Abdullah ibn Mas'ud

A shepherd boy who became the ummah's Qur'an; heavier on the Scale than Uhud.

The account

A slight shepherd of Makkah's outskirts, Ibn Mas'ud met two fugitives asking for milk and watched a dry udder fill at the Prophet's ﷺ touch; he asked to be taught, and became the sixth person in Islam. He was the first man after the Prophet to recite the Qur'an publicly at the Kaaba, taking the beating that followed and offering to do it again tomorrow. The Prophet told the ummah: "Whoever wishes to recite the Qur'an fresh as it was revealed, let him recite it upon the reading of Ibn Umm Abd," and counted him among the four from whom the Qur'an should be taken.

He carried the Prophet's sandals, siwak, and secrets, walked with him, and absorbed his manner until visitors mistook the household resemblance. When the wind lifted his garment from his thin shins and the companions laughed, the Prophet said: "By the One in whose hand is my soul, they are heavier on the Scale than Uhud." He taught Kufa its Qur'an and its fiqh; the school that became Iraq's jurisprudence begins in his mosque circle. He asked to recite for the Prophet once and moved him to tears at "how will it be when We bring from every nation a witness, and bring you over these as a witness."

The facts

NumberSixth in Islam
FirstPublic Qur'an at the Kaaba
On the ScaleShins heavier than Uhud
LegacyThe school of Kufa

The narrations

Whoever wishes to recite the Qur'an fresh as it was revealed, let him recite it upon the reading of Ibn Umm Abd.

Ibn Majah 138 · Ahmad (sahih)

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BeforeAbu Dharr al-Ghifari AfterUbayy ibn Ka'b

On the Companions page The Path