Sa'd ibn Mu'adh

Saʿd ibn Muʿādh al-Ansari (Arabic: سعد بن معاذ الأنصاري) (c. 590-627) was the chief of the Aws tribe in Medina and one of the prominent companions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He died shortly after the Battle of the Trench.

Sa'd was born in Medina 590 CE, the son of Mu'adh ibn al-Numan, of the Abdul-Ashhal clan of the Aws tribe, and of Kabsha bint Rafi, of the Jewish Banu al-Harith clan of the Khazraj tribe. His siblings were Aws (apparently the eldest), Iyas, 'Amr, Iqrab and Umm Hizam.

He married his brother Aws's widow, Hind bint Simak, who was his agnatic second cousin. Her brother had been chief of the Aws tribe until he was killed at the Battle of Bu'ath in 617. They had two sons, Amr and Abdullah.

As'ad ibn Zurarah, chief of the al-Najjar clan of the Khazraj, was Sa'd's maternal first cousin. Usayd ibn Hudayr was his wife's fraternal nephew, and was also said by al-Waqidi to have been Sa'd's first cousin.

Sa'd was among the leading figures among the Ansar, as Muhammad had called the people of Aws and Khazraj from Medina who converted to Islam. He converted at the hands of Mus'ab ibn Umair. His conversion led to the immediate conversion of his entire subtribe of the Aus, the Banu Abdul-Ashhal:

Before the Battle of Badr, Sa'd had visited Mecca once to perform his Umrah with his non-Muslim friend Umayyah ibn Khalaf, when they came across Abu Jahl. They argued, and as it became heated, Sa'd threatened Abu Jahl with preventing his safe passage through Medina if he stopped the Muslims from performing the pilgrimage in Mecca. Narrated 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud:

The Muslims originally expected a much smaller Meccan force and were surprised by the large Meccan Army so Muhammad called Shura:

Sa'd was one of the few companions who remained on the battlefield, when the Meccans led by Khalid bin Walid counterattacked^{[broken anchor]} and he continued to fight on until he was finally forced to retreat away from the Meccans. In fact, Sa'd was the last Muslim Mus'ab ibn 'Umair met (Sa'd by that time had disengaged the Meccans) when he chided other Muslims for retreating and ferociously attacked the Meccans resulting in his brutal martyrdom at the hands of the Meccans. He later met up with Muhammad and was part of the small contingent Muslims defending him.

Sa'd's brother 'Amr and his stepson (nephew) al-Harith ibn Aws were both among those who were killed at Uhud.

After the Battle of the Trench in 627 (5 AH), when Medina was unsuccessfully besieged by the Meccan army, the Banu Qurayza had treacherous dealings with the enemy. Later the Muslims laid siege to their stronghold and the Banu Qurayza surrendered.

Several members of the Banu Aws pleaded for their old Jewish allies and agreed to Muhammad's proposal that one of their chiefs should judge the matter. The Banu Qurayza appointed Sa'd, and declared they would agree with whatever was Sa'd's verdict. Other sources say that Muhammad appointed Sa'd. Sa'd pronounced that all the men should be put to death, their possessions to be distributed among Muslims, and their women and children to be taken as captives.

Sa'd had been wounded in the same Battle of Trench and was on the verge of death. Sa'd succumbed to the wounds and died after returning to Medina.

He dutifully served as a member of the Muslim community and even commanded military campaigns for Muhammad during his lifetime. Saad is said to have been a stern, just and passionate man, willing to impulsively fight for what he believed in. In Muslim history, he is well regarded as a noble companion who enjoyed a close relationship with Muhammad.

Even after his death Muhammad made constant references praising him:

According to one Hadith, Muhammad bestowed him a title of "Siddiq al-Ansar", (rightful man of Ansar or truthful man of Ansar), which according to later era scholars of Hadith, were counterpart of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, a Siddiq which hailed from Muhajirun.