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mutiny. They hardly agreed on one kind of food, and they did not tolerate peace and tranquillity. Their
love for him was so great that when the Caliph `Uthmaan (May Allah be pleased with him) wanted to
discharge him of his office, they surrounded him and said, "Stay with us and don't go. We will protect
you against anything that you don't like." But lbn Mas'uud gave them an answer that really reflected his
greatness and piety. He said, "He has the right of obedience on me. There will be turbulence coming and
I hate to be the first to open the door to it."
This wonderful situation discloses to us the nature of the relationship between Ibn Mas'uud and
`Uthmaan. They had an argument and a disagreement between them which ended with the caliph cutting
Ibn Mas'uud's salary from the Bait Al-Maal. In return, lbn Mas'uud never spoke ill of the caliph. On the
contrary, he used to defend him. When he heard about the attempted assassinations on `Uthmaan, he said
his famous words, "If they kill him they will not find anyone like him to succeed ." Some of lbn
Mas'uud's friends said, "We never heard him uttering a bad word about `Uthmaan." Allah endowed lbn
Aas'uud with wisdom along with his piety.
He had an insight that enabled him to see facts beyond the surface, and the capability to express
such facts in an intelligent style. For example, he summarized the life of `Umar lbn Al-Khattaab in one
concise sentence: " `Umar's Islam was an opening, his Hijrah was a victory, and his rule was a mercy.
He once expressed the idea of the relativity of time saying, "Your Lord does not have day or night
because the light of the earth and the skies is but from the light of His face."
In another context he praised the value of work in raising the social standard of man: "I hate a man
living in leisure with nothing to do, either for his worldly life or the life to come. The next is a
comprehensive phrase: "The best wealth is the wealth of the soul. The best provision is right conduct.
The most major of sins is lying, the most evil earning is usury, and the most evil of what can be eaten is
eating up the property of orphans. Whoever excuses others, will be excused by Allah, and whoever
forgives others will be forgiven by others."
That was `Abd Allah lbn Mas'uud, the Prophet's (PBUH) Companion, and that is but one glimpse of
the heroic life he lived in the way of Allah, His Prophet and His religion. That was the man who had
been as small as a bird. He was so thin and short that he was the same height as a sitting person. He had
very thin legs. He once climbed a tree to pick some arak sticks for the Prophet (PBUH), and when the
Companions saw how thin his legs were they laughed. The Prophet (PBUH) said, "Are you laughing at
Ibn Mas`uud's legs? On Allah's scales of justice they are heavier than the mountain of Uhud." Indeed that
was the poor, weak hired boy who became by faith an Imam (leader) guiding people to the light.
It was Allah's bounty on him that he was counted among the first ten Companions of the Prophet
(PBUH) who were promised to enter Paradise while they were still alive. He participated in all the
victorious wars with the Prophet (PBUH) and his caliphs. He witnessed how the two greatest empires
opened their gates in submission to the banners of Islam. He saw the high positions and lucrative money
pouring into the hands of the Muslims, but his mind was never obsessed by such matters. Instead, he was
pre-occupied with how to fulfil the pledge he offered to the Prophet (PBUH), and he was also never
tempted to give up the life of humbleness and self- denial that he used to lead. He had only one wish that
he dreamed all his life might come true.
Let us hear him speaking about it: While I was with the Prophet (PBUH) at the Battle of Tabuuk, I
woke up at midnight to see a flame of fire near the place of the army. I followed it and found the Prophet
(PBUH), Abu Bakr and `Umar digging a grave to bury `Abd Allah Dhul Bijaadain Al-Muzaniy who died
at the time. The Prophet (PBUH) was in the grave and asked Abu Bakr and `Umar, "hand your brother to
me," and they did. After he put his body in the grave he said, "O Allah, in this night I am fully satisfied
and pleased with him. So be you pleased with him." I wished I was the one being buried in that hole.
This was his sole wish in his life. It was not related to what people were racing at in this life, such as
wealth, social status or glory. It was the wish of a man who possessed a kind heart, a noble soul, and a