Abd Allah ibn Abbas (Arabic: عبد الله ابن عباس‎) was a paternal cousin of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He is revered by Muslims for his knowledge and was an expert in Tafsir (exegesis of the Qur'an), as well as an authority on the Islamic Sunnah.

He was the son of a wealthy merchant, `Abbas ibn `Abd al-Muttalib, thus he was called "Ibn Abbas", "the son of Abbas". The mother of Ibn Abbas was Umm al-Fadl Lubaba, who prided herself with being the second woman who converted to Islam, on the same day as her close friend Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, Muhammad's wife.[8]

The father of Ibn Abbas and the father of Muhammad were both the sons of the same person, Shaiba ibn Hashim, better known as ‘Abdu’l-Muṭṭalib. That persons father was Hashim ibn Abd Manaf, the progenitor of the Banu Hashim clan of the distinguished Quraish tribe in Mecca.

Ibn Abbas was born in 3 BH (618–619 CE) and his mother took him to Muhammad before he had begun to suckle. Muhammad put some of his saliva on the newborn's tongue, and that was the beginning of the close relationship between those two.

While growing 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. Muhammad would often draw him close, pat him on the shoulder and pray, "O God! Teach him (the knowledge of) the Book ",[9] and Ibn Abbas devoted his life to the pursuit of learning and knowledge. Ibn Abbas kept following Muhammad, memorizing and learning his teaching.[1]

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