The virtue and knowledge of ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with him)

Praise
be to Allah

Firstly: 

What is required of the Muslim is to love the Companions of
the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him, and may
Allah be pleased with them) and to respect them and speak highly of them,
for loving them is part of faith and hating them is part of hypocrisy. 

Imam Ahmad (3600) narrated that ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ood said:
Verily Allah looked into the
hearts of His slaves and He found that the heart of Muhammad (sa) was the
best of the hearts of His slaves. So He chose him for Himself and sent him
with His Message. Then he looked into the hearts of His slaves after
Muhammad, and found the hearts of his Companions were the best of the hearts
of His slaves. So he made them the helpers and advisors of His Prophet, to
fight to support His religion. 

Classed as hasan by the commentators on al-Musnad;
also classed as hasan by al-Albaani. Mawqoof to Ibn Mas‘ood (i.e., the
isnaad ends with Ibn Mas‘ood). 

See the answer to question no. 83121 

Secondly: 

Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with him) was very smart
and intelligent, and he loved knowledge and sought it, striving to attain it
by all means. He was passionate about knowledge and sought it from a very
early age. This is in addition to the supplication of the Prophet (blessings
and peace of Allah be upon him) who prayed for Allah to grant him a deep
understanding of the faith and to teach him the interpretation of the
Qur’an, as Ahmad (2393) narrated from him that he (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) said: “O Allah, grant him a deep understanding of the
faith and teach him the interpretation of the Qur’an.” It was also narrated
by al-Bukhaari (75, 143) and Muslim (2477). 

So he grew up with a love of knowledge and eagerness to
attain it, in addition to what Allah granted him of smartness, intelligence
and an eloquent tongue. Therefore he was able to memorise what others could
not, and learn what others could not, until he became a vessel of knowledge
and was known as al-habr (the great scholar) Ibn ‘Abbaas.

Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

Many of the Sahaabah learned from him, as did many of the
Taabi‘een, and he showed great initiative that was unmatched by any of the
other Sahaabah, because of his vast knowledge, deep understanding, mature
thinking, great virtue, and noble origin, may Allah be pleased with him and
make him pleased. 

He accompanied the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him), stayed close to him, learned from him, memorised the Sunnah, and
memorised with precision the Prophet’s words and deeds and events
surrounding him. He acquired a great deal of knowledge from the Sahaabah, in
addition to his own deep understanding, eloquence, handsome looks, noble
origin and ability to express himself. The Messenger of the Most Gracious
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) offered supplication for him, as
was narrated in well-proven hadiths, according to which the Messenger of
Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) offered supplication for
him, that Allah would teach him the interpretation of the Qur’an and grant
him deep understanding of the religion. 

Al-Bidaayah wa’n-Nihaayah
(12/78, 81) 

But not all the hadiths narrated by Ibn ‘Abbaas were taken
directly from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), for
the Messenger (may Allah be pleased with him) died when Ibn ‘Abbaas was
approximately thirteen years old. But Ibn ‘Abbaas would go around to the
Sahaabah and ask them about the hadiths of the Prophet (blessings and peace
of Allah be upon him), and he would memorise them, until he became one of
the most prominent scholars among the Sahaabah (may Allah be pleased with
them all). 

Ad-Daarimi narrated in his Sunan (590) that he [Ibn
‘Abbaas] (may Allah be pleased with him) said: When the Messenger of Allah
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) died, I said to a man from among
the Ansaar: O So and so, come, let us ask the companions of the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), for today they are many. 

But he said: How strange you are, O Ibn ‘Abbaas! Do you think
that the people would need to ask you, when there are among them so many of
the companions of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), as
you can see? 

So he did not join me, but I strove hard in seeking
knowledge. Sometimes I would hear that a man had some hadith, so I would go
to see him, and he would be taking the midday nap, so I would fold my cloak
into a pillow and rest at his door, and the wind would blow dust in my face.
Then he would come out and see me, and he would say: O nephew of the
Messenger of Allah, what brings you here? Why did you not send for me, and I
would have come to you? And I would say to him: No; it is more appropriate
for me to come to you. Then I would ask him about the hadith. 

He said: So that man (who had refused to join me) continued
as he was until he saw me with a lot of people gathered around me, and he
said: This young man is more mature than me. 

It was narrated that Talhah ibn ‘Ubaydullah said: Ibn ‘Abbaas
was granted understanding, smartness and knowledge, and I never saw ‘Umar
ibn al-Khattaab give anyone precedence over him. 

It was narrated that Ubayy ibn Ka ‘b said – when Ibn ‘Abbaas
was with him; he stood up and said: This man will be the leading scholar of
this ummah; he has been given maturity and deep understanding. The Messenger
of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) offered supplication for
him, praying that he be granted deep understanding of the religion. 

It was narrated that Abu Ma‘bad said: I heard Ibn ‘Abbaas
say: No one ever narrated a hadith to me and I asked him to explain it
(i.e., I understood it immediately). I would come to the door of Ubayy ibn
Ka‘b when he was sleeping and nap at his door, and if he knew I was there,
he would prefer to be woken up for me, because of my connection to the
Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), but I did not
like to trouble him. 

It was narrated from ‘Ubaydullah ibn ‘Ali that his
grandmother Salma said: I saw ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbaas and he had tablets with
him on which he was writing down something from Abu Raafi‘ of the deeds of
the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him).

It was narrated that Abu Salamah al-Hadrami said: I heard Ibn
‘Abbaas say: I used to stay close to the senior companions of the Messenger
of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), both Muhaajireen and
Ansaar, and ask them about the campaigns of the Messenger of Allah
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and what was revealed of the
Qur’an concerning that. 

And I would not go to any one of them but he would be happy
that I had come to him, because of my relationship to the Messenger of Allah
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). 

One day I asked Ubayy ibn Ka‘b – who was well-versed in
knowledge – about what of the Qur’an had been revealed in Madinah. He said:
Twenty-seven soorahs were revealed in Madinah; the rest was revealed in
Makkah. 

At-Tabaqaat al-Kubra
(2/283); al-Isaabah fi Tamyeez as-Sahaabah (4/125) 

‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allah be pleased with him) used to
include ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbaas, despite his young age, with the senior
Muhaajireen and Ansaar. 

It was narrated that az-Zuhri said: The Muhaajireen said to
‘Umar: Why do you not invite our sons as you invite Ibn ‘Abbaas? He said: He
is the young man who spends time with mature men; he keeps asking questions
in order to learn and he is smart. 

‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ood said: When ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbaas
reaches our age, none of us will have one tenth of his knowledge. In other
words, if he were the same age as us, none of us would have attained one
tenth of what he knows.

Al-Majmoo‘ al-Mugheeb
by Abu Moosa al-Madeeni (2/450); an-Nihaayah by Ibn al-Atheer
(3/240) 

And he used to say: What a good interpreter of the Qur’an Ibn
‘Abbaas is. 

It was narrated that Tawoos said: I saw seventy of the
companions of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him); if they differed concerning an issue, they would settle on the view of
Ibn ‘Abbaas. 

It was narrated that Ibn Abi Nujayh said: I have never seen
the like of Ibn ‘Abbaas. On the day he died, he was the most prominent
scholar of this ummah. 

It was narrated that Mujaahid said: Ibn ‘Abbaas was called
al-bahr (the ocean) because of his vast knowledge. 

‘Amr ibn Habashi said: I asked Ibn ‘Umar about a verse and he
said: Go to Ibn ‘Abbaas and ask him, for he is the most knowledgeable among
those who are left of what Allah, may He be exalted, revealed to Muhammad. 

Al-Isaabah
(4/125-128) 

It was narrated that Yahya ibn Sa‘eed said: Abu Hurayrah said
when Zayd ibn Thaabit died: Today the great scholar of this ummah has died.
Perhaps Allah will cause Ibn ‘Abbaas to be his successor. 

At-Tabaqaat al-Kubra
(2/276) 

Tawoos narrated that Ibn ‘Abbaas said: I would ask thirty of
the companions of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) about an issue. 

Ash-Sha‘bi said: It was said to Ibn ‘Abbaas: How did you
acquire this knowledge? He said: Because of a tongue that never ceased
asking questions and because of an ability to understand. 

It was narrated that Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqaas said: I never saw
anyone who was more quick-witted or smarter or more knowledgeable or more
patient in dealing with people than Ibn ‘Abbaas. I saw ‘Umar calling him to
ask him about some difficult issues, saying: Here you are, we have this
difficult issue. Then he would go along with whatever he suggested, even
though around him were people of Badr, from among the Muhaajireen and
Ansaar. 

It was narrated from Jaabir ibn ‘Abdullah, when he heard of
the death of Ibn ‘Abbaas, that he struck one hand with the other and said:
The most knowledgeable and most forbearing of the people has died; this
ummah has been stricken with a calamity from which it will never recover. 

It was narrated that Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Amr ibn Hazm
said: When Ibn ‘Abbaas died, Raafi‘ ibn Khadeej said: Today one whom
everyone between the east and the west needed for his knowledge has died. 

It was narrated that ‘Ikrimah said: I heard Mu‘aawiyah say:
Your master – meaning Ibn ‘Abbaas – was, by Allah, the most knowledgeable of
those who have died and those who are still living.

It was narrated that ‘Ubaydullah ibn ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Utbah
said: Ibn ‘Abbaas surpassed people in the following characteristics:
knowledge of those who came before him, maturity so that people would need
his advice, forbearance, good lineage, and virtue. I have never seen anyone
with greater knowledge of the hadith of the Prophet (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) than him, or of the fatwas of Abu Bakr, ‘Umar and
‘Uthmaan, or anyone who was more mature in thinking than him, or anyone who
had more knowledge of poetry, Arabic language, interpretation of the Qur’an,
mathematics, and shares of inheritance, or with more knowledge of the past,
or who was more sound in offering advice when needed. He would sit (and
teach people) on a particular day, and teach nothing but fiqh; on another
day he would teach nothing but interpretation of the Qur’an; and on other
days he would teach nothing but the campaigns of the Prophet (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him), or nothing but poetry, or nothing but the
history of the Arabs. I have never seen any scholar who sat with him but he
deferred to him, and I have never seen anyone ask him a question but he
found an answer with him. 

Al-Bidaayah wa’n-Nihaayah
(12/88-95) 

By virtue of the supplication of the Prophet (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) for Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with him),
asking Allah to grant him deep understanding of the religion and teach him
the interpretation of the Qur’an, and by virtue of what Allah, may He be
exalted, bestowed upon him of intelligence and eagerness to seek knowledge
and focus on it, and his knowledge of the Arabic language and of the
knowledge of the people of the Book, that he learned from their trustworthy
scholars who became Muslim, he was able to attain pre-eminence in knowledge
of the Qur’an, hadith, tafseer, history and other branches of knowledge, and
he knew what others did not know. All of that was by the grace of Allah that
He bestows upon whomever He wills. 

Thirdly: 

At-Tabari narratd in his Tafseer (22/34) with a saheeh
isnaad from Sa‘eed ibn Jubayr that he said: A man came to Ibn ‘Abbaas and
said: O Abu ‘Abbaas, have you seen the words of Allah, may He be Blessed and
exalted, (interpretation of the meaning): “And
the heavens and the earth wept not for them , nor were they given a respite”
[ad-Dukhaan 44:29]? Do
the heavens and the earth weep for anyone?

He said: Yes; there is no one among mankind but he has a gate
in heaven through which his provision descends and his good deeds ascend.
When the believer dies, his gate in heaven through which his good deeds used
to ascend and his provision used to descend is closed, and it weeps for him.
And when his place on earth in which he used to pray and remember Allah
misses him, it weeps for him. The people of Pharaoh did not leave any trace
of good deeds, and no good ascended to heaven from them, so the heavens and
the earth did not weep for them. 

This is some of the knowledge that Ibn ‘Abbaas attained
because of the supplication of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) for him, asking Allah to teach him the interpretation of the
Qur’an. It may be that he learned it from the Prophet (blessings and peace
of Allah be upon him), or it may be that he said this on the basis of
ijtihaad, basing it on the apparent meaning of the text of the Qur’an.
Something similar was narrated from ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), as
was mentioned in Tafseer Ibn Katheer (7/233) 

Fourthly: 

Many unsound hadiths were narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas (may
Allah be pleased with him), as is the case with other companions of the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). Such reports were either
deliberate lies from some mendacious narrators, or they were mistakes in
narration. This often happened in the case of those who narrated a great
deal. 

Fifthly: 

The forefather of the ‘Abbaasid caliphs was his son, ‘Ali ibn
‘Abdullah ibn al-‘Abbaas. Ibn Katheer said: 

Ibn ‘Abbaas had two sons: al-‘Abbaas, and ‘Ali who was called
al-Sajjaad (one who prostrates a great deal) because he used to pray much.
He was the handsomest Qurashi on the face of the earth. It was said that he
used to pray one thousand rak‘ahs every day, or every night and day, in
addition to what he had been blessed with of perfect beauty. 

According to this, he [i.e., ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbaas] was the
father of the ‘Abbasid caliphs, and the ‘Abbasid caliphs were among his
descendants. End quote. 

Al-Bidaayah wa’n-Nihaayah
(12/112) 

All the ‘Abbasid caliphs were descendants of ‘Ali ibn
‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abaas. 

The origin of the ‘Abbasids was al-‘Abbaas ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib
(may Allah be pleased with him), so they were named after him. 

For more information, please see question no.
228565 

And Allah knows best.