Sa’d Ibn Abi Waqqaas

We are now in a small town in a narrow valley. There is no vegetation,
no livestock, no gardens, and no rivers. Desert after desert separates
the town from the rest of the world. During the day, the heat of the
sun is unbearable and the nights are still and lonely. Tribes flock
toit like animals in the open country flock to a waterhole. No
government rules and there is no religion to guide people, except one
which promotes the worship of stone idols. There is no knowledge
except that which is confined to priests and soothsayers, and a love
for elegant poetry. This is Makkah and these are the Arabs.
In this town lives a young man who has not yet seen twenty summers. He
is short, well built, and has a very heavy crop of hair. People
compare him to a young lion. He comes from a rich and noble family. He
is very attached to his parents and is particularly fond of his
mother. His name is Sa'd Ibn Abi Waqqaas .
One morning at about this time in his life, Abu Bakr came up and spoke
softly to him. He explained that Muhammad Ibn 'Abdullaah had received
Revelation and was sent with thereligion of guidance and truth. Abu
Bakr then took him to Prophet Muhammad in one ofthe valleys of Makkah.
Sa'd was excited and overwhelmed, and responded readily to the
invitation to the truth and the religion of One God. The Prophet was
also greatly pleased when Sa'd became a Muslim.
While the Prophet was delighted with Sa'd's acceptance of Islam,
others including his mother were not. Sa'd relates: "When my mother
heard the news of my acceptance of Islam, she flew into a rage. She
came up to me and said: "'O Sa'd !What is this religion that you have
embraced, which has taken you away from the religion of your mother
and father? 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 consumeyou on account of the deed which you
have done, and peoplewould censure you forever more.'"'Do not 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 and became emaciatedand 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
Ummah! (O mother) In spite of my strong love for you, my love for
Allaah and His Messenger is indeed stronger.By Allaah, if you had a
thousand souls and one soul after another were to depart, I would not
abandon my religion for anything.'
When she saw that I was determined she relented unwillingly and ate and drank."
It was concerning Sa'd 's relationship with his mother and her attempt
to force him to renounce his faith that the wordsof the
Quran were revealed (which mean):
"And We have enjoined upon man (care) for his parents. His mother
carried him, (increasing her) in weakness upon weakness,and his
weaning is in two years. Be grateful to Me and to your parents; to Me
is the (final) destination. But if they endeavor to make you associate
with Me that of which you have no knowledge, do not obey them but
accompany them in (this) world with appropriate kindness and follow
the way of those who turn back to me (in repentance). Then to Me will
be your return, and I will inform you about what you used to do."
[Quran 31:14-15]
In these early days of Islam, the Muslims were careful not to arouse
the sensibilities of the Quraysh. They would often go outtogether in
groups to the glens outside Makkah where they couldpray together
without being seen. However, one day, a number of idolaters came upon
them while they were praying and rudely interrupted them withridicule.
The Muslims felt they could not suffer these indignities passively and
they came to blowswith the idolaters. Sa'd Ibn Abi Waqqaas struck one
of the disbelievers with the jawbone of a camel and wounded him. This
was the first bloodshed in the conflict between Islam and Kufr
(disbelief) -- a conflict that was later to escalate and test the
patience and courage of the Muslims.
Sa'd was a cousin of AaminahBint Wahb, and thus a maternal uncle of
our Prophet . Sa'd belonged to Bani Zuhrah, andfor this reason, he is
sometimes referred to as Sa'd of Zuhrah, to distinguish him from
several others whose first name was Sa'd. The Prophet is said to have
been pleased with this family relationship to Sa'd . Once as he was
sitting with his Companions, he saw Sa'd approaching him and said:
"This is my maternal uncle. Let a man see his maternal uncle!" (Make
way for my uncle.)
Sa'd distinguished himself in many encounters that took place during
the life of the Prophet and after. Sa'd is known as the first
Companion to have shot an arrow in the defense of Islam. During the
Battle of Badr, Sa'd fought alongside his brother 'Umayr . 'Umayr was
a mere lad in his early teens, and had begged to be allowed to
accompany the Muslim army. Sa'dreturned alone to Al-Madeenah, for
`Umayr was one among the fourteen Muslim martyrs who fellthat day.
At the Battle of Uhud, Sa'd was especially chosen as one of the best
archers along with Zayd and Sa'ib . In that landmark battle, when the
Muslim archers kept in reserve abandoned their positions in the
eagerness for booty, Sa'd remained steadfast, and fought vigorously in
defense of the Prophet . To urge him during these perilous moments,
the Prophet said:"Shoot, Sa'd … May my father and mother be sacrificed
for you!"
On this occasion, 'Ali Ibn Abi Taalib said that he had not heard the
Prophet promising such a great ransom to anyone except Sa'd . The
Prophet is also known to have prayed for Sa'd: "O Lord, direct his
aim and respond to his prayer."
Sa'd was one of the companions of the Prophet who was blessed with
great wealth. Just as he was known forhis bravery, so he was known for
his generosity. Sa'd is mainly renowned as the commander-in-chief of
the strong Muslim army which 'Umar dispatchedto confront the Persians
at Qaadisiyah. 'Umar wanted nothing less than an end to Sasanian power
which for centuries had dominated the region.
Just how ferocious the battle was, could be imagined when it is known
that some 30,000 persons on both sides fell in the course of four
days' fighting. In one day alone, some 2000 Muslims and about 10,000
Persians lost their lives.
The Battle of Qaadisiyah is one of the major decisive battles of world
history. It sealed the fate of the Sasanian Empire, just as the Battle
of Yarmook had sealed the fate of the Byzantine Empire in the West.
Two years after Qaadisiyah, Sa'd went on to take the Sasanian capital.
The taking of Ctesiphon was accomplished after a brilliant crossing of
the Tigris River while it was in flood. Sa'd has thus gone down in the
annals of history as the hero of Qaadisiyah and the conqueror of
Ctesiphon .
He lived until he was almost 80 years old. He was blessed with much
influence and wealth but as the time of death approached in the year
54 AH, he asked his son to open a box in which he had kept a coarse
woolen shirt (Jubbah) and said:
"Shroud me in this, for in this (Jubbah) I met the polytheists on the
day of Badr and in it I desire to meet Allaah the Almighty." - -
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