Sa’d ibn Mu’adh (RA) adopted Islam in 622 (1 AH), when Muhammad ﷺ arrived in Medina, then known as Yathrib. He was the chief of the Aws tribe in Medina.
Ibn Ishaq said: “When he accepted Islam, he stood amongst his tribe and said to them: ‘O Bani Abd Al-Ash’hal, what is my position in your midst? They all replied: Our leader in nobility and our right hand chief.’ He said: ‘Your word about me would be haram as well as your men and women unless you believe in Allah and His messenger.’”
It is said that no one remained in the households of Bani Abd Al-Ash’hal neither amongst the men nor of the women except that they all accepted Islam.
From Sahih Hadith we come to know about the greatness of this distinguished Sahabi even though he did not live very long (5 years) after his conversion to Islam.
When he died, the people said to RasulAllah ﷺ, ‘We have never carried a corpse lighter upon us [to carry] than his.’ RasulAllah ﷺ responded to them: ‘Nothing prevents him from being light except that so and so angel who had never descended until that day was also carrying him with you.’
Imam ad-Dhahabi said: ‘The statement of the Prophet ﷺ has been concurrently reported that: ‘The throne shook in joy at the death of Sa’d.’’
Jabir b. ‘Abdullah reported Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) as saying while the bier of Sa’d b. Mu’adh was placed before them:
The Throne of the most Gracious shook at the death of Sa’d b. Mu’adh. (Sahih Muslim 2466 a)
Al-Bara’ reported that a garment of silk was presented to Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ). His Companions touched it and admired its softness; there- upon he said:
Do you admire the softness of this (cloth)? The handkerchiefs of Sa’d b. Mu’adh in Paradise are better than this. (Sahih Muslim 2468 a)
Ad-Dhahabi also said: ‘The throne is a creature of Allah and He employs in the way He wishes. If He wanted it to shake, it shook by the wish of Allah and He made it as a symbol of His love for Sa’d just as Allah made the mountain of Uhud a symbol of His love for the Prophet ﷺ. Allah [swt] says: ‘O you mountains, Glorify [Allah] with him.’ [Saba:10]
By Allah, these are real heroes, the real role models that we should be teaching our kids about.
