locks of hair and used to play with the boys.

Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I recited seventy surahs from the mouth of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)," while Zayd bin Thabit was a disbeliever in Allah and had not believed in Him (that is, he had not yet become a Muslim).

Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I recited seventy surahs before the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and I completed the Qur'an with the best of people, Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him)."

Zadhan Abu Imran (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that Sayyiduna Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him: "O my brother, we have a gathering, so come to us as well." So I came to his gathering and learned seventy surahs from him. Then Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said to me: "I took them from the mouth of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him); Jibril (peace be upon him) brought them down from the Lord of the Worlds, the Mighty and Majestic."

Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "How can you order me to recite according to the recitation of Zayd bin Thabit?" Then he said: "I recited seventy surahs from the mouth of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)."

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Your permission to come to me is that you lift the curtain and hear my private talk, until I forbid you." Al-Hasan said: "Al-sawad" means private talk.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Your permission to come to me is that you lift the curtain."

Abdullah bin Shaddad bin al-Had (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that Sayyiduna Abdullah (bin Mas'ud) (may Allah be pleased with him) was the one in charge of the pillow, the tooth-stick (siwak) and the sandals (of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)).

Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I used to gather a tooth-stick (siwak) from the arak tree for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and the wind would bend me over, for my shins were thin. The people laughed, whereupon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'Why do you laugh at the thinness of his shins? By the One in whose hand my soul is, they (his shins) will be heavier in the Scale than Mount Uhud.'"