Abdullah ibn `Abbas was still a child when Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) passed away.

He was, at best, on the verge of maturity. Nevertheless, he was a rival of the senior companions in his knowledge, erudition, and good opinion.

He relates the following about his pursuit of knowledge:

After the Prophet (peace be upon him) died, I said to a man from among the people of Madinah:

“Let’s go and ask the Companions about the Hadith of the Prophet (peace be upon him), because the Hadith are so many.”

He said to me:

“This is strange of you, Ibn `Abbas. Do you think that the people need you when there are so many of the Prophet’s Companions around?”
      

So that man did nothing and I went forward, pursuing the companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and asking them about his Hadith. Whenever I learned that a man had heard a hadith directly from the Prophet (peace be upon him) and I found him taking an afternoon nap, I would place my cloak against his door to shield my face from the wind until he came out. He would say:

“What has brought you here, cousin of Allah’s Messenger?’ I would reply:

“A hadith that I have learned you heard directly from the Prophet and that I wished to hear directly from you.” He would say:

“Why didn’t you send for me to come to you?”

I would say: “It was more right for me to come to you.”

That man (from the beginning of my story) passed me by one day while the people were coming to me with their inquiries and he said:

“You were smarter than me.” (Ahmad and Al-Darimi)