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Life of the Prophet (seerah)

Ubayy ibn Ka'b (ra): The Master of all Reciters | The Firsts

November 8, 2022Dr. Omar Suleiman

Dr. Omar Suleiman talks about the greatest reciter of the Qur'an, Ubayy bin Ka'b (ra) the Imam of Madinah during the reign of the rightly guided Khulafa.

Transcript

This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings.
Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuhu. I will ask the meaning of the shaitan. In the name of Allah, the most gracious, the most merciful. Alhamdulillahi rabbil alameen. Wa la ilaha illa allah al-dhalimeen. Wa la aqiba al-muttaqeen. Allahumma salli wa sallim wa barak ala abdika wa rasulika Muhammadin. Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa sallam. Tasneeman kathira. Okay, so before I get started for tonight inshaAllah ta'ala, a few announcements of sorts about the rest of this bid'ah ta'ala. So, we have good news and bad news. The bad news is we're going to take a break inshaAllah ta'ala for a few weeks. I'll be traveling bid'ah ta'ala for the next several weeks inshaAllah. What we will have if you followed season one of the muhajirun. So we covered the muhajirun in long biographies for the first 50 episodes. And then we did 20 short bios. And these are people whose names are rarely mentioned. You'll rarely find an entire biography of these people. In fact, you'll rarely find them even hyperlinked anywhere. And so we wanted to bring out their stories inshaAllah ta'ala. So, what we'll do bi'idhnillahi ta'ala is that when I take these breaks, we'll actually have shorts that come out every Tuesday. So you have a chance inshaAllah to catch up on the long lectures. And you also have 10-minute to 15-minute bios that will come out on Tuesdays inshaAllah ta'ala. Now, my intention is inshaAllah ta'ala, I'll be visiting inshaAllah Jordan. And I'll be going to the site of the Battle of Mu'tah. As well as the graves of Mu'adh ibn Jabal and Abu Ubaidah radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhuma. So we've just spoken about the shuhada of Mu'tah. Especially Abdullah ibn Rawaha radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu and others like him. And we just finished obviously Mu'adh radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhum. We spoke about Abu Ubaidah radiyaAllahu anhu when we spoke about the muhajirun. So inshaAllah ta'ala I'll be doing some recordings from the site where they are buried bi'idhnillah. And then that will take us to episode 100 inshaAllah.
So episode 100 of the first, we are going to start with the seerah of our mother Aisha radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu. Aisha radiyaAllahu anhu is the most glaring void in the series. Why didn't we already cover Aisha radiyaAllahu anhu? Because she kind of falls between the muhajirin and the ansar. We obviously spoke about her in the story of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq radiyaAllahu anhu. And we spoke about her in the story of Asmaa bint Abu Bakr radiyaAllahu anhu. But she's not really like the muhajirin. She made hijrah when she was very young. And so her story is really the centerpiece of Medina. So we've spoken about the ansar and the ansar receiving the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam. And then obviously the main house that becomes the center of that civilization and the center of Islam, the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam and the home of Aisha radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu. So we'll have a proper biography of Aisha radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu. And that will be at the beginning of the year bint Allahi ta'ala. Now, tonight inshaAllah ta'ala we're going to finish off the third of the qurra of the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam. And as we said, these are not the only qurra of the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam. But these were the three ansar who were known for memorizing the Qur'an and excelling in the memorization and the collection of the Qur'an while the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam was still alive. And you cannot separate these three from each other. So we covered the shu'ara of the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam, the poets of the Messenger alayhi wa sallam. These are the qurra, the reciters. We covered Zayd ibn Thabit radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu, Mu'adh ibn Jabal radiyaAllahu anhu, and Ubay ibn Ka'b radiyaAllahu anhu is who we cover tonight. Now, from this group, Ubay ibn Ka'b radiyaAllahu anhu is Sayyidul Qurra, as Imam al-Zahabi calls him,
the master of all reciters, Abu Munzir al-Ansari al-Najjari al-Madani al-Muqri al-Badri. He is radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu, the master of all reciters from the ansar, from Banu Najjar. Banu Najjar, we should all know now, is the maternal relatives or they are the maternal relatives of the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam. The family of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, the family of Umm Sulaym, and other famous companions from Banu Najjar. So he is from that particular tribe, and he is a Badri as well. He is one of the Badri companions, those whom the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam said, Allah looked at and forgave them for all of their past and future sins, radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu. So he is from Khazraj, and the sub-tribe of Banu Najjar, and he is one of those companions who also, like Zayd and Mu'adh, was literate before Islam. One of the few that could read and write before Islam. Now, the difference between him and Zayd and Mu'adh in this regard, is that he was significantly older than them. How old he was, we don't know exactly, but what we do know is that he was pretty much the same age as the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam. His description, by the time of his death, which was in the Khilafah of Umar ibn al-Khattab radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu, was that he had exceedingly white hair and an exceedingly white beard. The description of him is actually fascinating, his physical description. When you think about the way he is described, Mu'adh radiyaAllahu anhu is described with a whole lot of physical descriptions. He is described as everything was exceedingly sharp in color.
His skin was exceedingly bright, his hair was exceedingly white, his turban and his thobe were also exceedingly white, and his eyes were exceedingly black. So, it almost seems like when he is being described physically that he was extremely sharp, vivid, that he subhanAllah stood out in that sense. But he is described as not having a single black hair on his head or on his beard by the time that he passed away radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu. So, he is the older of the three qurra of the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam. Obviously, Zayd and Mu'adh being young people, being youth that the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam nurtured and rose up to have the positions that they have. He attends bay'at al-aqaba along with those companions. So, he is one of those who went to Mecca and who took the pledge with the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam after having embraced the da'wah of Mus'ab ibn Umair radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu. So, he is again one of the fruits of Mus'ab ibn Umair radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu. He accepted his da'wah and then he went to Mecca to meet the Messenger alayhi salatu wassalam and to be with the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam as soon as Rasulullah salAllahu alayhi wasallam would arrive in Quba. A reminder of the narration, the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam said, خذ القرآن من أربعة. Take the Qur'an from four people. The Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasallam told the companions, take the Qur'an from four people. Is there anyone who can name the four at this point? Who is it? In this particular narration, not Zayd radiyaAllahu anhu, the famous narration of خذ القرآن من أربعة. Take the Qur'an from four. Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, not Abu Darda, not in this one. Mu'adh, and there's one more, he gets left out a lot. Salim, Mawla Abi Hudhayfa.
Salim radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu and Ubayy ibn Ka'b. So the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasallam said, خذ القرآن من أربعة. Take the Qur'an from four people. Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, Salim, Mawla Abi Hudhayfa, Mu'adh ibn Jabal and Ubayy ibn Ka'b. When you said خذ القرآن, take the Qur'an from four people, these were the famous four that you would take the Qur'an from. Now the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasallam said amongst his entire ummah, amongst this group, he said salAllahu alayhi wasallam, وأقرأهم لكتاب الله, Ubayy ibn Ka'b. وأعلمهم بالحلال والحرام, Mu'adh ibn Jabal. وأفرضهم Zayd ibn Thabit. So all three of them are famous for the Qur'an, but the distinctions of these three men, the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasallam said, the best of them in the recitation of the Qur'an is Ubayy ibn Ka'b. And the best of them in understanding halal and haram, meaning fiqh, meaning jurisprudence, is Mu'adh ibn Jabal. And the best of them in understanding inheritance laws and by extension property laws and some of the very complicated areas of fiqh when it comes to the mathematical transactions is Zayd ibn Thabit. So these three were all the masters of the Qur'an, but it says something when the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasallam specifies Ubayy as the greatest reciter amongst them. رضي الله تعالى عنه. And in another narration the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasallam said, أقرأ أمتي Ubayy. The best of my nation in the recitation of the Qur'an is Ubayy ibn Ka'b, رضي الله تعالى عنه. The oldest of the three and the greatest of the three in the recitation of the Qur'an, رضي الله تعالى عنه. Now we said that Zayd ibn Ka'b went on to become the most famous scribe of the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasallam.
Ubayy ibn Ka'b was the first person to actually start being the scribe of the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasallam from the Ansar. When the Messenger alayhi wasallam came to Medina. And here's the other thing, who in here is a hafidh? I don't mean to put you all on the spot. We have ifad and valerants, right? Oh, there you go, Hamza. Do you have Ubayy ibn Ka'b in your senate? Yes. See, if you ask almost any hafidh of the Qur'an, in our chains of narration is Ubayy, رضي الله تعالى عنه. Why? Because Ubayy ibn Ka'b is, and I'm going to talk about this, in all of the qiraat except for one recitation. Your ijazah almost automatically goes to Ubayy ibn Ka'b. Meaning when you read to your sheikh, you read to your sheikh who will go back and he read upon this sheikh and read upon this sheikh and read upon this sheikh and read upon this sheikh. And it always ends with Ubayy ibn Ka'b, then the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasallam. That's a special connection, subhanAllah. So you can see right away that, you know, when we talk about your holding the mushaf, this physical mushaf that you hold in your hand, is through the works of Zayd ibn Thabit, رضي الله تعالى عنه. And then the hifth of the Qur'an, the memorization of the Qur'an, and the qiraat, the recitation of the Qur'an, anyone that will read to a sheikh with a sanad, with a chain, will have Ubayy ibn Ka'b, رضي الله تعالى عنه, as their link to the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasallam. There are also, and I'm just talking about some of this fadad and we'll get into some of the stories, something about these three men, and you rarely find them mentioned separately from one another in some of the significant moments of the seerah, in the incident where the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasallam's grandson passed away, when the son of Zaynab, رضي الله تعالى عنها, passed away. When he was dying, she sent a messenger to her father. And Rasulullah salAllahu alayhi wasallam was sitting with these three men.
So he was sitting with Ubayy, and Mus'ab, and Zayd. So they were a trio. And she greeted him, and she said to the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasallam, Ya Rasulullah, he's breathing his last. And Rasulullah salAllahu alayhi wasallam sent back a message to her and said, إِنَّ لِلَّهِ مَا أَخَذَ وَلَهُ مَا أَعْطَى وَكُلٌّ عِنْدَهُ بِأَجَلٍ مُسَمَّى فَلْتَصْبِرْ وَلْتَحْتَسِبْ That verily, Allah takes what belongs to him, and he gives what belongs to him, and he has appointed a time for every single person. So let her show patience and seek her reward from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And then she sent to the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasallam the messenger, and she said, Ya Rasulullah, I need you to come. She actually called her father. It was a very human exchange between her and the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasallam. Ya Rasulullah, I need you to actually come here and be with him as he breathes his last. فَقَامَ وَمَعَهُ مُعَاذْ وَأُبَيْدْ وَزَيْدْ وَفِي رِوَايَةْ وَسَعْدِ بِنُ عُبَادَةٍ So the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasallam gets up, and these were the three men that he takes with him to be with him as he holds his grandson when he breathes his last. And one of those who's also mentioned is Sa'd ibn Ubadah radiAllahu ta'ala anhu. The Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasallam also in some narrations called him Sayyid al-Ansar, the master of the Ansar. And this is something significant that the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasallam privileged the people of Qur'an amongst everybody else. He privileged the people of Qur'an amongst everyone else. Even in the janazahs, the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasallam privileged the people of Qur'an amongst everyone else. So when he says that Ubay radiAllahu anhu is Sayyid al-Qurra, he's also saying he is the master of you all. He is the chief of you all and the leader of you all. And sometimes the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasallam to show him that respect called him Sayyid al-Ansar, the leader of the Ansar. Now we'll go through some of the narrations and here's how, you know, and I forgot to do this in the beginning.
I want you to imagine Ubay ibn Ka'b radiAllahu anhu. Literally, if you were to walk into Medina years, a few years after the death of the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasallam, every narration about Ubay ibn Ka'b is him reciting the Qur'an in the masjid. Either leading the salah or walking around and reciting or answering questions about the Qur'an in the masjid. So it's actually stunning. You don't even find the conversations with him outside of the masjid of the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasallam. So if you walked into the masjid of Medina after the death of the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasallam, the person who would be leading the salah is this man. And if you imagine a man pacing back and forth reciting the Qur'an to himself, sitting and doing muraj'a and reciting the Qur'an to himself and then answering people's questions about the Qur'an, it's Ubay ibn Ka'b radiAllahu ta'ala anhu. And he said it started with a particular incident between him and the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasallam. The Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasallam comes to him one day and he says, Ya Ubay, and it's beautiful because in the story of Mu'adh and in the story of Zayd, how many times do you say Ya Mu'adh, Ya Zayd, like talking to you directly. O Ubay, Ubay says, Na'm Ya Rasulullah, what is it O Messenger of Allah? He says, ayhi ayatin fil Qur'an a'adham? What part of the Qur'an is the greatest? And in one narration the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasallam said, what part of what you have, meaning what you've memorized, is the greatest of it all? So Ubay radiAllahu anhu immediately says, and what do you think the greatest verse of the Qur'an is? Ayatul Qursi, we take it from this narration. Ubay radiAllahu anhu immediately says, Allahu la ilaha illa hu, he recites it to the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasallam. You know like a Qur'an competition or a quiz. Ubay, what's the best verse in the Qur'an? Allahu la ilaha illa hu, al hayyu al qayyum, he recites ayatul Qursi to the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasallam.
The Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasallam walked up to him and he put his hand on his chest. SubhanAllah, this was the interaction of the Messenger salAllahu alayhi wasallam with his companions. And he said, liyahnikal ilmu abal mundhir. You know when you say, haniyan lak? liyahnikal ilmu abal mundhir means knowledge is going to be easy for you. Knowledge is going to come to you so smoothly, ya abal mundhir, which is the nickname of Ubay radiAllahu anhu. Knowledge is going to come to you so easily. So it's been facilitated for you from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in a divine way. And when the Messenger salAllahu alayhi wasallam puts his hand on your chest, right? Abu Hurayra radiAllahu anhu has that story, Mu'adh radiAllahu anhu has that story. There's something that comes to you, right? You could feel the hand of the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasallam years after he had passed away and recall that moment with the Messenger salAllahu alayhi wasallam. And the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasallam used to call for him when he would receive the revelation and he would be amongst those that would immediately capture the recitation of the Quran. Ibn Abbas radiAllahu anhu says that Ubay ibn Ka'ab once said to Umar ibn al-Khattab, إني تلقيت القرآن ممن تلقاه من جبريل عليه السلام وهو رطب That I recited or I received the revelation, the recitation of the Quran. إني تلقيت القرآن. I received the recitation. From the one who received the recitation from Jibreel alayhi wasallam while it was fresh. Like I got to be there when it was coming from Jibreel to the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasallam while it was fresh. And that was his description of the proximity that he had to the Quran. Now all of the companions that we've spoken about that have this Quran distinction from amongst the companions of the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasallam have a story.
And they have a virtue, the ulema say subhanAllah they have a virtue with the Quran that no one else has. So for example Zayd ibn Thabit radiAllahu anhu He was the one who felt the weight of the revelation on the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasallam because his leg was literally under the leg of the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasallam when the Quran came upon the Messenger salAllahu alayhi wasallam and Zayd said I felt like my leg was going to fall off. Abdullah ibn Mas'ud radiAllahu anhu He was the one who the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasallam told read the Quran to me. Now imagine when the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasallam says to you not to test you, not to ask you questions, the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasallam wants to sit and enjoy your recitation. And he says to ibn Mas'ud radiAllahu anhu read the Quran to me. Abdullah ibn Mas'ud says Ya Rasulullah, akrau alayka wa alayka unzid You want me to read to you and it was revealed to you? I can't do that, that's tough. And the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasallam wanted him to recite and he insisted salAllahu alayhi wasallam and Rasulullah salAllahu alayhi wasallam put his head down and enjoyed the recitation from ibn Mas'ud radiAllahu ta'ala anhu. Now with Ubaid ibn Ka'b radiAllahu anhu, he has a virtue that no other companion has. And this is something that many of the companions have a specific virtue that only belongs to them. Ibn Mas'ud's distinction radiAllahu anhu and there are many but in this regard was he's the only person we know that the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasallam said read the Quran to me so the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasallam could actually enjoy his recitation. But Ubaid ibn Ka'b radiAllahu anhu, he was once with the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasallam and the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasallam said Ya Ubaid, O Ubaid, he says innaAllaha amarani an akraa alayka alquran Allah has just commanded me to read the Quran to you.
And in one narration Surat al-Bayyinah, Allah has commanded me to read the Quran to you. Now Ubaid radiAllahu anhu says and there are a few narrations, he says Ah, Allahu thakarani? Wait, Allah said me? Allah said me? Almost like out of shock. Allah told you to read the Quran to me? And Rasulullah salAllahu alayhi wasallam said naam, yes, and he said dhukirtu ainda rabbil alameen? You mean I was mentioned with the Lord of the worlds? Allah said Ubaid, like I want to make sure this isn't a general gift that's been given to you or Allah didn't just say read to the person closest to you. You mean me, Ya Rasulullah? Me in particular? And the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasallam mentions naam biismika wa nasabika fil malail alam. By your name and your lineage in the presence of the Most High. Allah speaking in the presence of the closest angels to him above seven heavens says or sends a message to the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasallam, read the Quran to Ubaid ibn Ka'b radiAllahu ta'ala anhu. So Ubaid radiAllahu anhu starts to cry because this is something that you know takes him to another level. And in one narration he says bidlahi aamant, wa ala yadika aslamt, wa minka ta'allamt. He says Ya Rasulullah, O Messenger of Allah, I believe in Allah, wa ala yadika aslamt, and I embraced Islam on your hand, wa minka ta'allamt, and from you I learned. So the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasallam recited to Ubaid radiAllahu anhu as he was in tears just knowing that Allah mentioned him in that way. Surat al-Bayyinah and he took it radiAllahu ta'ala anhu.
And it's very interesting because his son narrates from him this narration. So this is narrated by more than one person, Anas ibn Malik radiAllahu anhu and Ibn Abbas radiAllahu anhuma. But one of the narrators of the hadith is his son. And Ubaid was not known to be a very joyful person. We'll see that in his personality. He was a very serious person. But when he would narrate this hadith he'd get extremely happy. So there would be clear signs of joy on him when he would narrate this hadith. So his son said to him, farihta bi thalik, like are you overjoyed because of that? Is that what's giving you joy? He said, wa ma yamna'uni wa huwa ta'ala yaqul, qul bi fadlillahi wa bi rahmatihi, fa bi thalika fad yafrahu. What would stop me from being overjoyed by this when Allah says, say in the bounty of Allah and in His mercy, let them find happiness in that. But there was no hadith more precious to him, no incident more precious to him than this moment that he shared with the Messenger salAllahu alayhi wa sallam. When the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam told him that Allah just mentioned you by name. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has commanded me to read the Quran to you. Now there's another interesting narration about him because it shows you where his heart was. In trying to cling to the Quran and in trying to attain the maximum reward with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. This is a very interesting hadith and it's one of those khasas, one of those things that's specific to the sahaba of the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam. Are you supposed to ask Allah for sickness? No. In fact, hadith mu'adh radiAllahu anhu, when the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam heard a man asking Allah for patience. And the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam said, sa'altu allaha albalaa, you asked Allah for trial, instead ask him for aafiyah, ask him to pardon you or to free you, to safeguard you from hardship. Doesn't mean don't ask Allah for the quality of patience and don't ask Allah to be from a sa'abadi and from the patience.
But when you're in the midst of a hardship, ask Allah to relieve you of it, right? This is the way that our Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam teaches us. Sometimes, just like fasting, the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam prohibited us from al-wisaal. Does anyone know what saum al-wisaal is, continuous fasting is? Anyone know what it is? It's to combine days in fasting without breaking. Okay, so you fast two days without breaking your fast in between. It was prohibited but allowed for some of the companions as something that was khas, specific to them. With Ubayy radiyAllahu anhu, he had what's actually documented amongst the karamat, amongst the miracles of the companions. Ubayy radiyAllahu anhu had a fever. And he said to the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam, Ya Rasulullah, ma jaza'ul humma. O Messenger of Allah, what's the reward of a fever? You know, the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam told us that the believer is not struck with any sickness, except that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala expiates some of their sins, purifies them, raises their ranks. The prick of a thorn, anxiety, any sickness. If a person does ihtisab, if they seek the reward from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, Allah will purify them of their sins and raise their rank. So he said, Ya Rasulullah, ma jaza'ul humma. O Messenger of Allah, what is the reward of a fever? So he said, salAllahu alayhi wa sallam, tujri al-hasanati ala sahibih. That it bestows numerous hasanat, numerous good deeds upon the one who possesses it. That when you're sick, you're in a state with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. You're in a particular position with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And humma, obviously is a symptom of many underlying things, right, that they didn't diagnose very specifically back then. So when a person had a fever, it was a sign of something that was underlying.
And the Prophet ﷺ taught the sahabah to see it as a means of qurb, as a means of closeness to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So Ubayy radhiAllahu ta'ala said, Allahumma inni as'aluka humman la tamna'uni khurujan fee sabilik. It's a very specific dua. He said, O Allah, I ask you for perpetual fever, but that does not prevent me from going out in your path. And one narration is specific, salah, going out in salah, going out in hajj, and going out in jihad fee sabili Allah. So I want to be sick or have this fever so that I can have that reward from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. But I don't want it to be with me in a way that would prevent me from going to the salah. Or a way that would prevent me from going to hajj, or a way that would prevent me from going out in battle. And he attended the battles with the Prophet ﷺ. Now you might say, we're not supposed to make this dua. You're right, this is qas, this is something specific to Ubayy radhiAllahu ta'ala. And the Prophet ﷺ told the other companion, subhanAllah la tu'tiquhu, you would not bear what you're asking Allah for. But with Ubayy radhiAllahu ta'ala anhu, he had a perpetual fever, but subhanAllah, when it was the time for salah, when it was the time for hajj, when it was the time for umrah, when it was the time for battle, he had no fever. So the dua was actually answered for him in a very specific way, that he had a sickness that persisted with him. As a result of this dua, that did not continue with him in hajj, in jihad, or in salah. It would subside naturally when he would go out to the masjid and when he would engage himself in ibadah. So it was something very specific to him, but it shows you the position that he has with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and with the Messenger ﷺ. Now, all of the ahadith narrated from Ubayy ibn Ka'b radhiAllahu ta'ala anhu have to do with dua or qira'ah.
So all of the settings have to do with the masjid, and all of the dua, I'm sorry, all of the ahadith, all of the narrations have to do with dua and qira'ah. So he was the one who was asked about how the Prophet ﷺ used to make dua. He said, إذا ذكر أحدا فدعا له بدأ بنفسه ﷺ When the Prophet ﷺ would make dua, he would start with himself and then he would make dua for that person as well. Also the way we recite in salat al-witr. What are the three surahs that you commonly hear recited in salat al-witr? Surah al-A'la, al-Kafirun, and al-Ikhlas. This is narrated from Ubayy ibn Ka'b radhiAllahu anhu as the narration of the Prophet ﷺ or the recitation of the Prophet ﷺ in salat al-witr. So we take that from Ubayy ibn Ka'b radhiAllahu ta'ala anhu. Also, he was with the Prophet ﷺ when surah al-Ikhlas was revealed. Qul huwa Allah wa ahad was revealed. Does anyone know the back story of surah al-Ikhlas? Quraish came to the Prophet ﷺ and look how these people think. They think all in terms of lineage. Where are you from? They asked the Prophet ﷺ, what is the lineage of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? Tell us Allah azawajal's nasab. Ubayy radhiAllahu anhu is narrating this ridiculous question. AnzalAllahu ta'ala, qul huwa Allah wa ahad, Allah wa samad, lam yalid wa lam yulad, wa lam yakunnahu kufun ahad. So he is the one who narrates when the surah was revealed. As Quraish came to the Prophet ﷺ and asked him about Allah azawajal's lineage. Where did Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala come from in this regard? So these are the hadith that he narrates.
As for his own personal recitation of the Quran, he was asked how often he completes a khatm of the Quran. He said, inna lanaqra'uhu fee thamani layalin, ya'ni al-Quran. He used to finish the Quran every eight nights. And this is something that you find that is very interesting about these sahabas. That they had their specific days and they all liked to take their time with the recitation of the Quran. This was considered taking your time with the Quran. That he would review the entirety of the Quran through his qiyamul-layl over eight nights. That's not the only time he reads it, but that was his habit of memorization, his habit of recitation. Abi'l-Aliya, rahimahu Allah, says, kana ubayy sahiba ibada. He said that Ubayy radiya Allahu anhu was someone that was always engaged in ibada. Falam mahtaja an-nasu ilayhi taraka al-ibada wa jalasa lil-qawm. And then when people needed something from him, then he would leave off his personal ibada. He would sit with the people, he'd answer their questions, and then he'd go back to his ibada radiya Allahu ta'ala anhu. So this was his role in the masjid, in the community of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam. Now fast forward to the time of Umar bin al-Khattab radiya Allahu anhu. And as we said, Umar radiya Allahu anhu plays a role in all of these companions' lives. In nurturing their greatness. Umar radiya Allahu ta'ala anhu said, aqdana ali wa aqra'una Ubayy. He used to say radiya Allahu ta'ala anhu, that the best in judgment amongst us is Sayyidina Ali radiya Allahu ta'ala anhu, and the best reciter amongst us is Ubayy ibn Ka'b radiya Allahu anhu. And he actually said in one of his khutab, in one of his sermons, Umar radiya Allahu anhu said, man arada an yas'al anil qur'an, fal yati Ubayy ibn Ka'b. Whoever has a question about the Qur'an, go to Ubayy ibn Ka'b. Waman arada an yas'al anil fara'id.
And whoever wants to ask a question about inheritance, who should he go to? Zayd. Fal yati Zayd. Then go to Zayd radiya Allahu anhu. Waman arada an yas'al anil fiqh. And whoever has a question about fiqh, jurisprudence, who should they go to? Fal yati Mu'adh radiya Allahu ta'ala anhu. Go to Mu'adh radiya Allahu anhu. Waman arada an yas'al anil maal. He said, if someone has a question to ask about public policy and treasury and the things in regards to administration, fal yati ni, then come to me. Fa inna Allaha ja'alani khazinan wa qasiman. Don't place me in a position of trust where I have to distribute in this place of authority. So it's as if, subhanAllah, this is also the humility of Umar radiya Allahu anhu. He could have stood up and said, if you have a question about Qur'an, come to me. If you have a question about fiqh, come to me. If you have a question about anything, come to me. But Umar radiya Allahu ta'ala anhu was actually putting himself down and directing other companions and other people to these particular companions. There's another narration, an zirrin, radiya Allah, an aasimin an zir. Qala ataytu al-madina. He said that I went to al-madina. Fa ataytu ubayyan. And I went to obey. Fa qultu yarhamuka Allah. I said to him, may Allah have mercy on you. Ikhfad li janahak. Lower your wings to me. Like come down to my level because mashAllah you're up here. So I'm going to ask you a question. Don't get mad at me. Come down to my level as I ask you this question, please lower your wing in humility to me. Qala fasaltuhu an laylatul qadr. I asked him about laylatul qadr. Ubayy has a very famous opinion on laylatul qadr. Does anyone know what it is? He is the one who says that laylatul qadr is the 27th night.
Okay, so this is his famous opinion, radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu, that he said laylatul sab'in wa ishreen. When the man asked him, it is the 27th night. So when you see the ummah pushing itself a little bit further on the 27th night, it comes from Ubayy ibn Ka'b radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu who narrates this. This was his opinion and of course we've talked about this. We're not in the last nights of Ramadan right now. Many of the ulama reconciled that it could have been that he witnessed it on the 27th night with the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wa sallam. And he took from that that it's always the 27th night rather than being the odd nights. You don't want to gamble with the other nine nights. So you can push yourself a little bit further on the 27th night inshaAllah ta'ala and understand why there is some special significance to laylatul sab'in wa ishreen, to the 27th night. But at the same time, do not bank on it. Now we said he was the dedicated Quran teacher in Masjid al-Nabawi. I think that this is probably the most significant thing. Like could you imagine being there for salatul taraweeh in the masjid of the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wa sallam. Now the story of taraweeh of course is that the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wa sallam prayed taraweeh with the sahaba for a few nights. And the masjid was overcrowded, busting at the seams. And the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wa sallam decided to stop praying it in jama'ah so that they don't take it as a fard upon them. Because he understood salAllahu alaihi wa sallam that the significance they were giving to taraweeh in jama'ah could have solidified it as something that is mandatory. And there is no doubt there is something special about salatul taraweeh. Like it's people come together but we talk about this every Ramadan.
Taraweeh is full, isha after Ramadan which is fard is gone. You know like the numbers dwindle after Ramadan. So the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wa sallam decided to withdraw. Still legislating it but the revelation is still coming down when the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wa sallam is alive and the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wa sallam does not want certain things to become mandatory. So what happened is they still pray taraweeh but they pray taraweeh in jama'at. So if you walked in the masjid in Ramadan, you had a bunch of people praying taraweeh behind different imams. Sayyidina Umar radiAllahu ta'ala anhu was the one who decided in his wisdom to gather all of the companions behind one imam for salatul taraweeh. And out of all of the companions he chose Ubayy ibn Ka'ab radiAllahu ta'ala anhu. So Ubayy was the agreed upon imam of the sahaba when they were praying salatul taraweeh and he is their chosen imam. Now here is something very interesting and this shows you the hikmah, the wisdom of the sahaba. Umar radiAllahu ta'ala anhu did not appoint him as a judge or a governor or a ruler in any way. He appointed Zayd, he appointed Mu'adh, he appointed Abu Ubaidah, he appointed many people. But he did not appoint Ubayy ibn Ka'ab. This is so significant because the fiqh of Umar is like the fiqh of the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wa sallam, his understanding. So Ubayy radiAllahu ta'ala anhu kind of noticed, you know, you are appointing other sahaba in different positions, not that he is seeking it. Remember the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wa sallam told Abu Dharr radiAllahu ta'ala anhu that you are not fit to be a leader. Not because you have a naqs, not because you have a deficiency in imam, but it is not your role.
And it will be a source of regret for you. This isn't your role, you are not the best person to be in charge. Okay. So Ubayy radiAllahu ta'ala anhu, he noticed that Umar radiAllahu anhu did not appoint him to anything. He appointed him as the imam in tarawih. I mean that is pretty significant. He said anyone has a question about Quran, go to Ubayy. But he went to Umar radiAllahu anhu one day and he said, Ya ameer al mu'mineen, ma laka la tasta'milun. I am just curious, how come you never appointed me to any position? And he said, Ya Ubayy, akrahu an yudannasa deenuk. He used a very specific word. He said, I was afraid that it would stain your religion. It would taint you. Like you have to trust me on this one. I see something, I don't want this to stain you. You are too pure for it. I don't want you to be in this position of political leadership. Fiqh of Umar radiAllahu anhu, you are an amazing person. You are the imam when it comes to the Quran. You are the person we go to for the Quran, but I didn't want to put you in a position of actually being in charge of any of the Muslims. And subhanAllah, one of the things that you note about Ubayy, is Ubayy had a very strict disposition like Abu Dhar. Abu Dhar's problem, his primary issue, was that Abu Dhar radiAllahu anhu was too much of a zahid, too much of an ascetic to where when he saw people engaging in the dunya, it disappointed him and he condemned them for their engaging in gold and silver and the trade. And he saw the prosperity enter upon the ummah and it scared him. And he started to admonish the rest of the Muslims in a way that he became harsh with them. Right? Ubayy radiAllahu anhu has a very similar disposition. He didn't like a lot of what he was seeing in terms of prosperity, in terms of the growth.
I mean he wanted people to focus on the Quran. Ubayy was the person that was always in the masjid, reciting the Quran, teaching the Quran. And Umar radiAllahu anhu said, it would have been a fitna for you. I know you and I know what I'm doing. I chose not to put you in this position because I didn't want it to stain your religion. I wanted you to stay purified from it. That doesn't mean other people are not pure if they engage in these positions of leadership. Because remember he said, if I was to die, I would appoint Abu Ubayy as my khalifa. And if I was to die, I would appoint Mu'adh ibn Jabal as my khalifa. Right? And he praised them for their integrity. RadiAllahu ta'ala anhum ajma'een. But Ubayy radiAllahu anhu had a very strict disposition towards the people. There's one narration that he was looking out at the marketplace. And he said, ala tara al-nasa mukhtarifatan a'naaquhum fee talab al-dunya? Do you see the people competing over this world? Like they're racing fee talab al-dunya. They're racing over the competition of this dunya. The narrator, he says, qultu bala. He said, yes, I see that. And Ubayy radiAllahu ta'ala anhu says, fa innee sam'i'tu rasoolAllahi sallAllahu alaihi wa sallam. He said, I heard the Prophet sallAllahu alaihi wa sallam say, yushiku an yahsir al-furatu an jabalin min dhahab. It's a very famous narration that one day the Euphrates will become shallow and it will uncover beneath it a mountain of gold. So he said, sallAllahu alaihi wa sallam, fa idha sam'i'a bihi an-nasu saaru ilayhi. And when people hear about it, they're going to rush towards it. They'll descend upon the Euphrates to steal the resources from that area. Fayaqulu man indahu la intarakna an-nasa ya'khudhoona minhum la yada'oona minhu shay'aan. So people start to say, hurry up and get as much of the gold as you can or else the people
that are behind us will take from it. So everyone takes the maximum amount. I mean the complete opposite of the spirit of Islam. Gold has been uncovered, the people descend upon it, everyone takes their share and tries to leave behind the people behind them and the Prophet sallAllahu alaihi wa sallam said, and 99 out of every 100 will die as they're crowding and hoarding over that gold to try to take from it. You know, and some of the ulama mentioned stampeding and some of just the way that people will be driven by their base desire to descend upon the gold and to descend upon the marketplace. Ubayy radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu also used to cry when he would recite the ayah, qul huwa al-qadiru ala an yaba'atha alaykum a'adhaaban min fawqikum, surat al-an'am. He used to cry when he would recite this verse that say, he is, he Allah has the power to send upon you punishment from above you, from below you or to cover you with confusion and until the end of the ayah, verse 65 of al-an'am. And he used to cry and he used to seek refuge in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala from seeing the fitna amongst the Muslims, from seeing the dissension amongst the Muslims. So he didn't want to see the trials and tribulations and people fighting over this world and in the process corrupting their connection to Allah and the messenger salallahu alayhi wa sallam. There's a very beautiful narration by a man, Abi Nadra, rahim Allah, qala rajrun minna yuqalu lahu jabirun aw juwaybir. There was a man whose name was Jabir or Juwaybir who was from Iraq and he said, ataytu umar radiya Allah ta'ala anhu, waqad u'titu mantiqan. He said, I went to visit Umar radiya Allah ta'ala anhu and I was an articulate man, I had the ability to articulate my thoughts. Qala afakhastu fid dunya, fasaghartuha, fataraktuha la taswa shay'a.
He said, so I started to belittle dunya, started to talk about this world, the material world. Fasaghartuha, until I belittled it so much that it had no worth whatsoever. So he's saying this to Umar radiya Allah ta'ala anhu and he thinks that this is a good thing. He starts to talk about how horrible this world is and belittle the dunya. And you would think that this would be a good thing, right? So he says, wa ila janbihi rajulun abyadun raas wal lihya wal siyab. He said, and there was a man sitting next to Umar radiya Allah ta'ala anhu who had exceedingly white hair, an exceedingly white beard, and an exceedingly white thawb. So he responded to me and he said, kullu qawlika muqaribun illa wuqoo'aka fid dunya, hal tadri mat dunya? He said that what you said is good, but you went a little bit too far when you started to belittle this world. Don't you know what's in this dunya? So he said, feeha balaghuna ila al-akhira, wa feeha a'maruna allati nujza biha. In this dunya, we have our provisions. In one narration, zaduna, our provisions to reach the hereafter, and we have the ability to do good deeds. Now, this is coming from Ubaid radiya Allah ta'ala anhu, who doesn't like materialism, but he's saying you're going a little bit too far because this dunya is not a horrible thing. It's an opportunity. The world is an opportunity to please Allah subhana wa ta'ala. So it has our provisions to the hereafter, and it has the good deeds that we can be rewarded for. So he says, he then got up and he left, and I said, man hadha ya ameer al-mu'mineen, who was that, oh ameer al-mu'mineen, oh commander of the believers? Qala Umar radiya Allah anhu, hadha sayyid al-muslimeen. This is the master of the Muslims, Ubaid ibn Ka'b radiya Allah anhu. So I mean, even you think about the words here, man hadha ya ameer al-mu'mineen, who was that, oh commander of the believers? And he said, hadha sayyid al-muslimeen. This is the master of the Muslims, of all of the Muslims, Ubaid ibn Ka'b radiya Allah
anhu, which really makes you think about subhanAllah, that Umar radiya Allah anhu did not want him to be in a post, a political post, but he still called him sayyid al-muslimeen. Tells you a lot subhanAllah about the possession and the way we compete over positions of leadership in a way that might actually hurt us in the hereafter. There's one more narration that Umar radiya Allah anhu was sitting with the companions and Umar radiya Allah anhu told the sahaba to make dua. And as they made this dua together, Ubaid radiya Allah anhu started to say, Allahumma khfirlana, Allahumma arhamna, Allahumma khfirlana, Allahumma arhamna, Allahumma khfirlana, Allahumma arhamna, oh Allah forgive us, oh Allah have mercy on us. And he was deeply weeping and moved as he was reciting that dua for forgiveness and mercy and Umar radiya Allah anhu was sitting next to him saying ameen, saying ameen, ameen, ameen. So it shows you the position that he had with Umar radiya Allah anhu and with the sahaba of the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam. There's the final narration about his life and it's actually about his death. Al-Hassan radiya Allah anhu narrates that a man came to Al-Madina when Ubaid died. And when Ubaid died, every single person turned up for his janaza. The imam of the masjid of the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam. So you can imagine subhanallah the movement in the streets of the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam's city. This was their imam and this is in the khilafah of Umar radiya Allah anhu. So this is before fitna broke out. Allah spared him from the fitna that he feared so much. Before any fitna broke out. And he said, ra'aytu ahla al-madina ya muwjuuna fee sikakihim, I saw the people in Madina flooding the streets. This is the image when you walked into Madina and you just saw people flooding the streets, everyone coming from their home. Is it Eid or something like that? Are they going out for hajj? Are they going out for umrah?
Faqultu ma sha'nu ha'ula, I said what is it with all these people? So the people turned around and they said, ma anta min al-madina, you must not be from al-madina. Or ma anta min ahl al-balad, are you not from here? Like do you not understand what happened today? Why the people are out in the streets? Qultu la, so he said no, he was from Iraq. Faqala fa innahu qad maata al-yawm sayyidu al-muslimin Ubayy ibn Ka'ab, verily today the leader of the Muslims, the master of the Muslims passed away, Ubayy ibn Ka'ab radiya Allah ta'ala anhu. Umar ibn al-Khattab radiya Allah ta'ala anhu led his salatul janaza, he is buried radiya Allah ta'ala anhu in al-baqi' in the graveyard of the sahaba next to the masjid of the prophet Ka'ab, salallahu alayhi wasalam. And Umar radiya Allah anhu as he eulogized him, he said, fa qad maata al-yawm sayyidu al-muslimin, once again giving him that honorary title that the leader of the Muslims, the master of the Muslims has passed away today, Ubayy radiya Allah ta'ala anhu. There's one thing that I'll leave you with subhanAllah and then we'll just take some final notes here. The nasiha, the advice of Ubayy radiya Allah anhu to the Muslims. He's distinguished by the Quran. So there's a famous narration from him, from Abu al-Aliya. So he said that a man came to Ubayy ibn Ka'ab and said, awsani, give me advice. So he said, ittakhidh kitaab Allahi imaman warada bihi qadian wa hakaman. Take the book of Allah as your imam, as your leader, and be satisfied with it as your judge and as your ruler. And he said, fa innahu allathee istakhlafa feekum rasoolukum shafee'un. That this is what Allah has left for you through the messenger salAllahu alayhi wa sallam. Shafee'un, muta'un, wa shahid, as an intercessor to be followed and as a witness upon you. La yuttahamu feehi.
And there is absolutely no accusation of its integrity. There is nothing, there is no doubt of this book. This is the consistent book amongst you. Your imam, no accusation can be leveled against this imam. This is your intercessor, this is your judge, this is your witness. Feehi dhikrukum wa dhikru man qablakum. It has the mention of you and the mention of all those that came before you. Wa hakamu ma baynakum. And it has judged everything in between. Wa khabarukum wa khabaru ma ba'dakum. And it has your affairs and the affairs of everything that is to come after you. It documents everything in this regard. So take the Quran as your imam. And of course the recitation, he then recited the ayah, wa qala al rasool, that the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam complains on the day of judgment, inna qawmi takhadu hadha alqurana mahjoora. That my people have taken the Quran to be less than what it is. They haven't taken it seriously. They abandoned the Quran. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala not make us amongst those people who abandon the Quran. Allahumma ameen. Next to students and those that narrated from him, Ibn Abbas radiallahu anhuma, Anas ibn Malik radiallahu anhu, some of the leaders of the sahaba. And I want to mention his kids because it's actually really interesting here. His son, Muhammad. So his son, he's actually Abu Muhammad, but his nickname is Abu al-Mundhir. But his son's Muhammad. So Muhammad was also nicknamed al-Mundhir because that was his, that was Ubaid's name, you know, growing up, that they call him Abu al-Mundhir. So Muhammad, his son, who's a narrator on his behalf, was a student of his father. And he was also a student of Umar al-Khattab radiallahu anhu. So he's one of the narrators from Ubaid ibn Ka'b and he's one of the narrators from Umar ibn Khattab radiallahu ta'ala anhu. And he's one of the shuhada of Yawm al-Hara, the day that there was a massacre that took place in Al-Madinah.
He's one of those who passed away as a martyr on those days. But subhanAllah, his children's name. So he has a son named Muhammad al-Qasim and Umar. Then he has Ubaid, Mu'adh, and Zaid. So it's actually very interesting, subhanAllah, like the trio was actually even in the names there. And one narration, Zaid is Ziyad. He also has al-Tufail ibn Ubaid, his son, who's a narrator of his. And ibn Abbas radiallahu anhuma considered him one of his greatest students. And the gift of ibn Abbas radiallahu anhuma, and we'll talk about him in depth one day, is that he was able to take from all these streams of the Quran. And Ma'mar, rahimAllah, used to say, Amatu ilmi ibn Abbas min thalatha, Umar wa Ali wa Ubaid. He said that the majority of the knowledge of ibn Abbas came from three people, from Umar, from Ali, and from Ubaid. And the famous narration of al-Khadr, alayhi salam, the long narration where the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam tells us about al-Khadr, who's mentioned in Surah al-Kahf, actually comes when ibn Abbas radiallahu anhuma was asked by some of his students about al-Khadr, and he saw Ubaid walking by, and he called Ubaid over. Shows you how your tradition was preserved. And he asked Ubaid about al-Khadr. And Ubaid radiallahu anhuma narrated to him everything about al-Khadr, alayhi salam. And as we said, the chains of nine of the ten imams of the qiraat still trace back to Ubaid radiallahu anhu. The only exception is ibn Amir al-Dimashqiy, who it does not trace back to Ubaid radiallahu anhu. Nine of the imams of the qiraat, we have him radiallahu anhu as our link to the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala be pleased with him, be pleased with all of the companions, and may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make us people of the Qur'an. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow us to be raised with the Qur'an.
May Allah allow us to be amongst those who are raised in paradise by the Qur'an, and who are mentioned with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in the highest companionship with the angels because of our love for the Qur'an. And may Allah azza wa jal make us amongst those adherents of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam. Allahuma ameen. InshaAllah ta'ala as I said, we won't have our live class on Tuesday, but inshaAllah ta'ala we will have the first shorts that will continue for a few weeks inshaAllah, and then we will come back with our mother Aisha radiallahu ta'ala anhu. We'll talk about some of the women that were also distinguished with the Qur'an as well in these next few episodes of the shorts inshaAllah ta'ala.
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