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Companions of the Prophet who narrated the Hadith as Many as 848
Abdullah ibn Mas’ud was one of the companions known as mufti apart from the four companions of Khulafa’ Rashidin (Abu Bakr, Umar bin Khattab, Usman bin ‘Affan and Ali bin Abi Talib).
Because, Abdullah ibn Mas’ud always gave legal fatwas, especially the problems faced by the Muslims at that time.
He has a broad insight and extensive knowledge in the field of religion, so the things he introduced are highly appreciated as a reference in the formulation of Islamic law.
Background Ibn Mas’ud has the ability to give birth to fatwa, because of his proximity to the Prophet, besides that he often saw and heard how the Prophet saw.
As understood, when the Prophet was alive, any legal issues that arose were immediately given legal answers with reference to the verses of the Qur’an.
Then in some cases do not find a definite legal answer in the Qur’an, he gave an answer with words or Deeds which later became known as Hadith or Sunnah so that Muslims did not encounter difficulties at that time because they could directly contact the Prophet as a reference.
However, unlike the days of the Companions, as the situation changed after the Muslim territories expanded and their followers increased, the Ummah automatically faced many cultures, traditions, and traditions, different situations and conditions have challenged jurists among the Companions to give legal answers, and the problems faced have become increasingly complex.
Unexpected and unexplored problems arose when the Prophet was no longer with them, even when one issue after another required them to be handled with care.
In the face of this problem appeared comrades who were entitled to valid explanations, including Ibn Mas’ud. He was one of the seven companions who did the most ijtihad and fatwa, to deal with the various legal issues he faced at that time.
In giving the legal fatwa, Ibn Mas’ud followed the model followed by Umar bin al-Khattab which is oriented towards the benefit of the people without being too attached to the literal meaning of the text version of the text.
This attitude was taken by Umar bin al-Khattab and Ibn Mas’ud because the state and condition of society at that time was not the same as when the scriptures were revealed.
On that basis, the study of law through rational analysis, which in the study of Islamic law is called ra’yu or commonly called ijtihad, guided by the values and principles of syari’ah (illat) as part of the way of law taking.
His full name is Abdullah bin Ghafil bin Shamakh bin Fa’i bin makhzum bin Sahilah bin Kahil bin al-Haris bin Tamim bin Sa’ad bin Huzail bin Mas’ud, and familiar also called Abu Abdurrahman who is associated with the name of his father. He was also called Ibn Umm ‘Abd (Umm Abdillah bint Abu Daud).
He was one of the first six friends to convert to Islam and twice immigrated to Abyssinia. Furthermore, he also witnessed all the wars with the Prophet SAW including the Battle of Badr and it was reported that he managed to kill Abu Jahl.
Ibn Mas’ud was a jurist with his broad insight, vast knowledge and breadth of opinions enabling him to present Islamic law according to the needs of the times.
In addition to having a broad view of Islamic law, he was renowned for his intelligence and eloquence in reading the Qur’an, and as the Prophet acknowledged, peace would come to him. He once said: “Whoever wants to read the Qur’an exactly as it has been revealed by Allah, read it as Ibn Umm ‘Abd (Abdullah ibn Mas’ud).
Abdullah ibn Mas’ud was the first to listen to the recitation of the Qur’an for those who do not believe in the Prophet (Quraish).
With a loud voice he recited Surah al-Rahman which amazed the Quraysh. But after realizing that what was read were verses of the Qur’an revealed to Muhammad SAW, the Quraysh beat Ibn Mas’ud, but he continued to read it until it was finished.
The other companions warned Ibn Mas’ud not to do this anymore because it would harm him, but he said: “By the love of God, even the enemies of God are smaller in my eyes, if I want, tomorrow I will return to read the Qur’an that precedes them.” But his friends tried to stop him.
From this side, Ibn Mas’ud can be seen as a brave and not afraid of death, and this may also have to do with his courage in facing Abu Jahl in the Battle of Badr and beheading him as the great Enemy of Muslims.
Ibn Mas’ud was not only able to read the Qur’an but also understand it as a whole with the various sciences he had. When Muadz ibn Jabal was ill, he left a will to everyone after his death to study with four companions, in his background; Uwaimir Abu al-Darda’, Salman al-Farisi (w. 34 H/654 AD), Abdullah bin Mas’ud, and Abdullah bin Salam.
In other accounts it is also said that when Umar ibn Khatab sent him to Kufa to be the judge and caretaker of the temple of the mall, he sent him to Kufa to be the judge and caretaker of the temple, he ordered them to obey Hezbollah ibn Mas’ud because what he decided to be convinced by Umar was the right thing to do.
Similarly, Ali bin Abi Talib was once asked about the Messenger's friend who was able to solve the problems of the people, Ali replied: “Ibn Mas’ud, because his knowledge is very deep and sourced directly on the Qur’an and Sunnah”.
Even Abu Darda’ when asked by the public about the issue of inheritance, he refused to answer and said: “Why did you ask me this when you were with your friend Abdullah ibn Mas’ud?” Furthermore, al-Sha’bi added that none of the Apostle's companions understood religious matters better than Ibn Mas’ud.
In the field of hadith narration, he narrated many hadiths from Umar and Sa’ad ibn Mu’adz, and many hadith about him are narrated by Anas ibn Malik (w. 93 H/712 AD), Jabir ibn Abd Allah, Abu Musa al-Asy’ari, Al-Qamah, Masruq, Shuraih al-Qadhi, and others.
The total number of hadiths told by him in the Sahih of Bukhari is 848 hadiths. While the most authentic communication chain is the story of Sufyan al-Tsauri (died 161 H) from Mansyur ibn al-Mu’tamir, from Ibrahim, from al-Qamah. While the weakest sanad is through the history of Shuraik Abu Said about Abi Fazarah, (Abu Ishaq al-Shirazi;1970).
During the reign of Umar ibn Khatab, ibn Mas’ud was appointed judge and administrator of the temple mall in Kufa, with Amar ibn Yasir (w. 37 H/657 AD) as governor and also when Sa ‘ad bin Abi Waqas became governor of Kufa.
His appointment coincided with the appointment of Abu Musa al-Asy’ari and Anas ibn Malik of Basra, Sharahbil ibn Hasanah of Ardan, Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan of Syria, and Amr ibn al-‘Ash (w. 65 H.) in Egypt.
It seems that during his time as a judge in Kufa, Ibn Mas’ud experienced many things that he had never encountered in the time of Prophet Muhammad, or things that were not clearly explained by the Apostle.
In fact, if seen in his life, ibn Mas’ud was a close friend of the Prophet and accompanied the Prophet wherever he went. This is why he claims that not a single verse of the Qur’an is revealed unless he knows the reason for the verse's descent, its removal, or its replacement.
Abdullah bin Mas’ud lived until the reign of Usman bin Affan. In 32 A. H. he returned to Medina and died that year at the age of 60 and was buried in Baqi’.
Abdullah ibn Mas’ud had students in Iraq as developers of models and systems to solve legal problems in the region, among others Ibrahim an-Nakha’i (died 76 H.), ‘Alqamah bin Qais an-Nakha’i (w . 62 H.), and Shuraih ibn Haris al-Kindi (died 78 H.) in Kufa; al-Hasan al-Basri and Amr ibn Salamah in Basra; Yazid ibn Abi Habib and Bakir ibn Abdillah in Egypt; and Machul in Syria.
His students became known as the Thabi’in generation, which became a reference in dealing with various legal issues in his time and in their respective regions throughout the world.
As the Companions spread to different parts of the Muslim world, most of them held positions of religious and intellectual leadership, including Ibn Mas’ud. It became a place where people could post questions to ask for legal judgments on various issues.
Sometimes he made decisions based on what he learned and defended from the orders of the Prophet Muhammad, and at other times based on what he understood from the Quran and the Sunnah. In fact, he often formed his own opinion by considering the values and principles of sharia (illat) which he guided from the Prophet when making decisions.
The mechanism of decision-making, according to Ibn Mas’ud:
It means: “Oh man, we have been in an age where we have never established the law of a thing and it has never existed before, verily, Allah ‘Azza Wajalla has delivered us to the age which you witnessed; then whosoever of you is presented to him after this day, so let him establish his law by what is in the Book of Allah (al-Qur’an).
If the matter is not found in the Book of Allah Azza Wajalla then let him establish his law with what has been decided by the Prophet. If the matter is not in the Book of Allah and has never been established by the Prophet, then let him decide by what the Sholeh have set before.
And if that is not in the Book of Allah and neither is the dispute decided by the Messenger of Allah and has never been fixed by the people before, then let him jihad using his mind. Let no one among you say “I fear” and “I think” because the lawful is clear, and the haram is clear, and between them is a matter of doubt; then leave what doubts you and make what does not make you doubt”.
Therefore, the steps taken by Ibn Mas’ud, including other companions, when discovering events that arise in their lives and require legal arrangements, are, always look for the first and foremost answer in the Qur’an.
If they do not find the answer literally in the Qur’an, they try to find it in the collection of the Prophet's answers, and if they do not find the answer from these two sources, they will find the answer, so they used the power of reason which was then called Ijtihad.
When doing ijtihad, they look for the similarity of facts that have been met with what has been determined in the Qur’an and hadith. They always weigh the efforts of “keeping the interests of ummat” as the basis for the establishment of Sharia.
Based on the above interpretation, it is seen that in many ways it seems that the thought of Ibn Mas’ud was inspired by the thinking of the seniority of Umar bin Khattab. His legal dynamism is part of an effort to understand Islamic law to be more dynamic and work in the context of the times.
When a person does an in-depth study of the problems that arise, he is still talking about understanding the relationship of the text to the context, and then making reasonable adjustments to social life, he said, with the circumstances and conditions of society that must be faced, for the sake of profit.
That's a brief memoir or biography of Abdullah ibn Mas’ud during his life until his death. The end of the word persistence and sincere intention will always produce good as Ibn Mas’ud in giving fatwas.
May we be given great benefit from the story of Ibn Mas’ud and make us always in his protection. Wallahua’lam!