Visit ArabiaMOSQUE OF SA'D IBN MU'ADH (FATIMA)
The companion whose throne of Allah trembled.
A Companion of Cosmic Death
There are companions known to all: Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Ali. And there are others, less known, whose greatness is such that seventy thousand angels attended their burial.
Sa'd ibn Mu'adh (رضي الله عنه) is one of them.
Leader of the Banu Aws in Medina. One of the pillars of the Ansar. He converted to Islam before the Hijra, which led to the mass conversion of his entire clan in a single day. He fought at Badr and Uhud. He was mortally wounded at the Battle of Khandaq by an arrow that struck him in the vein of the arm (al-akhal).
The Hadith on His Death
The Prophet ﷺ said, as Sa'd's body was carried before them: "The Throne of the Most Merciful trembled for the death of Sa'd ibn Mu'adh." (Sahih al-Bukhari no. 3803 · Sahih Muslim no. 2466)
Read this carefully. The Throne of Allah (Al-'Arsh, the greatest of divine creations) trembled for the death of a single man: Sa'd ibn Mu'adh.
The Prophet ﷺ also said: "This is the one for whom the Throne moved, for whom the gates of heaven were opened, and whose burial was attended by seventy thousand angels." (Sunan an-Nasa'i no. 2055, narrated by Ibn Umar)
The Judgment of Banu Qurayza
But what truly made Sa'd famous was his judgment against the Banu Qurayza.
During the Battle of Khandaq, while the Muslims were besieged, the Jewish tribe of Banu Qurayza, who had a pact with the Prophet ﷺ, broke the alliance and sided with the confederates, threatening the Muslims from behind.
After the victory, the besieged Banu Qurayza surrendered and the Prophet ﷺ entrusted the judgment to Sa'd. Sa'd, already mortally wounded, pronounced his verdict (some authors note that it also corresponds to what the Torah prescribes, Deuteronomy 20).
The Prophet ﷺ validated the judgment: "You have judged concerning them according to the judgment of the King (Allah)." (Sahih al-Bukhari no. 3043 · Sahih Muslim no. 1768). The addition "from above the seven heavens" appears in other collections (an-Nasa'i al-Kubra, al-Hakim).
The Invocation of Sa'd
Before dying, Sa'd made this invocation: "O Allah, You know that there is no one I would rather fight in Your cause than a people who called Your Messenger a liar and expelled him. If there remains war against Quraysh, keep me alive so that I may fight them. But if You have ended the war, then reopen my wound and let my death be through it." (Sahih al-Bukhari no. 4122 · Sahih Muslim no. 1769)
Allah answered this invocation precisely. Sa'd lived just long enough to see the defeat of the confederates and the judgment against Banu Qurayza. Then his wound reopened, and he died as he had requested.
What This Story Teaches
1. Greatness is not measured by the length of life. Sa'd was a Muslim for about six years.
2. Sincere invocation is answered.
3. Justice prevails over sentimentality.
4. Heaven bows before the just — 70,000 angels for a single man.