Abdullah ibn Abbas. The glorious companion who the Prophet (saw) made so much duah for. He was the cousin of the Prophet (saw) through his uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib (ra). Ibn Abbas was born only 3 years before the Hijrah and gave the Prophet (saw) bayah before he even reached the age of puberty. He emigrated to Madinah before the Conquest of Makkah.
From the very start, Ibn Abbas (most scholars refer to him with this form) was always interested in learning and was a keen student of knowledge. He totally devoted himself to knowledge. As he grew up around the Prophet (saw) in Madinah he became them most knowledgeable individual about the tafseer of the Qur’an along with rulings in the Sunnah. People would respect him so much and he was blessed with immense amounts of knowledge. Allah (swt) blessed Ibn Abbas with knowledge as a result of a duah that our beloved Messenger (saw)
The Messenger of Allah (saw) supplicated Allah (swt) for him saying: “O Allah! Endow him with the favor of comprehending religious knowledge.”
Sahih al-Bukhari
He loved his fellow Muslims very dearly and always went out of his way to fulfill his fellow believers needs. He said,
“To look after a Muslim family for a month, a week or as long as Allah Wills is dearer to me than to perform Hajj after Hajj; and a gift to be given to a brother of mine in (for the Sake of) Allah is dearer to me than a dirham to be spent in the Cause of Allah.”
Umar ibn al-Khattab (ra) had a special love for Ibn Abbas. During his reign as Khalifa he gave Ibn Abbas (ra) a close seat to him in his assemblies. He would often consult Ibn Abbas (ra) on affairs regarding the Ummah and would hold Ibn Abbas’s (ra) opinion with high regard. Sa’d ibn abi-Waqqas (ra) said about Ibn Abbas (ra), “I have never seen anyone with more understanding, more reasonable, more knowledgeable and more forbearing than Ibn Abbas. I saw ‘Umar always inviting him for the predicaments.” Aisha (ra) said, “From among those who survived, Ibn Abbas has the best knowledge of Hajj.”
Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, used to spend his nights in prayer. He would be reciting the Qur’an in the middle of the night, and weep out of fear of Allah (swt). Despite being so knowledgable about the deen, he remained extremely humble and used to respect all the elder companions of the Prophet (saw). Along with his humility, he was generous and hospitable. Once Abu Ayyub al-Ansari (ra) went to Basrah when Ibn Abbas (ra) was its governor. Abu Ayyub as we recall was the companion who hosted the Prophet (saw) when he arrived in Madinah. Ibn Abbas took Abu Ayyub (ra) to his house and said,
“I will do you (a favor) like what you did with the Messenger of Allah (saw), when you hosted him.”
Ibn Abbas (ra) dedicated himself to knowledge and worship until death approached him in the year 67 A.H. He was amongst the group of companions who narrated many hadith on the authority of the Prophet (saw). It is estimated that he narrated close to 1660 hadith! Out of all the companions, he was one of the most knowledgable.
My Daily Deen 