He was also asked about a “group” who had come together to engage in various forms of wrongdoing. Among them were those who, whenever hadiths of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, narrated by “ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd” were read to them, or they were told, “This is the position of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd,” began disparaging him and attacking his reputation, describing him as a weak narrator. They claimed that he was held in low esteem among the Companions, to the extent that some of them did not include his reading in the copies of the Quran, and that he used to omit the two surahs of refuge from the Quran?

He replied, may Allah have mercy on him:

“Ibn Masʿūd,” may Allah be pleased with him, was among the most illustrious and eminent Companions. Indeed, ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb used to describe him as:

“A small vessel filled with knowledge.”

Abū Mūsā said:

“We regarded ‘ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd’ as none other than a member of the household of Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, because we so often saw him coming and going.”

The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said to him:

“You have my permission to lift the curtain and listen to my private conversation, unless I forbid you.”

The Sunan collections record:

“Follow the two who come after me, Abū Bakr and ʿUmar, and hold fast to the guidance of Ibn Umm ʿAbd.”

The Sahīh records:

“Whoever wishes to recite the Quran fresh as it was revealed should recite it according to the reading of Ibn Umm ʿAbd.”

When ʿUmar conquered Iraq, he sent Ibn Masʿūd to its people to teach them the Book and the Sunnah. He was thus the most knowledgeable of the Companions