hadith 8564–9729

Al-Sha'bi narrated from his paternal uncle, who said: I kept visiting Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) for a year, and I never saw him fasting on any day except in Ramadan, and he used to drink strong nabidh from a green earthenware jar.

Qays bin Abd said: I kept visiting Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) for a year, and I never saw him pray the forenoon (duha) prayer, nor did I ever see him observe a voluntary fast except on the day of Ashura.

Qays bin Abd said: I kept visiting Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), (and the narrator) narrated the like of the hadith of Hammad bin Zayd.

Alqamah said: We were with Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) when a drink was brought to him, and he said: "Offer it to the people." The people said: "We are fasting." He said: "But I am not fasting." Then he drank it and recited: "They fear a Day in which hearts and eyes will be overturned" [Surah al-Nur: 37].

Al-Aswad said: I heard Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) say: "The righteous will depart one after another, and the people of doubt will remain, those who neither recognise any good nor reject any evil."

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, divided goodness into ten parts; He placed nine parts in al-Sham and the remaining one part in the rest of the earth. And He divided evil into ten parts as well; He placed one part of it in al-Sham and the rest in the rest of the earth."

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Whoever loves to meet Allah, Allah loves to meet him, and whoever dislikes meeting Allah, Allah dislikes meeting him; and death comes before the meeting with Allah."

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "When one of you seeks something he needs, let him seek it discreetly, for he will only receive what has been decreed for him. And let none of you go to his companion and praise him so that he breaks his back."

Abdullah bin Rabi'ah said: We were sitting with Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) when the people mentioned a man and spoke about his character. Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "What do you think, if you were to cut off his head, could you put it back?" They said: "No." He said: "Then his hand?" They said: "No." He said: "Then his foot?" They said: "No." He said: "Then you will never be able to change his character until you change his physical form. Indeed, the drop of semen settles in the womb for forty nights, then it descends as blood, then it becomes a clinging clot ('alaqah), then it becomes a lump of flesh (mudghah), then the angel is sent to it, and he writes down its provision, its character, and whether it will be wretched or fortunate."

Abdullah bin Rabi'ah said: We were with Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him). The people mentioned a man and spoke about his character, and the people said: "Is there no one to restrain him?" Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "What do you think, if his head were cut off, could you make a head for him? Or if his two hands were cut off, could you make a hand for him? Or if his foot were cut off, could you make a foot for him?" They said: "No." Then Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Indeed, when the drop of semen falls into the woman, it remains for forty days, then it descends as blood, then it becomes an 'alaqah, then likewise it becomes a mudghah. Then Allah sends the angel and says: 'Write down his lifespan, his deeds, his provision and his traces, and whether he is wretched or fortunate.' So you will never be able to change his character until you change his physical form."

Abdullah bin Mikraz, or Ubaydullah bin Mikraz, said: Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Indeed, with your Lord, the Exalted, there is neither night nor day; the light of the heavens and the earth is from the light of His Face. The measure of each one of your days with Him is twelve hours. Your deeds of yesterday are presented to Him at the beginning of today, and He looks into them for three hours. He becomes aware in them of something He dislikes, and that angers Him. The first to know of His anger are the bearers of the Throne; they praise Him, though it weighs heavily upon them. Then the bearers of the Throne, those around the Throne, the angels brought near, and all the rest of the angels glorify Him. Then Jibril (peace be upon him) blows into the horn, and nothing remains except that it hears its sound, and they glorify the Most Merciful, the Mighty and Majestic, for three hours until the Most Merciful is filled with mercy. So these are six hours. Then the wombs are brought, and He looks into them for three hours, and that is His saying in His Book: 'It is He who shapes you in the wombs however He wills' [Al Imran: 6], 'He grants daughters to whom He wills and grants sons to whom He wills, or He gives them both sons and daughters, and He makes whom He wills barren. Indeed, He is All-Knowing, All-Powerful' [al-Shura: 50]. So these are nine hours. Then the provisions are brought, and He looks into them for three hours, as is His saying in His Book: 'He extends provision for whom He wills and restricts it' [al-Ra'd: 26], 'Every day He is engaged in some matter' [al-Rahman: 29]." He said: "This is part of your affair and the affair of your Lord."

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) used to say: "The servants remain within the expanse of Allah's covering, the Mighty and Majestic, as long as they keep up worship and do not shed any unlawful blood."

Awn said: I said to Umar bin Abd al-Aziz: Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) used to say: "Soon there will be matters that are ambiguous. Whoever is absent from them but approves of them is like one who was present at them, and whoever is present at them but dislikes them is like one who was absent from them." And this greatly pleased him (Umar bin Abd al-Aziz).

Awn said: When Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) went out of his house, he would say: "Bismillah, tawakkaltu 'ala Allah, la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah (In the name of Allah; I have put my trust in Allah; there is no might nor power except with Allah)." Muhammad bin Ka'b al-Qurazi said: This is in the Qur'an: "Embark therein, in the name of Allah" [Hud: 41], and He said: "In Allah we have put our trust."

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Do not swear with the oath of Satan, that one of you should say: 'By the might of Allah,' but say as Allah has said: 'Allah, the Lord of might.'"

A man said to Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him): "I fear that I may be a hypocrite." He said: "If you were a hypocrite, you would not fear that."

Awn narrates: When the news of the death of his brother Utbah reached Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), he wept. It was said to him: "You weep?" He said: "He was my brother by lineage, and my companion with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and despite that I would not have liked to die before him. That he should die and I hope for reward through patience over him is dearer to me than that I should die and he should be patient over my death and attain reward."

Awn narrates: Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) used to say: "O You (Allah) who are the Originator and have no beginning, O Everlasting One who has no end, O Ever-Living, Giver of life to the dead! You stand watch over every soul for what it has earned."

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Whoever has a handsome appearance, is in a position that does not disgrace him, and has been granted ample provision, and then adopts humility, he is among the special servants of Allah."

Abdullah bin Abi al-Hudhayl bin Sulaym bin Hanzalah narrates that Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) came to the gate of the market and said: "O Allah, I ask You for the good of this market and the good of its people, and I seek refuge in You from its evil and the evil of its people."

Abu Muhammad al-Nahdi narrates: Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "People are of three kinds, and there is no good in anyone besides them: a man who saw a group fighting in the way of Allah and so strove with his life and his wealth; a second man who strove with his tongue, enjoined good and forbade evil; and a third man who recognised the truth with his heart."

Abu Muhammad al-Nahdi narrates: Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Guarantee me (that you will avoid) deliberate sins, and I will guarantee you (forgiveness for) sins committed by mistake."

Ma'qil bin Amir al-Asadi narrates: Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) passed by me while I was selling some goods of mine and swearing oaths over them. He began striking my head with something in his hand, saying: "Do not swear, for an oath may benefit the goods, but it wipes out the blessing."

Abdullah bin Ukaym narrates: I heard Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) in this mosque swearing an oath before speaking, and he said: "There is none of you but that his Lord will be alone with him just as one of you is alone with the moon on the night of the full moon, and He will say: 'O son of Adam, what deceived you concerning Me? O son of Adam, what deceived you concerning Me? O son of Adam, how did you respond to the Messengers? O son of Adam, what did you do with what you knew? O son of Adam, what did you do with what you knew? O son of Adam, what did you do with what you knew?'"

Abdullah bin Ukaym narrates: I heard Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) swearing an oath before speaking; he said: "By Allah, there is none of you but that Allah will be alone with him on the Day of Resurrection just as one of you is alone with the moon on the night of the full moon. He will say: 'O son of Adam, what deceived you concerning Me? O son of Adam, what deceived you concerning Me? O son of Adam, what deceived you concerning Me? What did you do with what you knew? O son of Adam, how did you respond to the Messengers?'"

Abu Wa'il narrates: One day, after we had finished the Fajr prayer, I sought permission to visit Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), and he said: "Come in." We said: "We will wait a little; perhaps one of the household has some need." Then he came forward glorifying Allah and said: "Did you suppose heedlessness on the part of the family of Abdullah?" Then he said: "O girl, look: has the sun risen?" She said: "No." Then he said a second time: "Look: has the sun risen?" She said: "No." Then he said a third time: "Look: has the sun risen?" She said: "Yes." He said: "All praise is for Allah, who granted us this day and overlooked our slips in it" - and I think he also said: "and did not punish us with the Fire."

Wabarah bin Abd al-Rahman narrates: Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "That I should swear a false oath by Allah is dearer to me than that I should swear a true oath by other than Allah."

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "The height of Musa (peace be upon him) was twelve cubits, his staff was twelve cubits, and his leap was twelve cubits. He struck Uj bin Anaq, and reached no higher than his ankle."

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "When two men who have entered Islam cut off relations with each other, one of them leaves Islam until he returns, and his returning is that he comes to him and greets him with salam."

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "The souls of the martyrs are in the bellies of green birds, which graze in Paradise wherever they wish, then return to lamps hanging from the Throne."

Masruq narrates: Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) came out to the people of the house and said to them: "Whoever of you has come seeking a legal ruling (fatwa), let him sit until we give him the ruling; whoever of you has come with a dispute, let him stay with his opponent until we judge between them; and whoever of you has come to inform us of a fault which Allah has concealed, let him cover himself with Allah's covering and keep it hidden with the One who has the power to forgive it, for we do not have the power to forgive it, and we would establish the prescribed punishment (hadd) upon him in full detail."

Masruq narrates: An udder (cooked meat) was brought to Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), and a man moved aside and said: "I have made it unlawful for myself." Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "O you who believe, do not make unlawful the good things which Allah has made lawful for you" [al-Ma'idah: 87]; feed (the needy) and make expiation.

Masruq narrates: An udder (cooked meat) was brought to Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), and he began to eat from it, and said to the people: "Come closer." The people came closer, but one man among them moved aside. Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "What is the matter with you?" He said: "I have made udder unlawful for myself." He said: "This is one of the footsteps of Satan. Come closer and eat, and make expiation for your oath." Then he recited this verse: "O you who believe, do not make unlawful the good things which Allah has made lawful for you" [al-Ma'idah: 87].

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "The heart of a believer may be inclined to every trait except treachery and lying."

A man came to Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: "My brother is ill; he has pain in his stomach, and he has been advised to drink wine. Shall I give it to him to drink?" Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Subhan Allah (Glory be to Allah)! Allah has not placed healing in anything filthy. Healing lies only in two things: honey is a healing for people, and the Qur'an is a healing for what is in the breasts."

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "People who go out in the morning are of two kinds: one who sells his soul and destroys it, and the other who ransoms his soul and sets it free. Charity is a proof, fasting is a shield, prayer is light, and tranquillity and dignity are a gain, while abandoning them is a loss."

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Souls are like troops gathered in ranks: those that are familiar with one another come together, and those that find one another strange differ from one another."

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Indeed, Allah supports this religion even through a wicked man."

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "A woman is wholly to be covered ('awrah). When a woman goes out of her house, while nothing troubles her, Satan looks at her keenly and says: 'You will not pass by anyone without impressing him.' A woman puts on her clothes and is asked: 'Where are you going?' She says: 'I am going to visit a sick person, or to attend a funeral, or to pray in a mosque.' Yet no woman has worshipped her Lord in the way she worships Him in her house."

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "When you are three on a journey, appoint one of you as leader, and let two not converse privately to the exclusion of their (third) companion."