عَنْ عَبْدِ اللهِ بْنِ مَسْعُودٍ رضي الله عنه قَالَ: سَأَلْتُ النَّبِيَّ ﷺ: أَيُّ الْعَمَلِ أَحَبُّ إِلى اللَّهِ؟ قَالَ: «الصَّلاةُ عَلى وقْتِهَا»، قَالَ: ثُمَّ أَيٌّ؟ قَالَ: «ثُمَّ بِرُّ الْوَالِدَيْنِ»، قَالَ: ثُمَّ أَيٌّ؟ قَالَ: «الجِهَادُ في سَبيل اللهِ» قَالَ: حَدَّثَنِي بِهِنَّ، ولَوِ اسْتَزَدْتُهُ لَزَادَنِي.
ꜤAbdullāh ibn MasꜤūd narrated:
1. I asked God’s Messenger (peace be upon him) which action God loves best? He said: “Prayer on time”. 2. I asked: Then which? He said: “Dutifulness to parents”. 3. I asked: what comes next? He said: “Jihad [i.e. striving] for God’s cause”. 4. [ꜤAbdullāh] said: He mentioned these to me. Had I asked him for more, he would have answered me.
Related by al-Bukhari, 527; Muslim, 85.
Abu ‘Abd al-Raḥmān ‘Abdullāh ibn MasꜤūd ibn Ghāfil ibn Ḥabīb who belonged to the Hudhayl tribe was one of the very early companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him). He migrated to Abyssinia, then to Madinah and took part in the Battle of Badr and all other military expeditions with the Prophet. He took care of the Prophet’s sandals, helping him to wear them when he moved, and kept them for him when the Prophet took them off and sat down. He died in Madinah in Year 32 or 33 AH, 654 CE.
