hadith 8381–8485

Ibrahim al-Nakha'i (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) came to Sayyiduna Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) and began talking with him at his home. Meanwhile the time of prayer came, and when the iqamah was called, Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) stepped back. Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him: "You know that it is the Sunnah for the master of the house to step forward (and lead the prayer)." But Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) refused, until a freed slave belonging to one of the two stepped forward to lead the prayer.

Abu al-Ahwas (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates: We were in the house of Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) with some of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and they were looking into a copy of the Qur'an (mushaf). Meanwhile Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) stood up, and Abu Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I do not know that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) left behind him anyone more knowledgeable of what Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, revealed (the Qur'an) than this man who is standing (here)." At this Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Since you have said this, (then know that) he used to be present when we were absent, and he used to be given permission when we were kept behind the curtain."

Uqbah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) says: "I do not see any man more knowledgeable of what was revealed to Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) than Abdullah." Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "If that is said, (then know that) he used to hear when others did not hear, and he used to enter when others did not enter."

Abu al-Ahwas (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates: I came to Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him), and with him were Abdullah bin Mas'ud and Abu Mas'ud al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with them both), and they were looking into a copy of the Qur'an. We talked for a while, then Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) went out, and Abu Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "No, by Allah, I do not know that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) left (behind him) anyone more knowledgeable of the Book of Allah than this man who has just got up and left."

Al-Aswad bin Yazid (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that he heard Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) say: "My brother and I came from Yemen, and for some time we thought only that Abdullah bin Mas'ud was one of the household of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), because of how (frequently) he went in to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)."

Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) says: "I came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and I considered Ibn Mas'ud to be one of the household."

A man came to Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: My wife's milk became blocked in her breast, so I kept sucking it and spitting it out, and some of it went into my stomach. He said: "She has become unlawful for you." So the man went to Abdullah (bin Mas'ud) (may Allah be pleased with him). Abu Atiyyah says: He got up and we got up with him, and he said: "Drink the milk of her breast! Suckling (that counts) is only that which grows flesh and makes blood." At this Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "As long as this scholar is among you, do not ask me about anything."

It is narrated from Abu Atiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) that a man came to Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) and said that his wife's breast had swollen, so he kept sucking it and spitting it out, and some of it went into his stomach. He said: "I think that she is no longer lawful for him." So he went to Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) and asked him about it, and he said: "She has not become unlawful for you. Suckling only makes unlawful that which grows flesh and strengthens bone, and there is no suckling (that counts) after weaning." When this was told to Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him), he said: "As long as this scholar from among the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is among us, do not ask us about anything."

Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) says, concerning the statement of Allah Almighty "Fear Allah as He should be feared" [Surah Al Imran: 102]: "That is, that He be obeyed and not disobeyed, that He be remembered and not forgotten, and that He be thanked and not shown ingratitude."

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) says, concerning the statement of Allah Almighty "Fear Allah as He should be feared" [Surah Al Imran: 102]: "That is, that He be obeyed and not disobeyed, that He be thanked and not shown ingratitude, and that He be remembered and not forgotten."

Sayyiduna Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) says, concerning the statement of Allah Almighty "And gives wealth despite his love for it" [Surah al-Baqarah: 177]: "That is, that you give it while you are healthy and covetous of wealth, hoping to live and fearing poverty."

Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) says: "The major sins are mentioned from the beginning of Surah al-Nisa up to the thirtieth verse."

Qays bin Habtar (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "How excellent are the two disliked things: death and poverty. By Allah, I do not care whether I am tested with wealth or with poverty. If it is wealth, there is kindness and compassion in it, and if it is poverty, there is patience in it."

Abu Ma'mar (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates: Whenever we heard something from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that we disliked, we would remain silent until he explained it to us. One day Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said to us: "No reward is written for the person afflicted with illness (for it)." This upset us and weighed heavily on us, so he said: "But Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, expiates sins through it."

Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Shall I not warn you against excessive speech? It is enough for any of you to fulfil his need."

Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "For me to remember Allah from morning until evening is dearer to me than to charge on swift horses (in jihad) from morning until evening."

Abu Sadiq (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I know of households whom the Dajjal will terrify." The people asked: "O Abu Abd al-Rahman, who are they?" He said: "The households of the people of Kufah."

Ash'ath bin Abi al-Sha'tha (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates from his father: The Dajjal was mentioned in the presence of Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), and he said: "Do not mention him much, for when a matter is decreed in the heaven, the quickest thing for its descent to the earth is that it appears on the tongues of the people." He also said: "How will it be with you when the people are safe and you are afraid? And how will it be with you when the people are in the shade and you are in the sun?"

Khaythamah (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates: The Dajjal was mentioned in the presence of Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him), and some people said: If he comes out, we will pelt him with stones. At this Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "If he were to appear in Babylon, some of them would by morning be complaining of walking barefoot because of the haste with which they reached him."

Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Whoever shows off, Allah will expose him (before people); whoever seeks fame, Allah will make him notorious (by disgracing him); whoever exalts himself out of arrogance, Allah will lower him; and whoever humbles himself in humility, Allah will raise him. Among people, some are given abundance in this world and will be in straitness in the Hereafter; some are in straitness in this world and will be given abundance in the Hereafter; some will be in straitness in both this world and the Hereafter; and some will be given abundance in both this world and the Hereafter. And one man is relieved, and another is one from whom (others) are relieved." We said: "O Abu Abd al-Rahman, what is meant by the one who is relieved and the one from whom (others) are relieved?" He said: "The one who is relieved is the believer who finds rest after he dies, and the one from whom (others) are relieved is the one who wrongs people and backbites them (by his death people are relieved of his evil)."

Masruq (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates: "I compared the Companions of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and found that their knowledge ended with six: Umar, Ali, Abdullah bin Mas'ud, Abu al-Darda and Zayd bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with them). Then I compared those six and found that their knowledge ended with Ali and Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both)."

Yazid bin Umayrah (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that when the time of death drew near for Sayyiduna Mu'adh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him), we said to him: Give us some advice. He said: "Sit me up." Then he said: "Knowledge and faith are in their place; whoever seeks them will find them" - he said this three times - "and seek knowledge from four people: Uwaymir Abu al-Darda, Salman al-Farisi, Abdullah bin Mas'ud and Abdullah bin Salam (may Allah be pleased with them)."

Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) says: "On the day of Uhud only four people remained with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), one of whom was Abdullah bin Mas'ud."

Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) says: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) to climb a tree and bring him something from it. His companions looked at the thinness of his shins and began to laugh, so the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "What makes you laugh? The leg of Abdullah is heavier in the Scale than the mountain of Uhud."

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) says: "I climbed an arak tree to pick a tooth-stick (miswak) from it, and my companions began to marvel at how light I was, so the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'Why do you marvel? By the One in whose Hand is my soul, it will be heavier in the Scale on the Day of Resurrection than the mountain of Uhud.'"