the Qur’an firsthand and the unique circumstances that surrounded its revelation, and because they possessed comprehensive understanding, sound knowledge, and upright practice—especially their scholars and leading figures, such as the four foremost authorities, the Rightly-Guided Caliphs and rightly guided imams, among them ʿAbd Allah ibn Masʿūd.

Imam Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn Jarīr al-Ṭabarī said: “Abū Kurayb narrated to us; Jābir ibn Nūḥ narrated to us; al-Aʿmash narrated to us from Abū al-Ḍaḥḥā, from Masrūq, who related that ʿAbd Allah—meaning Ibn Masʿūd—swore, ‘By Him in whose hand is my soul, no verse of Allah’s Book was revealed except that I know for whom it was revealed and where it was revealed. If I knew of anyone more knowledgeable about the Book of Allah than I am, whose dwelling could be reached by mounts, I would travel to him.’”

Explanation
This report underscores the legitimacy of travelling in pursuit of knowledge. Ibn Masʿūd did not intend to boast; his purpose was to exhort people to study Allah’s Book and to seek its interpretation from its qualified transmitters. He was also encouraging them to learn that interpretation from him.

Al-Aʿmash also reported from Abū Wāʾil, from Ibn Masʿūd, that he said, “When one of us had learned ten verses, he would not go beyond them until he understood their meanings and acted upon them.”

Among those eminent exegetes was the erudite “ocean” of knowledge, ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAbbās, the cousin of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.

Explanation
He was called “ocean” because of the vastness of his knowledge, and “ḥabr” (sage) for the same reason; in Arabic, both ḥabr and baḥr denote something extensive. The word may be pronounced ḥabr or ḥibr.