He was a Companion (ṣaḥābī) of great stature, just like his father. There is a hadith narrated by him found in the Ṣaḥīḥs of al-Bukhārī and Muslim, which commands standing up upon seeing a funeral procession. Again, this person has a hadith in the Musnad concerning the fasting of ʿĀshūrāʾ, and another hadith about the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) bathing in their house, as well as other hadiths. This person served the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) for ten years. It is established in the Ṣaḥīḥ of al-Bukhārī that Anas b. Mālik said: "Qays b. Saʿd was like the commander of the guards in the presence of the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him)."
Qays b. Saʿd carried the banner of the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) in some battles. The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) appointed him to collect zakat.
When the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) sent Abū ʿUbayda b. al-Jarrāḥ as the commander of a detachment (sariyya) of 300 people from the Muhājirūn and Anṣār, the soldiers in this detachment were overcome with severe exhaustion, all became weary and hungry, and Qays b. Saʿd slaughtered nine camels for them to eat. Eventually, they went and found a large fish on the seashore, ate its meat, stayed on the shore for a month, and fed on the fish's meat, even becoming fat.
Qays b. Saʿd was a leader, master, obeyed in his word, magnanimous, praiseworthy, and courageous. ʿAlī appointed him as governor of Egypt. With his genius, tactics, and politics, he resisted Muʿāwiya and ʿAmr b. al-ʿĀṣ. Muʿāwiya continued to contend with him until finally ʿAlī dismissed him from the governorship of Egypt and appointed Muḥammad, the son of Abū Bakr, in his place. However, Muʿāwiya belittled Muḥammad, despised and scorned him, and continued to contend with him. Finally—as we have recounted in earlier sections—he took Egypt from his hands.
Qays b. Saʿd was the commander at the side of ʿAlī and participated with him in the battles of Ṣiffīn and Nahrawān. He did not leave his side until ʿAlī was martyred. When ʿAlī was martyred, he went to Medina. When rule passed into the hands of Muʿāwiya, he too, like his companions, went to Muʿāwiya to pledge allegiance.
He went.
ʿAbd al-Razzāq narrated that Ibn ʿUyayna said regarding this: "Qays b. Saʿd came to Muʿāwiya. Muʿāwiya said to him:
- O Qays! Were you too among those who prevented the pledge (bayʿa) to me along with the others? By Allah, I would have preferred that today you come into my presence with one of my fingernails stuck into your body, torturing you as you came before me.
- By Allah, I too did not wish to come to this position and give you the greeting of leadership.
- Why? You are nothing but a scholar from among the Jewish scholars.
- O Muʿāwiya! You are one of the idols of the Age of Ignorance. You entered Islam unwillingly and left it willingly.
- May Allah forgive. O Qays, extend your hand for the pledge (bayʿa).
- If you wish, I can say more, and you can speak further."
Mūsā b. ʿUqba said: 'An old woman said to Qays b. Saʿd:
- O Qays! I complain to you about the hunger of the mice in my house.
- What a beautiful metaphor! Fill this woman's house with bread, meat, fat, and dates."
It is narrated that Qays b. Saʿd had a large food container. Wherever he went, that container would be brought full with him, and his announcer would proclaim: "Come for meat and tharīd (meat stew with bread)." Before Qays, his father and grandfather used to do the same.
ʿUrwa b. al-Zubayr said: Qays b. Saʿd sold a piece of land to Muʿāwiya for 90,000 dirhams. He came to Medina. His announcer proclaimed: "Whoever wants a loan, let him come here!" Qays lent 50,000 of these dirhams to others. The remainder he distributed as charity. After this, he fell ill. Very few people came to visit him. His wife, Karība bint Abī ʿAtīka, the sister of Abū Bakr, said: "I see that very few people come to visit me in this illness; perhaps they do not want to come because I have debts owed by people." She sent notes to her debtors, forgiving their debts, and donated her property with them to them, and ordered her announcer to make the following proclamation:
"The debts owed to Qays b. Saʿd by anyone are hereby forgiven." After this announcement, before evening, so many visitors came that the threshold of Qays's house was broken. Qays used to say: "O Allah, grant me wealth, goodness, and righteous deeds, for truly, goodness and righteous deeds are only possible with wealth."
Sufyān al-Thawrī said: "A man borrowed 30,000 dirhams from Qays b. Saʿd. When he later came to repay the debt, Qays said to him: We are not a people who take back what we have given to someone."
Haytham b. ʿAdī said: "Three men argued beside the Kaʿba about who was the most generous man of their time, and they disagreed. One of them said: 'The most generous of our time is ʿAbd Allāh b. Jaʿfar.' Another said: 'It is Qays b. Saʿd.' The third said: 'It is ʿAraba (or ʿIrāba?) al-Awsī.' They argued, and their voices and commotion were heard from every side of the Kaʿba. A man said to them: 'Let each of you go to the man he claims is the most generous, see what gifts he gives, and then make a final judgment.' The man who claimed that the most generous was ʿAbd Allāh b. Jaʿfar went to him. He saw that ʿAbd Allāh b. Jaʿfar was about to go to his field, with his foot in the stirrup, ready to depart. He said: 'O cousin of the Messenger of God! I am a traveler stranded on the road, help me.' ʿAbd Allāh removed his foot from the stirrup and said: 'O man, come in my place, put your foot in this stirrup, mount my riding beast, and this mount, with its load, is yours. The goods in the saddlebag are also yours, but do not be deceived by this sword; it is one of ʿAlī's swords.'"
The man returned to his companions with ʿAbd Allāh's camel, which was a magnificent camel. When they opened the saddlebag, they found 4,000 dinars and a silk garment. They also valued ʿAlī's sword very highly. The man who claimed that the most generous was Qays b. Saʿd went to Qays. Qays's slave girl asked the man: "What is your need?" The man replied: "I am a traveler stranded on the road." The slave girl said: "Then there is no need to wake Qays to meet your need, for it is easy to fulfill. Take this purse; it contains 700 dinars. Today, there is no other wealth or money in Qays's house. Go to the pool where our camels are, see our man, take a camel and a slave, and continue on your way." When Qays awoke, the slave girl told him what she had done for the man. Qays thanked her for what she had done and set her free, saying: "If only you had woken me, so that I could have given that man enough wealth to last him his whole life. What you gave may not have fully met his need."
The man who claimed that ʿAraba al-Awsī was the most generous went to him and saw him coming out of his house to pray, leaning on the shoulders of two slaves. ʿAraba was blind. The man said to him:
- O ʿAraba!
- Yes, speak.
- I am a traveler, stranded on the road.
ʿAraba withdrew his hands from the two slaves, struck his right hand on his left and said: "Oh, oh, by Allah, every morning and every evening I sever my attachment to my wealth. Now, take these two slaves, they are yours." The man said: "No, I will not do that." ʿAraba replied: "If you do not take them, I will set them both free; now both are free. If you wish, take them and set them free, or take them as slaves and put them to work." He then began to feel for the wall with his hand. The man took the slaves and returned to his companions.
Upon this incident, people said that ʿAbd Allāh b. Jaʿfar had shown generosity by giving a great amount of wealth, and that this was not unexpected from him. They said the most valuable thing he gave was ʿAlī's sword. Qays was also among the generous; his slave girl gave away his wealth without his knowledge, and she determined how much to give. When he awoke, he approved of her gift and set her free for her good deed. People decided that the most generous of the three was ʿAraba al-Awsī, for in this incident he gave away all his wealth. This was an expression of the proverb: "He who gives little gives from his soul, he who gives much gives from his wealth."
Sufyān al-Thawrī narrated from ʿAmr b. Abī Ṣāliḥ: Saʿd b. ʿUbāda divided his wealth among his children. He then went out to Syria and died there. After his death, a child was born to him. Abū Bakr and ʿUmar went to Saʿd's son Qays and said: "Your father divided his wealth among you, but he did not know that this child was in the womb. Give this child a share as well." Qays replied: "I will not change the division my father Saʿd made, but I will give my share to this child."
Ibn Abī Ḥaythama narrated from Maʿbad b. Khālid: "Qays b. Saʿd would constantly raise his index finger like this (i.e., in supplication)."
Hishām b. ʿAmmār narrated that Qays b. Saʿd said:
If I had not heard the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Deceit and trickery are in the Fire," I would have been the most cunning and scheming of this umma."
Al-Zuhrī said: "When fitna (civil strife) broke out, the geniuses of the Arabs were these five: Muʿāwiya, ʿAmr b. al-ʿĀṣ, Mugīra b. Shuʿba, Qays b. Saʿd, and ʿAbd Allāh b. Budayl.
Qays b. Saʿd and ʿAbd Allāh b. Budayl were with ʿAlī. Mugīra had withdrawn to seclusion in Ṭāʾif. After the arbitration, he joined Muʿāwiya."
As recounted in earlier sections, Muḥammad b. Abī Ḥudhayfa rebelled in Egypt and seized power, expelling and dismissing the governor ʿAbd Allāh b. Saʿd b. Abī Sarḥ. ʿAbd Allāh had been appointed governor of Egypt by ʿUthmān after ʿAmr b. al-ʿĀṣ. ʿAlī left ʿAbd Allāh as governor of Egypt for a while, then dismissed him and appointed Qays b. Saʿd in his place. When Qays b. Saʿd entered Egypt as governor, he exhibited a fine style of governance and established discipline. This was in the thirty-sixth year of the hijra. However, Muʿāwiya and ʿAmr b. al-ʿĀṣ were disturbed by this. They wrote to him, asking him to side with them against ʿAlī. But Qays did not comply with their request; outwardly, he showed people that he was on good terms with them, but in reality, he was with ʿAlī. When ʿAlī became aware of this, he dismissed Qays from the governorship.
He sent Ashtar al-Nakhāʿī as governor to Egypt. However, Ashtar was killed at Ramla before reaching Egypt. Thereupon, ʿAlī appointed Muḥammad, the son of Abū Bakr, as governor of Egypt. Muḥammad was an easy target for Muʿāwiya and ʿAmr; they contended with him and eventually took Egypt from Muḥammad. Muḥammad was killed and burned among donkey carcasses. Then Qays went to Medina, and from there to ʿAlī in Iraq, fighting shoulder to shoulder with him. When ʿAlī was killed, Qays joined Ḥasan. Qays became the commander of the vanguard of Ḥasan's army. When Ḥasan pledged allegiance to Muʿāwiya, this grieved Qays. He did not like it and did not incline to obey Muʿāwiya. Then he migrated to Medina, and later, with a delegation from the Anṣār, came to Muʿāwiya. After harsh words and rebukes between them, he pledged allegiance to Muʿāwiya.
After this, Muʿāwiya honored him, brought him to the front ranks, and showed him respect. While Qays was with the delegations in Muʿāwiya's presence, a letter came from the Byzantine emperor to Muʿāwiya, in which he wrote: "Send me the trousers of the tallest man among the Arabs." Muʿāwiya said to Qays: "It seems we will have to send your trousers." Qays was indeed very tall; even the head of the tallest man would not reach his chest. He got up, withdrew to a corner of the assembly, then took off his trousers and threw them before Muʿāwiya. Muʿāwiya said to him: "Would it not have been better if you had gone home and then sent us your trousers?" Qays recited the following poem in response:
"By doing this, I wanted to establish before the assembly that people know these trousers belong to Qays.
So that people and the tribe of Thamūd do not say: Qays has disappeared, and these are the trousers of the dung-eater.
I am of the tribes of Yemen, a leader; indeed, among people, some are leaders and some are followers.
With men like me, lay traps for them; men like me are very harsh and severe against them.
Among people, my stature is very tall.
My lineage, my father, and my ancestor have made me superior among people.
My honor has elevated me above them. I am much higher and taller than other men."
Muʿāwiya, taking Qays's trousers in hand, ordered the tallest man present in his assembly to take the trousers, hold one end to his nose, and let the other end hang down. The man did so, and the end of the trousers touched the ground.
According to another narration, the Byzantine emperor sent two men from his army to Muʿāwiya, claiming that one was the strongest and the other the tallest among the Byzantines. When sending them, he also sent this message to Muʿāwiya: "Look among your people; if there is anyone stronger or taller than these, I will send you such and such a number of captives and such and such gifts. If there is no one among your people stronger or taller than these, make a peace treaty with me for three years."
When the two men sent by the Byzantine emperor came to Muʿāwiya, he asked those around him:
- Is there anyone as strong as this Byzantine man? Those present replied:
- The only ones as strong as him are either Muḥammad b. al-Ḥanafiyya or ʿAbd Allāh b. al-Zubayr.
ʿAlī's son Muḥammad b. al-Ḥanafiyya was brought. When the people gathered, Muʿāwiya said to Muḥammad b. al-Ḥanafiyya who had come to him:
- Do you know why I had you brought here?
- No.
Muʿāwiya explained the situation of the Byzantine man who had come and how strong he was. Muḥammad b. al-Ḥanafiyya turned to the Byzantine and said:
- If you wish, you sit on the ground and extend your hand to me, or I will sit and extend my hand to you. Whoever can lift the one sitting from the ground has defeated the other; otherwise, he is defeated. Now tell me, shall I sit, or will you?
- You sit.
Muḥammad b. al-Ḥanafiyya sat on the ground and extended his hand to the Byzantine. The Byzantine tried with all his strength to lift or move him, but could not. He was unable to do it and was defeated. The other men who came with the Byzantine saw their companion defeated. Then Muḥammad b. al-Ḥanafiyya stood up and said to the Byzantine: you sit, and extended his hand to him. As soon as he took the Byzantine's hand, he immediately lifted him from the ground, even raised him into the air, then set him down. Muʿāwiya was very pleased with this scene.
Meanwhile, Qays b. Saʿd got up from the assembly and withdrew to a corner. Then he took off his trousers and gave them to the tall Byzantine, who, when he put them on, found the waistband reached his chest and the legs trailed on the ground. Seeing this, the tall Byzantine admitted defeat, and their emperor sent Muʿāwiya the promised captives and gifts.
When the Anṣār reproached Qays b. Saʿd for taking off his trousers in public, Saʿd recited the poem we have quoted on the previous page to defend himself, saying he did this to silence and defeat the Byzantines.
Kumayd narrated from ʿAmr b. Dīnār: "Qays b. Saʿd was a large man, but with a small head, and had a sparse beard on his chin. Even when he rode a large donkey, his feet would drag on the ground."
Al-Wāqidī, Khalīfa b. Khayyāṭ, and others said: "Qays b. Saʿd died in Medina in the last days of Muʿāwiya's caliphate."
Ibn al-Jawzī said that he died in this year (the fifty-ninth year of the hijra). We also agree with his view.