SCRIBES OF THE DIVINE REVELATION

THE FIRST ISLAMIC COMMUNITY

ABDULLAH BIN MASUD RA
ABDULLAH BIN MASUD RA

 Abdullah bin Masud was born in Makkah in about 594 CE.

 Father: Masud ibn Ghafil
 Mother: Umm Abd bint Abdwadd
 Tribe: Hudhayl tribe
 His family had a low social status in Makkah.
 He is described as a thin, short man with very dark skin, and smooth hair reaching to his shoulders.
 He worked as a shepherd.
ABDULLAH BIN MASUD RA

 Abdullah bin Masud RA was an early convert to Islam on the invitation of Abu Bakr .
RA

 He dared to recite Quran openly outside Kaabah and was badly persecuted for it.
 He migrated to Abyssinia but returned to Makkah after 3 years.
 Abdullah bin Masud RA then migrated to Madinah with Muslims.
 His house was very near to Prophet Muhammad’s PBUH and he would visit the Prophet PBUH so much that people
thought him to be a member of his household.
 He tried to imitate the Prophet PBUH in every aspect of his life.
 Abdullah bin Masud RA remained closely attached to the Prophet PBUH and attend to his personal needs.
 He participated in all battles and cut the head off of Abu Jahl in Badr.
ABDULLAH BIN MASUD RA

 Abdullah knew and understood the Quran very well, and he was an expert in its interpreatation.
 He would say, “By Him besides Whom there is no god, no verse of the book of Allah has been revealed without my knowing where it
was revealed and the circumstances of its revelation. By Allah, if I know there was anyone who knew more of the Book of Allah, I
will do whatever is in my power to be with him.” (Fadail-us-Sahaba by Ahmad bin Hanbal)
 He was among the best reciters.
 Prophet Muhammad PBUH said, “Whoever wants to read the Quran as fresh as when it was revealed, then let him read according to the
recitation of Abdullah bin Masud.” (Ibn Majah)
 Umar bin Khattab RA said, "By Allah, I don't know of any person left who is more qualified in Quran matter than Abdullah bin
Masud.”
 848 narrations have been narrated on the authority of Abdullah bin Masud .
RA

 He died in 653 CE, 33 AH, during the caliphate of Usman RA.

 He is buried in the graveyard of Baqi in Madinah.
ZAID BIN SABIT RA
ZAID BIN SABIT RA

 Born: 610 CE
 He embraced Islam at a very early age when Prophet Muhammad PBUH came to Madinah.
 He sought permission from the Prophet PBUH to be included in Battles of Badr as well as Uhud but he was
refused as he was too young to fight.
 He tried to win the favor of Muhammad PBUH through Quran which had no age restriction.
 After memorizing seventeen chapters from the Quran, he was presented to Prophet PBUH by Ansaar. The Prophet
PBUH listened to his recitation, which was clear and beautiful.
 Prophet Muhammad PBUH recognized him as a skillful, intelligent and persistent boy and assigned him the task
of learning Hebrew and Syriac.
 Zaid bin Sabit’s RA initial job was to help the Prophet PBUH communicate with people with non-Arab languages like
Jews. By translating and interpreting messages.
 After proving himself worthy, he was entrusted with the responsibility of recording the Divine Revelation.
ZAID BIN SABIT RA

 Often Zaid RA was called with parchment, ink pot and when revelations came and the Prophet PBUH would instruct
him to write it.
 Narrated by Al-Bara: “There was revealed: 'Not equal are those believers who sit (at home) and those who strive
and fight in the Cause of Allah.' (4.95) The Prophet PBUH said, "Call Zaid for me and let him bring the board, the
inkpot and the scapula bone." Then he said, ‘Write’” (Bukhari)
 He did not only write but during the Prophet’s PBUH time he collected portions of the Quran that were written down
by others and arranged these under the supervision of the Prophet PBUH. He is reported to have said: "We used to
compile the Qur'an from small manuscripts in the presence of the Prophet PBUH.“
 In his way, Zayd experienced the Qur'an directly from the Prophet himself.
 Al-Shabi reported: “One day, when Zaib bin Sabit RA set out to ride, Ibn Abbas came out to hold the bridle. Zaid
said to him, ‘O Cousin of the Prophet PBUH, let me go’. Ibn Abbas replied, ‘No, this is the way we treat our Ulama’
ZAID BIN SABIT RA

 Zaid bin Sabit RA was entrusted by Abu Bakr RA, during his caliphate, to collect the verses of the Quran and
compile them in a book form after the Battle of Yamamah.
 During the caliphate of Umar RA, he was appointed as the Qazi of Madinah and would often take charge of the
governance matters when Umar RA would go out for Hajj and Umrah.
 During the Caliphate of Usman RA, he was responsible for the public treasury. Then he headed the committee to
prepare the Quranic copies.
 He died in 660 CE at the age of 50.
 When Zayd died, Abu Hurairah said: “Today, the scholar of this ummah has died.”
  Ibn Abbas said, 'O you people! Whoever wishes to know how knowledge leaves us should know that it is like this
that knowledge leaves. I swear by Allah that a great deal of knowledge has just left us today."
MUAWIYAH BIN ABU SUFYAN RA
MUAWIYAH BIN ABU SUFYAN RA

 Born before the conferment of Prophethood on Muhammad PBUH, the date is uncertain.
 He was born to Abu Sufyan bin Harb and Hind bin Utba.
 Belong to the tribe of Banu Umayyah.
 Battle of Badr happened in an attempt to protect the trade caravan of his father.
 His elder brother Hanzala, maternal uncle Waleed bin Utba and maternal grandfather Utba bin Rabia were killed
in Badr.
 His sister, Ramlah, also known as Umm Habibah, was a wife of Prophet Muhammad PBUH.
 He accepted Islam at the conquest of Makkah in 8 AH.
MUAWIYAH BIN ABU SUFYAN RA

 After his acceptance of Islam, he was appointed as a scribe of the Divine revelation.
 During the Caliphate of Hazrat Umar, he was appointed governor of the Province of Syria which he administered
quite well.
 During the period of the third Caliph, Hazrat Usman, he built for the first time a strong naval fleet which ensured
Muslim suzerainty over the Mediterranean sea. He was also instrumental in expanding the Muslim empire further
west.
 During the Caliphate of Hazrat Ali, he was removed from the governorship of Syria but he refused to carry out the
command. As a result thereof, the two sides fought battles of Camel and Saffin which unfortunately struck deep at
Muslim unity and cohesion which till then had remained hallmark of the Muslims.
 After the death of Hazrat Ali and the abdication of his claim for the Caliphate by Hazrat Imam Hassan, Hazrat
Ameer Muawiya became the Caliph and founded the Ummayad Dynasty which ruled the Muslim world for many
decades.
 He died at the age of seventy five in 60 AH.
UBAYY BIN KAAB RA
UBAYY BIN KAAB RA

 Ubayy was born in Medina into the tribe of the Banu Khazraj. He was one of the first to accept Islam and pledge
allegiance to Muhammad at Aqabah before the migration to Medina, becoming one of the Ansar. He participated
in the battle of Badr and other following engagements.
 He acted as a scribe for Muhammad, writing letters for him. Ubayy was one of the few who put the
Qur'anic Surahs into writing and had a Mushaf of his own. Following Muhammad's death, he was one of the
twenty-five Hafiz, people who knew the Qur'an completely by heart.
 He knew the whole Quran by heart which he used to recite in an astoundingly beautiful manner.
 He was part of the consultative group to which the caliph Abu Bakr referred many problems. It
included Umar, Uthman, Ali, Abd-al-Rahman ibn Awf, Muadh ibn Jabal, Ubayy ibn Ka'b, and Zayd ibn Thabit.
 Umar later consulted the same group when he was caliph. Specifically for legal judgments he referred to Ali ibn
Abi Talib, Uthman, Ubayy, and Zayd ibn Thabit.
 Ubayy died in the year 649 CE (30 AH), during the caliphate of Uthman.