Abu Musa Al-Ash‘ari: The man with a beautiful voice

He was Abdullah ibn Qais ibn Salim ibn Harb ibn ‘Amir ibn al-Ash‘ar, but the world knows him simply as Abu Musa Al-Ash‘ari—one of those fortunate souls who saw the Messenger of Allah with their own eyes and sat at his feet. Born into the noble Ash‘ari tribe, a people already known for their piety and open-handed generosity, Abu Musa was shaped by an environment that valued honour and faith long before Islam arrived at their door.

He accepted Islam early, in the painful days of Makkah when saying “La ilaha illa Allah” could cost a man his life. Rather than remain in the crosshairs of Quraysh, Abu Musa returned to his people and lived quietly until the day came when he and a group of Ash‘aris set out for Madinah to join the Prophet.

Their arrival coincided with that of Ja‘far ibn Abi Talib and the other migrants returning from Abyssinia. In some narrations, their ship was blown off course toward Abyssinia, so they stayed there for a time before finally reaching the Prophet’s side during the conquest of Khaybar. That journey—full of wind, sea, and waiting—was a milestone in the history of the early Muslims.

The Prophet loved the Ash‘ari tribe. On one occasion, while staying at al-Ji‘rānah between Mecca and Medina, a one-eyed man came demanding that the Prophet fulfill a promise of glad tidings. The Prophet responded that the glad tidings had increased with Abu Musa and Bilal, a remark that highlighted the special station of the Ash‘aris.

The hadiths recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim speak of their unity and how they supported one another in hardship, whether on the battlefield or in sharing the spoils of victory.

What truly set Abu Musa apart, however, was his voice. The Prophet once said that he had been given a mizmar (a type of musical instrument) from the instruments of the family of David—meaning the sheer beauty of his Quranic recitation.

The early Muslims praised his devotion to the night prayer. He would stand in the dark, alone with his Lord, and recite in such a moving tone that even the wives of the Prophet would stop and listen from behind their curtains. He was careful in his dress and his worship, never seeking exposure, always mindful of the limits set by the Shariah.

Beyond his recitation, Abu Musa was a scholar and a jurist.

He narrated approximately 360 hadiths, with 49 of them appearing in the two Sahih collections. Imam al-Bukhari recorded four hadiths unique to him, while Imam Muslim recorded fifteen.

As a judge, he famously held that a judge should never issue a verdict until the truth became as clear as the difference between night and day. That was the methodology of the Companions—they did not rush, they did not speculate, they waited for certainty.

He was also a fighter. He participated in numerous battles and played a prominent role in the campaigns in Sham and Basra. The rightly guided caliphs appointed him to both military and administrative positions, a testament to his reputation as not just a man of the pen but a man of the sword—courageous, astute, and trustworthy.

Abu Musa Al-Ash‘ari died in Kufa. He was 63 years old. That is not a long life by today’s measure, but it was a life packed with contribution—to knowledge, to worship, to jihad, to the building of a community that would carry Islam to the ends of the earth.