Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas

ProfileSa'd ibn Abi Waqqas

Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) was a young man of Quraysh from the clan of Zuhrah, the clan of the Prophet's ﷺ mother, Aminah. He accepted Islam very early; he himself said that for seven days he was a third of the Muslims (Sahih al-Bukhari). He also said that he was the first Arab to shoot an arrow in the way of Allah (Sahih al-Bukhari).

At Uhud, he and Talhah were the two men who stayed beside the Prophet ﷺ (Sahih al-Bukhari). Ali said that he never heard the Prophet ﷺ say that his own father and mother would be sacrificed for anyone but Sa'd, whom he told to keep shooting (Sahih al-Bukhari). The Prophet ﷺ also prayed that Allah would answer Sa'd whenever he prayed to Him (Sunan at-Tirmidhi, graded hasan), and he was remembered for his answered prayers.

When he was ill in Makkah, the Prophet ﷺ came to visit him, and Sa'd asked whether he could leave all his wealth in charity. The Prophet ﷺ allowed him a third at most, saying it was better to leave his heirs well off than poor (Sahih al-Bukhari). Umar named him among the six, and said that if Sa'd became the ruler it would be well, and that he had not removed him from his post for weakness or dishonesty (Sahih al-Bukhari). According to the early historians, Sa'd led the Muslim army at al-Qadisiyyah against the Persians, and founded the city of Kufa.

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