Saad bin Abi Waqas (rta) – The One Whose Duas Were Answered

By Sadaf Azhar – Hiba magazine team writer

Saad bin Abi Waqas (rta) was one of the ten blessed companions who received glad tidings of Jannah from the Prophet (sa). He was the maternal uncle of the Prophet (sa) in relation even though he was much younger than the Prophet (sa).

Physical appearance and character

Saad’s (rta) father had passed away when he was very young. Though he had noble lineage, he did not have a strong support system and so was considered amongst the weak of Makkah. His Kunniyah was Abu Ishaq. Saad (rta) had a unique appearance- he looked like a lion because he had thick hair. He was short, dark and muscular.

He was known for his honesty and the immense skill with which he fashioned bows and arrows. He himself was an exceptional marksman.

Guided by a dream

Saad (rta) was a teenager when the revelation began. His daughter Ayesha narrates from him that he had a vivid dream in which he was in a wide dark plain. Suddenly, a moon appeared and he started following it, trying to reach it. Ahead, he saw Zaid ibn Haritha (rta), Ali (rta) and Abu Bakr (rta) who reached the moon before him. He asked them: ‘When did you reach the moon?’

 They replied: ‘Just now.’

When he woke up, he heard about the Prophet’s (sa) Dawah through Abu Bakr (rta) and he hurried to the Messenger (sa) in Ajyad, where he accepted Islam.

He says that for a week, he was ‘one/third of the Muslims’, i.e. one of the earliest converts.

His first trial

However, when he told his mother she flew into a rage. When she couldn’t convince him, she tortured herself to make him give up Islam. She threatened: “I will not eat, drink, sit in the shade or comb my hair until you give up Islam. If you don’t come back to your old religion, it is your heart that is going to break and you will be consumed with remorse and the people will condemn you forever.”

Saad (rta) loved his mother dearly, so this was very painful for him and he continued to plead with her as she became sick and weak. Eventually, Saad (rta) said: “O my mother! As much as I love you, I love Allah (swt) and the Prophet (sa) more. Even if you had a hundred souls and they left one by one, I would not leave my Deen.”

Finally, she realized he wasn’t going to give up Islam and she stopped. Verse 14 of Surah Luqman and verse 15 of Surah Ahqaf, both refer to this incident, yet Allah (swt) did not admonish her for pressuring Saad (swt) but commanded him (and us) to respect parents, especially mothers, and treat them with kindness.

The first to defend Islam

Saad (rta) accompanied some muslims to pray in one of the secluded valleys. They were attacked, so Saad (rta) struck in retaliation and shed the first blood for Islam. Similarly, once the Prophet (sa) was ambushed and Saad (rta) shot an arrow to protect him- that was the first time an arrow was shot for Islam.

Battles of Badr and Uhud

Both Saad (rta) and his younger brother Umair bin Abi Waqas (rta) fought in Badr who was martyred.

In Uhud, Saad (rta) was one of the few who did not flee but stood to defend the Prophet (sa) shooting arrows in every direction to guard him. The other companions and even the Messenger (sa) were picking up arrows and handing them to him to shoot because of his precision.

The Prophet (sa) then said something he did not say to any other Companion: “Throw your arrows, O Saad! May my mother and father be sacrificed for you.” Ali (rta) says that the Prophet (sa) never combined his mother and father in a statement like this for anyone else.

The Prophet’s (sa) Duas for him

The Messenger (sa) prayed for him: “O Allah! Respond to the Duas of Saad when he calls upon you.” 

When he was the governor of Iraq, he was falsely accused and Saad (rta) prayed against his accuser, who then turned blind and died horribly.

Similarly, he heard someone in Iraq cursing Ali (rta) and Zubair (rta) so Saad (rta) warned him to stop, otherwise he would curse him. The man scoffed him so Saad (rta) made Wudu, prayed and made Dua against him since he was reviling the Caliph Ali (rta), an eminent companion. The man was devoured by a beast.

During the Conquest of Makkah, he fell critically ill. The Prophet (sa) prayed: “O Allah! Cure Saad!” Saad (rta) was the last of the group of ten blessed Companions to die.

A powerful commander

Saad (rta) was an eminent Companion respected by all the Caliphs. Omar (rta) appointed him as the commander of the Muslim army in the Jihad against the Persians and he was responsible for conquering the largest swathe of the Persian Empire.

During the vicious battle of Qadissiyah, Saad (rta) devised the plan to strike the elephants’ eyes to stop them from trampling the muslims. The cruel and arrogant Khosrau too was defeated by Saad’s (rta) army.

Saad (rta) was also part of the Shuraa to choose the next Caliph after the assassination of Omar (rta).

He narrated many Hadith about Fitnah and dissension amongst muslims and he lived by them- ‘the less you do when you see dissension, the better’.

Fear of Fitnah and death

During the time of the power struggle between the grandsons of the Prophet (sa) and Muawiyah, one of his sons came to him while he was shepherding sheep to avoid the Fitnah. He wanted Saad (rta) to take a more active role.

But Saad (rta) refused: “Indeed, Allah loves the servant who is pious (Muttaqi), who is independent of the people (al Ghani) and who is not seen by the people (Khafi).”

He died during the reign of Muawiyah, after a lifetime spent in preaching Islam, fighting for its supremacy and refraining from any hand in Fitnah.