He was one of the foremost authorities among the Companions: he joined both emigrations, fought at Badr and at every battle thereafter. He would carry the Prophet’s sandals ﷺ, bring him the water for ablution, and saddle his mount whenever he wished to ride. In interpreting the word of Allah he held unrivalled mastery, and he was renowned for his copious knowledge, his excellence, and his forbearance.

It is related that when the Companions began to marvel at the thinness of his shanks, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to them, “By Him in whose hand is my soul, they will weigh on the Balance more heavily than Mount Uhud.”

ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb said of Ibn Masʿūd, “He is a vessel brimming with knowledge.”

They described him as slender in build yet noble in character. It was said that when he walked, his height scarcely exceeded that of those who were seated. He resembled the Prophet ﷺ in his guidance, demeanor, and bearing—that is, in his movements, stillness, speech, and, as far as he was able, in his worship.

He died—may Allah be pleased with him—during the caliphate of ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān, in 32 AH (some say 33 AH), in Madinah at the age of sixty-three. Others held that he died in Kūfah, but the first report is more reliable.

Among them as well was ʿUqbah ibn ʿĀmir al-Juhanī.

Imām Aḥmad relates—through al-Walīd ibn Muslim, from Ibn Jābir, from al-Qāsim Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, from ʿUqbah ibn ʿĀmir—that ʿUqbah said:

“While I was leading the Messenger of Allah ﷺ along one of the mountain passes, he said to me, ‘ʿUqbah, will you not ride?’ I feared that doing so might be disrespectful, but the Messenger of Allah dismounted; I rode for a short while, and then he mounted again. He then said, ‘ʿUqbah, shall I not teach you two sūrahs that are among the best ever recited?’ I replied, ‘Indeed, O Messenger of Allah.’ He taught me: ‘Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of daybreak,’ and ‘Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of mankind.’ When the prayer was called, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ stepped forward and recited them both. Later he passed by me and said, ‘Recite them whenever you go to sleep and whenever you rise.’”

Al-Nasaʾī transmits the same report through al-Walīd ibn Muslim.