ABDULLAH IBN MAS’OOD (radhiallaahu anhu)

Whoever likes to recite the Qur’aan as purely as it was first revealed, let him recite it like ibn Umm Abd (i.e. ibn Mas’ud)
The sun was blistering hot. There was no hope of attaining water in the harsh mountain passes of Makkah, where the blessed Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wasallam, and his companion Abu Bakr took respite from the oppression and the insults of the pagan Makkans. As they penetrated deeper into the passes, a great thirst overtook them, a thirst that exhausted their bodies and parched their throats.
They went further searching for water when they caught sight of a boy driving a flock of sheep. He looked thin and small, but at a closer look he was well in his teens "Young man, give us some milk from one of these ewes to quench our thirst," the Prophet said, sallallahu alayhi wasallam. "I am not going to do it, for I am entrusted with these sheep, which belong to Uqbah ibn abi Mu'ait." The Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wasallam, did not argue and was rather pleased with the youth's honesty. "Then show us a young ewe which has not given birth to a lamb," he said, "This I will do," replied the youth. The Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wasallam, seized it, and stroke its udder with his hand as he invoked Allah. To his great amazement, the youth saw the udder swell and milk started flowing from it. He knew very well that an ewe which has never had a lamb could not produce milk. Abu Bakr fetched a hollow stone, which the Prophet filled with milk. He gave Abu Bakr and the youth drink. He then said to the udder, "Shrink and it shrank! The youth said to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, "Teach me the words you said." The Prophet replied, "You are a learned boy." It was not long before the youth accepted Islam, as he was introduced to it through such a miracle! The young man's name was Abdullah ibn Masoud. He used to hear about the news the Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wasallam who appeared among his people, but he did not pay much attention to that because of his young age and also because he was away from Makkah most of the time, taking Uqbah's flock to graze from dawn to dusk.
Soon after this event, ibn Masoud offered to be at the services of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wasallam, tending to his needs. Abandoning his job as a shepherd to be with him, he became closer to him than his own shadow. He was with him when he traveled and when he was in town. He would wake him up when he slept, and screen him when he bathed. He would bring his shoes when he wanted to go out and remove them for him when he came in. He carried his miswak and stick for him, and he slept in a room next to him. In fact, the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wasallam, allowed him to enter his house whenever he wished and kept nothing hidden from him, until he was known as the keeper of the Prophet's secrets. But Ibn Masoud's deeper desire was to learn from the Prophet and to follow his example in every one of his moves. Thus he was raised in his home, and was trained by his guidance. He was so much like the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wasallam, that Huthafah said about him, "I never saw a person closer to the Prophet, sallallaahu alayhe wasallam, in character and guidance than ibn Masoud.