Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ (), also known as Saʿd ibn Mālik, was one of the companions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, a military conqueror of Sasanian Persia and the founder of Kufa. Sa'd was the seventh free adult man to embrace Islam, which he did at the age of seventeen. Sa'd participated in all battles under Muhammad during their stay in Medina.
Sa'd was famous for his leadership in the Battle of al-Qadisiyyah and the conquest of the Sasanian capital Ctesiphon in 636. After the Battle of al-Qadisiyyah and the Siege of Ctesiphon (637), Sa'd served as the supreme commander of the Rashidun army in Iraq, which conquered Khuzestan and built the garrison city of Kufa. Due to complaints about his conduct, he was later dismissed from his post by the caliph Umar. During the First Fitna, Sa'd was known for leading the neutral faction that contained the majority of the companions of the prophet and their followers, who refused to be involved in the civil war. Traditions of Chinese Muslims hold that he introduced Islam to China during a diplomatic visit in 651, though these accounts are disputed.
Sunni historians and scholars regard Sa'd as an honored figure due to his companionship with Muhammad, his inclusion as one of the ten to whom Paradise was promised, and his participation in the Battle of Badr, whose participants are collectively held in high esteem.
History
Sa'd was one of the first to accept Islam. He was seventeen years old when he accepted Islam, although Ibn Abd al-Barr reported that Sa'd embraced it at age nineteen. It was said by Ibn Ishaq that Sa'd was one of several individuals invited to Islam by Abu Bakr. Sa'd's mother opposed her son's conversion and threatened to go on a hunger strike until he left Islam, but he did not heed her threat and she finally yielded due to his insistence. Chroniclers reported that Muhammad told Sa'd that God praised his firmness in his faith, but also told him to be kinder to his mother, as filial piety is an important virtue in Islam. Sa'd's brother Amir also converted, prompting their mother to undergo another hunger strike, which likewise failed to deter her son.
According to Ibn Hisham's version of Ibn Ishaq's sira, Sa'd and a number of other Muslims were criticized by a group of polytheists in Mecca. This criticism prompted Sa'd to wound one of the polytheists with a camel bone, which Ibn Ishaq deems "the first blood to be shed in Islam".
According to the Fath al-Bari of Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Sa'd migrated to Medina before Muhammad along with Ibn Umm Maktum and Mus'ab ibn Umayr, where he continued to practice Islam.
Early life in Medina
As Sa'd and his siblings arrived in Medina, they immediately pledged allegiance to Muhammad. The Meccan migrants were termed muhajirun, while the local inhabitants of Medina were known as the Ansar. While in Medina, Sa'd was involved in most of the military operations mounted by the Muslims against the Quraysh of Mecca. His first operation occurred nine months after the migration, when he was tasked with leading 20 men to raid a Qurayshi caravan that passed Kharrar, located between Al-Juhfa and Mecca. This expedition failed, as the caravan escaped.
During a minor reconnaissance operation under Ubayda ibn al-Harith in Rabigh shortly before the Battle of Badr, the team caught the attention of opposing Qurayshi fighters that began to chase them. Sa'd and his team immediately ran away, with some accounts stating that he performed a Parthian shot as he retreated. The team returned to Medina unscathed, and Sa'd prided himself on allowing the Muslim scouts to survive.
Battle of Badr
During the march to Badr, Muhammad sent Sa'd, Ali, and Zubayr ibn al-Awwam to scout the enemy's movements, as the Muslim army that marched from Medina originally intended to capture the rich caravan of Abu Sufyan ibn Harb instead of facing the main forces of the Meccan Quraysh under Abu Jahl ibn Hisham.