Narrator

ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbbās

عبد الله بن عباس

Abū al-ʿAbbās

Dates: 619–687 CE / 3 BH–68 AH
Relation to the Prophet ﷺ: Paternal cousin of the Prophet ﷺ; 13 years old at the Prophet's ﷺ death
Hadith narrated: 1,660

Ḥibr al-Ummah (Scholar of the Nation)Tarjumān al-Qurʾān (Interpreter of the Qurʾan)

Known for

The Prophet ﷺ made duʿāʾ for him: "O Allah, give him understanding of the religion and teach him interpretation." The duʿāʾ was answered.

Life

ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbbās was only 13 when the Prophet ﷺ died. But he had been raised in proximity to revelation, and in the decades after, he became the most authoritative tafsir scholar among the companions. ʿUmar would sit him in his council among men three times his age, saying: "He has a young body, but an old heart."

He narrated 1,660 hadith and produced the foundational framework of Qurʾanic commentary that Ibn Kathir and every later mufassir built on. He lost his sight in old age. He died in Ṭāʾif in 687. His school of tafsir is the single oldest unbroken chain of Qurʾanic interpretation in Sunni Islam.

References in the library

Passages that mention ʿAbdullāh

"Subhan Allah, Subhan Allah, Glory be to God. Abd al-Rahman led them in a short prayer. When they finished, Umar said, O Ibn Abbas, see who has killed me. Ibn Abbas left for a while and then returned, saying, It is the slave of al-Mughirah ibn Shuba. Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said, May Allah curse him, I had ordered good treatment for him. He then said, Praise be to Allah, who did not decree my death at the hands of a Muslim. You and your father used to prefer that foreigners multiply in Medina, addressing Ibn Abbas, because Abbas had many slaves. Ibn Abbas said, If you wish, we shall do what"

Source in The Book of the Remembrance of Death and the Afterlife →
"He was then instructed to meet Keter, and what followed was as previously mentioned. It is said that Ibn Abbas disputed with Hur ibn Keter. about the companion of Moses. Ibn Abbas said it was Keter. Ubayy ibn Ka'b confirmed this when asked by Ibn Abbas, narrating the hadith from the Messenger of God. Regarding the phrase, as for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys in the town. It is said they were Asram and Sarim, the sons of Kashi. Underneath it was a treasure belonging to them, is said to have been gold, or as Ibn Abbas said, knowledge. It seems more likely that it was a tablet of gold inscribed"

Source in The Story of Musa →
"this substitute was a large, white-horned ram. It is said that Ibrahim saw it tied to a tree in Thabir. Ibn Abbas narrated that this ram grazed in paradise for forty autumns. Sa'id ibn Jubair added that it grazed in paradise until Thabir split and it was on him. Ibn Abbas also reported that a horned, clear-eyed ram descended from Mount Thabir, and Ibrahim sacrificed it. This was the same ram that was accepted from the son of Adam. Mujahid mentioned that the sacrifice took place in Mina, while Ubaid ibn Umair said it was at the station. There are other reports, such as Ibn Abbas mentioning it was in Ibex, and Al-Hassan saying it was a fallow deer named Jarir, but these are"

Source in The Story of Ibrahim →
"paradise or to hell the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him said the first three to enter hell will be a tyrannical ruler a wealthy man who does not pay the rights of Allah from his wealth and a proud poor man Ibn Abbas may Allah be pleased with him explained whoever has wealth that enables him to perform hajj to the house of Allah and does not perform hajj or if he has wealth that requires zakat and does not pay it he will be asked about his return at the time of death a man responded to him fear Allah O Ibn Abbas for only the disbelievers asked for a return Ibn Abbas replied I will recite to you a verse of the Quran Allah the Exalted says and spend from what we have"

Source in The Major Sins →
"bed hungry. Why did he close his door to me and deny me what he had given to him? As for the companion at your side, Ibn Abbas and Mujahid said it refers to the travel companion who has rights of neighborliness and companionship. The traveler is the weak one who should be helped until he reaches his destination. Ibn Abbas said he is the wayfarer whom you should shelter and feed until he departs from you. His statement, And those whom your right hands possess, refers to the servant. One should provide for them and overlook their mistakes. Regarding the verse, Indeed, Allah does not like those who are self-deluding and boastful. Ibn Abbas explained"

Source in The Major Sins →
"cloak with a camel's bridle made of straw. Husham mentioned, Its bridle is made of straw. It is made of fiber, while Yunus was reciting the tawbiyah. It is narrated that Ibn Abbas once spoke of Musa performing pilgrimage on a red bull, which is considered quite unusual. Imam Ahmad shared a narration where Ibn Abbas was present and the topic of the dajjal came up. Ibn Abbas said, It is written between his eyes, K.F.R. When asked about this, he replied, I have not heard of this, but Ibrahim, look to your companion. As for Musa, he is a dark skinned man with curly hair on a red camel, with its bridle made of fiber. It is as if I see him descending"

Source in From Creation to Mūsā →

Also from this generation

Listen on the App Store