whom he sent to Iraq. Abū Mūsā said of him:
“Do not ask me about anything so long as this learned man is among you.”
Ibn Masʿūd used to say:
“If I knew of anyone more knowledgeable about the Book of Allah than myself whom camels could reach, I would go to him.”
He was one of the three whom Muʿādh ibn Jabal named on his deathbed. When Mālik ibn Yukhāmir al-Saksakī wept, Muʿādh ibn Jabal asked him:
“What makes you weep?”
He replied:
“By Allah, I am not weeping because of any kinship between you and me, nor for any worldly benefit I receive from you. Rather, I weep for the knowledge and faith that I used to learn from you.”
Muʿādh said:
“Knowledge and faith remain available; whoever seeks them will find them. Seek knowledge from four people. If these are unable to help you, the rest of the people on earth will be less able still.”
He named Ibn Masʿūd, Ubayy ibn Kaʿb and ʿAbd Allāh ibn Salām; I believe the fourth was Abū al-Dardāʾ.
ʿAlī was asked about the learned men among the people. He replied:
“There is one in Iraq: Ibn Masʿūd.”
In knowledge, Ibn Masʿūd was of the same rank as ʿUmar, ʿAlī, Ubayy and Muʿādh. He belonged to the foremost rank of scholars among the Companions. Whoever disparages him or says that he is a weak narrator is therefore of the same ilk as the Rāfidah, who disparage Abū Bakr, ʿUmar and ʿUthmān. This indicates either his extreme ignorance of the Companions or his heresy and hypocrisy.