Shining Stars
Prophet a and would have nothing to eat but the leaves of
the Hubla and this Samar until one of us would defecate like
the dropping of goats…» (Bukhari; Manaqib Sa‘d g).
Utba and Sa‘d g: Brothers at Odds
Though Utba was the oldest brother, he seemed to have
less influence over the family than his younger brother,
Sa‘d g. Amir and Umayr, the two youngest brothers had
converted to Islam under Sa‘d g. Sa‘d g had most likely
also converted his sister, Khalida j, who was the mother of
the famous sahabi and a prolific narrator of hadith, Jabir
bin Samura g. Even Utba’s two sons, Hashim and Nafi‘ k,
whose narrations are to be found in Bukhari and Ibn Maja,
came to Islam through their uncle. Ironically, narrations
indicate that the two brothers got along well though Utba
For him, killing the Prophet a was not so
much a religious conviction as it was a matter
of personal revenge.
and Sa’d g were very different in many ways. Utba was a
vile man with a criminal past, while Sa‘d g was a man of
virtue and good character.
Before the battle of Bu‘ath that had taken place in pre-
Islamic times, ‘Utba had murdered someone in Makka
Mukarrama and then fled to Yathrib (Madina Munawwara).
He bought himself a house and settled down near the
modern-day Quba neighborhood. Later, when things
settled down and Utba negotiated his return by agreeing to
pay the blood money, he returned to Makka Mukarrama.
When Sa‘d and his brother, Umayr, migrated to Madina
Munawwara after prophethood, they stayed in their
brother’s house (al-Tabaqat al-Kubra; Dhikr Islam Sa‘d g).
In the battle of Uhud, Sa‘d g fought by the blessed
Prophet’s a side. On one occasion, the Prophet a even
served Sa’d g an arrow to shoot one of the enemies. Sa’d’s
brother, ‘Utba, on the other hand, despised the blessed
Prophet a and had been hunting him throughout the
battle. ‘Utba had always sided with his mother against
his brother’s conversion to Islam. He was especially hurt
by how much Sa’d g adored the blessed Prophet a and
went so far as to disobey his own mother to follow the
Prophet a. For him, killing the Prophet a was not so
much a religious conviction as it was a matter of personal
revenge. That opportunity arose in the Battle of Uhud
after the Muslim army fell into disarray and the Prophet a
was forced to fend for himself in the battlefield. ‘Utba saw
him but was wary of getting too close without a sword in
hand. He quickly grabbed a rock and shot it at close-range.
of building good character and instilling the qualities of
forbearance and steadfastness, which the Sahaba l would
later rely on to help them spread the Deen. Sa‘d g was
not one to defy orders, but sometimes people need to
be put in their place, especially when they were the same
who would never have stood up to Sa‘d g before Islam.
Now, with the support of the Makkan community, these
same misfits were now rubbing shoulders with the high
society of Makka Mukarrama, who saw the rise of Islam as
an uprising of the lower classes and destabilization of the
aristocracy.
Once, such a band of misfits crossed the path of a group of
Sahaba l praying salat in congregation in the mountain
passes outside of Makka Mukarrama. The blessed Prophet
a had advised the Sahaba l to pray
in hiding in order to avoid being
harassed in the Holy City. The
Sahaba l would designate areas in
the outskirts, usually near a particular
pass or behind a particular valley, to
pray their salat in congregation. The
Makkans saw them, then the barrage
of insults and taunts started. When the Sahaba l continued
to pray with complete devotion unmindful of the verbal
abuse, the Makkans started shoving the Sahaba l while
they prayed. His salat disturbed, Sa‘d bin Abi Waqqas
g picked up a camel jawbone off the desert floor and
smashed it against the head of the nearest pagan. The man,
holding his bloody head, was dazed and he drew back. The
other pagans shocked, collected him and they quickly went
on their way (Usud al-Ghaba; Sa‘d bin Malik g).
The Makkans were frustrated. Harassment and persecution
had not produced the desired affect and Islam continued
to spread. The Makkans decided to banish the Muslims
and their allies to a glen now known as Sha‘b Abi Talib
and imposed economic sanctions on them. Once they
exhausted all the food and rations they brought from their
homes, the Sahaba l resorted to eating grass, leaves, and
anything else they could forage from the desert. Sa‘d bin
Abi Waqqas g narrates that we were a people who suffered
a harsh life. When we were struck by hardship, we adjusted
ourselves to it, and remained patient. I recall myself being
with the blessed Prophet a in Makka Mukarrama. I went
out one night to attend the call of nature when I heard a
sound under my foot. I ran my hand over and found a
scrap of camel hide. I took it, washed and then burned it,
placed it between two stones, and after it crumbled to small
pieces, I took it down with water. It provided strength for
the next three days (Hilyat al-Auliya; Sa‘d bin Abi Waqqas
g). But the situation did not improve for the better, even
after the Migration for at least the first few years. Sa‘d
g narrates, “We would join expeditions with the blessed
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