The Master vs. The Scribe: Abdullah ibn Masud’s Defiance

Episode Summary: If you had to choose the ultimate authority on the Quran, who would it be? According to the Prophet Muhammad, that man was Abdullah ibn Masud. In Islam’s most trusted Hadith collections, Muhammad explicitly commanded his followers to "learn the Quran from four," and he put Ibn Masud at the top of the list. Yet, when the time came to standardize the Quran, Ibn Masud’s version was rejected and ordered to be burned.

In this episode, we explore the explosive conflict between the "Master of the Quran" and the Caliphate’s chosen scribe, Zaid ibn Thabit. We examine the startling protests of Ibn Masud, who reminded the community that he had perfected seventy Surahs directly from the Prophet’s lips while Zaid was still a young boy "playi ...