Ibn Abbas’s deep insight into the Qur’an.

Ibn Abbas said, “Umar used to make me sit with the elderly men who had fought in the Battle of Badr. Some of them felt it (did not like that) and said to `Umar "Why do you bring in this boy to sit with us while we have sons like him?" `Umar replied, "Because of what you know of his position (i.e. his religious knowledge.)"

One day `Umar called me and made me sit in the gathering of those people, and I think that he called me just to show them. (my religious knowledge). `Umar then asked them (in my presence). "What do you say about the interpretation of the Statement of Allah: 'When comes Help of Allah (to you O, Muhammad against your enemies) and the conquest (of 

Mecca).' (110.1) Some of them said, "We are ordered to praise Allah and ask for His forgiveness when Allah's Help and the conquest (of Mecca) comes to us."

Some others kept quiet and did not say anything. On that, `Umar asked me, "Do you say the same, O Ibn `Abbas?" I replied, "No." He said, 'What do you say then?"

I replied, "That is the sign of the death of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) which Allah informed him of. Allah said:-- '(O Muhammad) When comes the Help of Allah (to you against your enemies) and the conquest (of Mecca) (which is the sign of your death). You should celebrate the praises of your Lord and ask for His Forgiveness, and He is the One Who accepts the repentance and forgives.'On that `Umar said, "I do not know anything about it other than what you have said."

The others had understood only the dhahir [apparent] of the meanings – yet the deeper meanings that Ibn Abbas had understood and Abu Bakr [in the lifetime of the Prophet saw] that this Surah indicated the death of the Prophet [saw].f one reflects on the timings of asking forgiveness, one finds these are often towards the end of something, end of the night being the optimum time for forgiveness,the end of the Salah after the tashahud and before the taslim etc.Hence, they understood that for the Prophet to be told to ask for forgiveness after the people had entered into the fold of Islam in their multitudes meant the coming to the end of the mission of the Prophet [saw], hence his death. 

Abd Allah ibn Abbas (Arabic: عَبْد ٱللَّٰه ٱبْن عَبَّاس‎; c. 619– 687), also known simply as Ibn Abbas, was the son of Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib, an uncle of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and a nephew of the Maymunah bint al-Harith, who later became Muhammad's wife. He was one of Muhammad's cousins and one of the early Qur'an scholars.

During the early struggles for the caliphate he supported Ali, and was made governor of Basra. He withdrew to Mecca shortly afterwards. During the reign of Muawiyah I he lived in Hejaz and travelled to Damascus often. After Muawiyah I died he fled to at-Ta'if, where he died in around 687 CE.

'Abd Allah ibn Abbas was known for his knowledge of traditions and his critical interpretation of the Qur'an. From early on, he gathered information from other companions of Muhammad and gave classes and wrote commentaries.
 
Family

He was the Third son of a wealthy merchant, ‘Abbas ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib, thus he was called Ibn Abbas (the son of Abbas). His mother was Umm al-Fadl Lubaba, who prided herself in being the second woman who converted to Islam, on the same day as her close friend Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, Muhammad's wife.

The father of Ibn Abbas and the father of Muhammad were both sons of Shaiba ibn Hashim, better known as ‘Abdu’l-Muṭṭalib. Shaiba bin Hashim's father was Hashim ibn Abd Manaf, the progenitor of the Banu Hashim clan of the Quraish tribe in Mecca.[citation needed]

619–632: Muhammad's era
Ibn Abbas was born and his mother took him to Muhammad before he had begun to suckle and that was the beginning of the close relationship between them.

As he grew up, he was by Muhammad's side doing different services like fetching water for ablution (Arabic: wudu‎). He would pray (Arabic: salat‎) with Muhammad and follow him on his assemblies, journeys and expeditions. It is said that Muhammad would often draw him close, pat him on the shoulder and pray, "O God! Teach him (the knowledge of) the Book (Qur'an) "Muhammad had also supplicated for him to attain discernment in religion.Ibn Abbas kept following Muhammad, memorizing and learning his teaching.

Muhammad's statement

Main article: Hadith of the pen and paper
In Muhammad fell into his last illness. During this period, the Hadith of the pen and paper was reported, with Ibn Abbas as the first-level narrator, at that time about twelve years old Days after that, Abbas and Ali supported Muhammad's weight on their shoulder, as Muhammad was too weak to walk unaided.

Inheritance from Muhammad

Main article: Hadith of Muhammad's inheritance
Ibn 'Abbas was thirteen years old when Muhammad died. After Abu Bakr came to power, Ibn Abbas and his father were among those who unsuccessfully requested part of Muhammad's inheritance.[citation needed] Abu Bakr said that he had heard Muhammad say that prophets do not leave inheritance behind as a divine rule.[citation needed]

Continued education

After Muhammad's era, he continued to collect and learn Muhammad's teaching from Muhammad's companions (Arabic: Sahaba‎), especially those who knew him the longest. He would consult multiple Sahaba to confirm narrations, and would go to as many as thirty Companions to verify a single matter.[1] Once he heard that a Sahaba knew a hadith unknown to him. A hadith attributed to Abd Allah ibn Abbas reports:[citation needed]

...I went to him during the time of the afternoon siesta and spread my cloak in front of his door. The wind blew dust on me (as I sat waiting for him). If I wished I could have sought his permission to enter and he would certainly have given me permission. But I preferred to wait on him so that he could be completely refreshed. Coming out of his house and seeing me in that condition he said, 'O cousin of the Prophet! What's the matter with you? If you had sent for me I would have come to you.' 'I am the one who should come to you, for knowledge is sought, it does not just come,' I said. I asked him about the hadith and learnt from him.[1]

In addition to his own scholarship, Ibn Abbas was a teacher; his house became the equivalent of a university, where he taught.

One of his companions described a typical scene in front of his house:

I saw people converging on the roads leading to his house until there was hardly any room in front of his house. I went in and told him about the crowds of people at his door and he said: 'Get me water for wudu.'

He performed wudu and, seating himself, said: 'Go out and say to them: Whoever wants to ask about the Qur'an and its letters (pronunciation) let him enter.'

This I did and people entered until the house was filled. Whatever he was asked, Abdullah was able to elucidate and even provide additional information to what was asked. Then (to his students) he said: 'Make way for your brothers.'

Then to me he said: 'Go out and say: Who wants to ask about the Quran and its interpretation, let him enter'.

Again the house was filled and Abdullah elucidated and provided more information than what was requested.

He held classes on one single subject each day, classes on issues such as tafsir, fiqh, halal and Haraam, ghazawa, poetry, Arab history before Islam, inheritance laws, Arabic language and etymology.

Advising Umar
 
Umar often sought the advice of Ibn Abbas on important matters of state and described him as a "young man of maturity"

A hadith attributed to Abd Allah ibn Abbas Sahih reports:[citation needed]

Umar used to make me sit with the elderly men who had fought in the battle of Badr. Some of them (Abd-al-Rahman ibn Awf [15]) felt it (did not like that) and said to Umar: "Why do you bring in this boy to sit with us, while we have sons like him?"
Umar replied "Because of what you know of his position" (i.e. his religious knowledge).

One day Umar called me and made me sit in the gathering of those people, and I think that he called me just to show them (my religious knowledge). 'Umar then asked them in my presence: 'What do you say about the interpretation of the statement of Allah'.

When comes help of God, and the conquest...

Some of them said: "We are ordered to praise God and ask for His forgiveness, when God's help and the conquest comes to us". Some others kept quiet and did not say anything. On that Umar asked me: "Do you say the same, O Ibn Abbas?" I replied: "No". He said: "What do you say then?" I replied: "That is the sign of the death of Prophet Muhammad, which God informed him of. God said:

(O Muhammad) when comes the help of God (to you against your enemies) and the conquest (which is the sign of your death) – you should celebrate the praises of your Lord and ask for His forgiveness, and He is the One who accepts the repentance and forgives". On that Umar said: "I do not know anything about it other than what you have said"

I have never seen someone who was quicker in understanding, who had more knowledge and greater wisdom than Ibn Abbas. I have seen Umar summon him to discuss difficult problems in the presence of veterans of Badr from among the Muhajirin and Ansar. Ibn Abbas would speak and Umar would not disregard what he had to say.
 
Battle of Siffin

Ibn Abbas remained a staunch supporter of the fourth Caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib, during Ali's war with Muawiyah, including at the Battle of Siffin. He had also been given the position of governor of Basra during Ali's reign as Caliph.[citation needed]

A large group of Ali's army were discontented with the conclusion of that arbitration, and broke off into a separate group that became known as the Khawarij or Kharijites. Ibn Abbas played a key role in convincing a large number of them to return to Ali; 20,000 of 24,000 according to some sources. He did so using his knowledge of Muhammad's biography, in particular, the events of the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah

Sunnis believe that ibn Abbas was in favour of the unity of the Muslims and hence did not revolt against rulers. He advised Husayn ibn Ali against his proposed expedition to Kufa that ended at Karbala.

Wives and children
By a Yemenite princess named Zahra bint Mishrah, Ibn Abbas had seven children.

Al-Abbas, the first born, who was childless.
Ali ibn Abdullah (died  who was the grandfather of the first two Abbasid caliphs, who replaced the Umayyads in
Muhammad, who was childless.
Ubaydullah, who was childless.
Al-Fadl, who was childless. (Riverine Sudanese trace their ancestry to al-Fadl through a son named Saeed, whose mother is said to be from the Ansar).
Saad had two children
Lubaba, who married Ali ibn Abdullah ibn Jaafar and had descendants.
He had another daughter, Asma, by a concubine; she married her cousin Abdullah ibn Ubaydullah ibn Abbas and had two sons.

Ibn Abbas narrated that Muhammad said, "Two favours are treated unjustly by most people: health and free time." from Sahih Bukhari, at-Tirmidhi, ibn Majah and Al-Nasa'i[citation needed]

Ibn Abbas reported: Muhammad said, "He who does not memorize any part from the Qur'an, he is like the ruined house. from Tirmidhi.[citation needed]

On the authority of Ibn Abbas, who said, "One day I was behind (i.e. riding behind him on the same mount) the Prophet and he said to me: 'Young man, I shall teach you some words (of advice). Be mindful of Allah, and Allah will protect you. Be mindful of Allah, and you will find Him in front of you. If you ask, ask of Allah; if you seek help, seek help of Allah. Know that if the nation were to gather together to benefit you with anything, it would benefit you only with something that Allah had already prescribed for you, and if they gather together to harm you with anything, they would harm you only with something Allah had already prescribed for you. The pens have been lifted and the pages have dried. from Tirmidhi

Al Hakim records on the authority of ibn Abbas that Muhammad advanced, carrying upon his back Hassan ibn Ali, and a man met him and said, 'an excellent steed thou ridest, lad!'. Muhammad replied, 'and he is an excellent rider.'[citation needed]

Ali ibn Husam Adin (commonly known as al-Mutaki al-Hindi) records that ibn Abbas narrated that Muhammad said the following about his deceased aunt Fatima, the mother of Ali: "I (Muhammad) put on her my shirt that she may wear the clothes of heaven, and I lay in her grave that I may lessen the pressure of the grave. She was the best of Allah’s creatures to me after Abu Talib".[citation needed]