Saʽd ibn ʽUbadah

Sa'd was among the 75 converts from Medina who took the Second Pledge at Aqaba in July 622.[3]^: 478 Muhammad selected him as one of the twelve leaders who would "take charge of their people's affairs."[2]^: 204

When Quraysh realised that war had been declared on them, they pursued the pledge-takers, who were already on the road home to Medina. They captured Sa'd, tied his hands to his neck and brought him back to Mecca, dragging him by the hair and beating him. Suhayl ibn Amr slapped his face. Finally Abu'l-Bakhtari ibn Hisham[9]^{: note 244} took pity on him and asked: "You poor devil, doesn't any Quraysh owe you protection?" Sa'd then remembered to call out the names of Jubayr ibn Mutim and Al-Harith ibn Harb. They came from the Kaaba and told the captors to release him; so Sa'd went home.[2]^: 206

When Muhammad arrived in Medina, Sa'd was among those who invited him to stay in their homes at their expense. But Muhammad said that his camel was under God's orders and she should decide where he would stay.[2]^: 228

Sa'd was thought a pious man.[2]^: 495[7] Every day he sent a bowl of meat stew or clarified butter or milk to Muhammad, who took it with him as he visited each of his wives in turn.[3]^: 478[5]^: 118 From March 624 until May 627 Sa'd hosted al-Miqdad ibn Amr and Khabbab ibn al-Aratt in his home.[3]^: 126 At the Battle of the Ditch he supplied the army with a load of dates.[4]^: 245

Soon after Muhammad's arrival in Medina, Sa'd fell sick. He received a visit from Muhammad, who was red-faced with anger, and his adoptive grandson Usama. Muhammad explained to Sa'd that Abdullah ibn Ubayy had rejected Islam and forbidden him to discuss it in Abdullah's house. Sa'd advised Muhammad: "Don't be hard on him; for God sent you to us as we were making a diadem to crown him, and he thinks that you have robbed him of a kingdom."[2]^: 279[10]

On a different condolence-visit, Muhammad was accompanied by Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf, Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas and Abdullah ibn Masud. Sa'd was unconscious when his visitors arrived, and Muhammad asked if he had died. Although he had not, Muhammad wept, and his friends wept with him. Muhammad told them that silent tears were permitted but that Allah might punish them for loud wailing.[11] Later Muhammad heard that Sa'd was better, so he asked the assembly who would like to go to visit. More than ten Muslims stood up with him, "and we had neither shoes with us, nor socks, nor caps, nor shirts." They walked "on the barren land" in the scorching heat of Medina until they reached Sa'd's house.[12]

On another occasion, Sa'd was sitting at home when Muhammad knocked at the door, calling, "Peace be with you!" Sa'd kept silent. Muhammad called a second and a third time, then decided that Sa'd must be out. As he was leaving, Sa'd ran up to call him back, explaining: "I did hear you, but I wanted to have a lot of your peace for me and my family."[13]

Muhammad said, on receiving from him a gift of dates and ten camels for slaughter, "What a good man Sa'd ibn Ubadah is! The best of the people in Islam are those who were the best in the Jahiliya when they understand the religion."[4]^{: 268–269, 536} On the way to the Farewell Pilgrimage, Sa'd heard that Abu Bakr had lost his camel. He and his son Qays came at once to Muhammad to give him a new camel laden with provisions. Muhammad tried to refuse the gift, for the lost camel had been found, but Sa'd told him: "What you take from our wealth is more precious to us than what you do not take."[4]^{: 535–536}

Sa'd's mother died while he was away at Dumat al-Jandal in 626. When the army returned to Medina, Muhammad prayed over her grave. Sa'd asked about a vow that Amra had been unable to keep before she died, and Muhammad said, "Fulfil it for her."[3]^: 479[14] So Sa'd gave away his garden al-Mikhraf as charity on her behalf. Muhammad said that the best form of charity was "making water flow," and Sa'd donated water for public drinking to the mosque.[3]^: 479

Sa'd once asked Muhammad: "Tell me, if a man finds his wife with another man, should he kill him?" Muhammad replied, "No."[15] Sa'd asked if he should wait until he had four witnesses, and Muhammad said, "Yes."[16][17] "By no means!" exclaimed Sa'd. "I swear, I would hurry to strike him with my sword before then, and not with the flat side!" Muhammad told the assembly: "Listen to what your chief says. Are you surprised at Sa'd's jealousy for his honour? I am more jealous for my honour than he is, and God is more jealous than I am.[15] Because of his jealousy God has prohibited abomination, both open and secret. No person is more jealous than God; and no person is fonder of accepting an excuse than God, on account of which he has sent messengers; and no one is fonder of praise than God, on account of which he has promised Paradise."[18]

In the early period after Muhammad's arrival, Sa'd urged the Jews of Medina to accept Islam. "Fear God," he said, "for you know right well that [Muhammad] is God's Messenger, of whom you used to speak to us before his mission and describe him to us." The Jews replied: "We never said that to you, and God has sent down no book since Moses nor sent an evangelist or warner after him."[2]^: 266

Abdullah ibn Ubayy, chief of the Awf clan and unofficially chief of the Khazraj tribe, lost status in Medina after the Battle of Uhud in 625.[2]^: 391[4]^: 154 Sa'd ibn Ubadah then came to be regarded as the most important Khazraj chief.[7] After the death of Sa'd ibn Mu'adh, the Aws chief, in May 627, Sa'd ibn Ubadah was recognised as the leader of all the Ansar.[19]

Saad's son Qays was among 300 men who were sent under Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah against the Juhayna tribe in October 629. There was no food and the men were hungry. Qays began to buy camels on his father's credit to slaughter for the army.[4]^: 381[6]^{: 147–148} After three days of this, Abu Ubayda stopped him, saying that he must not spend his father's money without permission. Umar supported Abu Ubayda's argument, and Qays was "most rude" to Umar. When Sa'd heard about the army's hunger, he said: "If I know Qays, he will slaughter for the people!" When Qays returned and told him the story of how Abu Ubayda had halted his spending, Sa'd immediately gave his son four date-orchards so that in future he would have money that was legally his own. Then he paid off the debts.[4]^{: 381–382}

Sa'd was one of those who laid the corpse of Abdullah ibn Ubayy at his burial.[4]^: 519

Abdullah ibn Ubayy encouraged rumours that Muhammad's wife Aisha had committed adultery. Muhammad addressed the Muslims in the mosque about it: "Why do certain men lie about my family?"[2]^: 495[7] An Aws leader, Usayd ibn Hudayr, replied: "If they are of Aws let us rid you of them; and if they are of the Khazraj give us your orders, for they ought to have their heads cut off." Sa'd ibn Ubadah stood up and retorted: "By Allah, you lie. They shall not be beheaded. You would not have said this if you had not known that they were of Khazraj. If they had been your own people, you would not have said it."[2]^: 496[6]^: 61[4]^: 211[7]

Sa'd's words triggered a loud quarrel in the mosque. Usayd ibn Hudayr retorted, "Liar yourself![2]^: 496[7] We would certainly kill him, despite your efforts. You are a hypocrite who defends hypocrites![2]^: 496[4]^: 211[7] By God, if the Messenger desired the head of my closest relative, I would bring it to him before he could stand up. But I don’t know what the Messenger wants."[4]^: 211 Sa'ad told him: "You Aws insist on treating us with the resentment that was between us in the Jahiliya. By God, there is no need to remember it. Surely you know who was victorious in it. Indeed, God extinguished all of that with Islam."[4]^: 211 Usayd stood up and said, "You saw our stand at the Battle of Bu'ath!"

At this Sa'd was so angry that he called out: "O Sons of Khazraj!" and all the Khazraj came to stand on his side. Sa'd ibn Mu'adh called out, "O Sons of Aws!" and the Aws went to stand next to him. With the two tribes lined up, a Khazraj man unsheathed a sword, announcing, "I will cut off the head of the hypocrite in his hideout!" Usayd met him and said: "Drop it! A weapon is brought out only by the command of Allah's Messenger. If we knew that the Messenger had such a desire or command, then we would do this faster than you." Muhammad called for silence, stepped down from the pulpit and managed to calm them down.[4]^: 211

The accused man, Safwan ibn Mu'attal, attacked one of the slanderers, Hassan ibn Thabit. Hassan's friends captured Safwan, tied him up and kept him in prison. Sa'd made peace between them. He persuaded Hassan's friends to release Safwan and to drop their blood-claim against him; then he gave Safwan new clothes. He then compensated Hassan for the sword-cut by giving him a valuable palm-tree garden.[4]^{: 213–214}

When Muhammad heard that Abu Sufyan's caravan was returning from Syria, he consulted the Muslims over whether to attack. He did not listen to either Abu Bakr or Umar. Then Sa'd ibn Ubadah stood up and said: "Allah's Messenger, you want us [the Ansar to speak]. If you ordered us to plunge our horses into the sea, we would do so. If you ordered us to goad our horses as far as Bark al-Ghimad, we would do so." Muhammad then called upon the men to march to Badr.[20][21]

Sa'd intended to fight at Badr. He provided twenty camels for the expedition and he gave Muhammad a sword named al-Abd. He went around the city urging other men to participate. But he suffered a scorpion-sting or snake-bite shortly before the army departed, and so he had to remain in Medina.[4]^{: 14, 51, 52}[3]^: 478

He was among the "people of age and decision" who urged Muhammad to go out to meet the Quraysh at Mount Uhud so that the Quraysh would not think them cowardly.[4]^: 105

After the Siege of the Nadir, Muhammad consulted Sa'd ibn Ubadah and Sa'd ibn Mu'adh, chief of the tribe, about the distribution of spoils. He asked whether the Ansar would prefer that the land be given to the Muhajirun, who would then be independent and able to leave the Ansar homes, or whether he should enrich the Ansar on the understanding that they would continue to host the Muhajirun. The two Sa'ds replied that Muhammad should give it all to the Muhajirun, who nevertheless should remain guests in the Ansar homes.[4]^: 186

Muhammad sent Sa'd ibn Ubadah and Sa'd ibn Muadh to investigate rumours that the Jews of the Qurayza tribe were planning to abandon the defence and join the besiegers. The two Sa'ds found that the situation was even worse than they had imagined, for the Jews denied that they had ever had a treaty with Muhammad.[2]^: 453[4]^: 224[6]^: 15–16 Sa'd ibn Ubadah insulted the Jews to their faces, and they, after reminding the messengers of past favours between their tribes, insulted him back,[6]^: 15–16 defaming Muhammad and the Muslims "with the ugliest of words". Sa'd ibn Ubadah became "violently angry".[4]^: 224 Sa'd ibn Mu'adh had to restrain his friend, "for the dispute between us is too serious for recrimination.[6]^: 15–16 It is the sword."[4]^{: 224–225}[22] They reported back to Muhammad with the enigmatic message: "Adal and al-Qara!" referring to an incident of treachery a couple of years earlier. Muhammad only answered, "God is greater! Be of good cheer, you Muslims."[2]^: 453

When Sa'd ibn Mu'adh pronounced the death-sentence on the Qurayza tribe, Sa'd ibn Ubadah and Habab ibn Mundhir came to tell Muhammad: "The Aws tribe detest the killing of the Qurayza tribe because we have such an important alliance." Sa'd ibn Mu'adh countered: "The good Aws do not detest it. May God disappoint the others!"[4]^: 253

Muhammad set out for Mecca in March 628, during the pilgrimage season, when it was customary for all Arabs to travel unarmed.[23] He said he did not want to take weapons. Umar disagreed, and Sa'd supported Umar. "If we carry weapons," he said, "then if we see something suspicious among the people, we will be prepared for them." Muhammad nevertheless ruled against it.[4]^: 281

At Hudaybiya, a friend from Mecca gave Sa'd a sheep, which he slaughtered and shared with all the Muslims.[4]^{: 290–291}

When the Treaty of Hudaybiya was being written, Suhayl ibn Amr referred to Muhammad as "Muhammad ibn Abdullah" because he did not believe he was God's Messenger. Sa'd ibn Ubadah and Usayd ibn Hudayr seized the clerk’s hand and warned him: "Write 'Muhammad, the Messenger of God' or the sword will be between us. We won't allow this insult to our religion!" Muhammad tried to calm them and gestured for quiet, before agreeing to write a contract between "Muhammad ibn Abdullah and Suhayl".[4]^: 301

The Jews of Khaybar had an alliance with the Ghatafan tribe, so Muhammad sent Sa'd to the Ghatafan chief to bribe them to forsake the alliance. The chief refused this offer.[4]^: 320 Sa'd was wounded in the battle,[4]^: 321 but nevertheless carried the flag in the subsequent attack on Wadi'l-Qura.[4]^: 349