—the Companions of Muhammad ﷺ—that I am the most knowledgeable among them concerning the Book of Allah. Yet I am not the best of them. (1)

Zaʾidah and Abū Bakr ibn ʿAyyāsh transmit—from ʿĀṣim, from Zir, from ʿAbd Allāh—that:

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ once walked between Abū Bakr and ʿUmar while ʿAbd Allāh was standing in prayer. He had begun Surah al-Nisāʾ, reciting it with flawless precision. The Prophet ﷺ said, “Whoever wishes to recite the Qur’an fresh, just as it was revealed, let him recite in the manner of Ibn Umm ʿAbd.”

ʿAbd Allāh then entered into supplication, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ kept saying, “Ask, and you will be given.” Among what he asked for was: “O Allah, I ask You for a faith that never backslides, a bliss that never ends, and the companionship of Your Prophet Muhammad ﷺ in the highest of the everlasting gardens.”

ʿUmar later came to give ʿAbd Allāh the good news, but found Abū Bakr already on his way out, having preceded him. So he said, “You are indeed one who races to good.” (2)

This was also narrated by Yazīd ibn Hārūn, from ʿUbaydah, from Abū Wāʾil, from ʿAbd Allāh. (3)

Abū Muʿāwiyah and others report—from al-Aʿmash, from Ibrāhīm, from ʿAlqamah—who said: A man came to ʿUmar while he was at ʿArafah (ḥ).

Al-Aʿmash also relates—from Khaythamah, from Qays ibn Marwān—that the man said to ʿUmar, “Commander of the Believers, I have come from Kūfah and left there a man who is dictating Qur’anic codices entirely from memory.”

ʿUmar became furious and swelled until he nearly filled the space between the man’s shoulders. He asked, “Who is he, woe to you?”

The man replied, “Ibn Masʿūd.” ʿUmar’s anger then subsided; he calmed down until he returned to his usual composure, and he said, “Woe to you! By Allah, I do not know of anyone left among the people who is…"