عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ عَمْرِو بْنِ الْعَاص
رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ
Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-As
Wrote down what he heard from the Prophet ﷺ · Among the largest transmitters of hadith · Son of Amr ibn al-As
may Allah be pleased with him
Quraysh — Banu Sahm · Makkah, Madinah, Sham and Egypt, into the second half of the 1st century AH
One of the few Companions who kept a written record of what he heard from the Prophet ﷺ, later known in the sources as the Truthful Scroll. He pushed his private worship to an extreme of fasting and night prayer until the Prophet ﷺ told him to ease off, and in old age said he wished he had accepted the lighter practice he was first offered.
Known for
He was one of the few Companions who wrote down what he heard from the Prophet ﷺ
His written collection is referred to in later sources as the Truthful Scroll.
He was counted among the Companions who transmitted the most from the Prophet ﷺ
He was told by the Prophet ﷺ to moderate his fasting and night prayer
He had taken on a punishing pace of private worship. The full episode is set out in the moment below.
He was the son of Amr ibn al-As, and accepted Islam before his father did
His story in moments
Short episodes from his life, in order. Read one at a time.
Life & legacy
Household and the written scroll
Abdullah was the son of Amr ibn al-As, of Banu Sahm. He accepted Islam before his father did, at a time when that was the less common direction for it to run in a household.
He was one of the few Companions who wrote down what he heard from the Prophet ﷺ rather than relying only on memory. His written collection is referred to in later sources as the Truthful Scroll, and he is counted among the Companions who transmitted the most material from the Prophet ﷺ.
Worship, and later life
As a young man he took his private worship to a demanding extreme — fasting every day and standing in prayer through the night. The Prophet ﷺ heard of it and told him to ease off; that exchange is set out in the moment below.
He went on to settle for periods in Sham and in Egypt, and was present at Siffin. SahabaMate names that fact and does not narrate the events of the arbitration or the first fitnah.
He died in the second half of the 1st century AH. The sources differ on the year and on where it happened, and none is stated here.
How the sources describe him
He pushed his private worship to an extreme of fasting and night prayer
In old age he said he wished he had accepted the lighter practice he was first offered
Connect
People around him
Family
His father, whom he preceded into Islam.
Alongside
- The Prophet Muhammad ﷺCompanion
He wrote down what he heard from him, and was corrected by him over the pace of his private worship.
Full timeline
- Before his father's conversion
Accepts Islam, before his father does
- The Madinan years
Begins writing down what he hears from the Prophet ﷺ
- The Madinan years
Told to ease off his fasting and night prayer
- Around 37 AH approximate, reports differThe accounts of Siffin and its arbitration differ materially; SahabaMate states his presence and narrates nothing further.
Present at Siffin
Part of
Sources & review
In reviewBased on the listed sources. See something to correct? Tell us.
Sahih al-Bukhariصحيح البخاري
Hadith collection · Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Bukhari
Sahih Muslimصحيح مسلم
Hadith collection · Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj
As-Sirah an-Nabawiyyahالسيرة النبوية
Classical biography · Ibn Hisham, from the recension of Ibn Ishaq
Kitab at-Tabaqat al-Kabirالطبقات الكبرى
Classical biography · Ibn Sa'd
Tarikh ar-Rusul wa'l-Mulukتاريخ الرسل والملوك
Classical history · Muhammad ibn Jarir at-Tabari
Al-Isabah fi Tamyiz as-Sahabahالإصابة في تمييز الصحابة
Classical biography · Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani
Siyar A'lam an-Nubalaسير أعلام النبلاء
Classical biography · Shams ad-Din adh-Dhahabi
Companions of the Prophet
Modern biography · Abdul Wahid Hamid
SahabaMate editorial summary
Editorial summary
References follow the citation detail available in the source material.
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