Sayyiduna 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas: A Biography

The following is an excerpt from Morning and Evening Invocations, a remarkable collection of du’a and adhkar from the Qur’an, Sunnah, and righteous scholars, published by IGI in 2021.

SAYYIDUNA ‘ABD ALLAH B. ‘ABBAS B. ‘ABD AL-MUTTALIB, Abu l-‘Abbas al-Hashimi رضي الله عنه was a beloved paternal cousin of the Prophet ﷺ for whom the Prophet ﷺ performed tahnik.

Ibn ‘Abbas رضي الله عنه was born in Mecca three years before the hijra in excruciating circumstances for the Muslims. He grew up in the blessed company of the Prophet ﷺ. He would, amongst other tasks, bring the Prophet ﷺ water for ablution and stand up with him for prayer even as a child.

He رضي الله عنه was only 13 years old when the Prophet ﷺ left this world for the isthmus.

Once, the Prophet ﷺ entered a washroom and found water for his ablution.

A man prays in the Mosque of ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas رضي الله عنه in Ta’if.

He ﷺ asked,
“Who placed it?”
He ﷺ was informed accordingly and so made the prayer,
“O Allah, make him (Ibn ‘Abbas) a learned scholar in religion.”

True to the prayer, he رضي الله عنه became one of the greatest mufassir (exegete) of the Qur’an.

Sayyiduna ‘Umar رضي الله عنه would keep him close in his council and resort to his abundant knowledge and formidable intellect.

Likewise, other senior companions would engage him for his opinions although he was a young man.

He رضي الله عنه said:
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ embraced me and said: “O Allah, teach him wisdom and the interpretation of the Book.”

Another narration attributed to him رضي الله عنه states:

...I went to him (another companion) during the time of the afternoon siesta and spread my cloak in front of his door. The wind blew dust on me (as I sat waiting for him). If I wished I could have sought his permission to enter and he would certainly have given me permission. But I preferred to wait on him so that he could be completely refreshed.
Coming out of his house and seeing me in that condition he ﷺ said,
“O cousin of the Prophet, what’s the matter with you? If you had sent for me I would have come to you.”
I said:
“I am the one who should come to you, for knowledge is sought, it does not just come.”
Then I asked him ﷺ about the hadith and learnt from him.

Outside the mosque of ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas رضي الله عنه in Ta’if.

The house of Ibn ‘Abbas was the equivalent of a university, with specialized teaching on a wide variety of subjects. He taught every day and held classes on tafsir, fiqh, halal & haram, poetry, Arab history, inheritance laws, the Arabic language and etymology, among other fields.

Sayyiduna Ibn ‘Abbas رضي الله عنه entered the isthmus in Ta’if in the year 71 AH. His grave is located in Ta’if at the Mosque of ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas, alongside eleven Companions who were martyred at the Battle of Hunayn رضي الله عنهم.

Dhikr transmitted Through him رضي الله عنه

Invocation 6 from IGI’s Morning and Evening Invocations is a tradition known as “Sayyiduna ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas’ رضي الله عنه Verses of Complete Sufficiency.”

These verses are from Surah al-Rum:

30:17-19 So glory be to Allah when you reach evening & when you rise in the morning · and to Him be praise, in the heavens and on earth, and at eventide and at noontide · He brings out the living from the dead, and brings out the dead from the living; and He gives life to the earth after it is dead; and thus shall you be risen up again [from dust].

The virtues of these verses are reported in the following Hadith:

Narrated ‘Abd Allah b. ‘Abbas رضي الله عنه:
The Prophet ﷺ said: If anyone says in the morning: “So glory be to Allah in the evening and in the morning; to Him is the praise in the heavens and the earth, and in the late evening and at noon ... thus shall you be brought forth,” he will get that day what he has missed; and if anyone repeats these words in the evening he will get that night what he has missed.

Ar-Rabi’ transmitted it from al-Laith. (Abu Dawud’s Sunan: 5076, Ibn as-Sunni: 56:79, and others)