Al-Aʿmash narrates, on the authority of Zayd ibn Wahb, who said:
“I was sitting with ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb when Ibn Masʿūd arrived. Because of his short stature those present almost concealed him from view, and ʿUmar laughed when he saw him. ʿUmar then began talking to him—his face radiant—and joking with him while the latter stood beside him. When Ibn Masʿūd turned to leave, ʿUmar followed him with his eyes until he disappeared, and then said, ‘A little vessel filled with knowledge.’ (1)

Maʿn ibn ʿĪsā related to us: Muʿāwiyah ibn Ṣāliḥ reported, from Asad ibn Wadāʿah, that ʿUmar once spoke of Ibn Masʿūd, saying, ‘A small vessel filled with knowledge; I have favored with him the people of al-Qādisiyyah.’

ʿAffān narrated to us: Wuhaib (2) related, from Dāwūd, from ʿĀmir, that ʿAbd Allah had first settled as a muhājir (emigrant) in Ḥimṣ; but ʿUmar removed him (3) to Kūfah and wrote to its inhabitants: ‘By Allah—there is no deity but He—I have preferred you with him over myself, so take from him.’ (4)

ʿUbayd Allah ibn Mūsā reported, from Misʿar, from ʿAmr ibn Murrah, from Abū ʿUbaydah, who said: ʿAbd Allah once set out on a journey during which, it is said, thirst killed him and his companions. When this was mentioned to ʿUmar, he remarked, ‘I consider it more likely that Allah would cause a spring to gush forth for him, from which he and his companions would drink, than that thirst would kill him.’ (5)

Hushaym narrated to us: Siyyār, from Abū Wāʾil, that Ibn Masʿūd saw a man whose garment was trailing below the ankles,