'Abd Allah (b. Mas'ud)

Abdullah ibn Mas'ud al-Hudhali, may Allah be pleased with him, was among the very first to embrace Islam — he was the sixth person to accept the faith — and one of the greatest scholars among the companions of the Prophet ﷺ. He served as the Prophet's personal attendant for years, carrying his sandals and accompanying him so closely that the companions regarded him as part of the Prophet's household. The Prophet ﷺ said of him: 'Whoever wishes to recite the Quran fresh as it was revealed should recite it according to the recitation of Ibn Umm Abd (Ibn Mas'ud).' He was the first to recite the Quran publicly in Mecca before Quraysh, enduring beatings for doing so. He had memorized approximately seventy surahs directly from the Prophet ﷺ. After the conquests, he settled in Kufa as a teacher and became the dominant religious authority there, founding the Iraqi school of fiqh that would later be developed by Imam Abu Hanifa. He narrated a large number of hadiths from the Prophet ﷺ, preserved in all major collections. He passed away in 32 AH in Medina, having shaped Islamic jurisprudence in Iraq for a generation.