His real name is Mālik b. Uhayb b. ʿAbd Manāf b. Zuhra b. Kilāb Abū Isḥāq al-Qurashī al-Zuhrī. He is one of the ten Companions (ṣaḥāba) who were given the glad tidings of Paradise and one of the six members chosen for the council (shūrā) at the time of ʿUmar’s death. The Messenger of God (peace be upon him), at his death, was pleased with him; he had become Muslim in the earliest days of Islam. He was seventeen years old when he embraced Islam. According to what is stated in a sound hadith, he said:
"There was no one else of my age who entered Islam. I waited seven days. I am a third of Islam. I am the seventh of the first seven who entered Islam." Saʿd is the one who elevated the city of Kufa and drove out the Persians from there. He was a person whose supplications were answered. He emigrated (performed hijra). He participated in Badr and subsequent battles. He was the first to shoot an arrow in the path of Allah. He was a brave horseman and one of the commanders of the Messenger of God. He was also a great and esteemed commander during the caliphate of Abū Bakr. The same was true during the caliphate of ʿUmar. ʿUmar appointed him as governor of Kufa. He conquered al-Madāʾin. He commanded the Battle of Jalūlāʾ. He was a leader and one whose command was obeyed. He was removed from Kufa not due to incapacity or treachery, but because ʿUmar, for a certain benefit he considered, dismissed him from the governorship of Kufa. When ʿUmar was dying, he appointed him as a member of the six-person council to choose the next caliph. After ʿUmar, ʿUthmān also appointed him as governor, then removed him from office.
Humaydī narrated from ʿĀmir b. Dīnār that: "Saʿd b. Abī Waqqāṣ and Ibn ʿUmar were present at Dūmat al-Jandal on the day of the arbitrators."
According to a narration established in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Saʿd, having withdrawn to a secluded life, was occupied with his camels, when his son ʿUmar came to him and said:
- People are contending with each other for leadership, and you are living here alone?
- O my dear son! I heard the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) say: "Indeed, Allah loves the servant who is wealthy, hidden, and possesses taqwa (God-consciousness)."
Ibn ʿAsākir said: According to what a scholar among the people of knowledge narrated,
Hāshim b. ʿUtba b. Abī Waqqāṣ, the nephew of Saʿd, came to his uncle and said:
- O uncle! There stand here 100,000 men with swords. They say you are worthy of leadership.
- I only want one sword from among these 100,000 sword-bearers, such that if I strike a believer with it, it does not harm him; but if I strike a disbeliever, it cuts and kills him.
ʿAbd al-Razzāq narrated from Zakariyyā b. ʿAmr: Saʿd b. Abī Waqqāṣ went to visit Muʿāwiya and spent the month of Ramadan with him. He performed the prayer as qaṣr (shortened prayer for travelers) and did not fast."
According to others, Saʿd pledged allegiance to Muʿāwiya, and whatever he asked from him, Muʿāwiya granted it.
Abū Yaʿlā narrated from Qays b. Abī Ḥāzim that Saʿd b. Abī Waqqāṣ said: "I am the first to shoot an arrow at the polytheists, and the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) never said to anyone before me: 'May my mother and father be sacrificed for you.' I heard him say: 'Shoot, may my mother and father be sacrificed for you.'"
Imām Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal narrated that Saʿd b. Abī Waqqāṣ said: "By Allah, I am the first Arab to shoot an arrow in the path of Allah. We used to go on expeditions with the Messenger of God (peace be upon him), and at that time we could find nothing to eat except the leaves of the grapevine and the samura tree. So much so that one of us would mix his food like sheep fodder and put it before himself. Then the sons of Asad began to blame me for leaving their religion and entering Islam. If I had apostatized from Islam, I would have lost and my deeds would have been in vain, and I would have been among the losers."
Imām Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal narrated that Saʿd said: "At the Battle of Uhud, the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) said to me: 'May my mother and father be sacrificed for you.'"
In another narration, it is related that the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) said to him: "Shoot, you are a strong young man."
Saʿīd said: "Saʿd was a skilled archer."
Al-Aʿmash narrated from Jābir b. Samura: "The first to shoot an arrow in the path of Allah was Saʿd (may Allah be pleased with him)."
Imām Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal narrated from ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib: I never heard the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) say to anyone other than Saʿd b. Abī Waqqāṣ: 'May my mother and father be sacrificed for you.' On the day of Uhud, I heard the Messenger of God say to him: 'O Saʿd! Shoot, may my mother and father be sacrificed for you.'
ʿAbd al-Razzāq narrated from Saʿd’s daughter ʿĀʾisha: "I am the daughter of the Emigrants (Muhājirūn) for whom the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) sacrificed his mother and father."
Al-Wāqidī narrated that Saʿd said: "At the Battle of Uhud, I was shooting arrows, but a fair-skinned, handsome-faced man whom I did not recognize was bringing my arrows back to me. Later, I realized he was an angel."
Imām Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal narrated that Saʿd said: "At the Battle of Uhud, I saw two men dressed in white garments, fighting fiercely to protect the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) on his right and left. I had never seen them before, nor after."
Al-Wāqidī narrated that Saʿd b. Abī Waqqāṣ said: "At the Battle of Badr, I saw two men on the right and left of the Messenger of God (peace be upon him), protecting him. I saw the Messenger of God, rejoicing at the victory Allah had granted him, looking sometimes at the one on his right, sometimes at the one on his left."
Sufyān narrated from ʿAbdullāh b. Masʿūd: "I participated in the Battle of Badr with Saʿd and ʿAmmār. We received a share of the spoils. Saʿd brought two captives. ʿAmmār and I brought nothing." Al-Aʿmash narrated from ʿAlqama b. Masʿūd: "At the Battle of Badr, I saw Saʿd b. Abī Waqqāṣ fighting on horseback against infantry like a warrior."
Mālik narrated from ʿĀʾisha (may Allah be pleased with her): The Messenger of God (peace be upon him) fell asleep one night, then awoke, unable to sleep, and said:
- Would that a righteous man would stand guard for us tonight. At that moment, we heard the sound of a weapon. The Messenger of God (peace be upon him) said:
- Who is this man?
- I am Saʿd b. Abī Waqqāṣ. I will stand guard for you tonight, O Messenger of God. The Messenger of God (peace be upon him) then fell asleep, so much so that I heard his snoring."
In another narration, it is related that the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) prayed for Saʿd, then fell asleep."
Imām Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal narrated from ʿAbdullāh b. ʿAmr b. al-ʿĀṣ that the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) said: "The first man to enter through this door is among the people of Paradise." After saying this, the first to enter through the door was Saʿd b. Abī Waqqāṣ."
Abū Yaʿlā narrated from Ibn ʿUmar: "We were sitting with the Messenger of God (peace be upon him). At one point, he said to us: 'A man from among the people of Paradise will come to you through this door.' All of us present hoped that someone from the family of the Messenger of God would come through that door. Then we saw that it was Saʿd b. Abī Waqqāṣ who appeared."
Ḥarmala narrated from Anas b. Mālik: We were sitting with the Messenger of God (peace be upon him). At one point, he said to us: 'Now, one of the people of Paradise will come to you.' Then we saw that it was Saʿd b. Abī Waqqāṣ who appeared. The next day, the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) said the same thing, and again, as on the previous day, Saʿd b. Abī Waqqāṣ appeared. On the following day, the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) said the same thing, and again Saʿd b. Abī Waqqāṣ appeared. When the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) got up and left us, ʿAbdullāh b. ʿAmr b. al-ʿĀṣ stood up angrily and said: 'I am upset with my father and have sworn not to go home for three nights. O Saʿd, in order to fulfill this oath, I want to come and stay at your house during this period.'
The narrator Anas says: ʿAbdullāh b. ʿAmr b. al-ʿĀṣ then told us what happened: I stayed with Saʿd one night. He did not get up to pray any prayer until dawn. He only turned from side to side in his bed, remembering Allah and saying takbīr. He continued like this until dawn. When dawn broke and the time for prayer came, he performed his ablution properly, prayed, and then spent the morning without fasting. I watched him for three nights and three days. He did nothing more than this.
I heard nothing from him except good and virtuous words. After three nights, I almost belittled his deeds. I said to him: 'Look, O Saʿd, in fact, I am not upset with my father, nor is there any estrangement between us. I only heard the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) say in his assembly for three consecutive days, "Now, one of the people of Paradise will come to you." After that, I followed what would happen, and each time, you came to us. I realized that you are among the people of Paradise, so I wanted to come to your house and see what kind of deeds you perform, so that I might emulate you and reach your rank. But I see that you do not do many deeds. What is it that caused the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) to say this about you and for you to reach this rank?' Saʿd replied: 'There is nothing other than what you have seen.' As I was about to leave, he called me back and said: 'There is nothing other than what you have seen, except that I do not harbor any ill thought in my heart against any Muslim. I do not intend to harm anyone, nor do I speak ill of anyone.' I said to him: 'This is the virtue that has brought you to this rank, but I am unable to do it.'
"And do not drive away those who call upon their Lord morning and evening, seeking His face." (al-Anʿām, 52)
Regarding this verse, it is narrated in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim that Saʿd said: "This verse was revealed about six people. I and Ibn Masʿūd were among them." In another narration, Saʿd said: Allah the Exalted revealed the following verse about me:
"But if they strive to make you associate with Me {i.e., make you commit shirk (associating partners with God)} that of which you have no knowledge, do not obey them." (al-ʿAnkabūt, 8)
The occasion of this verse’s revelation is as follows: When Saʿd b. Abī Waqqāṣ became Muslim, his mother went days without eating or drinking. Saʿd said to her: "By Allah, you know that if you had a hundred souls, and each one departed from your body one by one, I would not abandon my religion. Eat or do not eat as you wish." Upon this, the above verse was revealed.
As for the hadith regarding Saʿd b. Abī Waqqāṣ being one of the ten Companions given the glad tidings of Paradise, this is narrated by Saʿīd b. Zayd in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī.
Hushaym and several others narrated from Jābir: We were sitting with the Messenger of God (peace be upon him). At that moment, Saʿd b. Abī Waqqāṣ came. The Messenger of God (peace be upon him) said to us: "This is my maternal uncle; let a man show me his maternal uncle."
Al-Ṭabarānī narrated from Jābir: We were with the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) when Saʿd came. The Messenger of God (peace be upon him) pointed to him and said: "This is my maternal uncle."
Al-Zuhrī narrated from Saʿd b. Abī Waqqāṣ: "In the year of the Farewell Pilgrimage, I fell seriously ill. The Messenger of God (peace be upon him) came to visit me. I said to him:
- O Messenger of God, I am a man of wealth and have no heir except one daughter. Shall I give away two-thirds of my wealth in charity?
- No.
- Shall I give away half, O Messenger of God?
- No.
- Shall I give away a third?
- A third. And a third is much. To leave your heirs wealthy is better than to leave them poor, begging from people. Whatever you spend for the sake of Allah, you will be rewarded for it, even the morsel you put in your wife’s mouth.
- O Messenger of God, will I be left behind by my companions?
- No, you will not be left behind. Whatever deed you do seeking Allah’s pleasure will increase your rank and elevation. I hope that if you remain behind, some people will benefit from you, and some will be harmed by you. O Allah! Continue the emigration of my Companions, and do not turn them back. The truly pitiable one is Saʿd b. Khawla."
The Messenger of God (peace be upon him) was saddened by the death of Saʿd b. Khawla in Mecca.
Imām Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal narrated, in addition to the above hadith, that Saʿd b. Abī Waqqāṣ said: "The Messenger of God (peace be upon him) placed his blessed hand on my forehead, stroked my face, chest, and stomach, and then said: 'O Allah, grant Saʿd healing and complete his emigration.' I still feel the coolness of the Messenger of God’s blessed hand in my liver to this day."
Ibn Wahb narrated from ʿAlī b. Rabāḥ: "The Messenger of God (peace be upon him) visited Saʿd when he was ill and prayed as follows:
'O Allah, remove the illness from Saʿd. O Lord of mankind, King of mankind, You are the Healer; there is no healing except Your healing. In the name of Allah, I seek refuge for you from everything that harms you, from envy and the evil eye. O Allah, grant health to his heart and body, remove his illness, and answer his supplication.'
Ibn Wahb narrated from Bakr b. Ashajj: I asked ʿĀmir b. Saʿd about the meaning of the Messenger of God’s words to Saʿd: 'Perhaps by your remaining here, some people will benefit from you, and some will be harmed.' ʿĀmir replied: 'Saʿd was appointed governor of Iraq, and he killed some who had apostatized, thus harming them. Some others acted like Musaylima the Liar. He asked them to repent, and they did, so they benefited from him.'
Imām Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal narrated from Abū Umāmah: We were sitting with the Messenger of God (peace be upon him). He told us some things and softened our hearts. Upon this, Saʿd b. Abī Waqqāṣ wept much and said, 'Would that I had died.' The Messenger of God (peace be upon him) replied: 'O Saʿd, if you were created for Paradise, then a long life (or good deeds) would be better for you.'
Mūsā b. ʿUqba narrated from Saʿd b. Abī Waqqāṣ that the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) prayed for him: 'O Allah, make Saʿd’s arrow reach its target and answer his supplication.'
Siyar b. Bashīr narrated from Abū Bakr: The Messenger of God (peace be upon him) prayed for Saʿd b. Abī Waqqāṣ: 'O Allah, make Saʿd’s arrow reach its target, answer his supplication, and make him beloved to Your servants.'
Muḥammad b. ʿAīd al-Dimashqī narrated from Saʿd: "O Messenger of God, pray to Allah that my supplication will be answered."
- Allah does not answer the supplication of a servant whose food is not lawful.
- O Messenger of God, pray to Allah that my food be lawful. The Messenger of God prayed for Saʿd that his food be lawful." Saʿd would even hesitate over an ear of corn that grew in his field, returning it to its rightful place. Saʿd was a person whose supplications were answered. Whenever he supplicated, his supplication was certainly answered. The famous example of this is the following narration found in the Ṣaḥīḥs of Bukhārī and Muslim: According to the narration from Jābir b. Salama, the people of Kufa complained to ʿUmar about all of Saʿd b. Abī Waqqāṣ’s actions. They even said: "Saʿd does not lead the prayer well." Saʿd defended himself, saying: "I do not lead them in a prayer less than that of the Messenger of God. I lengthen the first two rakʿas and shorten the last two."
ʿUmar said to him: "O Abū Isḥāq, we thought you did just that." Then he sent inspectors to the neighborhoods of Kufa to investigate Saʿd’s situation. In every mosque they visited in Kufa, the congregation praised Saʿd. Finally, they came to the mosque of the Banū Abs tribe, where a man named Usāma b. Qatāda stood up and said:
"Saʿd does not go on expeditions, does not distribute the spoils equally, and does not judge the people with justice." When Saʿd heard this, he supplicated against the man:
"O Allah, if this servant has said these words out of ostentation and show, prolong his life, continue his poverty, blind his eyes, and expose him to tribulation."
The narrator Jābir says: I saw Abū Saʿda, who spoke against Saʿd, as an old man whose eyebrows had fallen over his eyes, standing on the road and pinching the servant girls and women. People would rebuke him, but he would say: "I am an old man afflicted by tribulation and by Saʿd’s supplication."
In another strange narration, it is said that Abū Saʿda was caught up in the tribulation of Mukhtār b. Abī ʿUbayd and was killed during that fitna.
Al-Ṭabarānī narrated from Saʿīd b. al-Musayyab: Saʿd b. Abī Waqqāṣ had a slave woman named Zabra who went out of the house wearing a new shirt. The wind blew her garment, exposing her private parts. ʿUmar flogged her and made her tie her skirt. When Saʿd came to protect her, ʿUmar flogged Saʿd as well. Saʿd supplicated against ʿUmar and turned back. ʿUmar then gave him his whip and said: "Retaliate against me as well, apply qiṣāṣ to me." But Saʿd forgave ʿUmar.
It is narrated that there was a dispute between Saʿd and Ibn Masʿūd. When Saʿd wanted to supplicate against him, Ibn Masʿūd became afraid and quickly ran away.
Sufyān b. ʿUyayna said: At the Battle of Qādisiyya, Saʿd was the commander and was wounded. However, on the day the conquest was completed, he was not present at the front. Upon this, a man from the Bajīla tribe recited the following poem:
"Do you not see that Allah has exalted His religion? But Saʿd is confined at the gate of Qādisiyya. He does not come out. We returned, but many women were left widowed. Among Saʿd’s women, however, none were widowed."
Saʿd said: "O Allah, protect us from this man’s hand and tongue." He was struck by a stray arrow, and both his hands withered. Then Saʿd came out, showed his wounds to the people, and defended himself.
Hushaym narrated from Muṣʿab b. Saʿd: A man spoke against ʿAlī. Saʿd forbade him from doing so, but the man continued. Saʿd said: "I will supplicate against you," but the man persisted. Saʿd supplicated against him. At that moment, a frightened camel came and struck the man, trampling him under its feet.
In another narration from ʿĀmir b. Saʿd: Saʿd b. Abī Waqqāṣ saw a group attacking a man. Saʿd looked between two people and saw that the man underneath was cursing ʿAlī, Ṭalḥa, and Zubayr. He forbade him from cursing, but the man continued. Saʿd said: "I will supplicate against you," but the man replied: "You threaten me as if you were a prophet." Saʿd left, entered a house, performed ablution, and prayed two rakʿas. Then he raised his hands to the sky and supplicated: "O Allah, if You know that this man is cursing those who have previously performed righteous deeds for Your sake, and that by this cursing he has angered You, then make him a lesson for others today."
At that moment, a Bukhṭī camel came running from a neighborhood, and no one could stop it. It entered the crowd, and people scattered in all directions. The man who cursed ʿAlī, Ṭalḥa, and Zubayr was trampled under its feet and killed. Then I saw people running after Saʿd, saying: "O Abū Isḥāq, Allah has answered your supplication."
Abū Bakr b. Abī al-Dunyā narrated from Minā, the freedman of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. ʿAwf: "A woman bent over and looked at Saʿd. Saʿd forbade her from doing so, but she did not desist. One day, while Saʿd was performing ablution, the woman looked at him secretly. Saʿd said to her: 'May your face become ugly,' and her face turned to the back of her head."
Kathīr al-Nawrī narrated from ʿAbdullāh b. Budayl: "When Saʿd went to Muʿāwiya, Muʿāwiya said to him:
- Why do you not fight alongside us in our ranks?
- I was caught in a dark storm, I sighed, made my mount kneel, the storm passed, then I learned the way and started walking.
- There is no sighing in the Book of Allah, but Allah the Exalted says: 'If two parties among the believers fall into a quarrel, make peace between them; but if one of them transgresses against the other, then fight against the one that transgresses until it complies with the command of Allah.' (al-Ḥujurāt, 9) By Allah, I have not sided with the rebellious against the just, nor with the just against the rebellious.
- I will not fight against someone to whom the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) said: 'You are to me as Hārūn was to Mūsā, except that there will be no prophet after me.'
- Is there anyone else who heard the Messenger of God say this to him besides you?
- So-and-so, so-and-so, and also Umm Salama heard it.
- If I had heard this from the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) himself, I would never have fought against ʿAlī."
In another narration, it is related that this conversation between Saʿd and Muʿāwiya took place in Medina during Muʿāwiya’s pilgrimage. The two of them went to Umm Salama and asked her if she had heard this hadith from the Messenger of God (peace be upon him). She confirmed that she had heard it directly from the Messenger of God, just as Saʿd had. Upon this, Muʿāwiya said: "If I had heard this hadith before, I would have served ʿAlī until he died, or I died." There is weakness in the chain of this narration. Allah knows best.
In another narration, it is related that when Saʿd heard a man speaking about ʿAlī and Khālid b. al-Walīd, he said: "What is between us has not reached our religion."
Muḥammad b. Sīrīn said: "Saʿd visited nine slave women in one night and had relations with them. When he came to the tenth, he fell asleep, but the slave woman was too shy to wake him."
One of the good words Saʿd said to his son Muṣʿab is this: "O my son, when you desire something, desire it with contentment, for wealth does not enrich one who lacks contentment."
Ḥammād b. Salama narrated from Muṣʿab b. Saʿd: "My father Saʿd died with his head in my lap. I was crying as he was dying, and he asked me:
- O my son, why are you crying? By Allah, He will never punish me, and I am among the people of Paradise. Indeed, Allah rewards the believers for their good deeds. Work for Allah’s sake. As for the disbelievers, their good deeds are lightened, and when their good deeds are exhausted, it is said to them:
- Let every doer seek the reward of his deed from the one for whom he did it."
Al-Zuhrī said: When Saʿd was dying, he asked for his old cloak to be brought. They brought it, and he said: "Shroud me in this cloak and bury me in it, for I wore it on the day of Badr when I fought the polytheists, and I have kept it for this day."
Saʿd died at ʿAqīq, outside Medina. He was carried to Medina on the shoulders of men. Marwān led his funeral prayer, and the Mothers of the Believers and renowned righteous women also performed his funeral prayer. He was buried in the Baqīʿ cemetery. According to the well-known view agreed upon by many, he died in the fifty-fifth year of the hijra. At his death, he was over eighty years old, according to the sound narration.
ʿAlī b. al-Madīnī said: "Saʿd was the last of the ten given the glad tidings of Paradise to die."
Others said: "Saʿd was the last of the Emigrants (Muhājirūn) to die." May Allah be pleased with him and with the rest.
Haytham b. ʿAdī said that Saʿd died in the fiftieth year of the hijra. According to Abū Maʿshar and Abū Nuʿaym, quoting Mughīth b. Muḥarrar, Saʿd died in the fifty-eighth year of the hijra. According to Mughīth, in this year Ḥasan, the son of ʿAlī, ʿĀʾisha, and Umm Salama also died. But according to the sound view, Saʿd died in the fifty-fifth year of the hijra. He was short, broad-shouldered, large-handed, with a wide nasal bridge and a hairy body. He used to dye his hair and beard black. At his death, he left an inheritance of 250,000 dirhams.