Part of Pictures from the lives of the Companions (series completed)
· Lesson 18 of 93
Pictures from the lives of the Companions - Episode (33) - Saad bin Abi Waqqas, may God be pleased with him
0:000:00
Transcript
Machine translation — may contain errors
0:00
In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
0:15
The Mawaddah Association is pleased
0:18
to present to you *Portraits from the Lives of the Companions*
0:22
by 'Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha,
0:25
may Allah have mercy on him.
0:27
Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, may Allah be pleased with him.
0:45
I seek refuge in Allah from Satan, the accursed.
0:49
In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
0:52
These noble verses tell a unique and remarkable story,
0:55
in which a conflict of opposing emotions unfolded
0:59
within the soul of a tender youth;
1:02
yet good triumphed over evil,
1:05
and faith prevailed over disbelief.
1:07
As for the hero of this story,
1:09
he was a youth among the noblest of Mecca's young men in lineage,
1:12
and the most distinguished among them in mother and father.
1:15
That youth was Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas,
1:18
may Allah be pleased with him and grant him contentment.
1:21
When the light of prophethood dawned upon Mecca, Sa'd was
1:24
a young man in the prime of his youth,
1:27
tender and vigorous,
1:29
soft-hearted,
1:31
exceptionally dutiful to his parents,
1:33
and deeply devoted, in particular, to his mother.
1:36
And despite the fact that Sa'd
1:38
was then welcoming his seventeenth spring,
1:42
he possessed within his modest cloak
1:44
much of the sound judgment of mature men and the wisdom of elders.
1:48
For instance, he found no pleasure in that which captured
1:52
the interest of his peers among various amusements;
1:55
rather, he directed all his energy toward fashioning arrows,
1:58
mending bows,
2:00
and practicing archery,
2:02
so much so that it was as though he was preparing himself for a momentous affair.
2:06
Nor did he feel at ease with what he found his people engaged in,
2:11
with their corrupted beliefs and deplorable condition,
2:14
as if he were waiting for there to reach out to them
2:18
a firm, resolute, and compassionate hand
2:21
to rescue them from the darkness in which they were stumbling.
2:25
And while he was in that state,
2:27
Allah, Glorified and Exalted be He, willed to honor all of humanity
2:32
with this compassionate and uplifting hand:
2:35
the hand of the master of creation, Muhammad ibn 'Abdullah,
2:39
holding within his grasp that divine beacon that never dims:
2:44
the Book of Allah.
2:46
How swiftly did Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas respond
2:49
to the call of guidance and truth,
2:51
becoming the third of three men to embrace Islam,
2:55
or the fourth of four.
2:57
Therefore, he would often say with pride:
3:01
"I spent seven days
3:04
while being one-third of Islam."
3:06
Great was the joy of the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
3:10
at Sa'd's acceptance of Islam;
3:12
for in Sa'd were signs of nobility and early manhood
3:17
that heralded that this crescent
3:20
would soon become a full moon.
3:23
Sa'd also possessed such noble lineage and illustrious standing
3:27
as would entice the young men of Mecca to follow his path
3:31
and walk in his footsteps.
3:33
Moreover, above all that,
3:36
Sa'd was one of the maternal uncles of the Prophet, peace be upon him,
3:40
for he belonged to the clan of Banu Zuhrah,
3:42
and Banu Zuhrah were the kin of Aminah bint Wahb,
3:45
the mother of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
3:48
And the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
3:53
used to take pride in this maternal relationship.
3:55
It was narrated that the noble Prophet
3:57
was sitting with a group of his Companions,
4:00
when he saw Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas approaching,
4:03
so he said to those with him:
4:05
"This is my maternal uncle;
4:07
let any man show me his maternal uncle!"
4:09
Yet the acceptance of Islam by Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas
4:12
did not pass easily or smoothly;
4:14
rather, the believing youth was subjected
4:16
to one of the harshest trials in severity
4:19
and the most violent in intensity,
4:21
so severe and intense, in fact,
4:25
that Allah, Glorified be He, revealed Qur'an concerning it.
4:29
Let us leave the floor to Sa'd
4:31
to recount to us the story of this extraordinary trial.
4:35
Sa'd said:
4:36
"Three nights before I embraced Islam, I saw in a dream
4:40
as though I were drowning in layers of darkness, one upon another.
4:44
And while I was floundering in its depths,
4:48
a moon shone for me, so I followed it.
4:51
Then I saw a group of men ahead of me who had reached that moon before me:
4:55
I saw Zayd ibn Harithah,
4:57
'Ali ibn Abi Talib,
4:59
and Abu Bakr al-Siddiq.
5:01
So I asked them, 'Since when have you been here?'
5:05
They replied, 'Just this hour.'
5:07
Then, when morning broke upon me,
5:10
word reached me that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
5:14
was inviting people to Islam in secret.
5:16
Thus I knew that Allah intended good for me,
5:20
and willed to bring me out, through him, from darkness into light.
5:24
So I hurried to him
5:26
until I met him in the valley of Jiyad,
5:29
just after he had prayed 'Asr,
5:31
and I embraced Islam.
5:32
No one had preceded me except that group whom I had seen in the dream."
5:37
Then Sa'd continued the narration of his conversion, saying:
5:42
"No sooner did my mother hear of my embracing Islam than her fury erupted.
5:47
I had always been a dutiful and loving son to her,
5:51
so she came to me, saying:
5:53
'O Sa'd! What is this religion you have embraced,
5:56
that has turned you away from the religion of your mother and father?
5:59
By Allah, you will surely abandon your new religion,
6:02
or else I shall neither eat nor drink until I die,
6:05
so that your heart will be torn with grief over me,
6:08
remorse will consume you for what you have done,
6:12
and people will reproach you for it for all time.'
6:15
I said, 'Do not do this, dear mother,
6:18
for I will not forsake my religion for anything.'
6:21
Yet she persisted in her threat;
6:24
she abstained from food and drink,
6:27
and remained days in that state, neither eating nor drinking,
6:31
until her body emaciated, her bones grew feeble,
6:34
and her strength gave way.
6:36
I began coming to her hour after hour,
6:39
begging her to take some food
6:42
or a little drink,
6:45
but she refused vehemently,
6:48
swearing that she would neither eat nor drink until she died
6:51
or I abandoned my religion.
6:54
At that point, I said to her:
6:56
'O my mother!
6:57
Despite my deep love for you,
7:00
my love for Allah and His Messenger is far greater.
7:03
By Allah, even if you had a thousand souls,
7:06
and they departed from you one after another,
7:09
I would never leave this religion of mine for anything.'
7:12
When she saw my firm resolve,
7:14
she gave in
7:16
and ate and drank against her will.
7:19
Then Allah, Exalted and Glorious, revealed concerning us His saying..."
7:21
Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, may Allah be pleased with him, experienced
7:24
some of the most benevolent days for the Muslims
7:27
and the most abundant in goodness for Islam.
7:30
On the Day of Badr,
7:32
Sa'd and his brother 'Umayr had an unforgettable stand.
7:36
For 'Umayr was then
7:38
a tender youth who had barely reached the age of puberty.
7:42
When the Messenger, peace be upon him, began
7:45
reviewing the Muslim forces before the battle,
7:48
'Umayr, Sa'd's brother, hid himself,
7:50
fearing that the Messenger would see him
7:52
and send him back because of his young age.
7:54
But the Messenger, peace be upon him,
7:57
caught sight of him and turned him back.
8:00
Thereupon, 'Umayr began to weep,
8:02
until the Prophet's heart softened for him, and he permitted him to stay.
8:05
At that,
8:07
Sa'd approached him joyfully
8:09
and tied the baldric of his sword in knots because of his small stature,
8:13
and the two brothers went forth striving in the cause of Allah
8:17
with true devotion.
8:19
When the battle ended,
8:21
Sa'd returned to Medina alone;
8:24
as for 'Umayr,
8:26
he left him behind as a martyr on the soil of Badr,
8:29
seeking his reward with Allah.
8:31
And on the Day of Uhud,
8:33
when feet wavered,
8:35
and the Muslims were scattered away from the Prophet, peace be upon him,
8:39
until none remained with him except a small group
8:42
not even numbering ten,
8:44
Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas stood firm,
8:46
defending the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, with his bow.
8:50
He did not loose an arrow
8:52
without striking a pagan fatally.
8:55
When the Messenger, peace be upon him, saw him
8:58
shooting in such a manner,
9:00
he began urging him on, saying to him:
9:02
"Shoot, Sa'd! Shoot!
9:04
May my father and mother be ransomed for you!"
9:06
Sa'd continued to take pride in those words throughout his life,
9:09
and would say:
9:11
"The Messenger never invoked both his parents for anyone except me,"
9:14
referring to when he ransomed him with his father and mother together.
9:18
But Sa'd reached the pinnacle of his glory
9:21
when al-Faruq resolved to wage a war against the Persians
9:25
that would bring down their empire,
9:27
topple their throne,
9:29
and uproot the vestiges of paganism from the face of the earth.
9:32
So he dispatched letters to his governors throughout the provinces:
9:36
"Send to me everyone who possesses a weapon or a horse,
9:40
valor or sound judgment,
9:42
or talent in poetry, oratory, or the like—
9:45
anything that would be of benefit to the battle."
9:47
Delegations of mujahideen began pouring into Medina from every direction;
9:52
and when their ranks were complete,
9:54
al-Faruq began consulting the prominent decision-makers
9:58
as to whom he should appoint over the great army
10:01
and entrust with its command.
10:03
They replied with one voice:
10:05
the charging lion,
10:07
Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas.
10:09
So 'Umar—may Allah be pleased with them both—summoned him
10:13
and entrusted him with the army's banner.
10:16
When that vast army was ready to depart from Madinah,
10:20
'Umar ibn al-Khattab stood to bid it farewell and counsel its commander.
10:24
He said: "O Sa'd,
10:27
do not let it deceive you before Allah that you are called the maternal uncle of the Messenger of Allah
10:31
and the companion of the Messenger of Allah!
10:33
For Allah, Mighty and Majestic, does not erase evil with evil;
10:37
rather, He erases evil deeds with good deeds.
10:40
O Sa'd!
10:42
Truly, there is no lineage between Allah and anyone save obedience to Him.
10:47
All people, the noble and the common among them, are equal before Allah:
10:51
Allah is their Lord and they are His servants.
10:54
They excel one another only in piety,
10:56
and they attain what is with Allah only through obedience.
10:59
Look to the matter that you saw the Prophet adhere to, and hold fast to it,
11:03
for that is the true path."
11:05
And so the blessed army marched forth,
11:07
including ninety-nine veterans of Badr,
11:10
over three hundred and ten
11:13
who had companionship from the Pledge of Ridwan and beyond,
11:18
three hundred who had witnessed the Conquest of Makkah with the Messenger of Allah,
11:23
and seven hundred sons of the Companions.
11:27
Sa'd advanced
11:29
and encamped with his army at al-Qadisiyyah.
11:32
And when the Day of al-Harir came,
11:34
the Muslims resolved to make it the decisive blow.
11:37
They encircled their enemy as a shackle encircles a wrist,
11:41
penetrating their ranks from every side, proclaiming the oneness and greatness of Allah.
11:46
Suddenly, the head of Rustam, the commander of the Persian army,
11:49
was raised high upon the spears of the Muslims.
11:52
Thereupon, terror and panic crept into the hearts of the enemies of Allah,
11:57
to the point that a Muslim would merely beckon to a Persian soldier,
12:00
and the soldier would come directly to him to be slain,
12:02
often killed with his own weapon.
12:04
As for the spoils of war,
12:06
speak of them without restriction!
12:08
And as for the enemy's slain,
12:10
it is enough for you to know that those who perished by drowning alone
12:14
numbered thirty thousand.
12:17
Sa'd lived a long life,
12:19
and Allah bestowed upon him immense wealth.
12:23
Yet, when death approached him,
12:26
he called for a worn woolen cloak,
12:29
and said:
12:30
"Shroud me in this,
12:32
for in it I faced the polytheists on the day of Badr,
12:35
and in it I wish to meet Allah, Mighty and Majestic, as well."