Saad Ibn Abi Waqqas ‫رضي هللا عنه‬

A brief biography:

Saad Ibn Abi Waqqas (RA-may Allah be pleased with him), also known as Saad ibn Malik. He was a
great and distinguished Companion of Prophet Mohammed ‫ﷺ‬, one among the TEN who were given the
glad tidings of Jannah (Ashraa al-Mubashirun bi-l-Jannah).

The name of the 'Ten Promised Paradise' is given below, may Allah be pleased with them:
- Abu Bakr As-Siddiq RA
- Omar ibn Al Khattab RA
- Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah RA
- Uthman ibn Affan RA
- Ali ibn Abi Talib RA
- Talhah ibn Ubaydullah RA
- Zubayr ibn al-Awam RA
- Saad ibn Abi Waqqas RA
- Abdur-Rahman bin Awf RA
- Sa'eed ibn Zayd RA

Saad RA was among the noble souls who reverted to Islam very early and was considered the 7th person
to have become Muslim. He was a very brave man with exceptional archery skills. He is described as a
lion; short, hairy, muscular, dark complexion, with very sharp eyesight.

His father was Abu Waqqas Malik ibn Uhayb ibn Abd Manaf ibn Zuhrah from the Banu Zuhrah clan of
the Quraysh tribe. Uhayb ibn Abd Manaf was the paternal uncle of Aminah bint Wahb, mother of Prophet
‫ﷺ‬. Saad's mother was Hamnah bint Sufyan ibn Umayya ibn Abd Shams ibn Abd Manaf.

He is an excellent example for our youths; he embraced Islam quite young. In fact, Saad, Zubair, Talhah
embraced Islam in their late teens. Sa'eed and Abu Ubaidah were in their early twenties; Ali was the
youngest, perhaps 6 or 7 years old, Osman was around 32 years of age, and Abubakr was 38 years old
when they embraced Islam. Remember that Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬was 40 years old when he received his first
revelation in the month of Ramadan. All the above companions reverted to Islam very early, perhaps in
the first couple of years of Nabawi, except Omar ibn Al Khattab. Omar became Muslim in the 6th year at
the age of 33 and he was the 41st Muslim.

Like most early converts, Saad faced many difficulties. When his mother came to know about his
conversion she became outraged. It is an excellent example of perseverance, and it is a great lesson to the
youth of today as how to be steadfast on Iman and Islam against all odds, even against parents. None can
be obeyed with disobedience to Allah SWT (Quran).

Saad himself relates:

When my mother heard the news of my Islam, she flew into a rage. She came up to me and said: "O Saad!
What is this religion you have embraced that has taken you away from your mother and father's...?
By God, either you forsake your new religion, or I would not eat or drink until I die. Your heart would be
broken with grief for me, and remorse would consume you on account of the deed you have done, and
people would censure you forevermore.' 'Don't do (such a thing), my mother,' I said, 'for I would not give
up my religion for anything.' However, she went on with her threat... For days she neither ate nor drank.
She became emaciated and weak." "Hour after hour, I went to her asking whether I should bring her some
food or something to drink, but she persistently refused, insisting that she would neither eat nor drink until
she died or I abandoned my religion. I said to her, 'Yaa Ummaah! In spite of my strong love for you, my
love for Allah and His Messenger is indeed stronger. By Allah, if you had a thousand souls and each one
departs one after another, I would not abandon this religion for anything.' When she saw that I was
determined, she relented unwillingly and ate and drank.

Saad RA is unique in many ways; he was the only person to whom Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬had uttered the beautiful
words. "Shoot, Saad ...may my mother and father be your ransom." it was during the battle of Uhad, and
he was among the best archers protecting Prophet ‫ﷺ‬. He fought very bravely along Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬in every
battle from Badr to Hunayn. Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬was happy with him when he died. In Badr, he participated with
his younger brother Umayr. Initially, Umayr was denied permission because he was considered too young
for the battle, but when he cried for permission, he was granted, and he was among the fourteen who
attained martyrdom in the battle of Badr.

He was the first person in Islamic history to shed blood in Makkah when he fought against polytheists
who confronted Muslims when they were offering Salah in the mountains in Makkah. This event provides
us clear guidance in such situations when someone tries to forcefully stops us from offering obligatory
worship. Please remember that in Makkah the orders to fight were not given, in fact Muslims were asked
to do Sabr against the persecution. And the Salah was not obligated. Yet Companions like Saad and Omar
didn’t hesitate to fight when there was a need. Saad fought against Abu Sufyan who was a leader of
Quraysh when he tried to stop a small group of Muslims from offering Salah in the hills outside Makkah.
Saad was the leader of the group who were offering Salah. Those Muslims who always promote the
attitude of compromising, surrendering, hiding Islamic identity must learn the true Islamic attitude in such
a situation.

Saad The Conqueror of Persian Empire: Though the initial battles against Sassanid Empire were fought
under the command of Khalid ibn Al Waleed and after his departure (to the western front during the
Caliphate of Abu Bakr RA) Al-Muthanna bin Haarithah led the army and successfully won many battles.
Al-Muthanna was a leader with profound knowledge of military psychology, centuries before any
specialist in the field had even penned a single word. With the ascension of Yazdegerd to the throne of
Persia, all the Persians started rallying around him. It stoked a general rebellion across Iraq, and the
residents broke their pacts and treaties with Muslims. Omar ordered compulsory military service; it was
the first conscription in Islamic history, he ordered it and implemented it. Initially, Omar himself has
decided to lead the Muslim army in the battle field but later on the advice of Abdul Rahman ibn Awf, he
appointed “The lion’s paw: Saad bin Malik (Saad Ibn Abi Waqqas) as Commander for the Eastern front.
Saad belongs to Banu Zuhra, the tribe of Prophet’s mother. Hence he was called Prophet’s uncle.

Profound advice of Omar to Saad: Allah The Almighty does not blot out sins with sins. Instead, it washes
sins with good deeds. Allah The Almighty has no relations with anyone, except through obedience. People,
whether they belong to the nobility or of humble birth, are equal in the Sight of Allah The Almighty. Allah
The Almighty is the Lord of all of them. They are ranked according to their soundness (of the heart), and
obtain His Favors by acts of obedience to Him. Be mindful of the practice of Prophet ‫ﷺ‬, from the day he
was charged with Prophet hood until the day he died; that is the most important exemplary practice. This
is my advice to you. If you don’t pay heed to it, you will be the loser.

Before Saad’s departure, Omar advised him again: You are being charged with a severe and unpleasant
responsibility. The only way to discharge is sincerity. Make yourself and those with you accustomed to
good deeds, making them a means to seek Allah’s Help. You must know that everything has prerequisites.
The prerequisite for good deeds is patience: patience over whatever befalls you will instill you with fear
of Allah The Almighty. You must also be aware that the fear of Allah The Almighty is composed of two
elements; obedience to Him and keeping away from acts of disobedience. Someone who truly obeys Him
is the one who obeys out of love for the Hereafter and aversion from worldly vanity. Anyone who disobeys
Him, does so out of love for this world and aversion for Hereafter. Allah The Almighty created certain
states of the heart, which are either hidden or public. In the public state, the heart should be the same in
justice for the one who criticizes it or the one who praises it. As for the hidden state, it becomes known
when the wisdom of the heart appears on the tongue of its bearer, and how endeared people are to him.
Do not renounce endearment to people, since the Prophets used to ask Allah The Almighty to make them
endeared to their people. When Allah The Almighty loves a person, He makes him loved by People, and
when He hates someone, he makes an object of hate for the people. Measure your status with Allah The
Almighty with your status in the eyes of the people around you. (The Biography of Umar ibn Al Khattab
by Muhammad As-Sallaabee).

Al-Muthanna died before Saad arrived in Iraq from the injury he received earlier in the Battle of the
Bridge. Thus the flame of this brilliant lamp was extinguished, and this bright sun, which had filled the
Iraqi conquests with its light and warmth, finally set. Before his death, he wrote Saad a piece of
comprehensive advice about fighting Persians. As Al-Muthanna was dying, he was completely engrossed
in the thoughts of the welfare of Muslim army and the upcoming battle of Muslims with Persians and
advising on the future course of actions.

Al-Muthanna also sent his wife Salma bin Khasafah Al-Taimiyah to Saad along with his brother after his
death. Saad proposed to her after the completion of her mandatory waiting period. Did Al-Muthanna do
this as a final act of kindness to her by wishing that she marries one of the greatest heroes of Islam, who
Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬had promised Paradise? Or was that she was very intelligent and had the experience of her
husband’s tactics of warfare, and hence Al-Muthanna wanted the Muslims to benefit from her wisdom.
Both these possibilities are feasible. This is only a minuscule element of the beautiful character and
greatness that the generation of the Companions was adorned with.

Saad was the Commander of the most critical battle on the eastern front, the battle of Qadissiyah. The
Battle of Qadissiyah was perhaps the second most important and decisive battle after Yarmouk in entire
Islamic history (Yarmouk was fought few months before Qadissiyah against Byzantine Empire on the
western front in today’s Jordan). It was one of the most brutal battles, which lasted four days in Sha’ban
15 AH (corresponding to November 636 CE). The Muslims fought gallantly and gave immense sacrifices;
over 8,500 Muslims were martyred, while the Sassanid army lost over 22,000 of their soldiers, their
Commander Rostam Farrokhzad, and four other top Persian commanders were slain in the battle. Allah
SWT granted victory to Muslims.

Women were not behind; they too participated in Qadissiyah: The field hospital of the Muslim army was
in Al-Uthaib around four miles from the battlefront, where the Muslim women were taking care of the
injured. Apart from this, they had another grueling task, in which the children would participate too;
digging graves for the martyrs. Nursing the wounded is but natural to womankind, but digging graves is
definitely a coarse task. However, men were preoccupied with the battle, so the Muslim women had to
rise to the occasion. Al-Khansa bint Amr, the lady poet from Banu Sulaim, exhorted her four sons to fight
with valor. All four sons followed the command of their mother, fought gallantly, and achieved
martyrdom. When the news of martyrdom reached Al-Khansa, she said, ‘All Praise is for Allah who
honored me with their death! I hope Allah The Almighty will gather me with them in the abode of His
Mercy!

The unwavering trust of Muslims in Allah: The Muslim army would fight during the day and stand in
front of Allah, praying for His Nusra during the night. They refrain from disobeying Allah and were quick
in Isteghfar and turning towards Allah with humility and submission whenever they made a mistake and
their ego was never a hurdle in accepting the truth. Their trust was on the Creator and not on their
numerical strength or ammunition, or resources. We must introspect our lives, how much we trust Allah,
and how much we depend upon the materialistic support or the support of this nation or that Congressman
or this policy or that technology. And our Trust in Allah SWT has weakened. We saw how Allah SWT
defeated two superpowers at the hands of Mujahedeen in Afghanistan, and many among Muslims are still
not ready to accept and digest the Miracle of Allah SWT and find every excuse in their books to prove
otherwise.

Muslim victory destroyed the military capability of the Persian Empire, though there were battles fought
after Qadissiyah, but Persians could never field a big army as they fielded in Qadissiyah. Saad conquered
Al-Madain, the capital of the Persian Empire. Muslim army reached Bahurasir in the middle of the night,
the White Palace of the Persian Emperors loomed in front of them. Thus the promise made by Allah SWT
and His Messenger came true. Saad established the city Kufa on the command of Caliph Omar RA. He
also served as Governor of Kufa and Najd.
.
When Omar RA was fatally injured and when it became clear that he would not survive. The Companions
insisted that he should nominate his successor, he chose six distinguished companions, and Saad was one
among them. The other five were Abdur Rahman, Osman, Ali, Zubair, and Talhah (may Allah be pleased
with them all). Although Sa'eed bin Zaid was alive and he too was worthy of the position, he being the
cousin of Omar RA and belong to his tribe, Omar refuses to nominate anyone from Banu Adi.

It is said that Saad RA was sent as an Ambassador to China by Caliph Osman RA, and there is a Mosque
in China carrying his name, but this narration lacks authenticity; it is doubtful that he went to China.
Chinese Muslims claim that Islam was introduced to them by Saad ibn Abi Waqqas in 650 AH during the
reign of Emperor Gaozong of Tang. A masjid in Bangladesh is said to have been built by him in 648 AH
and is called after his name Abu Akkas Masjid.

Saad stayed away from the internal political struggle: Saad RA was among the few high-ranking
companions during the first Fitnah and the political struggle between Ali RA and Muawiyah RA. They
didn't take sides and retired away from the internal political fight. Sa'eed bin Zaid and Abdullah Bin Omar
and many other famous companions refused to shed Muslim blood and didn't partake in political struggle.
It is mentioned in one historical narration that a man, head of a renowned tribe, approached Saad RA and
said O' Saad, if you say I would bring one hundred swordsmen to support your claim to Caliphate. Saad
replied, " Get me one sword that would not kill a believer, " and refused to accept his offer. He insisted
on not getting involved in fitnah and he narrated many Ahadith in this context.

He narrated that Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬said: “Fighting a Muslim is Kufr and defaming him is evil-doing.”
“Another hadith he narrated about the time of Fitnah that would be so difficult: to sit in that time is better
than to stand, to stand is better than to walk, and to walk in that time is better than to run.” This means
that the less you do to get involved when you see fitnah break out, the better.

Allah SWT had bestowed him a long life, and he outlived all the Ten Most Blessed Companions. He died
in 52AH (674 AD) at the age of eighty.

He was one of the brightest stars of Islamic history, and Allah SWT has given him the most blessed title,
"RadhiAllahu Anhu." He belongs to the highest echelon of the Islamic Personalities and there is so much
to learn from his life. May we follow him in his Character, Iman, Bravery, Resilience, Sacrifice and try to
be among his neighbors in Jannah. May we educate our children to be one like him and the other
Companions of Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬- Ameen.

Omer As'ad Bajabar

omersasad@gmail.com