As recounted in previous pages, Ḥibbān ibn al-ʿArīqa, who was accursed by Allah, shot an arrow at Sa'd, severing a vein in his arm. The Messenger of God (peace be upon him) cauterized the wound with fire, and it closed. Sa'd supplicated (dua) to Allah, asking not to be taken until his eyes were gladdened regarding the Banū Qurayẓa. Sa'd made this supplication when the Banū Qurayẓa broke their covenant, pact, and agreement with the Messenger of God, collaborating with enemy factions and plotting against the Muslims. When the enemy factions withdrew from Medina and the Banū Qurayẓa were left disgraced, suffering loss in this world and the next, and when the Messenger of God besieged them, surrounding and pressing them from all sides, they submitted to his judgment and requested that he deliver the ruling Allah deemed appropriate. However, the Messenger of God appointed Sa'd b. Muʿādh, the chief of the Aws—who had been their ally in the pre-Islamic period—to judge and arbitrate regarding them. They accepted this. It is said that they had agreed to Sa'd's arbitration from the outset, hoping for his compassion, ihsan (spiritual excellence), and inclination toward them. Yet, due to his firm iman (faith) and loyalty, they did not realize he harbored more anger toward them than toward their enemies, the apes and swine. May Allah be pleased with him and grant him contentment.
While he was in a tent at the Prophet's Mosque, the Messenger of God sent word to him. Because of his illness, he was brought on a saddled donkey. When the Messenger of God approached his tent, he ordered that people stand in respect for him. Some said, "He ordered them to stand so they would help him down from the donkey due to his illness." Others said, "The Messenger of God ordered them to stand so that his authority would be greater and he would be shown respect among those over whom he would judge, making his ruling more effective." Allah knows best.
When Sa'd ruled that the fighting men of the Banū Qurayẓa be killed and their women and children taken captive, Allah gladdened his eyes. The fire of resentment in his chest toward them was extinguished. He returned to his tent beside the Prophet's Mosque. He went to the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) and asked the Mighty and Majestic Allah for martyrdom. Allah chose martyrdom for him in His presence. Thus, after midnight, blood began to gush from his wound and did not cease until he died.
Ibn Isḥāq said: When the affair of the Banū Qurayẓa was concluded, Sa'd b. Muʿādh's wound burst open, and he died as a martyr from that wound. Muʿādh b. Rifāʿa al-Zurqī told me: One of the men of my people informed me of this report: When Sa'd b. Muʿādh's soul was taken, Jibrīl (Gabriel) came to the Messenger of God at night, wearing a turban of brocade, and said:
– O Muhammad! Who is this deceased? The gates of heaven have been opened for him, and the Throne has trembled.
The Messenger of God (peace be upon him) then rose quickly, drawing his garment toward Sa'd. He found him dead. May Allah be pleased with him. The late Ibn Isḥāq related it thus.
In the work "Dalāʾil," Ḥāfiẓ al-Bayhaqī narrated from Jābir b. ʿAbd Allāh that Jibrīl came to the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) and said:
– Who is this righteous servant for whom the gates of heaven have been opened and for whose death the Throne has trembled?
The Messenger of God (peace be upon him) went out and saw that the deceased was Sa'd b. Muʿādh. During his burial, he sat beside his grave. While sitting,
he said "Subḥānallāh" twice, and those present also glorified Allah. Then he said "Allāhu Akbar" twice, and those present also proclaimed Allah's greatness. Then he said:
– I am amazed at this righteous servant, for the grave constricted him. Then Allah relieved him of that constriction.
Imām Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal and al-Nasāʾī narrated from Jābir, through Yazīd b. ʿAbd Allāh b. Usāma b. Ḥadd, that on the day Sa'd b. Muʿādh was buried, the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) said:
"Glory be to Allah! For this righteous servant, the Throne of the Most Merciful moved, and the gates of heaven were opened. At first, his grave was constricted, then Allah made it spacious for him."
Muḥammad b. Isḥāq narrated from Jābir b. ʿAbd Allāh: "While Sa'd was being buried, we were with the Messenger of God (peace be upon him). He glorified Allah, and those with him did likewise. He proclaimed Allah's greatness, and those with him did likewise, and they asked:
– O Messenger of God, why did you glorify Allah? He replied:
– The grave constricted this righteous servant. Then Allah relieved him of that constriction. Ibn Hishām said: The basis of this hadith is the statement of ʿĀʾisha:
"The Messenger of God (peace be upon him) said: 'There is a squeezing of the grave for the deceased; if anyone were to be spared from it, it would have been Sa'd b. Muʿādh.'"
I say: Imām Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal narrated this hadith from ʿĀʾisha, according to which the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
"Indeed, there is a constriction of the grave. If anyone were to be spared from this constriction, it would have been Sa'd b. Muʿādh."
Ḥāfiẓ al-Bazzār narrated from Ibn ʿUmar, through Nāfiʿ, that the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) said:
"On the day Sa'd b. Muʿādh died, seventy thousand angels descended to earth who had never descended before. The grave squeezed him tightly."
After narrating this hadith, Nāfiʿ wept.
Then al-Bazzār narrated from Ibn ʿUmar, through Sulaymān b. Sayf, that the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) said:
"Because of the death of Sa'd b. Muʿādh, seventy thousand angels descended to earth who had never descended before." While Sa'd was being buried, the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) said:
"Glory be to Allah! If anyone were to be spared from the squeezing of the grave, it would have been Sa'd."
Al-Bazzār narrated from Ibn ʿUmar, through Sulaymān b. Sayf, that he said:
"At the death of Sa'd b. Muʿādh, the Supreme Throne (ʿArsh al-Aʿlā) trembled because Allah was pleased to receive him."
It is said that the Supreme Throne refers to the spiritual throne of Allah's sovereignty. As in the following verse (āya), the word 'throne' (ʿarsh) is used in this sense:
"And he raised his parents upon the throne." (Yūsuf 12:100)
The Messenger of God (peace be upon him) entered Sa'd's grave, remained for a while, then came out. When asked:
– O Messenger of God, why did you remain in the grave? He replied:
– Sa'd was tightly squeezed in the grave. I supplicated to Allah, and he was relieved from the squeezing. His grave was made spacious.
After this narration, al-Bayhaqī related a strange report about the grave, saying: Abū ʿAbdillāh al-Ḥāfiẓ transmitted from Umayya b. ʿAbdillāh, who asked one of Sa'd b. Muʿādh's relatives:
– Did you hear the Messenger of God say anything about the reason for Sa'd's squeezing in the grave? – We were told that the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) was asked about the reason for Sa'd's squeezing in the grave, and he replied: "Sa'd was negligent in purifying himself from urine."
Al-Bukhārī narrated from Jābir, through Muḥammad b. Musannā, that he heard the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) say:
"Because of the death of Sa'd b. Muʿādh, the Throne trembled."
Imām Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal narrated from Anas b. Mālik that while Sa'd's funeral was on the ground, the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) said: "For Sa'd's funeral, the Throne of the Most Merciful trembled."
Al-Bayhaqī narrated from Ḥasan al-Baṣrī, through Muʿtamir b. Sulaymān, that he said:
"The Throne of the Most Merciful trembled out of joy for Sa'd's soul."
Ḥanz al-Bazzār narrated from Anas, through Zuhayr b. Muḥammad, that he said:
"When Sa'd's bier was lifted onto shoulders, the hypocrites said: 'How light Sa'd's bier is!' They said this because he had judged against the Banū Qurayẓa. When the reason for their statement was asked of the Messenger of God, he replied:
"No, it seemed light because the angels were carrying him."
Al-Bukhārī narrated from Barāʾ b. ʿĀzib, through Muḥammad b. Bashshār, that he said:
"A silk garment was gifted to the Prophet (peace be upon him). His Companions (ṣaḥāba) touched it and marveled at its softness. He said:
"Are you amazed at its softness? Indeed, Sa'd b. Muʿādh's handkerchiefs in Paradise are better and softer than this."
Imām Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal narrated from Anas b. Mālik, through ʿAbd al-Wahhāb, that:
"Before silk was prohibited, Ukaydir of Dūmah gifted the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) a robe embroidered with gold. The Messenger of God wore it. The people were astonished by its beauty. The Messenger of God said: 'By Allah, in whose hand is my soul, Sa'd's handkerchiefs in Paradise are more beautiful than this.'"
Imām Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal narrated from Wakīd b. ʿAmr b. Sa'd b. Muʿādh, through Muḥammad b. ʿAmr (who said: Wakīd was the most handsome, robust, and tallest of people). I went to Anas b. Mālik. He asked me:
– Who are you?
– I am Wakīd b. ʿAmr b. Sa'd b. Muʿādh.
– You greatly resemble Sa'd.
After saying this, he began to weep profusely, then said:
– May Allah's mercy be upon Sa'd. He was the largest and tallest of people. The Messenger of God (peace be upon him) sent an army against Ukaydir of Dūmah, who sent the Messenger of God a gold-embroidered silk robe. The Messenger of God wore it, ascended the pulpit, sat, then descended without speaking. The people touched and looked at the robe. The Messenger of God (peace be upon him) said:
"Are you amazed at this robe? Indeed, Sa'd b. Muʿādh's handkerchiefs in Paradise are more beautiful than what you see."
After narrating the trembling of the Supreme Throne at Sa'd b. Muʿādh's death, Ibn Isḥāq said: A man from the Anṣār used to say:
"We have not heard of the Supreme Throne trembling for the death of anyone except Sa'd Abū ʿAmr."
When Sa'd's body was carried, his mother recited the following elegy in tears:
"Woe for Sa'd's mother, for Sa'd! For his bravery, his sharpness of understanding, his nobility, his honor, his horsemanship, his dignity...
He who, when placed in a position, would strike and sever a head from its root."
The Messenger of God (peace be upon him) said:
"All mourning women are liars except the one who mourns for Sa'd b. Muʿādh!"
I say: Sa'd b. Muʿādh died about twenty-five nights after returning from the Battle of the Trench (Khandaq). For the polytheist armies that came for the Battle of the Trench arrived in Medina in the month of Shawwāl of the fifth year of the Hijra, staying for nearly a month. Then the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) went to besiege the Banū Qurayẓa in their territory, remaining there for about twenty-five nights. Then the Banū Qurayẓa submitted to the judgment of Sa'd b. Muʿādh, and shortly after he ruled concerning them, he died. His death occurred at the end of Dhū al-Qaʿda or the beginning of Dhū al-Ḥijja in the fifth year of the Hijra. Allah knows best.
Muḥammad b. Isḥāq said: The conquest of the territory of Banū Qurayẓa occurred at the end of Dhū al-Qaʿda and the beginning of Dhū al-Ḥijja. That year, the polytheists still managed the pilgrimage.
Ḥassān b. Thābit recited the following elegy upon the death of Sa'd b. Muʿādh:
"A tear fell from my eye.
It is obligatory for my eye to weep for Sa'd.
A slain one who remained on the battlefield.
Many eyes, ever sorrowful and weeping, have pitied him.
He departed to Paradise as an heir, upon the religion of the Merciful, as the most noble of travelers among the martyrs.
Though you bade us farewell and left us alone, and spent the night in the darkness of the grave, know, O Sa'd, that you went by night to a superior repose and to garments of praise adorned with virtues.
Your judgment regarding the two tribes of Qurayẓa was in accordance with Allah's judgment concerning them. You did not judge arbitrarily.
Your ruling for them was in harmony with Allah's ruling, and even when reminded of their friendship, you did not pardon them.
If the calamities of this world affected you, know that they sold this world for its everlasting gardens.
Because of their renown and uprightness, when called to Allah one day, the place and outcome to which the truthful and sincere will arrive is indeed a beautiful outcome."