Abdullah ibn Abbas
عَبْدُ اللهِ بْن عَبَّاسʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbbās
Read the full storyBiography
ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbbās was a first cousin of the Prophet ﷺ, son of al-ʿAbbās ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, and still a young companion during the later Medinan campaigns. When the army departed for Mu'tah on a Friday, he chose to stay behind and pray Jumuʿah with the Prophet ﷺ before riding out alone to catch up, only to be told that no amount of charity could make up for the reward of having left with the others at the start. He went on to become the foremost scholar of Qur'anic exegesis (tafsīr) among the companions, earning the title Ḥabr al-Ummah, "the scholar of the nation."
Significance
His choice to delay departure for Mu'tah in order to pray Jumu'ah with the Prophet ﷺ, and the Prophet's ﷺ response, illustrates that even a good deed can mean forgoing a greater reward.
Stories
The Departure for Mu'tah
historicalShaykh Yasir Qadhi explains: **A RAPIDLY GROWING COMMUNITY** Around 3,000 companions volunteered for the expedition, ten times the number at Badr ju…
Read the full story →Surat an-Nasr: The Nearing End
historicalShaykh Yasir Qadhi explains: The Conquest of Mecca was the fall of the central nerve of Arabia. The tribes who had stood aside to see who would win n…
Read the full story →The Delegation of Banu Hanifah: Musaylimah the Liar
historicalShaykh Yasir Qadhi explains: This is the third and last instalment on the delegations. The books of Sīrah list over a hundred and ten of them by name…
Read the full story →Surah al-Tahrim: the Oath over Maria
historicalShaykh Yasir Qadhi explains: One more incident about Māriyah, mentioned more in the books of tafsīr than of Sīrah, because the Qurʾān was revealed fo…
Read the full story →ʿUmar and the month the Prophet ﷺ withdrew from his wives
historicalShaykh Yasir Qadhi explains: At some point in his life, and the timing is genuinely unknown, the Prophet ﷺ swore an oath before Allāh to withdraw fro…
Read the full story →The choice given to the Mothers of the Believers
historicalShaykh Yasir Qadhi explains: It was in that bare room that ʿUmar learned the truth: the Prophet ﷺ had not divorced anyone. He had sworn an oath to wi…
Read the full story →The Incident of Thursday: the Qirtas
historicalShaykh Yasir Qadhi explains: One incident of the Prophet's ﷺ final days was set aside earlier to be told here, on the way to the election of Abū Bakr…
Read the full story →Historical context
The Prophet's ﷺ Grief in Medina
historical noteShaykh Yasir Qadhi explains: **LIVE NEWS FROM 700 KILOMETERS AWAY** While the battle unfolded at Mu'tah, the Prophet ﷺ described it to the gathered…
Read the historical context →The signs of the Prophet's ﷺ approaching death
historical noteShaykh Yasir Qadhi explains: Before we come to his final sickness, we should see how many signs the Qurʾān and the Sunnah had given that this time wo…
Read the historical context →