The Bravery of Saad ibn Muadh

One evening, I discussed with my husband, Najib, which Sahaba could we explore and learn. He introduced me to a sahabi I never come across before where he asked me the following quiz question:
‘Which companion had the throne of Allah shake?’
I replied, Subhanallah (Glory be to Allah), which Sahaba, I do not know?
He responded: Saad ibn Muadh (may Allah have mercy upon him).
 
During these several weeks, I wanted to explore and find out more about this Eminent companion of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and what lessons can we extract from this Sahaba; Abu Amr.
 
The full name of Abu Amr (may Allah have mercy upon him) was Saad ibn Muadh ibn Al-Numan Al-Ansari Al-Asy Al-Ashhaly. He was 23 years younger than the Prophet (peace be upon him) and was the chief of the Aws tribe. He embraced Islam in Medina after the pledge of Aqabah at the hands of Musaab ibn Umayr (may Allah have mercy upon him). He was 31 years old at the time.
 
He was passionate about Islam and spent his time learning and supporting the Prophet (peace be upon him) and the rest of the companions (may Allah have mercy upon them all).

Isn’t this so wonderful?

Narrated ‘Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah have mercy upon him):
“Saad ibn Muadh (may Allah have mercy upon him) was an intimate friend of Umaiya bin Khalaf (may Allah have mercy upon him) and whenever Umaiya (may Allah have mercy upon him) passed through Medina, he used to stay with Saad ibn Muadh (may Allah have mercy upon him), and whenever Saad ibn Muadh (may Allah have mercy upon him) went to Mecca, he used to stay with Umaiya (may Allah have mercy upon him).
When Allah’s Apostle (peace be upon him) arrived at Medina, Saad ibn Muadh (may Allah have mercy upon him) went to perform ‘Umrah and stayed at Umaiya’s home in Mecca. He said to Umaiya, “Tell me of a time when (the Mosque) is empty so that I may be able to perform Tawaf round the Ka’ba.” So Umaiya went with him about midday. Abu Jahl met them and said, “O Abu Safwan! Who is this man accompanying you?” He said, “He is Saad ibn Muadh”. 
Abu Jahl addressed Saad (may Allah have mercy upon him) saying, “I see you wandering about safely in Mecca in spite of the fact that you have given shelter to the people who have changed their religion (i.e. became Muslims) and have claimed that you will help them and support them. By Allah, if you were not in the company of Abu Safwan, you would not be able to go your family safely.” 
Saad ibn Muadh (may Allah have mercy upon him), raising his voice, said to him, “By Allah, if you should stop me from doing this (i.e. performing Tawaf) I would certainly prevent you from something which is more valuable for you, that is, your passage through Medina.” On this, Umaiya said to him, “O Saad, do not raise your voice before Abul-Hakam, the chief of the people of the Valley (of Mecca).” Saad ibn Mu’adh (may Allah have mercy upon him) said, “O Umaiya, stop that! By Allah, I have heard Allah’s Apostle predicting that the Muslim will kill you.” Umaiya asked, “In Mecca?” Saad said, “I do not know.” Umaiya was greatly scared by that news. “ 
(Hadith, Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 5, Book 59 and Number 286]
 
This highlights the bravery of Saad ibn Muadh (may Allah have mercy upon him) who stood up to bullies and in this case; the Chief of Mecca. 
His respect and bravery were admired by the Prophet (peace be upon him) who considered the handkerchief of Saad ibn Muadh (may Allah have mercy upon him) in paradise to be of more value than a silk cloak.
 
Narrated Anas bin Malik (may Allah have mercy upon him): 
“A silken cloak presented to the Prophet and he used to forbid the usage of silk (by men). When the people were fascinated by the cloak. he said, “By Allah in Whose Hands the life of Muhammad is, the handkerchiefs of Sa`d bin Mu`adh in Paradise are better than this.” [Hadith, Sahih Al Bukhari, 471]
 
He also fought fiercely alongside our Beloved Prophet (peace be upon him) in several battles: Badr, Uhud and Khandaq (Trenches) due to his passion for the cause of Allah. In the Battle of the Trenches, he was wounded by Habbin Ibn Al Araqa of the Quraish tribe and was treated for his injuries in a nearby tent. The Prophet (peace be upon him) continued to fight and won the battle and let Saad ibn Muadh (may Allah have mercy upon him) make a judgement.
 
Narrated Sa’id Al-Khudri (May Allah have mercy upon him): Some people (i.e. the Jews of Bani Quraidah) agreed to accept the verdict of Saad ibn Muadh (May Allah have mercy upon him), so the Prophet (peace be upon him) sent for him. He came riding a donkey, and when he approached the mosque, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Get up for the best amongst you.” Or said, “Get up for your chief.” Then the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “O Saad! These people have agreed to (accept) your verdict.” Saad ibn Muadh (May Allah have mercy upon him) said, “I judge that their warriors should be killed and their children and women should be taken as captives.” The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “You have given a judgment similar to Allah’s judgement.” 
[Hadith, Sahih Bukhari, Volume 5, Number 3804]
 
This suggests how the Prophet (peace be upon him) trusted his decisions due to his fairness and ability to make good decisions.
Following this verdict,
 “Saad looked towards the sky and said, “O Allah our Lord! If the war is to last any longer, please do let me live a little longer to fight against them, for I like nothing better than fighting those who hurt Your Prophet (peace be upon him), disbelieved him and even drove him to emigrate. But if the war has ended, please make my wounds pave my way to martyrdom. I implore You, Dear Allah, not to let me die until I avenge myself upon Bani Quraidah.” 
[Hadith, Sahih Bukhari 119/3]
​
Allah (The Most High) accepted his dua and his neck began to bleed. He passed away as a martyr shortly after at the age of 37 years. His death was 6 years before the passing away of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
Something amazing happened, the throne of Allah (The Most High) shook at the death of Saad ibn Muadh (may Allah have mercy on him). 

Narrated Jabir (may Allah have mercy upon him):
 I heard the Prophet (peace be upon him) say, 
“The Throne of the Beneficent (Ar-Rahman) shook because of the death of Sa’d ibn Mua’adh ”
 [Hadith, Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume No. 5, Hadeeth No 147]
[Hadith, Muslim, 2466]

 Amongst the respected scholars regarding this event was Al-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
"This is mutawatir; narrated by so many from so many, it is inconceivable that they could all have agreed upon a lie. I bear witness that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said it."
[al-‘Uluw li’l-‘Aliy al-Ghaffaar (p. 89)]

In his book, Siyar Al-Alam Al Nubala, the respected scholar, Al-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 
“The Throne is a creation of Allah that is subject to His control. If He wills that it should shake, it shakes by the will of Allah. Allah instilled in it a sense of love for Saad, just as He instilled in Mount Uhud a sense of love for the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning): 
“O you mountains. Glorify (Allah) with him” [Saba’ 34:10] and “The seven heavens and the earth and all that is therein, glorify Him” [al-Isra’ 17:44]. 
Then Allah included all things in that and said: “and there is not a thing but glorifies His Praise” [al-Isra’ 17:44]. And this is true. 
In Sahih al-Bukhari it is narrated that Ibn Mas‘ood (may Allah have mercy upon him) said: We used to hear the tasbeeh of the food as it was being eaten. This is a broad topic and we have to believe in it.”
 
This suggests that we must accept all hadiths that discuss the attributes and not question nor interpret anything more than what it is.
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:
 “Whoever loves to meet Allah, Allah loves to meet him, and whoever hates to meet Allah, Allah hates to meet him.” 
[Hadith, al-Bukhari (6507) and Muslim (2683)]

How many of us want to meet Allah (The Most High)?
 
The death of Saad ibn Muadh (may Allah have mercy upon him) saddened the Prophet (peace be upon him) who held his beard to control himself in sorrow. His fellow companions Abu Bakr and Umar ibn Khattab and others cried away (Siyar Al-Alam Al Nubula, 748).
 
This highlights the brotherly love between the companions and because of the lofty status of Saad (may Allah have mercy upon him), approximately 70,000 angels carried the Janazah and were buried in Jannatul Baqi.
 
Anas bin Malik (may Allah have mercy upon him) said, 
“When the Janazah of Saad ibn Muadh (may Allah have mercy upon him) was carried, the hypocrites said:
 ‘How light his Janazah is? And this was due to his judgement concerning Bani Quraidah.’ 
So this reached the Prophet (peace be upon him) and he said, “Indeed, the angels were carrying him.”

 Subhanallah (Glory be to Allah)!
​
May Allah give us the ability to become brave and passionate like the eminent companion of the Prophet (peace be upon him).
 

References
Sheikh Muhammad ibn Ahmad Dhahabi (1998) Uluw lil-'Ali al-Ghaffar p.89Sheikh Al-Dhahabi (748 AH) Siyar Al-Alam An-Nubala, 3, p183-184) Small Steps to Allah (2022) Saad ibn Muadh Available [online] https://smallstepstoallah.com/the-great-companions-saad-ibn-muadh-r-a [15th May 2022]
Islam Question and Answer (2022) The shaking of the Throne at the death of Sa‘d ibn Mu‘aadh was only because of the joy of the Lord, may He be exalted; it was not a reflection of any imperfection. Available [online] https://islamqa.info/en/answers/197531/the-shaking-of-the-throne-at-the-death-of-sad-ibn-muaadh-was-only-because-of-the-joy-of-the-lord-may-he-be-exalted-it-was-not-a-reflection-of-any-imperfection [15th May 2022]
Soumaya B.(2015) ‘Sa’d bin Mu’adh’, The hero for whom the throne [of Allah] shook at His death Available [online]
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/sad-bin-muadh-hero-whom-throne-allah-shook-his-death-bint-abdesselam [15th May 2022]