The first reciter of Quran
Friday, July 25, 2008
BEFORE Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessing be upon him, entered Darul Arqam, Abdullah bin Mas'ud had declared his belief in him.
He was the sixth one to embrace Islam and follow the Prophet. Thus he was one of the early Muslims.
He narrated his first meeting with the Prophet: I was a young shepherd boy responsible for the sheep of 'Uqbah lbn Abu Mu'ait. The Prophet once came with Abu Bakr and said, "O boy, do you have milk for us to drink?" and I said, "I can't let you drink their milk."
The Prophet said, "Do you have a virgin sheep that has never mated with a male?" I said, "Yes" and brought it to them.
The Prophet caught it and stroked its udder and prayed to Allâh till the udder filled. Abu Bakr brought him a concave rock into which he milked the sheep. Abu Bakr drank the milk, and then after that the Prophet said to the udder, "Shrink," and it did.
I went to the Prophet after this incident and said to him, "Teach me this kind of talk." The Prophet said, "You are already a learned boy."
'Abdullah bin Mas'ud was fascinated to see the pious Servant and Messenger of Allâh supplicate Allâh and stroke a virgin udder till it gave milk, pure and agreeable to those who drank it.
lbn Mas'ud, as he usually called, did not realize that what he had seen was but the least wonderful miracle and that soon he would see at the hands of that honorable Prophet other miracles that would shake the world and fill it with light and faith.
He did not realize either that he himself, the poor, weak, hired shepherd boy working for 'Uqbah bin Abu Mu'ait would be one of those miracles when he became, through his Islam, a strong believer capable of defeating the pride of the Quraish and overcoming the oppression of its martyrs.
Before his Islam he never dared to pass by a session attended by any Quraisy nobleman except with hastened steps and a bowed head, but after Islam he was capable of going to the Ka'bah, where the elite Quraisy congregated and standing among them reading the Quran in a loud, beautiful, impressive voice:
"In the Name of Allâh,
the Most Beneficent,
the Most Merciful,
The Most Beneficent!
(He) has taught the Quran.
He created man.
He taught him eloquent speech.
The sun and the moon run
on their fixed courses (exactly)
calculated with measured
out stages for each.
And the herbs (or stars)
and the trees both
prostrate." (surah Ar-Rahman:1-6)
He went on reciting while the Quraisy were thunderstruck, not believing their own eyes or ears.
They could not imagine that the one challenging their pride was just one of their hired shepherd boys who was the poor unknown 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud. Let us hear an eye witness, Az-Zubair (May Allâh be pleased with him), describe the exciting scene:
"'Abdullah bin Mas'ud was the first one to recite Quran publicly in Mekah after the Prophet. It happened one day that the Prophet's Companions were gathered with the Prophet. They said, 'By Allâh, the Quraisy have never heard the Quran being recited to them before. Isn't there any man to recite it so that they may hear it?' Thereupon 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud said, 'I.'
They said, 'We are afraid they may harm you. We want a man with a strong family to protect him from those people if they want to harm him.'
He said, 'Let me go, Allâh will protect me.'
Ibn Mas'ud went to the Maqam at the Ka'bah and recited "In the Name of Allâh, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful, The Most Beneficent! (He) Has taught the Quran..." and he went on reciting. The Quraisy gazed at him and said, "What does Ibn Umm Abd say? He is reciting some of what Muhammad came with."
They went to him and began to beat him in the face while he was reciting till he finished whatever Allâh wished him to recite from the surah.
He returned to his friends with a wounded face and body, and they told him, 'This is what we were afraid would happen to you.'
He answered them, 'Those enemies of Allâh have never been more worthless to me than this moment, and if you wish I will go back to them and do the same tomorrow.'
They said, 'No, it is enough for you. You have made them hear what they hated'."
Men Around the Prophet
He was the sixth one to embrace Islam and follow the Prophet. Thus he was one of the early Muslims.
He narrated his first meeting with the Prophet: I was a young shepherd boy responsible for the sheep of 'Uqbah lbn Abu Mu'ait. The Prophet once came with Abu Bakr and said, "O boy, do you have milk for us to drink?" and I said, "I can't let you drink their milk."
The Prophet said, "Do you have a virgin sheep that has never mated with a male?" I said, "Yes" and brought it to them.
The Prophet caught it and stroked its udder and prayed to Allâh till the udder filled. Abu Bakr brought him a concave rock into which he milked the sheep. Abu Bakr drank the milk, and then after that the Prophet said to the udder, "Shrink," and it did.
I went to the Prophet after this incident and said to him, "Teach me this kind of talk." The Prophet said, "You are already a learned boy."
'Abdullah bin Mas'ud was fascinated to see the pious Servant and Messenger of Allâh supplicate Allâh and stroke a virgin udder till it gave milk, pure and agreeable to those who drank it.
lbn Mas'ud, as he usually called, did not realize that what he had seen was but the least wonderful miracle and that soon he would see at the hands of that honorable Prophet other miracles that would shake the world and fill it with light and faith.
He did not realize either that he himself, the poor, weak, hired shepherd boy working for 'Uqbah bin Abu Mu'ait would be one of those miracles when he became, through his Islam, a strong believer capable of defeating the pride of the Quraish and overcoming the oppression of its martyrs.
Before his Islam he never dared to pass by a session attended by any Quraisy nobleman except with hastened steps and a bowed head, but after Islam he was capable of going to the Ka'bah, where the elite Quraisy congregated and standing among them reading the Quran in a loud, beautiful, impressive voice:
"In the Name of Allâh,
the Most Beneficent,
the Most Merciful,
The Most Beneficent!
(He) has taught the Quran.
He created man.
He taught him eloquent speech.
The sun and the moon run
on their fixed courses (exactly)
calculated with measured
out stages for each.
And the herbs (or stars)
and the trees both
prostrate." (surah Ar-Rahman:1-6)
He went on reciting while the Quraisy were thunderstruck, not believing their own eyes or ears.
They could not imagine that the one challenging their pride was just one of their hired shepherd boys who was the poor unknown 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud. Let us hear an eye witness, Az-Zubair (May Allâh be pleased with him), describe the exciting scene:
"'Abdullah bin Mas'ud was the first one to recite Quran publicly in Mekah after the Prophet. It happened one day that the Prophet's Companions were gathered with the Prophet. They said, 'By Allâh, the Quraisy have never heard the Quran being recited to them before. Isn't there any man to recite it so that they may hear it?' Thereupon 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud said, 'I.'
They said, 'We are afraid they may harm you. We want a man with a strong family to protect him from those people if they want to harm him.'
He said, 'Let me go, Allâh will protect me.'
Ibn Mas'ud went to the Maqam at the Ka'bah and recited "In the Name of Allâh, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful, The Most Beneficent! (He) Has taught the Quran..." and he went on reciting. The Quraisy gazed at him and said, "What does Ibn Umm Abd say? He is reciting some of what Muhammad came with."
They went to him and began to beat him in the face while he was reciting till he finished whatever Allâh wished him to recite from the surah.
He returned to his friends with a wounded face and body, and they told him, 'This is what we were afraid would happen to you.'
He answered them, 'Those enemies of Allâh have never been more worthless to me than this moment, and if you wish I will go back to them and do the same tomorrow.'
They said, 'No, it is enough for you. You have made them hear what they hated'."
Men Around the Prophet
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