ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Exemplary Youths during the Early Days of Islam Ubayy ibn Ka‘b, the Scholarly Youth Ubayy ibn Ka‘b belonged to the Khazraj tribe, that formerly inhabited the Caspian littoral. Before converting to Islam, he was one of the Jewish scholars and intellectuals. He converted to Islam at the age of thirty one. He had complete knowledge of the Tawrāt (the Old Testament) and knew about the glad tidings of the coming of the Noble Prophet (S).

When the first Muslim propagator by the name of Mus*‘a*b ibn ‘Umayr entered Medina and invited the people to convert to Islam, Ubayy ibn Ka‘b responded with clear foresight and complete awareness to the call before he had even met or seen the Noble Prophet (S). During the second allegiance ceremony at ‘Aqabah, Ubayy ibn Ka‘b was one of the seventy people of Medina who paid allegiance to the Noble Prophet (S).

Before converting to Islam, he was considered as one of the most learned people of Medina. For that reason, it did not take long before he achieved great success among the Muslims.

When the Noble Prophet (S) entered Medina, Ubayy ibn Ka‘b was the first person among the Helpers [ Ansār ] of Medina to record the Divine Revelation, and, hence, become one of the most famous scribes of the Glorious Qur’an.[^1] Aided by his brilliant intellectual abilities, Ubayy soon became one of the most renowned personalities of the Muslim World. He acquired competence and proficiency in recitation of the Glorious Qur’an and made enormous progress in other fields of Islamic sciences.

It is important to note that this honorable position and status was bestowed upon him by Allah. The Noble Prophet (S) received orders from Allah to recite the Qur’an for Ubayy and teach him how to recite it in a correct manner. Ubayy had never imagined that some day he could be favored to such a great extent by Allah.

When the Noble Prophet (S) informed him about the good news, that Allah had selected him to take up this assignment (recitation of the Glorious Qur’an), he asked in a surprised and eager way, “Did Allah mention me by name?” The Noble Prophet (S) stated, “Yes, he mentioned you by name.” He was so overwhelmed with the honor that he could not restrain the tears from flowing down his cheeks.