At a glance
- Roles
- Companion · Commander
- Counted among
- Sunni
- Era
- The Prophetic Era
- Region
- Arabia
- Identifiers
- Wikidata
- Review
- Draft Completeness 3/5 · Help complete it
Life in time
Place in the story
- Companion · c. 621 CETradition
- Commander · 622 CE · 1 BH† – 627 CE · 6 AH†Tradition
- Martyr (as regarded) · c. 627 CE · c. 6 AH†Tradition
Sunni (transmitted)
Roles are dated and sourced; the museum describes the act and attributes the judgement.
Sa'd ibn Mu'adh was the chief of the Ansar and their banner-bearer at Badr. At the Wadi Dhi Afran council he answered for the Ansar that they had pledged hearing and obedience and would follow the Prophet ﷺ through the sea — and it was he who proposed the command shelter on the battlefield.
Sa'd ibn Mu'adh ibn al-Nu'man al-Awsi, chief of the Ansar and their banner-bearer at Badr. When the Prophet ﷺ held the consultative council at Wadi Dhi Afran the Muhajirun leaders spoke, then he wished to know the Ansar's mind — they were the army's majority and the Aqaba terms did not bind them to fight outside their lands; Sa'd grasped it and answered for them that they believed, had pledged hearing and obedience, and would wade the sea with him — 'March on, with God's blessing'. It was he who proposed the command shelter on the rise northeast of the battleground, with young Ansar men taking turns guarding it. Sa'd later judged in the affair of Banu Qurayza after their siege and died of an arrow wound from that engagement. On an umrah he lodged with Umayya ibn Khalaf at Mecca; Abu Jahl taunted him for sheltering converts and Sa'd answered that his road lay against Medina's people.
Storytellers (10–12) read the Explorers text, then cross to the Scholars text.
Sa'd ibn Mu'adh ibn al-Nu'man al-Awsi, chief of the Ansar and their banner-bearer at Badr. When the Prophet ﷺ held the consultative council at Wadi Dhi Afran the Muhajirun leaders spoke, then he wished to know the Ansar's mind — the army's majority, and the Aqaba terms did not bind them to fight outside their lands; Sa'd grasped it and answered for them that they believed, had pledged hearing and obedience, and would wade the sea with him — 'March on, with God's blessing' — one telling having him say he spoke and answered for the Ansar. It was he who proposed the command shelter on the rise northeast of the battleground, young Ansar men taking turns guarding it. Sa'd later judged in the affair of Banu Qurayza after their siege and died of an arrow wound from that engagement. On an umrah he lodged with Umayya ibn Khalaf at Mecca; Abu Jahl taunted him for sheltering the converts and Sa'd answered that his road lay against Medina's people.
Summary
His role at Badr
When the Prophet ﷺ held the consultative council at the valley of Dhu Afran, the leaders of the Muhajirun spoke. Then he wished to hear the view of the Ansar, since they were the majority of the army and the terms of the Aqaba pledge did not oblige them to fight outside their homes. Sa'd grasped this and answered on their behalf: they had believed and given their pledge to hear and obey, and if the Prophet were to plunge with them into the sea, they would plunge in with him. He said: "Proceed with us in God's blessing" 2. In another account, he said that he was speaking about the Ansar and answering for them 2.
It was he who proposed building the arbour on a rise to the north-east of the battlefield as the command post, and young men of the Ansar took turns guarding it 3.
After Badr
Sa'd later passed judgement on Banu Qurayza after their siege, and died from an arrow that struck him in that affair 4 5.
An umra in Mecca (*The Sealed Nectar*, p. 195)
He set out for umra and stayed with Umayya ibn Khalaf in Mecca. Abu Jahl met him and reproached him for giving shelter to the sabi'a, those who had turned away from their ancestral religion. Sa'd replied that his road runs past the people of Medina (a threat from Quraysh) 6.
The Ansar's banner at Badr (*The Sealed Nectar*, pp. 205, 209)
The Prophet put him in charge of the Ansar contingent. When the Prophet consulted him, he said: "We have believed in you and affirmed you, so proceed with what you intend. If you were to lead us across this sea, we would plunge into it with you" (the council of Badr) 1 2.
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Connections
- Related to
- Al-Harith ibn Aws ibn Mu'adh
- Member of
- The Ansar· The early Muslim community
- Participated in
- The Battle of Badr· The Badr war council· The build-up to Badr: Abu Sufyan's caravan, Mecca's muster and the Prophet's march· The Battle of the Trench (al-Ahzab)· Expedition of Buwat· Quraysh's letter to Abdullah ibn Ubayy after the Hijra· The Siege and Judgment of Banu Qurayza· Uhud war council and Muslim mobilization· Umar's Stipend Register
- Mentioned in
- Hassan ibn Thabit's poem 'We were the kings of men before Muhammad'· Bukhari 2805 — The martyrdom of Anas ibn al-Nadr· Bukhari 3803 — The Throne shook at Sa'd ibn Mu'adh's death· Muslim 2466 — The Throne shook at Sa'd ibn Mu'adh's death· Muslim 2770 — Umm Zar' and the ifk account· Muwatta 1406
People and things also explored
Muhammad· The Prophetic Era· Medina· The Battle of Uhud· Mus'ab ibn Umayr· The Battle of Badr· Ali ibn Abi Talib· Banu Qurayza
Sources
- al-Raheeq al-Makhtum — Safi al-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri , p.205
- al-Raheeq al-Makhtum — Safi al-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri , p.209
- al-Raheeq al-Makhtum — Safi al-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri , p.212
- al-Sira al-Nabawiyya — Ibn Hisham
- al-Tabaqat al-Kubra — Ibn Sa'd
- al-Raheeq al-Makhtum — Safi al-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri , p.195
- Wafa al-Wafa bi-akhbar dar al-Mustafa — al-Samhudi (older print)
- Sahih al-Bukhari
- Sahih Muslim
- al-Isaba fi tamyiz al-sahaba — Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Sa'd ibn Mu'adh”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/sad-ibn-muadh/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-26.