The First Public Recitation
After the Prophet received the command to recite the Quran openly, Abdullah ibn Mas’ud volunteered to be the first to recite publicly at the Kaaba — a dangerous act in a city where the Quraysh had already attacked Muslims for their faith. The Companions were cautious; they wanted a man with protection from a powerful clan. Ibn Mas’ud was from a minor tribe.
He went anyway. He stood by the Maqam Ibrahim and recited Surah al-Rahman (“The Most Merciful taught the Quran…”) aloud in the presence of Qurayshi chiefs. They initially didn’t understand what he was doing. When they realized, they beat him until his face was bloodied. He returned, face swollen, and said he had never found the enemies of God more contemptible.
The Prophet’s Endorsement of His Recitation
The Prophet said: “Whoever pleases him to read the Quran as fresh as it was revealed, let him read it according to the recitation of Ibn Umm Abd” (Ibn Mas’ud’s teknonymic). This is among the strongest endorsements of any individual reciter’s method.
Ibn Mas’ud had his own mushaf (codex), which included Surah al-Fatiha and the Mu’awwidhatayn (the two protective surahs at the end) alongside differences in verse arrangement and certain readings from the standard Uthmanic text. His codex was used widely in Kufa for decades.
The Thin Legs
When Ibn Mas’ud climbed a tree to get something for the Prophet, his thin legs made the Companions laugh. The Prophet said: “What makes you laugh? By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, those two legs are heavier on the Scale than Mount Uhud.”
See also: Seerah Khabbab Ibn Al Aratt, Seerah Al Harith Ibn Abi Hala, Ilm Al Sirah, Ilm Al Tafsir, Seerah Hudhayfah Ibn Al Yaman